R 1100 GS:

1994

October 2020

The R 1100 GS was a generally bigger, more touring-oriented bike that set the trend for GS development. Its 1,085-cc boxer engine produced 80 hp and was a detuned version of the high-cam, four-valve unit introduced a year earlier in the R 1100 RS. The revamped chassis featured Telelever front suspension, plus triple discs with optional ABS.

Some people wondered whether BMW had gone too far and whether a bike of this size was too big to be a serious touring off-roader. The sales figures gave the answer. By 2000, when it was replaced by the five-hp more powerful R 1150 GS, more than 40,000 had been produced. The GS had won numerous magazine awards and covered millions of miles, both on and off road, all round the world.