Missed The 40th Anniversary BMW GS? Here's An 1988 Alternative

It's not an actual BMW R100GS from 1981, but it's close.

By: Earl Davidson

Aug 1, 2021 at 5:00pm ET

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It was not too long ago that the 40th Anniversary of the BMW GS series was launched. The German brand's iconic lineup was dressed in a full black and yellow colorway, otherwise known as the bumblebee.

While the R 1250 GS, R 1250 GS Adventure, received the rather iconic colorway from the 80s, this R100GS is actually the first model to ditch the slash in the name, 'G/S', and go with just the two letters joined together. BMW found that its G/S models were being used predominantly on the road, so the revised model in 1987 was made to stand for "Gelande-Sport," instead of "Gelande/Strasse" (Terrain/Street).

This colorway was sold alongside the Paris-Dakar edition and was new at the time of the model's launch.

Now enough of history and on to the bike. It sports a 980cc boxer that produced 60 horses when new and had a five-speed gearbox. It was air-cooled and carbureted and as classic as they come. It's got all the original halogen lights on it, and it's also got a luggage rack complete with hardshell BMW cases, a rear grab bar, passenger footpegs, a skid plate, and a two-up seat.

The seller managed to add 2,000 miles on its odometer which brings the total mileage on this bike to a whopping 41,000 miles. Yes, this bike is definitely part of the high milers club, and it shows.

Although, it's got some footwork to it in the form of a 40mm Marzocchi leading-axle fork with black rubber gaiters and a Paralever rear with a single-sided swingarm. The wheels measure 21 inches in the front and 17 inches in the rear. That being said, it would do buyers well to buy a new set of rubber for this bike as the current set on the bike looks like it's seen better days.

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As for maintenance, the seller states that its last service was conducted in the spring of 2021, which included carburetor synchronization, an engine, transmission, and final drive oil change, as well as a brake fluid flush.

All things considered, it's priced rather reasonably at the moment at $3,500 USD. Of course, being a bidding site, you can expect the price to go up as more interest for it is generated. If you don't mind the miles, perhaps this GS could go look sweet side by side with a modern bumblebee. Either that or it'll be a more affordable alternative.