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From Pennsylvania to Vinalhaven, Maine for an R80GSPD

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Slash2
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From Pennsylvania to Vinalhaven, Maine for an R80GSPD

Post by Slash2 »

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.
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Western Pennsylvanian - Airhead Extraordinaire

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srankin
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Re: From Pennsylvania to Vinalhaven, Maine for an R80GSPD

Post by srankin »

You got a great bike! I always thought they were a cool BMW to have. As for experts on them, well, there are not many on the road. In the great airhead universe the R80GS bikes along with the ST were not built in great numbers as their siblings.

Not that any parts you need will be hard to source, they just will just need more search effort.

Enjoy the restore/tune up, and the riding. St.
Owner of a 84, R80RT and 78, R100RS

bremoit
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Re: From Pennsylvania to Vinalhaven, Maine for an R80GSPD

Post by bremoit »

Congrats on the new ride!

I've owned an 81 G/S since 2015 and have serviced and updated nearly every system on the bike. Happy to provide some insight and pass along my experiences, as needed.

If you are new to airheads (?) familiarize yourself with the MAX BMW parts fiche for your bike. Aside from NLA parts (and there are a few) sourcing parts is no more difficult than any other classic airhead. Boxer 2 Valve, Motorrad Elektric, Euro Motorrad Electric, BMW Bayer (DE), Motobins (GB) are just a few good sources.

ADV Rider has an active forum with many G/S owners, as well.

A few pics of the different tanks/seats/fenders---some came with the bike, others I've sourced over the years. It was originally delivered in the dark blue paint, as pictured.

I live in a rural part of the Ozarks in Arkansas. For me, this is the ideal bike. It's a billy goat off road and retains enough HP to tackle paves roads and interstate with ease.

Agreed, picture loading leaves a bit to be desired here.

Cheers!
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srankin
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Re: From Pennsylvania to Vinalhaven, Maine for an R80GSPD

Post by srankin »

I should clarify, engine, transmission, tune up parts and such are easy to source. Any trim, or body parts may be a bit more difficult to find as they were not built in the great numbers like the other models.

I remember riding a friend's brand new R80GS, if I had not been too broke at the time and had a place to park it, I would have had one along with my R80RT. St.
Owner of a 84, R80RT and 78, R100RS

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