Hi All.

After suffering the misfortune of having my XRV750 stolen, I have recently purchased a 1986 R80G\S. The bike was very cheap and as such it is just intended as a winter hack however I would very much like to overland at some point in the future so I started thinking about what should be done in order to make an old Airhead BMW as reliable and suitable for an extended trip as possible. I have a little bit of experience with BMW motorbikes but any additional advice would be greatly appreciated. I have broken the various areas of the bike down into the following 9 categories and have included some of my thoughts which are totally open to criticisms or suggestions.


Frame

It would appear that the area around the headstock is pretty weak and also susceptible to flexing. Looking through the horizonsunlimited site I noticed that Chris Bright's R100GS actually snapped in half when the headstock weld failed. Something that I really wouldn't want to experience myself! I have seen that HPN reinforce this area with additional struts and also noticed that Kevin Beretta has had his frame strengthened around this area along with the mounting point for the shock. Is this a recommended modification? Is the bike likely to snap in half is I don't do this? It seems like a really big job which I wouldn't fancy doing unless it was totally recommended.

Subframe

Again from reading up on the horizonsunlimited site, it appears that the GS subframe simply isn't up to the job. Is it best to simply unbolt and through the original subframe away and start again from scratch or can the original be modified - if so does anyone know of any contacts in the UK who could do this? Also an idea of price would be greatly appreciated.

Suspension

Front end: My G\S has been modified to a twin disc set up on what looks like the original forks. As such the braking is greatly improved - the thing actually stops now! However the standard forks seem a bit skinny at 35mm so if possible I would like to improve this. My initial thoughts are to purchase the entire front end of an Africa Twin or Super Tenere and work out a way of grafting this set up onto the BMW. In an ideal would the 50mm forks that HPN offer would be great but they are simply too expensive at well over £1000. Any ideas?

Rear end: There is a lot of information on this forum about aftermarket shocks and it appears that fitting an Ohlins, WP or Works Performance shock is a mandatory requirement for overlanding so this will need to be done. After the XRV the BMW seems very low and I was wondering whether it would be possible to jack up the bike by fitting a slightly longer shock to the bike. Does anyone know if this can be done or will I run into problems with the angle of the shaft drive?

Wheels

The rims and spokes on the bike are both badly corroded. Chris Scott recommends fitting heavy duty wheels to any bike that is going to be overlanded so it would seem like the ideal time to rebuild the wheels with HD stainless spokes and excel rims. I would guess that rebuilding the rear wheel could be a bit tricky due to the shaft drive. Has anyone got any contacts in the UK who can do this?

Engine

I guess the name of the game in terms of the engine is to keep it standard - that way ordering spare parts on the road is greatly simplified and the thing should, hopefully, be fairly reliable. The bike has only covered 24,000Km so I would guess that the engine is going to be in pretty good condition. Are there any recommendations for improving the life of wearable parts? Is it worth having the engine rebuilt at this mileage? Should I fit a ceramic clutch plate? Again any advice greatly appreciated.

Gearbox

I've heard that the gearbox on the old airheads is a bit of an achilles heal. Is it worth having the entire box rebuilt before I set off? My bike didn't come fitted with a kickstart but I see that Motorworks (http://www.motorworks.co.uk/) in the UK offer a rebuilt box with kickstart for £420 - seems like a lot of money. Is it worth doing?

Electrics

Quite simply I am very poor when it comes to electrical troubleshooting. Is there anything that I can do to bullet-proof the entire electrical system before I set off? From looking in the motorworks catalogue most electric components seem to be pretty cheap - should I just replace the majority of components with new ones and hope for the best? Ideally I would like to run better lights, a heated waistcoat and heated grips off the bike - will the alternator be OK with these additional drains?

Tank and Fairing

The HPN 43L tank seems to be the way to go so that's what I'll probably end up getting. The G\S doesn't come with any fairing whatsoever and as such will probably be a complete pain to ride long distances on. In terms of adding an aftermarket fairing, does anyone have any suggestions? I've had a look at the Simpson (www.simpson-detour.co.uk) offerings which look pretty good but are they any better alternatives?

Exhaust

Finally in terms of the exhaust system, can anyone recommend a good quality 2into2 low level exhaust system that fits the R80G\S. I like the idea of symmetrical well balanced panniers and a 2into2 low level set up seems to be the best way to go. Any ideas?


Many thanks in advance for any advice or comments that anyone has to offer.

All the best


Alfie.