The BMW R100 R should not have existed. When BMW started from 1983 to produce liquid-cooled three and four-cylinder motorcycles (the K 75 series and the K 100 series), the idea was to let ordinary boxers die out. And that was not picked up by the entire buyer side.
An error decision has been corrected
After a few years, BMW realized that the marketers had gone wrong by taking the heavy boxers out of the market, but on the other hand they could not maintain the old approach because of the aggravated environmental legislation. It was decided to redevelop the new heavy boxers based on the R 80 engine line that was still maintained. The R80s had meanwhile been technically adapted and modernized. The frames were more modern and also had a single rear-wheel suspension. .
The R 100 R (oadster)
The R 100 R (also called Roadster) came on the market in 1991. The boxer was actually the first of the boxers who was optically and technically reborn after the introduction of the K100 and the K75. To emphasize the rebirth of the engine, a wide (140 x 80) rear tire was fitted, the new paralever suspension system was applied and this motorcycle had wire wheels suitable for tubeless tires. Smart!
The saddle of the R100Rwas in two colors and the frame was light gray, so the styling was nice and up-to-date again. The popular "round" valve covers that BMW had already abolished in 1976 were back to the delight of enthusiasts.
The last revival
The R 100 R is considered the definitive beginning of the end of the air-cooled two-valve boxers. BMW was already working on the development of the air / oil cooled boxers of the R 1100 series. The R 100 R was equipped with the Sekundär Luft System, with which air was pumped just behind the exhaust valve to obtain a kind of “afterburning” and thus cleaner exhaust gases. With 20.589 units sold, this model was a great success, possibly because customers knew that the chance of a “new old boxer” was getting small.
R 100 R Mystic
With the R 100 R Mystic, the fries went out with regard to the air-cooled boxer engines. That BMW was launched in 1993, the same year that the R 1100 series saw the light of day. The Mystic was a somewhat tamer looking version of the R 100 R, but was still updated. The Mystic was also equipped with the Sekundär Luft System. The machine had the same unique spoked wheels and wide rear tire of the R 100 R, but a completely new two-in-one exhaust system, leaving the paralever system fully visible on the right . The round valve covers had remained, but the saddle and the side covers were new. When the Mystic went out of production in 1995, about 3.700 pieces were produced.
The state of affairs now
Scoring an R100 R is now fairly easy. The machines are thereby usually purchased by genuine BMW 2 valve boxer enthusiasts. And that is a breed of careful owners. The chance that a BMW R100R offered is therefore in good condition is clearly present. For the real die hard classic BMW enthusiasts, such a motorcycle is much too new. But in essence, the R100 R is the definitive result of a concept that was born before the Second World War. And for lovers of that kind, the R100 R is a happy ending. Think of purchase amounts from around € 4.000. Now still…
