Bikes you could get for $5000 in 1986

[faffi]

Imagine this was 1986 and you had 5k burning in your pocket, ready to be spent on a new motorcycle. Which ones of these do you think you could buy, and which ones were too costly?

BMW K75C
BMW R80RT
Cagiva Elephant 650
Harley Sportster 1100 XLH
Honda VFR750 Interceptor
Honda V65 Magna
Kawasaki 900 Eliminator
Kawasaki 900 Ninja
Guzzi SP II
Guzzi Le Mans
Guzzi Cali II
Suzuki GSX-R1100
Suzuki GV1200 Madura
Yamaha YX600 Radian
Yamaha FZ750
Yamaha 1200 V-Max

[guzzisteve]

I did !!!  I was running the family farm in Waterman, IL In 1984 I bought(still have) 84 LeMans 3, In 1986 I bought(still have) 86 Cali 2

Some of us MGNOC members DID not just thought about it!! THEN in 1988 I went PRO and started my Guzzi wrenching career.  I just don't boast about it Retired in 2016   Just so riders here know who answers their questions but never asks any.

The LM3 has 50K hard miles on it/hit by a car in 2007, the 86 Cali2 has 130K mi & pulls an SCF sidecar made in Waterman, IL & has never had the heads off still has 180#comp

[JJ]

In 1983, I bought a brand "RED" new BMW R80RT, (like this photo), and for a few years, it was my only transportation.  One of the best ALL AROUND motorcycles I have ever owned / ridden!   I had it for over 5 years and over 50,000 trouble free miles.,,

[faffi]

Glad to hear you enjoyed it

I test rode an R80RT of the second generation, the one with a single sided swingarm, a bike I really wanted to like. But I could not live with the bike going up 4 inches before moving forward, and the suspension was both soft and harsh at the same time. And there was a lot of noise and turbulence behind the fairing. All very unexpected. Perhaps it was an anomaly of its kind.

I aslo tested an R100RS from 1977, and it was plush, but again lots of wind noise, and the riding position unnatural for me.

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

In '86 I $$ "burning a hole in my pocket", so decided to buy a new bike. The candidates: left over '83 Laverda RGA Jota with Slater Bros. fairing and 3-into-1 exhaust, left over '84 Honda VF1000R, '86 Harley Sportster and the '86 Le Mans 1000. The Laverda was way too tall and top heavy, the Honda dealer didn't have one for me to even sit on and wouldn't order it until I paid in full, the Harley was fun but vibrated way too much. I bought the Le Mans 1000 at Snavely's in Gaithersburg, $4685 out the door.

I was a 23 year old "kid" with little self-control and quickly realized I was going end up in jail or the morgue if I kept it. Sold it after two years and bought a left over '86 Morini 350 K2.

[bad Chad]

Adjusted for inflation, today that 5k, is now $14,800 US.   Lots of really cool bikes out there is you want to spend the cash.