From Pennsylvania to Vinalhaven, Maine for an R80GSPD
Posted: Thu Oct 14, 2021 9:43 pm
Hey fellas. Finally made the trip from western PA to Vinalhaven Island off the coast of Maine to make a deal on a 1984 BMW R80GS Paris Dakar. As one might imagine, it’s been an adventure and I’ve taken a ton of photos along the way. We left Vinalhaven this morning and are currently relaxing for the night at a quaint cottage outside Acadia National Park.
I don’t see much, if any dialog regarding the original GS bikes on this forum but I’m hoping there’s a few experts in our ranks who will be here to provide some insight along the path of her recommissioning.
Once I return home I intend to begin a partial teardown of the bike to perform some necessary service. Fluids, spline lube, carbs, valves, forks, wheel bearings, etc. I may end up going deeper depending on what I find. She has 38k miles and has seen some epic adventures from Maine to Montana, all the way up into Labrador and Newfoundland, all over New England and has spent the last 30 years as a resident of Vinalhaven Island. This afternoon she rode the ferry from the island to Rockland Maine and it’s unlikely she’ll ever return but I’d like to think that someday I’ll have the chance to ride her back.
I intend to do a more comprehensive write up upon my return and will try to share more photos. I apologize for the orientation as it seems no matter how they look on my computer, they come up sideways when posted to this site.
I don’t see much, if any dialog regarding the original GS bikes on this forum but I’m hoping there’s a few experts in our ranks who will be here to provide some insight along the path of her recommissioning.
Once I return home I intend to begin a partial teardown of the bike to perform some necessary service. Fluids, spline lube, carbs, valves, forks, wheel bearings, etc. I may end up going deeper depending on what I find. She has 38k miles and has seen some epic adventures from Maine to Montana, all the way up into Labrador and Newfoundland, all over New England and has spent the last 30 years as a resident of Vinalhaven Island. This afternoon she rode the ferry from the island to Rockland Maine and it’s unlikely she’ll ever return but I’d like to think that someday I’ll have the chance to ride her back.
I intend to do a more comprehensive write up upon my return and will try to share more photos. I apologize for the orientation as it seems no matter how they look on my computer, they come up sideways when posted to this site.