Thanks to the S1000RR, the idea of BMW making a true sportbike is no longer a laughing matter. Back in 1999, however, BMW took the most powerful boxer engine it had at the time and made their most aggressive looking bike so far, the BMW R1100S. Despite the looks, this is more of a sport-tourer than an outright sports bike. The seller (who is the creator of Moto-Skiveez) of this example has put the emphasis on “touring” with several modifications that improved trips he had while the bike was parked in Germany – he flew out at least once a year to ride it in Europe.
As a 2004 bike (the last year of production), this comes with the upgraded dual-spark heads as well as standard features like heated grips, a tail cowl, ABS, and factory luggage. But this example has much, much more: Ohlins suspension (rebuilt in 2016), Booster Plug, Remus exhaust, Kaoko throttle lock, R&D bar back risers, Suburban Machinery peg lowering kit, Givi trunk, MRA wind deflector, and more. I also used to have a 2004 R11S with Ohlins suspension and I absolutely loved it as a touring bike with some spunk – Vy and I even used it for a 2-up trip down the Baja peninsula.
The seller of this example bought it in 2011 with 17k on the odometer, and he then “shipped it over to Germany to be stored at Knopf Tours in Heidelberg, Germany. About every year I’d go over at least once and do a two week trip riding various regions of the EU, mainly the Alps.” He shipped it back this spring because he was having too much trouble trying to sell it out there with US plates. It has 27,875 miles and it looks ready for plenty more.
Find this R11S for sale in Park City, Utah for $4,900 here on ADVRider.