Gordon Commission
Technical Specification
Year 1975
Model R90S
Displacement 1000cc (61 cu in)
Power 72hp (54kW)
Torque 58 ft⋅lbf (79 N⋅m) @ 5,000 rpm
Transmission 5 Speed
Forks USD Öhlins FGRT
Alternator Silent Hektik 12 V • 400 Watts
Spark Plugs Bosch WR6DC
Fuel Tank 6.3 US gal (24 l; 5.2 imp gal)
Tires Bridgestone Battlax BT46 110/90 17 front • 120/90 17 rear
Rims Polished Sun Rims 2.5 x 17 front • 2.75 x 17 rear
The bike started life as a triple numbers matching Daytona Orange R90S ands lived locally in Southern California its entire life, still adorning its original California Blue Plate, issued in 1975. The bike was abandoned at a local dealership’s service department in a state of disrepair.
We bought the bike in a package deal long with other suitable donor motorcycles, at this time it was wearing an RTT fairing finished in the Daytona Orange paint scheme. It wasn’t pretty but clearly loved by its previous custodian .
The engine and gearbox have been fully rebuilt and vapor blasted, with displacement bumped from 900cc to 1000cc, thanks to the big bore kit supplied by Siebenrock. Along with the displacement increase, we added a lightweight flywheel and TwinSpark Ignition system. In stock form, the original engine performed at peak power of 65hp; the rebuild dyno’d at 72hp, marking a very impressive gain over the factory numbers, and significantly more than in its tired form.
Ohlins front and rear take care of the suspension. The Brembo GP4 calipers stop the front wheel, while our renewal of the original drum brake does a great job of stopping the rear. The wheels have been custom built front and rear to 17” diameter with polished Sun Rims and stainless spokes. The factory headlight bucket has been upgraded with an Adaptive LED JW Speaker light unit, supplied by Motodemic.
The paint scheme is Porsche Midnight Blue Metallic finished in a Smoke style in homage to the original finish applied to the R90S. the pinstripe is hand painted in Gold and the frame is finished in the same shade of blue.
Based in Woodland Hills, California, Mr Gordon is blessed with some of the state’s greatest riding roads . Here’s a fast, reliable vintage motorcycle that has all the handling and stopping power of a modern machine. It’s a simple looking machine, marrying high-end modern components and BMW parts from the airhead lineage.