Project BMW R1100 RS part 1 Don't start!

Or is it part four? Well, part four of our Kev’s missives and it’s the end of a very long road for his high-mileage BMW!

- KEV RAYMOND

I've had my 1997 BMWR1100RS for 11 mostly happy years. I originally ran it as a long-term project and product testing mule for another magazine, and at the end of the test period I was so attached to it – and it was so useful for my Channel-hopping existence at the time – I coughed up some of my own cash, found it a permanent home in the barn and turned it into a fully appointed long-distance tourer/commuter with heated seats, pimped electrics and heavily modified suspension.

Along the way I took it through the 100,000-mile barrier, at which point the engine got a strip and refresh, and I had a long-term plan to fit a brand new wiring loom, powder-coat the sub-frames and wheels, and generally make it all look nice again. But at the back end of last year I had a sudden realisation about the RS, which was that I was never going to get round to any of that – just too many other projects needing funds and time, both of which were in short supply.