Which classic BMW

[Shorty]

I would buy a BMW new enough to have Brembo brakes and hardened valve seats. Post 1983? I would love to have a '95 "last of the airheads."

[slopokes]

 :+=copcar '78 r80 is about the smoothest airhead you will find---just a notch below a k75 :BEER:

[Sheepdog]

Hey, Dusty...don't get excited. My 6 volt , generator equipped R60 only put out 28 hp and required frequent oil changes, tuneups, and valve adjustments. It was slow by any measure and compared to a modern bike the maintenance demands were great. Please note that I said I loved that bike. I really did, but it's superior qualities were about comfort and mile-munching; a sharp contrast to the sporting legacy of Moto Guzzi. It's no surprise that I've taken such a shine to my Vintage; it features the best vibe from both the stalwart Airhead Beemers and the Tonti Framed Sports of old!

[oldbike54]

 :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

 Sorry , Sheepdog , guess I did sound a bit strident  :-[ Still , most of my rant is true  :D

   Dusty

[Buckturgidson]

I owned two R65s, worst seats ever, spongey front end that nose-dived, shaft drive that jacked the seat up and down. But I still thought I had the world by the tail in college riding them with no protection but a $5 pair of Wayfarer knockoffs. Owned several Beemers later 'cuz I always thought they were best, then I figured out how BORING they are. Leave it to the Germans to design a telelever front end that removes feedback from the front tire, combined with a flat twin and an anemic exhaust note, bleh. Then there is the premium price and reliability issues on multiple models, so glad I have moved on.

[Buckturgidson]

Almost forgot, my last Beemer, an '05 R1200RT used a considerable amount of oil, even after 30,000 miles! They all do, that is part of the deal.

[Doppelgaenger]

You can still get R80s for quite cheap.

I've never owned a beemer, although I did quite a bit of proper research as I was shopping around for bikes before I decided I had to have a guzzi. What I did find out though is that the 80 was pretty much the best airhead engine that BMW ever made. So if you want a bike that has decent power, is still cheap and will eventually become a classic, it's hard to be the R80. Give it 10 years and you'll own a proper classic.

[Chuck in Indiana]

Talk about a cool bike to retro!


Dean

Man, that would be a nice one to cafe.. ~; :BEER:

[neverquit]

Thanks to everyone who took the time to write all the great responses.  I really appreciate all this and I've learned a great deal reading these posts. The toaster tank I was interested in sold before I even got a response from the owner.  Apparently if you want a nice one you need to move quickly.

[Buckturgidson]

Sorry about my cantankerous rant, an old airhead could be an endearing ride IF properly sorted.

[Lannis]

Maintenance intensive and underpowered compared to what , a 1960 HD or Triumph , or maybe a BSA from that
era  ???
  Dusty

Uh oh, look out, now you've "stopped preachin' and gone to meddlin'" ... !   :D

There's no way an early /2 or /5 could even come close in performance to a BSA of the same era, in handling or power ... Of maintenance, I'll say nowt but the BSAs and Bonnevilles were the "sport bikes" of the era and the Beemers were the old man's touring bikes ...

I must say, though, that when folks talk about the "character" of different bikes, and the slowness and the flat-blatt sound of old Beemers, they haven't touched on what gives a bike "character" to me.   For me, it's How many times did the bike bring you home, through any kind of weather, humming or zinging along without causing a lot of trouble ... ?   If a bike wants me to love it, that's all it has to do!    

Lannis

[dilligaf]

Yes. I would love to have one but........ I just gave up and purchased the LS.  The GS just sort of fell into my hands.

Uh oh, look out, now you've "stopped preachin' and gone to meddlin'" ... !   :D

There's no way an early /2 or /5 could even come close in performance to a BSA of the same era, in handling or power ... Of maintenance, I'll say nowt but the BSAs and Bonnevilles were the "sport bikes" of the era and the Beemers were the old man's touring bikes ...

I must say, though, that when folks talk about the "character" of different bikes, and the slowness and the flat-blatt sound of old Beemers, they haven't touched on what gives a bike "character" to me.   For me, it's How many times did the bike bring you home, through any kind of weather, humming or zinging along without causing a lot of trouble ... ?   If a bike wants me to love it, that's all it has to do!    

Lannis

What Lannis said. We put many-many miles on our R60/2 :+1 I also put many-many, not so trouble free, miles on a 1959 Triumph Bonneville.  :BEER:
Matt

[Chuck in Indiana]

  For me, it's How many times did the bike bring you home, through any kind of weather, humming or zinging along without causing a lot of trouble ... ?   If a bike wants me to love it, that's all it has to do!   

Well, our R100RT always got us there and got us home.. well, there was that one time with the charging issue.. but.. I *never* loved it. I just couldn't get into the feel of the engine, and the handling was mediocre at best.
That's why there are all kinds of motorcycles for all kinds of people. YMMV

[Lannis]

Well, our R100RT always got us there and got us home.. well, there was that one time with the charging issue.. but.. I *never* loved it. I just couldn't get into the feel of the engine, and the handling was mediocre at best.
That's why there are all kinds of motorcycles for all kinds of people. YMMV

Now you've got me thinking back over all my different bikes to remember if there's one I DIDN'T like for reasons of "feel" or "character" or "bonding" ....

I guess it was just time to change when I would sell a bike.   I really enjoyed my Centauro, but I didn't like the handling characteristic that made it feel like it was already halfway down to the road if the front end lost traction for just a second, and that's why I sold that one.   My GT-750 was closing in on 100,000 miles and I knew it would need an engine rebuild before long, which I didn't want to do.    The only explanation for selling the R65 for the rat Bonneville was the $3000 vs. $400 difference in value, plus a temporary madness.

But there haven't been any bikes I've had that I didn't like because of "what they were", I guess.

Lannis

[wrbix]

Why all the clamor about BMW exhaust note? ::)
Part of the Airhead appeal is/was their quietness.

[wrbix]

[Sheepdog]

My R60 sounded like a lawnmower...or so my HD riding friends would say (I think they were all jealous of the attention that bike garnered).

[Sheepdog]

Roy Orbison loved Classic-Era Beemers...

[Lannis]

Roy Orbison loved Classic-Era Beemers...

That's cool enough for me!   Roy Orbison was a class act his whole career ....

Now I want a /2 with a windshield, big tank, crash bars, and that funky seat .... !

Lannis

[Sheepdog]

...and Enduro saddlebags!

[wrbix]

,......and a sidecar!

[LongRanger]

Almost forgot, my last Beemer, an '05 R1200RT used a considerable amount of oil, even after 30,000 miles! They all do, that is part of the deal.

Actually, they all don't.

Sorry to hear about your bad experience, but glad you found something more to your liking.

[dilligaf]

With the exception of the Ducati, all my motorcycles use oil.   :BEER:
Matt

[motoguzzibill]

You won't go wrong with whatever /5,/6,/7 model you buy. It just depends on what paint scheme you like, condition of the bike, and the price. I've owned an R75/6 and an R90/6. 750 was very smooth but limited power, 900 more power, bit more shaking. Neither were as rock solid as a Guzzi in the corners. I'd push that R90 to the "rubber cow" point in the turns pretty easily. I ran a Hannigan, Vetter and Luftmeister fairings which the light build front ends of BMW's don't like. 

About the only thing I didn't like about either was both were too quiet, too smooth, sewing machine-like. Prefer the growl/rumble and shake of the Guzzi better. Still have an F650 GS single, but it's a very different animal, no shared genetics.
Enjoy whatever you buy,
Bill N.

[Chuck in Indiana]

Actually, they all don't.

Sorry to hear about your bad experience, but glad you found something more to your liking.

When BMW first went to Nikasil or whatever they call it, there was a rash of oil burning because the old farts just putt putted along like usual  ~; the cylinders glazed up and never did break in. That's about the time the ride em like you stole em came to be.. <shrug>

[jackson]

When BMW first went to Nikasil or whatever they call it, there was a rash of oil burning because the old farts just putt putted along like usual  ~; the cylinders glazed up and never did break in. That's about the time the ride em like you stole em came to be.. <shrug>

I lived in San Diego for 30 years and when BMW started using Nikasil cylinder liners (I believe it was in the 1981 models), one of the 65+ owners that I knew from the BMW club told me that you shouldn't ever rev the BMW twin over 4k rpm's because you would hurt the engine.  I told him that I rarely rode below 4500 rpm on my R100RS and he told me that I was just asking for trouble.  There were a lot of older riders back then that had this same belief. They didn't want to discuss it; they were convinced that they knew what they were talking about. 
I also ran into a BMW rider from Orange County on the Ortega Hwy at the Lookout hamburger joint above Lake Elsinore who told me that he never changed his oil in his BMW twin because it was a BMW and it never needed changing.  My wife was riding along with me on her BMW/EML sidecar rig that day and when she heard him say this, she immediately started laughing; but the guy didn't "get-it" that she was laughing at his insane statement.  There are a large number of misinformed people out there riding around on motorcycles. 

[NC Steve]

Here is my 3rd R65, a 1982. The other 2 were both 1984s.

I fixed two of the R65s weak spots, by

1) changing the stock shocks (junk) with a new pair of Hagons. And more dramatically,
2) Changed the final gearing by installing a taller rear end, which greatly lessened the R65's vibration right at highway speeds, 65-70mph, and dropped the revs to give the bike much longer legs to run with. This transformed the bike, and I kept the original rear end if I ever wanted to change it back.
I've also done a lot of other good things with the bike, and parts are very easy and cheap to find.

This is by far the nicest one of the three R65 I've owned, in both appearance and function (and might be for sale sometime before long  ;) )

[dilligaf]

Here is my 3rd R65, a 1982. The other 2 were both 1984s.

I fixed two of the R65s weak spots, by

1) changing the stock shocks (junk) with a new pair of Hagons. And more dramatically,
2) Changed the final gearing by installing a taller rear end, which greatly lessened the R65's vibration right at highway speeds, 65-70mph, and dropped the revs to give the bike much longer legs to run with. This transformed the bike, and I kept the original rear end if I ever wanted to change it back.
I've also done a lot of other good things with the bike, and parts are very easy and cheap to find.

This is by far the nicest one of the three R65 I've owned, in both appearance and function (and might be for sale sometime before long  ;) )

Me to.  Except  replaced the rear shocks with Ikons and the front springs with Progressive.  The former owner replace the final drive. Speedometer isn't even close, reads about 80 at 60 actual.  Great handling little bike and make more than enough power for me.  :BEER:
Matt

[NC Steve]

Strangely enough, my speedo is dead on, much more so than with the stock gearing.
I've checked it against several radar speed readers, and it's always within 1 mph high or low.
Surprised me, but I love it; it's the most accurate speedo I've ever had.

[gary martin]

fwiw, several years ago at a Finger Lakes Rally tech session Tom Cutter and another well known airhead guru were asked which of the pre-oilhead bikes they would consider the best.  Their choice was the 1977 R100/7.