‘300k-mile BMW is still going strong’
After a slow start, Eddie Barnes’ BMW R100S has been piling on the miles for more than 40 years as a commuter and pleasure bike
There are several ways to get a bike up to a high mileage – the obvious one is to buy it a long time ago and keep riding it.
That’s certainly worked for Eddie and his 1978 BMW, which he bought new in 1981. Hang on a minute, how did that work? Turns out back then bike sales were very slow, and lots of dealers had unregistered bikes hanging around for years waiting for buyers.
“Then in 1981 the chancellor imposed a 10% tax on bikes registered from 6 April, so lots of dealers registered existing stock to avoid the tax – including what would become my BMW, which was registered on a W plate in early April along with some others. But they didn’t sell – and by the time the X registration came out in August they gave up hope of selling the W-plate bikes and were preparing to sell them off as parts.
“I happened to be in the workshop with a mate, spotted these W-plate bikes and they agreed to sell me one for what they’d paid BMW – £2500. Bargain. And they threw in a set of Krauser panniers at cost. I subsequently found that my bike was built in 1978, which was worth knowing as it makes it complicated getting the right parts otherwise.”
It may have taken its time getting on the road, but since then it’s been used constantly. “I commuted on it 60 miles a day for 20 years, as well as riding for pleasure. And in 2012 a pal and I shipped our boxers to the USA and rode them from Baltimore to Los Angeles, taking two months and covering 9000 miles.”
What about running costs? “I’ve never really kept a log, unfortunately – I do take note of the bike’s fuel usage though, and I’m getting about 65mpg on average. I get about 10,000 miles out of a rear tyre and a bit more from the front.
“I can’t comment on performance and grip though as I’m somewhat oblivious to that sort of thing!”
Oblivious, maybe. Relentless, definitely. By the time you read this, the BMW’S odometer will have clicked past the 300,000 mark. But Eddie has no plans to stop there.
“I don’t plan to replace it as I take the view that anything on these bikes can be fixed should the necessity arise.
I’ve owned several other bikes – and I currently have a 2010 Bonneville as well – but always come back to this one.”
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