1975 BMW R90s
The Best 70’s Motorcycle.
When I first got into motorcycles I did not know that BMW made motorcycles. My first bike was a cheap KZ400 and was a great starter bike dont get me wrong. That bike did a great job getting me interested in how motorcycles work and what all you can do to update them with modern modifications. One of the guys that was guiding me through my introduction to all things motorcycles has a 1975 R75/5 SWB. This was my first introduction to BMW motorcycles. I first thought the 70’s BMW motorcycle, often called airheads, were weird and ugly. My entire opinion of these motorcycles changed the first time that I took that R75/5 for a spin. I was immediately impressed with the smoothness, agility, and speed that was a 70’s BMW motorcycle. Immediately I started looking into BMW motorcycles, and this was when I learned about the famous R90s. This bike was one of the most best bikes you could but during the 70’s. It came with all the reliability of a BMW but had 71hp which was remarkable in the 70’s. This bike is not at all fast compared to modern bikes, but at the time it was a beast.
I happened upon this bike while I was online looking up what bikes were for sale for a friend. Once I saw that listing I immediately called the guy and told him I was on the way to come pick up the bike. The previous owner had passed away and the bike had not moved since 1985. So not only was it a one owner bike but the bike had only 18,000 miles on here which is pretty much brand new. While the bike was in pretty good shape the bike needed some care to get it back into tip top shape.
The previous owner had put a giant fairing on the bike and what I thought was a massive cruiser seat on the bike. So I would have to rewire the headlight and turn signals with the correct fairing which was made extremely difficult because the previous owner had wired in the new fairing using only one color wire. The brake fluid had completely degraded as well as the front fork oil both of which needed to be flushed and replaced. The worst damage done by time was done on the gas tank. The bike was parked with a full tank of gas so over time the gas began to rust away the interior of the gas tank to the point where it ate completely through the tank at the back by the seat. I have since patched the tank with some temporary solutions but the tank will eventually need to be professionally patched and repainted. There was some good new though on the rear seat which was actually still intact. The previous owner had only just covered with read seat cowl with leather which I was able to remove revealing the original seat and paint job.
As of right now the bike is fully functional and while not completely restored is functional enough to use as my daily ride to and from work. This bike has lived up to all of my expectations. I never actually thought I would own an original R90s.