New to me: R80G/S

[ontic]

Time to share,
about a month ago next door to a place I am renovating, I stumbled across an R80G/S looking fairly unloved. Didn't look like it had ridden for a while- last rego'd about a year ago. Left outside uncovered.
It was not exactly the best time for me to start bike shopping again but due to the condition of it I was beginning to sniff out a possible good price on a bike I had wanted for a long time but had given up on due to the mania (and $$$)surrounding the things.

Long story short, I met the owner, very nice guy, he was in the process of moving out of the place, and did indeed want to sell the bike but hadn't got around to advertising it yet. I found out what I could about it, not much, and as it turned out one of the real bits of information was who this guy had bought it off- Ross G. of melbourne airhead parts fame, about 4-5 years ago.
Even with a cactus battery we got it started and one day I took if for a decent test ride. Engine good, possible noisy timing chain or something more sinister- but runs and feels great. Gearbox is good. Suspension a bit soft and bouncy.
Anyway, it is rough but a good runner. Covered in a sweat of corrosion that cleans off with a bit of elbow grease. Speedo needle is snapped off and the thing only does laps anyway. Trip meter button missing, in such a way that the hole left in the glass just funnels the water through...
Lots of other issues.

anyway, here's a few photos- feel free to make observations such as 'you seem to be missing your fork brace'
mostly it is not as bad as it looks, sometimes it is a little worse than it looks...



a bit of detail of the corrosion (this mostly cleaning up well), also notice the tank lining coming loose in the filter.


not even an old tarp to stop this happening


So, the deal was done- $3K and a bottle of rum
after a roll-start I rode it home on Friday afternoon. She goes like the clappers!
Staintune exhaust and SS headers are a nice plus.
Rear shock is a bit soft and bouncy. Leaking a bit of oil....
Anyway, a list longer than my arm is developing in my head of things to do.
Not sure of the path to go yet. Considering a few improvements/mods, but in reality I can't afford to start much of this for a while, or at least until I start selling off some of my parts from the 'spares' bike.

Cheers,
Hans.

[SteveD]

Lucky bugger.

If the speedo is the same as the R65 from the era, I might have some bits in a box that might come in handy. The 650's and 800's often interchanged bits and pieces, so you never know.

Yours for nix, as I have no use for them at all.

[ontic]

Thanks Steve
I do indeed feel like a lucky bugger, but now a poorer lucky bugger
Funny thing, all this over a big old heavy and corroded German dirbike eh!
If I didn't buy it, I knew I would be kicking myself for an eternity. Had to be done. Charlie and Peter provided some much appreciated online counseling during the long drawn out purchasing process

Thanks for the generous offer- I'll try to look into the applicability of the R65 speedo bits (any advice from other members welcome here). This is a funny thing, speedo only with a tacho as an optional separate add-on.

Past time to hit the sack,
Cheers,
Hans.

[Jean]

ontic, You need to change your signature...you've got another bike!!

On a more sober note, 3K seems like a lot considering the condition...but I don't know what bikes are going for down there...

[Zombie Master]

Great model to own. Send it to GSPD for a tune up and detailing.

[She'llbe]

I'd be interested in some more parts for my /6 project.

[Deleted User 287]

This is a funny thing, speedo only with a tacho as an optional separate add-on.

That's back when they made G/S's light!

applicability of the R65 speedo bits (any advice from other members welcome here)

As long as the small ratio numbers at the 6 o'clock position on the dial face match, you are good.
But, due to the HP differences, the R80G/S may have a different final drive ratio than the R65.

Congratulations!

[Deleted User 62]

I'd be interested in some more parts for my /6 project.

What parts are you looking for She'llbe? I have some stuff left over from a /6 Cafe project.

[ontic]

ontic, You need to change your signature...you've got another bike!!

On a more sober note, 3K seems like a lot considering the condition...but I don't know what bikes are going for down there...

Signature: will do.
Price: yeah, don't get me wrong. $3K seems a lot of money to me for a bike in this condition. If I am not careful it is going to need a fair bit of money before it is done. However, our market for these bikes seems to have gone absolutely silly over the last couple of years. Others will know more than me, but given the market I think I got it at a pretty good price.
here are a couple of examples. One that sold around the time I bought mine. http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll ... K:MEWAX:IT
One that didn't even hit reserve a month or two ago
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/BMW-R80-GS-Paris ... 4152d3b248

The first one is not running and needs just a bit more work than mine, the second one, well, it's a nice bike with the PD add-ons but that is just insane IMO.

Anyway, the sign of a good sale is when the seller and the buyer are both happy- our minimum and maximum prices had a fair bit of bending to do, but they met in the middle and we both walked away happy. Well, I think he ended up happy- that was what the bottle of rum was for.

[SteveD]

The pn's for the 80 v the 65 are different, so they're not a direct swap. However, once you open yours up, you may find lots of corroded/damaged/kaput intrinsic pieces in there, so the bits and pieces from the 65 speedo might be useful if needing to substitute parts. Re: ratio's etc, I guess a decent eyeball comparison of small parts should alert to differences.