I’ll be getting off my string of vintage BMW S bikes soon, I promise. But before I do, I have one last vintage ad to share. This one really highlights the bike’s ability to tour and cover great distance at great speed. The leap in technology to today is just incredible, as the comparable bike would be the tech-laden K1600GT. What a difference 35 years makes.

Subtract 35 years to 1943. BMW had more than doubled the horsepower output from ’43 to ’78, just as it has again from ’78 until now. But everything else about the bikes was much more similar to it’s earlier brethren. Disc brakes were the radical advance in technology. Everything else was pretty archaic: conventional suspension (compared to today’s paralever and telelever to counteract shaft drive oddities), carburettors and petcocks predating fuel injection, no ABS or traction control, no stereos with MP3 or satellite radio options, no GPS, no self-leveling headlights or electronic suspensions adjusting at the press of a button…

The R90S/R100S may not be as classically beautiful as the old “/2″ Earles fork models, that’s for the eye of the beholder to decide, but if you’re seeking an interesting vintage bike the R100S is a particular gem. They sell for old Triumph amounts of money, but are far more rare. Easily my pick for an awesome, do-it-all vintage bike that still exudes style.