Current Mileage?
53,980
Where did you buy the 77S and who was the shop or dealer and do you recall the out the door price?
Purchased from Clem Cykowski of BMW of Denver and I think I paid around $4,500-$4,800 and that also included a Reynolds rack and Krauser bags and mount. Did you have a BMW before this or was this your first?
This was my first BMW.
BMWs were among the most expensive motorcycles on the market in the 70’s—were you skeptical about the price and after owning it, did you find it was worth the money?
I bought a 1974 Kawasaki 900cc Z1and paid just over $2,000 for it. So, to spend over twice that amount I had doubts. However, Clem tossed me the keys to a R100/7 and said to spend all day on the bike. When I got back to the shop that beautiful Red “S” said, “buy me”. After putting almost 40,000 miles on the Kawasaki I knew it was worth the price.
As a buyer, what was the appeal of the 77S?
The appeal of the bike was the ride (first and foremost), the simplicity, the looks with that little café fairing, quality of the engineering, fit and finish.
Were you looking at the 1977 R100RS to buy, as well?
I did not consider the RS at that time as I knew I was going to install a Black Windjammer SS III fairing with lowers for long distance touring. Little did I know that 2 years later an RS would be the premier long distance touring machine in my future.
Reaction of friends, family and other riders when you pulled up riding this?
I got a lot of crap from my fellow riders about owning a German 2-cylinder bike as those guys had Honda 750’s, Gold Wings, 6-cylinder CBX, etc. You sold this a year or so later (to your brother) to buy a Metallic Gold R100RS.
Did you have to convince your brother to buy it or was he an easy sell?
I sold my Kawasaki Z1 to my older brother when I bought the “S” in 1977, so it was an easy sell to my brother and I also got the Kawasaki back. There was some horse trading involved.
Any issues with the bike over the first 5-10 years that required dealer service?
No issues with the bike ever.
How long until you or your brother noticed the paint starting to fade?
I did not notice paint fade for several years and my brother kept it in a shed not covered since about 1980. The paint is original.
Changes or modifications you or your brother have done on this bike over the years?
I added Koni shocks when I installed the Windjammer fairing and longer cables, wire harness for clock, controls, etc.
When did you take ownership of the bike—again?
I took ownership again in March 2024. There were many weeks to bring it back to original condition as there was a fair amount of neglect as it sat in the shed. After I again had my bike back, I set about restoring it to original condition. I replaced all cables, rebuilt master cylinder, rebuilt brake calibers, rebuilt forks, rebuilt carbs, new mufflers, EME electronic ignition, plugs and plug wires, EME voltage regulator, new handle bars, grips, clock and volt meter wire harness, cleaned fuel tank from rust, greased wheel bearings and seals, pushrod seals, fluids and filters and remounted the café fairing. About $3,000.00 of parts and pieces. I worked with Matt at Euromoto electrics in Denver and they were very helpful in the restoration process.
What sort of feelings and memories come back when you see both these bikes parked together in your driveway/garage?
Working on the “S” bike brought back a lot of memories of travel to distant parts of the US, but the “S” is in Colorado and the RS in Florida. I had forgotten how much fun the “S” is to ride. It is simple, responsive and easy to ride. It is just as good that both bikes are not sharing the same garage as it would be very hard to decide which one to ride.
