Thoughts on the R80?
 

I recently was offered an R80 at a great price but I'm wondering how suitable they are for overlanding. All mentions on this site seem to refer to the GS and G/S variants. Why is that? According to this site http://verrill.com/moto/bmwchron/index.shtml, the R80 seems fairly similar and even superior in a few respects and yet its praises remain rather unsung on the HUBB and elsewhere on the net. Bearing in mind that I'd only be offroading in an emergency or to get around obstacles, would the plain old R80 be sufficient for an Aus-Euro trip?

[This message has been edited by JasonK (edited 03 May 2004).]

[This message has been edited by JasonK (edited 03 May 2004).]

First off - there are a few R80 but I am assuming that you are refering to the early to mid 80's standard (no fairing, dual rear shocks). An excellent Bike, as you have no doubt heard. Many have done RTW on R80's of various descriptions, from 70's /7's to full faired RT's. To be clear, there is little difference between the R80 and R100 bikes assuming similar year/ model. The R80 has less power, tends to be a bit smoother and perhaps a bit better on gas, if not pushed hard. Almost everything said about the R100 goes for the R80 as well.
The G/S or GS varients are prefered for their longer travel suspension, different front tire size (21' vs 18'), sometimes larger fuel capacity (in PD form - biggg tanks), and slightly more dirt worthy body work.
In short, the R80 would make a fine mount for overland trips, provided the bike is appropriately preped (as any bike needs to be). Search the site for 'R80' and 'R100' and lots of good info will come up.

Jason,

My girlfriend rode an R80ST on our trip (UK to South East Asia) and it was great - far less trouble than my GS and very suitable for overlanding. The only mod we made, apart from having pannier frames built, was to change the standard 13 litre tank for a 24 litre Paris Dakar, which fitted perfectly.

The only problem was the low front mud guard which filled with mud in Laos and led to her falling off and fracturing an ankle (end of trip).

Plenty of pics of the bike and pannier frames, etc on our site.

Harvey

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no pipe, no slippers
www.chasingthesun.org

I've owned an the R100 in GS form and ridden countless R80's. The R80 is alot smoother and even the gearbox seems better. I agree with Harvey that a bigger tank would be of benefit for overlanding as the standard tank range is not huge.

If you decide to buy the bike it's worth bearing in mind that, dependind on its age and mileage, there may be some considerable preperation required to make the bike reliable and suitable for a long overland trip. There are loads of threads on this site devoted to this very subject.

[This message has been edited by mcdarbyfeast (edited 12 May 2004).]