$20,000
Lake Orion, Michigan
Category
Sport Touring Motorcycles
Engine
900
Posted Over 1 Month
Yes, this is not a mistake. Turbo! Here's the story: This BMW R90S in silver smoke color was with the first original owner for 39 years until i had the chance to buy it last year . The original owner bought it brand new at the local Michigan BMW dealership. It was the fastest street bike in its days. He rode it occasionally for pleasure, never for commuting. In 1982 every Japanese manufacturer came up with turbo bikes: Honda CX 500 turbo Honda CX 650 Turbo Kawasaki ninja 750 Turbo Suzuki XN85G Turbo Yamaha XJ650 Turbo. Luftmeister, a in its days well known BMW motorcycle accessory developer and distributor (mostly fairings, luggage....), launched its Turbo kit. Developed for the lame and disappointing R100S, but also applicable to the R90S and R65. They offered a competition and a street kit. The competion kit promised 150HP for the R100S at max rpm 9500. For the street kit they promised a 50% horse power increase. The owner decided to go for his dreams and ordered at his local dealership everything to build the most powerful Boxer BMW. He let the dealer install the street Turbo kit, as well as the 4 spark dyna ignition and a lot more, when the bike had about 6000 total miles. Please see the list below for details of the modifications. No body, not even his wife and family, was allowed to know what he spend on this project. He did not tell me either, but it must have been more than the price of a new bike. He did not do any weird modifications from different suppliers. It was BMW and it was Luftmeister he trusted in. Thats it. Only well trained BMW mechanics worked on his bike from day one, till 39 years later, when he was in his late 70s and decided to part with it. How does it ride? I have a clean Michigan title in my name, but never had it registered, so i can just tell what i was experiencing by riding around the block. Don't expect a perfect working every day commute, but i was really impressed of how well and perfect it felt. It starts without having a choke, just with the accelerator pump of the carb, needing a hand on the gas grip for a minute during warm up. During decent weather it starts right up after twisting the throttle a few times, before you hit the button. Idles fine after a while. In the normal flow of traffic you will not feel a big difference, to a normal R90S as the turbo will not kick in at lower rpm or lower load. As soon as you get into higher rpm 3500+ with full throttle the beast awakens. A really really noticeable push. Original owners words: When the turbo kicked in it scared the sh.. out of me, as the front wheel wont stay down. I did not try it without a plate, but i believe every word. So the bike works as on day one. Turbo works. No stumbling, no cutting out, but of course its a 80s turbo and it is carbureted. You can imagine the rest of the story But everything works as it should. The Turbo application was developed for occasional turbo kicks and maybe for a track day, but not for German Autobahn with 1 hour constant 120mph riding. The bike was in permanent, but occasional, use for the following 33 years. No problems or repairs, except one gearbox whining i found a repair receipt for. Just regular perfect maintenance and batteries. Stored in a climate controlled garage. Taken out for an occasional spin around the area. Used for pleasure riding. No track days. Never abused to keep the pants clean. :-) The only problem he had were dying batteries. No wonder, as the original battery was in 5mm distance to the turbo housing. Of course he always replaced them with the original, extremely large, battery from the shelf of his BMW dealer. I solved this problem by installing a different shaped, smaller battery and a little heat shield. List of modifications: -Luftmeister Turbo Kit using a Warner-Ishi Turbo charger -Water Injection System to prevent knocking -Boost gauge aftermarket and original (defective, leaking glycerine filling) -Turbo clutch -Piston rings -SS-Valves, alloy push rods and valve springs -Dyna III Ignition (2 spark plugs per cylinder) -Luftmeister exhaust system (nice roar, louder, but not too loud) -lightened fly wheel -oil cooler -reinforced swing arm -fork brace -Alloy fork triple clamp -HD fork springs -anty dive system -Street stroker shocks -double horn ...... ...... Todays condition: There was no need to repair anything and it came from recent dealer maintenance when i bought it last year, so i just cleaned a little here and there. As far as i know the bike was never down, in an accident or repainted. The only area where i noticed a small partial repaint is at the lower edge of the left side cover. Still original sticker on it. Just the lower edge that had contact with the frame was repaired. No one will notice it. The mirror housings are kind of bend and need repaint or replacing. A few stone chips in the front fairing, a slight scratch on the right side of the tank. Rubbing on the front fender from brake line. The gold original tank lining has a few areas where it needs to be touched up. That's basically it. I will make high res. pictures available for interested parties. Of course there are signs of use and signs of environment after 40years. She is not restored at all. Mechanics: No issues that came to my attention. I would install new brake lines, just for safety. There are some rubber hoses and end caps on the carb that appear to be a bit brittle, but that's also just for safety. Tires have good thread without cracks, authentic Metzeler style. Depending on how you like to use it, i would change them. Expect smaller issues like leaks, or a fine tune needed, when you ride it more often What you get: -a absolutely unmolested and unrestored original bike -a Luftmeister accessory aftermarket full turbo kit -a lot of Luftmeister accessories related to performance, stability and rideablility -all the original parts that were replaced (every nut and bolt) see pics. Everything clean, wrapped up and proteceted. -if you want i still have the newspaper form 1982 where the exhaust was wrapped in. (1982 Corvettes offered for 15,865$). -very good documentation. The original title, Luftmeister brochures, receipts, maintenance records, installation guide, manual.... -2nd key, orig. tool set......... -honest information, as i am picky myself. -i will answer any question and picture every detail you like, don't complain afterwards -i will work with international buyers as long as i stay on the safe side Please be aware that depending on your state and country of residence you may have problems registering the bike. Everything is allowed in the US, but you will have to work hard to get German TUEV approval for it. This is probably a one of a kind bike, being that original. Google the internet up and down. I did so. You may run into a handful Luftmeister Turbo BMW R's worldwide. All more or less customized or at the end of their life cycle. What you could do: Keep it as it is, as a enjoyable show piece. Ride it to local BMW or old motorcycle meet ups and draw a ton of attention. Explain your spectators what the black box underneath the right cylinder is :-) Look in their faces when you do so. or Rebuild it to "all Original R90S". You get everything you need included to do so, but it would be a shame in my eyes. or Clean it up and make it a show piece Price: I dont have to sell and may keep it for further value appreciation. I am into old bikes and cars, but not specifically a BMW R-series enthusiast so i am willing to part. Its worth what someone is willing to pay for, but to give you an idea: -Look into your international lists for a BMW R90 S in excellent+ condition: XXXXXX -add for an extremely low original mileage: XXXXX -add for second owner (basically first owner): XXXXX -add for being a time capsule and not a restored showpiece: XXXXX -add for documentation from day one: XXXXX -add for the period correct contemporary accessories (value and exclusiveness): XXXXX -subtract for small updates I have set a "buy it now" to 20.000$, just to keep low ballers off my back. If you are really interested, contact me. I am entertaining and answering all offers, but please be realistic. I will end the offer anytime if it sells locally. I am aware that this ad will draw international attention and i promise to work with you and your shipper to make it a smooth transaction. Languages: german, english, a bit french and italian.
