2002-04-13

Picking up an R80ST

I flew to California yesterday evening and bought a 1983 R80ST that I won in an auction from Ebay. I am riding it back home to Seattle. It's just 700 miles in two days so there will be time to see a few sights along the way.

I rode back through the mountains at altitudes of 4,000 to 5,000 feet. There was snow at that altitude but the temperatures were comfortable and the views, well, God gave northern California more than its fair share of spectacular views.

I took this photo on the way to Mt. Shasta. Shortly after the clouds started rolling in and by the time I got to Mt. Shasta it was raining.

The BMW R80ST is considered by many to be the best air-cooled boxer ever built. It is the street version of the popular R80GS. They made it for only three years (1982 to 1984 though I've never seen one from 1982.) Total production was only 5,963 motorcycles with fewer than 1,000 going to the U.S. The bikes are rare but parts are still easy to find thanks to sharing many components in common with other models.

I can understand why the R80ST is such a desirable bike. Its light weight and low center-of-gravity combine to endow it with nimble, razor-like handling. It is an absolute joy to maneuver at any speed. The engine is probably the smoothest twin ever built by BMW or anyone else. Vibration is virtually non-existent at most speeds and barely detectable at others. I used to gush about how underrated the R65 was but the R80ST has all of its good features and none of the negatives. I'll save more details for my review.

Despite its good features this motorcycle is giving me some trouble. When the engine is warm it idles at 3,000 rpm. I don't know what could be causing it but it's more of a nuisance than something that would stop me from getting home so I press on.

Later, it dies and leaves me stranded on the side of the road. Look up "miserable" in the dictionary and there you will see a picture of me pushing a motorcycle on the shoulder of a busy highway in the rain and getting splattered with muddy water by passing trucks. After a few minutes it restarts and I make it to my hotel for the night. I hope it will be better tomorrow.