The Motorcycle that saved BMW

As the 70s rolled around BMW found themselves in need of a class leading superbike. After the R75/5 didn't quite accomplish that, they went back to the drawing board and came out with one of their most iconic bikes of all time, and arguably one of the most important early sport touring motorcycles in history

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Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing."

[davidellis]

I was fortunate to work at a BMW dealership in Fort Lauderdale in the 1970s (441 Cycle Shop) after the local H-D dealer said "Get lost, kid." My 5 years working for George & Lucille Jacques taught me that BMW stood for "Best Motorcycles in the World"! Bought a used 1971 R75/5 for my daily rider and even roadraced it in the Summer of '76 at Palm Beach International Raceway. What a blast! Now that I'm retired I'll be planning a retoration of that bike. Keep up the great two-wheeled work Bart.

[vernonspady]

Absolute agreement with your opinion...the most beautiful bike EVER MADE. I had a 1981 R65, and I loved it! Simply perfect machine. The R90S was, indeed, a dream bike...STILL IS!

[chrispiatt]

Nicely done. This was an enjoyable watch. I've got a 77 R100S that has been my daily rider/commuter/touring bike for the past 5 years. It is just such a lovely bike to ride. There is definitely something special about these S bikes that just exudes timeless class and coolness, but with a touch of refinement.

[stephenland]

I bought a new R75/6 back in 1974. I put on an Avon fairing and Krauser saddlebags. What a dream machine! Easy transportation around town, to school and back as well as an excellent touring bike, it did it all.

[bennyboogenheimer]

Timeless Beauty & Function.
Bob Lutz single handedly saved the Air Head.
BMW was racing to be the first inline water cooled motorcycle,
but Suzuki came out with their water head 2 stroke, just as Bob took over a BMW.
That gave him the breathing room Lutz needed.
I remember the BMW Dealer telling Dad they're building 1, 560 320i Cars for each bike
they build. They're built at break even pricing. My Uncle got a new 5 speed, 1975 R750S/T
with the new Front Disc brake. $2, 300.00, and $60.00 for the hard aluminum side bags.
2 years later he got a Honda Gold Wing, so his bags were a perfect fit.
He rode from Philly to Canada, Alaska, Mexico, California, every year somewhere far away.
He got an R90S as an every day driver, and put on 328, 000 miles, with 0 breakdowns.
He'ld jump on and call Mom from Maine, having lobsters for dinner, or NC having stone crabs, and be back at work on Monday morning.
He worked for JVC, and built himself a backpack of stereo equipment that plugged into his bike.(the speaker rode on his thighs) I still remember passing him on I-95 at 70mph, and hearing China Gold blasting from his vest. lol!

[mguerramd]

I got a ride on an R75/6 and had to have it. I toured the American west several times on that scooter. It was so smooth and lovely and easy to maintain. That Beemer was my touring bike and a Ducati 750 Sport was my cafe racer. Then some arsonist kid set my garage on fire. Both scooters went up in smoke. Disaster. I missed those bikes so bad. Later I got an R1100 and a Ducati 888SPO. But that R75/6 was a dream. Light enough, powerful enough, VERY comfortable. It was great as a touring bike and a commuter. I wish they would make it again!
At the 14:30 mark you can see the Ducati that Cycle magazine severely modded for racing. They called it "Overdog". They modded it so much and hit a problem of top end power, that stumped them for a while. Well they had the thing flowing so much air that the petcock inside diameter was too small to flow enough fuel! How they figured that one out I don't recall. But they opened up that petcock and won the 1977 AMA Superbike race at Daytona. I believe the editor raced it, Cook Nielson. Man those were heady days for a young man who loved motorcycles. Cycle had articles all about how they modded it and the race results. I couldn't wait to get every new issue! They went up against Beemers in that racing class. I think Reg Pridmore was the BMW rider to beat. Everyone waxes nostalgic about their "good old days" and at age 68, boy do I ever! The 70's had an explosion of aftermarket performance development, people were churning out every kind of race mods, engine, exhaust, suspension. Luftmeister for BMW, I had a bunch of their stuff on my R75/6. If you are young now, enjoy every minute you can on your motorcycles. A time will come when you might not be able.

[johnoneill]

I had an 75/5 in the early 70's. Smooth and could cruise two up at 80 MPH easy. A great bike!

[littleshopofelectrons]

The supposed pictures of Bob Lutz are actually pictures of John Delorean and Carrol Shelby.

[grahamhill]

Very enjoyable vid, and bang on the money too. I absolutely adored the pamphlets I collected circa 1978/79 as a kid with the Beemers gorgeous smoky paintwork, of course by then it was the R100RS which looked like a spaceship at the time. A mate of mine had one of these 90/6s in the early nineties, man he could hustle it. Fantastic motorcycle.

[CaliforniaFly]

I bought a used R75/7 in 1997. Someone had put a Windjammer fairing and two-up touring seat on it, which I took off as soon as I could find a stock seat and an R90/S fairing. Took the gas tank to a radiator repair shop and had the tank hot dipped to completely strip it and had pin holes in the bottom of the tank brazed up. Had a professional repaint the tank and a new front and rear fender and the fairing. Had Bing rebuild the carbs which I balanced myself, had the radiator guy repair a broken Luftmeister bag mount, (It turned out that the radiator shop owner owned a R75/5), replaced random parts as needed and rode the bike from Memphis TN to San Diego CA to Malibu and back on a one month vacation. 
I loved that bike, I wish I never let it go.

[bigmikeh]

Nice job. The R90S came out shortly before I got my street license, and we all lusted after them - at twice the price of the Honda CB750. A friend got one with inherited money, and wow it was light years ahead of my RD350 for any ride longer than 35 miles. Over the years I had several R75s, R90s and R100S's, and only the R100S came close to the experience of the R90S. A great bike even if it had 10-15 hp less on top than it should have.

[thomaslubben]

Very well done. Did justice to all the Airheads, in my garage and others. They are still my everyday rides.

[roverchap]

The R90S always had twin front discs, right from the start of production in September 1973. It was the first production bike to do so.

[FraserRobertTorpy]

What a great film! I'll remember this next time the rocker arm freeplay needs adjusting on my R100 :)

[clasqm]

Nice video. Now do one on the R100RS, the bike that singlehandedly created the sport-touring category.

[perpehrson]

Great description on R90S. Just as R69S was made to compete with English "performance" bikes in the sixties R90S was made to compete with Japanese bikes in the seventies.
BMW was not forerunner in in horsepower or speed but has their own way of defining reliability combined by design from way back in 1923! I'm sure my no 2 bike will be an R90S from 1976... It will be a perfect cousin to my 69S from '66 🙂

[davgb]

Enjoyable video. I had a 74 R90S for over 30 years. It remains the very best bike I've ever owned (and there are a few). I would buy another new one today in a heartbeat above anything else. The subsequent RS and RT (and the original GS) were also ground breaking. I don't believe any of them have been bettered by BMW since then - indeed, a lot has been lost.

[joeybobbie]

Great Video. I remember back in 1979 Owning a Z1 900 Kawasaki. It was a incredible Bike back then. I have owned just about every Brand and Size Bike out there. I found my Favorite Bike of all Time, when I got my BMW R1200GS. Everything about the GS makes me happy. I think it’s the Best Motorcycle ever made. Thanks for the Video.👍👍

[spencerderosier]

I like Bart exponentially more than fort nine. No constant attempts at immature humor that fall flat. Just a good ol fashion documentary.

[maxbarko]

I still remember my driving lesson in Germany in the mid 80s. I had to change from a Yamaha soft chopper (maybe a 500) to the BMW R80 and it felt as if I were riding a bicycle. The centre of gravity was so low it was so easy to handle it. In Germany they were called „rubber cow“ as they dived in the suspension when breaking.