BMW R90S - The Airhead

[Mitch]

Thought about calling this “24 hours with a Tranny” but then thought again…

This won’t be a Mad Martini Man Mike or Uber Resto Ferry Man type thread but a short story about realising a dream.

No long search
No fearless hunt for obsolete parts
No tricky situations to overcome. Not yet anyway.

Way back in my teenage years I dreamed about 2 bikes, a Ducati 900SS Desmo and a BMW R90S





Having realised that the Ducati is still out of reach, I’ve been thinking about the BMW, for a little while…
I’d even been drawn into the trendy Shoreditch scene of Café Racers, Bobbers and other outlaws of the bike world.

[Mitch]

A few weeks ago my brother sent me an ad for an unrestored 1975 BMW R90S. So in a couple of days, I went from thinking about it to possibly buying the first classic bike I’d seriously considered, sight unseen. I decided to make the 7 hour round trip to see it with serious intent a few days later.

I started doing some proper homework and talked to BMW bike veteran Nick Moss and a good mate of his who owned an R90S for 30 years; all a great help. And talked to Darren, who suggested that I take a van up there “just in case” and for the sake of the (very reasonable) rental, it made a whole lot of sense. That turned out to be sound advice.

When I stepped into the owners garage, there is was...

[Mitch]

Everything about it was right. It was exactly as described, unrestored and perfectly maintained with a few practical upgrades. The previous owner is an engineer who looked after the bike himself, better than any garage, and was straightforward and honest to deal with.

Before long the deal was done, we loaded it into the Transit and were on the way home. Result.

[Darren65]

That really is one very cool motorcycle!

[Darren65]

Not a patch on the Transit though!

[Mitch]

Cheers Darren. And I really liked that Tranny

The R90S was one of, if not the first Superbike. And BMW weren’t shy about saying so in their ads.



Happily the bike press endorsed that claim even if it was reassuringly expensive at over £2000 in ’75.

[mrg3.6]

Beautiful - I still have a teenage urge for a T160 or a Jota

Martin

[Mitch]

Now a Jota would be nice, but I'd need some Weetabix.. that's heavy

BMW put their money where their mouth was by winning the first ever AMA Superbike race in 1976 at Daytona. Steve McLaughlin won on an R90S and the title that year was won by his BMW team mate, Reg Pridmore. The World Superbike Championship evolved a few years later.

As an aside, the Daytona winning bike No 83 was used as a club racer for a few years and found in 1980 looking like this



And here it is fully restored at Festival of Speed in 2012



Here’s McLaughlin's bike at Laguna Seca in ‘76, after trying hard for a win from second place.

[Mitch]

My R90S is Smoke-Silver but the paint choice was pretty good with plenty of seventies colour



Later there was a green, almost Chartreuse, Krauser modded version



Smoke-Silver looks black/silver but in bright sunlight there’s a deep brown tinge to it.

[shoestring7]

Good choice.

A mate of mine has an R100RS and a R90S in orange - he talks about why he likes it in his blog here: http://blog.motolegends.com/why-i-love- ... /#more-330

>C

[KS]

The R90S only came in Daytona Orange or Silver Smoke (or Smoke Silver as BMW GB tagged it). Mine was Smoke Silver, and was one of five Beemers I've owned. Great bike and still remember the sound when I swapped the Contis (gotta fit Contis...) for a pair of Goldie 'silencers' for all of one month until I went deaf. Have fun!

[Bruce M]

Frankly, you could have bought the bike based on an inspection of his garage alone. It sends out all the right signals

[DEEMAN]

The first 90S I rode was in Germany before they were available in the UK. I was to deliver it to the repair shop about 30 miles away for remedial work under guarantee. I treated it so gently and went in the company of a German friend who rode another Smoke Silver 90S. What I was not told was that I was to leave it there and come back riding pillion.
OMG [*]
To say it was a revelation is a total understatement. On roads that were wet too.
During the next three years I owned two Daytona Orange 90S's which I have always remember fondly as two of the most practical sports tourers ever. That was in the days when cross channel ferries cost £6 for a bike!! I had a Guzzi Le Mans after that which I part exchanged in 1977 for a R100RS which I still have to this day and manage to cover a few miles each year.
How to make any machine go faster? You put a contra-rotating spring into the twistgrip to lessen the cable pull. But do warn other riders of your bike ...... A trick I learnt in my Vincent days


Ian

___________________________________________


1965 RHD 911 Golfblau
2001 3.2 Boxster

[Mitch]

Good choice.

A mate of mine has an R100RS and a R90S in orange - he talks about why he likes it in his blog here: http://blog.motolegends.com/why-i-love- ... /#more-330

>C

Nice blog Charles and a good read. Thanks!

[Mitch]

The R90S only came in Daytona Orange or Silver Smoke

Quite right Keith, I should've been more precise.. I'll never make an Editor! Got any pics of yours?

Here's a better colour chart from 1975