Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126503
.-I 00 C') .-I BMW'. R 80 GIS Is a welk:raftad machine, able to get around In the dirt but far n-. comfortable on pavement. The "monolev"" ...... end lends a unique look. By Mark Kariya Though not noted for radical changes in their motorcycle group (made up of horizontallyopposed two cylinder four-stroke street bikes for decades), the good folks at BMW have sprung one on us this time with their R 80 GIS. While it still .. h" . UUI!zes t ~Ir u~e-proven engt~e desIgn (dlsplacmg 798cc), theIr 10 latest offering is at once the biggest, heaviest, fastest, most powerful and most unusual dual purpose bike in recent memory. BMWs have long been praised for their street capabilities, so it may come as a surprise that BMW would market a combination street/dirt bike. However, they competed successfully for years in the ISDT with 750cc din-only one-offs ridden by beings who looked like German versions of NFL linesmen. And in the 1980 SCORE Baja 1000, the team of Herben Sehek and Tom Sachenacher rode a 1017cc special to lith place in Class 22 (Open bikes), finishing in 19 hours and 48 tninutes after getting lost and spending an hour trying to fmd the finish line in the streets of Ensenada. So, BMW does have the knowledge and experience to product competent din bikes, but what of this marriage of street and din in the R 80 G/S? To begin with, it is mainly a street bike that will do an acceptable job of going off the highway, provided you don't want to go very fast or get into extremely rough terrain once you're there. It is for the gentleman off-roader, the type of man who might like to have fourwheel drive capability in his BMW 528i to satisfy moments of curiosity or daring, but not at the expense of the plush ride, good power and low ride height inherent in his vehicle. The R 80 G/S is a street/touring machine first and a din bike second, the weighting on each being, perhaps; • 80/20.. We pi~ked up our test bi~e. in Phoemx, AZ JUst ~ore Th.anltsgtvmg at a super press mtroductlon of the 1981 lineup counesy of BMW of NOM America, Inc., the U.S. imponer of BMW cars since 1975 and U.S. importer and marketer of BMW motorcycles since October 1980. After thorough scrutinizing and shon test rides on any '81 model, we were allowed to take R 80s back to our respective offices for more demanding testing. The initial impression of the bike is visual. A large white steel tank with blue and purple knee panel sections is attractive, clean and in proponion to the big engine unit below. Right behind the tank, though, is the long seat, reddish-orange in color. The reactions it drew from those who saw it were predominantly negative or neutral; few liked the color enough to comment to favorably about it. A white plastic front fender keeps some of the muck away from the rider. We didn't test it for resistance to breaking, but it did seem fairly pliant. The rear fender is a, stiff black plastic item that blends unobtrusively into the rest of the bike. It's quite long and angles downward in the back to give the tail/ stop light and license plate a place to sit. Most of the remainder of the R 80 is pretty standard dual purpose fare with the exception of the rear suspension which will be covered later. Only a center stand is provided (a side stand is optional), however, and at times it does become rather tedious lifting all the weight for a shon park. For off-road protection, a small skid plate is provided. It only coven a small 'llt'ea-'Of -eee&;- .te-Ifh." ~ n:b_ pipes sweep down, connect under the rear of the engine and a single pipe tucks in on the left side of the bike, meeting an upswept, high muffler. The rear tum signals are flexi-rubbermounted to increase their crash resistance. , This Bimmer, like its brothers, is good on those long rides. A case of saddlesore crept up after the first hour on board the bike while traversing the long intentate back to the Cycle News offices in Long Beach, CA. However, the seat's foam seemed to soften in subsequent rides so this should not be a problem after it's broken in. The engine and gearbox are similar to the discontinued R 80 street bikes, sharing the new linerless aluminum cylinders featuring nickel-coated working surfaces, electronic ignition and other subtle differences common to the rest of the '81 line. The final drive ratio is lower than all but the R 65 to better meet the requirements of off-road riding. Given the combination of broad, smooth power and well-spaced gear ratios, there is almost nothing the engine won't be able to handle. Fint is low enough to allow slow frolicking in the din while fifth acts almost like an overdrive. At 55 mph, the engine is just loafing along smoothly. Kick it up to 75 or 80 and it's still comfonable. In fact, it should be able to top out at just over 100. Don't worry about the tires at that speed. The made-for-the-R 80 Meuelen are speed rated in order to handle high speed touring on the Autobahn and with their unique tread, work fairly nicely in both paved situations and hard-packed dirt. The single-plate dry clutch is 40% lighter this year, according to a BMW press release, and requires !O% less effon_ Whatever they did, it worked. The clutch is wonderfully light to pull and engages progressivley. At night, the headlight works well on both high and low beams. A position is provided on the high/low switch for flashing the high beam mol1lentuii¥' so lipal your intention of passing. In the dark, the bue high beam indicator light in the control panellleellled to glare a litde too hanhIy, distracting the eyes from the road. It was visible in all but the brightest, most direct sunlight, though. Controls fall readily at your fingertips. The straight-pull throttle.. dogleg levers and flared grips are comfonable and easy to use. Your left thumb can become quite busy operating the choke lever, hom, high/low beam switch and tum signal switch, however, sometimes causing you to search quickly before hitting the correct switch. The black braced handlebars are okay and don't force you into strange contonions with your arms and wrists to comfonably hang on. Serrated pegs are a nice touch and placed well, but lack any real sawtooth edge so wet boots become prone to slipping off. The speedometer is housed in a black plastic cowling which lets the headlight peer through the front and has a panel to the right of the speedo with six idiot lights. The odometer is resettable to zero with a small rubbercovered button at the bottom of the speedo face. Everything is easily. readable and well laid out. For those who intend to do much touring on this bike, BMW offers an optional bolt-on bracltet and saddlebag that fits on the right side of the bike, the side where you'll find the bike's only shock. That's right, its only shock. BMW's "monolever rear axle swingarm" uses a single lay-down, gascharged Bilstein that is three-way adjustable for preload. The shock is also mounted on the only swingarm leg (which doubles as the housing for the drive shaft), producing a rear end that looks even weirder than it sounds. On the left side of the rear wheel is ... nothing. You could conceivably change a tube or tire without loosening a single nut! If it does become necessary to remove the wheel, just take off three nuts on the left side of the hub. BMW claims that the set-up provides 5()~,., ..~atG,· ,tGUiona!