The Owner’s Tale:

Karl Chadwick

“I bought my 1982 R100 RS in 1991 from Hurst BMW in Belfast. It had circa 22k miles and it’s now reading 83,262 and has been a brilliant bike. It’s my fourth RRS, two mono and two twin-shock. The mileage would be greater except for me branching into the R1100, 1150 and 1200s for more comfort when two-up on European trips. It has been ultra-reliable, having only stopped once due to a Hall Resistor packing up in the ignition can; this was repaired next day. Contrary to the myths about the short life of silencers the left one was on when I bought it and is still here after 26 years. It has the OE stamp regarding the Federal laws etc. which are on factory fitted pipes. I replaced the right over 10 years ago due to a dent from a bike falling against it on a ferry crossing. The clutch was replaced at 83,127, it’s had three sets of carb diaphragms and recently needles and holders were renewed. It’s on its fourth Varta battery and first replacement starter and third set of fork seals. The forks were re-chromed by Philpotts two years ago and they did a fantastic job. I replaced the valves at 60k due to stories of failures; however a friend in the aero-industry crack-tested them and no issues were found. Same with both wheel bearings at 38k miles, they are prone to collapsing apparently? The switches and instruments, clutch cable, one throttle and choke cable, and three of the indicator bulbs are the same. The rear shocks have been in situ since I’ve owned it which will no doubt surprise lots of readers, however it’s a fact. These bike really did cost a packet when new but the engineering and especially the finish don’t come cheap. The red-oxide, or whatever it is applied by the factory inside of the tank, is still there despite the obnoxious concoctions branded as petrol.”