1983 BMW R 100 RT

The 1983 BMW R 100 RT sits at the top of BMW's airhead touring range, the full-fairing sibling built for riders who want to cover serious distance rather than carve canyons. This is a bike designed around the boxer twin's low-end pull and shaft-drive reliability, with a frame-mounted fairing that shields you from weather at speed and a riding position tuned for hours in the saddle, not quarter-mile bragging rights. It rewards steady, mile-eating riding over aggressive throttle work, and owners tend to describe it less as thrilling and more as trustworthy. The 1983 model carried over without significant mechanical changes from the prior year — buyers comparing it to a 1982 example should focus on mileage, service history, and condition rather than spec differences. Today's buyer is usually a rider in their 40s or older who's owned sportier bikes and now wants something built for two-up touring or solo continental crossings, plus a smaller collector segment drawn to the airhead RT's mechanical simplicity. Values stay moderate but steady, with well-documented, low-mileage 1983 BMW R 100 RT examples commanding the strongest interest.