1970s & 80s BMW R100Rs. Yay or nay?

[Hobbyhorse]

BMW's are old mans bikes.

Good to have that confirmed John. Is there much of a waiting list for the BMW Zimmer frame?

[Hobbyhorse]

Good to have that confirmed John. Is there much of a waiting list for the BMW Zimmer frame?

Come to think of it, that is probably the current classification of my 1988 BMW R80RT.

[Voltaire]

Good to have that confirmed John. Is there much of a waiting list for the BMW Zimmer frame?

I got my first BMW at 25... seem like 1/4 of a century ago..eek it is.

[Yamahardman]

I got my first BMW at 25... seem like 1/4 of a century ago..eek it is.

Was that your bmw sidecar i saw at battle of the streets a few weeks ago?

[Voltaire]

Was that your bmw sidecar i saw at battle of the streets a few weeks ago?

No, that was Nodrog and Stirts on the red BMW.

I only run at the track meets.

[Yamahardman]

No, that was Nodrog and Stirts on the red BMW.

I only run at the track meets.

Haha cool. Who has the maroon triumph sidecar, the one that looks like a speed twin?

[Voltaire]

Haha cool. Who has the maroon triumph sidecar, the one that looks like a speed twin?

That's Wille, He has had that bike for a long time, and even taken it to Isle of Man I think. He goes hard on it.
You want to get along to some classic racing at HD or Taupo.
Crisismanagement has a BMW R80 for sale as he is moving house.
http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/moto...-697164541.htm

[Yamahardman]

That's Wille, He has had that bike for a long time, and even taken it to Isle of Man I think. He goes hard on it.
You want to get along to some classic racing at HD or Taupo.
Crisismanagement has a BMW R80 for sale as he is moving house.

ah rats! i just brought another car, haha
that guy is a machine!

[GrayWolf]

I'm 21, and I have a general disdain for modern bikes. Its like you've got 4 main catagories to choose from/ 4 main typecasts to fit into when you buy a new bike.

1. Supersport/ Sport- skin suited, graphics helmeted, younger person
2. Adventure Tourer- older person riding a swiss army knife of a bike
3. Motorrad- crazy hooligans
4. Cruiser- cruiser rider/ 1%er prospect/ 1%er

Id love to be able to get something with the styling of 70's roadster, with the go of a modern sportbike, the sound of something lumpy, light handling, versatile and able to just tick along at 100kms.

Hence the want of a bmw r80/100, it ticks most of those boxes....

I've owned both BMW and Guzzi.... My Beemer was a GS1000 (frame outside fairing model) from the early 1990's. If you can find one of these later airheads, they sorted? out the clutch/gearbox.. had good charging system. From memory they do 'thump a bit' but the sweet spot was around 5k rpm, at that point it was smooth and felt 'right'. They are fantastic bikes if ridden the way they are intended, fast touring, not thrashing.

Guzzi? I luuuuuurved my Guzzi's, when the MT is gone the new 1400cc California could be a serious contender. The late 90's onwards Guzzi's are a far better machine than the older ones for build/reliability.. but they still have the 'Italian' foibles!

Enjoy the Beemer, they are great machines... so are Guzzi's . Both are a bit idiosyncratic for ownership, both are rewarding to ride.

Reading your 'requirements' though, a look at the Suzook GS1400, Yamaha XJR11/12/1300, Honda CB1300, Kwaka Z1100/1200 would fit your bill. They are all modern takes on the 1970/80's UJM. I have ridden the GS and XJR, both have torque to spare, great acceleration (especially roll on), both will competently top 200kph if required.
Which brings to mind another venerable machine to consider, the stately FJ11/1200.... a serious touring machine and I can vouch for the FJ as a fantastically competent machine, as LONG as you dont try to 'sportsbike' ride it... it's long low and heavy, so 'ocean liner' cornering would be an apt description, but once mastered? You can tromp on with a fair rate of quickosity.

[Padmei]

Airheads get under your skin. You either like them or not. You can spend a lot of money quickly if you want them to handle like a modern bike but they prob never will.
I have a couple & like them but aren't into going fast or long tours etc. My R80GS is lovely at 4500-5500revs - really sweet & relaxed motoring. A lot of owners such as myself love the tinkering as much as the riding - they are very easy to work on.

I wouldn't personally buy into that reliability bullshit - go over to advrider & check out the airhead forum over there
http://advrider.com/forums/forumdisp...aysprune=&f=85

I quite like Motoguzzis too but the cool looking ones are far & few between on Tme.

[Voltaire]

Airheads get under your skin. You either like them or not. You can spend a lot of money quickly if you want them to handle like a modern bike but they prob never will.
I have a couple & like them but aren't into going fast or long tours etc. My R80GS is lovely at 4500-5500revs - really sweet & relaxed motoring. A lot of owners such as myself love the tinkering as much as the riding - they are very easy to work on.

I wouldn't personally buy into that reliability bullshit - go over to advrider & check out the airhead forum over there
http://advrider.com/forums/forumdisp...aysprune=&f=85

I quite like Motoguzzis too but the cool looking ones are far & few between on Tme.

Wise words.
Don't you find the ADV Airhead section gets repetitive? Some useful stuff there but you have to read a lot of crap to find it, unlike this fine forum
See R65s are increasing in value...money in the shed.

[Padmei]

Wise words.
Don't you find the ADV Airhead section gets repetitive? Some useful stuff there but you have to read a lot of crap to find it, unlike this fine forum
See R65s are increasing in value...money in the shed.

Yeah it does get repetitive but I have been in there for so long & still find out interesting titbits. A lot of modern bmw riders seem interested in the old ones - well I find that when i park it in public somewhere. I must actually go for a ride soon.

[Motu]

I've been on ADVrider since 2001, almost when it started...a break away from some over moderated BMW GS site. I found them when looking for some info on my XLV750, of course being American they knew nothing about it, but have stayed with them ever since as I find more info on all sorts of stuff there. Now I have an Airhead, I find the Airhead section to have more info than any of the other stuffy BMW sites. Americans are such know alls about everything, you just have to do a lot of sifting and ignoring to get any real gems.

[Padmei]

I've been on ADVrider since 2001, almost when it started...a break away from some over moderated BMW GS site. I found them when looking for some info on my XLV750, of course being American they knew nothing about it, but have stayed with them ever since as I find more info on all sorts of stuff there. Now I have an Airhead, I find the Airhead section to have more info than any of the other stuffy BMW sites. Americans are such know alls about everything, you just have to do a lot of sifting and ignoring to get any real gems.

Yeah I hear ya. I have to say it is a lot better since supershaft & plaka aren't posting every 2 secs.
have you checked out the shiny things thread? Some amazing cool things like the trucks & vans & then you can check out - boots......