Hello....I am a newbie, Ok first newbie question,and please give me as many sarcastic remarks as possible. I've been shopping around for an early 80's R80 g/s,and I'm suffering from sticker shock. I'm wondering if it would be worth while to convert a 1985R80 street cruiser into a trail hammering G/S. I can get the R80 for $2000(one owner since 85...dealer service...etc etc etc) and the going rate for thestock 81-83 is more like $5000! "F" that "S". Is it worth while oh gods of the "G"? Aaron
Shame on you Luke for trying to bait this poor man into a project like that.Aaron, Pony up the extra 2-3K and get what you want. You will without a doubt spend more money and take years off your life doing a conversion. Ask me...I know!www.advmoto.com/gsmods
I agree with the previous poster. All sorts of mint 80GS's out there. Just saw one in Boise,ID for $6500 that was about as sweet,complete and mint as a guy could want. Check out the Internet BMW Riders for sale page, all sorts of old airheads out there. FN in MT
The street model comparable to the G/S is the R80ST. Lower, smaller front wheel, better front forks, chrome exhaust, bigger headlight, real instruments, chrome handlebars...otherwise identical. Usually much cheaper and lower mileage, also even rarer than the G/S. A nice bike, arguably better than the G/S for all but the gnarliest terrain. The ST is lighter and slimmer than the R80/7 of similar vintage. If you were planning on making the G/S really good for its puported purpose, and ST would make just as good a place to start, as you'd be replacing the forks and wheel and bars and shock and saddle anyway. Personally, I'd rather have the stock ST than the G/S. I don't thing you could "convert" a garden-variety R80 to a G/S, though you could certainly turn one into a big trailie.
Yea....*sigh* OK. I guess I'm spending $20 to save $10 in this case. My ultimate goal is to build the bike into a real Trail burner,but also maintain its street handling. I was also checking out an 91 R100G/S,but its just to big IMHO anyway. Motozilla,your site is pretty sweet! Are you able to adapt your products for the earlier G/S bikes?
this is my friend Toine's bike as he bought it and this is how it looks now here's mine as it looked when it found me: and here's a pic from a few weeks back since then I've added a white front fender, a small battery and rev counter.
Check ebay -- there's an '81 80G/S in GA for $4100 with Buy-It-Now. I dunno anything about the bike or seller, but it looks nice and clean.
Wow Lucky! Thats just the inspiration I was looking for. Can you give me details on what parts you used,and what needed to be done? Aaron
Yea Zilla,thats what I mean! I've been looking around the net for "proper GS's",and I really think I can build a much better G/S for around the same money. I bet I would end up upgrading the stock GS suspension to better suit me anyway.
The most expensive was a complete overhaul of engine and gearbox,including some tuning parts. The front end is a collection of various usedhonda parts. (XR/Transalp/Africa twin/CBR))The rear frame is from the earlier model r80g/s (monolever). I fitted a WPrear shock with adjustable compression and rebound.I will take it apart completely this winter and have the frame strengthenedand powdercoated (also paint the tank, this red crap looks awful).I also want more modern front forks (maybe WP extreme).For navigation I use a Touratech rally IMO and electrical Roadbook. Soonto be completed with... 276C garmin? not sure yet, maybe other model.I'f you don't have loads of cash to spend and need to make choices:spend it on suspension, this is the most important part of any dirtbike! most common mistake:upside down forks with ktm clamps severely reduce the steering angle.
Luke, Good advice. Whan you say rear frame do you mean the sub frame or the rear suspension is from an early R80GS? I agree with the KTM clamps. Another reason we built our own from scratch.
Hey Crankshaft, I've been dreaming of the same thing as you. Looking at LuckyLuke's and his friend's bike just pushes me further along. Don't get me wrong, my PD is a wonderful fireroad burner, but in the single track, the weight and fluff is just too much. That, and I want to keep that one somewhat stock, being that it's an early 1990 model, and you can't get some of the parts anymore (tank stickers, windscreen). So, an R80 is up my alley. Yet, I want to have the proper suspension and brakes, as well as ergos for real dirt riding. Stephen in TX is correct. The ST is your best bet (cost wise) for buying a project to start with. Many of the parts are interchangeable with the G/S. But don't go bragging to the airheads that you took a perfectly good R80ST and hacked it up to make a trail bike.
Thanks for the good words guys. I'm not a rich guy,and I would rather fabricate than lay a big pile of cash down right off the bat. I guess its easy to just drop $6k on a bright and shiny proper 81 G/S,but I wouldnt want to beat the living hell out of it. Zilla.your Goodies appear to be very quality stuff,but$5k is a bit out of my reach. I'll take the Luke method,and see what kind of trouble I can get into over the winter. I'm thinking of using a front end from a 91 R100 (225mm of travel compared to the stock R80 @170mm) if it will fit.我也看着XR400 and thoguth that might be the way to go also.I work part time for a SCCA Pro rally team,and I have access to fabricators,and good welders. I'm sure I can put something together! Zilla,do you have any old G/S stuff hangin around? Aaron
Aaron, Sorry mang, nothing for an airhead. All our stuff is Circa-Oilhead. I do have a set of Ohlins 45mm forks though. They'd make a nice stiff front end for your project. They need new seals but that's not a bigge at all. $375.
Wow zilla,I'll take them! What else will I need to make them work on the old R80? Drop me an e-mail so I can get in touch with you. Aaron [email protected]
