2004 BMW R1100S
Miles: 5,600
Clean Title
Listed Price: $6,000 Or Best Offer
Listing Ends: January 18th, 2025
Long before BMW’s shockingly fast and shockingly conventional S1000RR came along in a fit of “if you can’t beat em, join em” pique and blew every other 1000cc superbike into the weeds with its blend of class-leading performance and cutting-edge traction control, BMW made a stab at building a sportbike their own way, and the BMW R1100S seen here was the result. Introduced in 1998 and built around an updated version of their famous boxer twin, the bike was very much a BMW, but offered far more sporting performance than the public had come to expect from the brand. Displacing 1085cc, the engine produced 98hp and the expected broad spread of torque, put to the ground through a six-speed transmission. An alloy frame connected the Telelever front and Paralever rear suspension systems, and the bike weighed in at 505lbs wet, heavier than direct rivals, but still relatively light. Handling could be a bit vague at the limit, a common criticism of the Telelever front end, but the upside was spectacular stability when hard on the brakes, and cornering clearance was much better than you might expect, given the engine configuration.
2004 BMW R1100S with very low mileage.
This bike is in excellent condition and runs like a champ.
This example of the very versatile and generally underappreciated BMW R1100S appears to be in excellent condition, with a shocking 5,600 miles on the odometer! Given this bike’s mile-eating capabilities, that’s a shame that will hopefully be rectified by the bike’s next owner. While possibly not an ideal track day ride, this bike has more than enough performance potential to keep road riders entertained for hours and hours. And hours. Did I mention that it’s a BMW?
-tad
Nothing worse than a nice looking bike in an ad, but with zero effort into drafting a description with thorough details. “Low miles, nice bike, have a nice day.”
Sellers on other platforms could learn a thing or two from Bring A Therapist style ads.
Agreed. These are very underrated bikes, and despite the heft had a very usable power band for real world riding.
Every few years i get the urge to hop on craigslist an find an interesting and suitable bike for a nice long tour. Fly somewhere far off, buy a bike and ride it back home. A few 1000 miles is a nice target, looking for somewhere I’ve never been with intestesting roads between there and home. Then sell the bike once home.
Key to making this work is finding a bike that likely won’t have issues when you get off the plane to ride home. And preferrably something reliable, and interesting and fun. I tend to browse for things like vfr750s.
These seem like a good candidate to add to my short list. Back in 2001, i rode one at the Long Beach Cycleworld international motorcycleshow. BMW took us on an hour long, lead ride around LB. I really appeciate them doing that for show attendees! Maybe that experience will land them a 20+ year late sale.
Thanks for the suggestion!
The R11S is one the hidden gems of the motorcycle world. Not the fastest but has very capable handling, with very good to excellent brakes, and decent ergos. Very forgiving in the twisties and with side cases installed is a great choice for a medium to long distance weekend cruiser. Eryreluable and easy on the maintenance. Frankly I’m surprised that the market is sleeping on these.
This particular R11S has the heated grips and ABS, the latter being the strongest and weak point of this model. When fully functional the ABS work great and are a leap better than the non ABS system. However, BMW recommends flushing the ABS servo and the brakes. The servo has a very sensitive diaphragm which could easily be damaged if the brakes are not properly bled. I would expect a 14 yr old bike to have the brakes flushed at least once but as pointed out the ad is very limited on the information considering that the seller is asking an above average price.
Nice find Tad