ACHTUNG!!!

I like it! It's not a soulless machine, like so many modern machines. I had a Moto Guzzi that met an unfortunate end, but like the BMW they effortlessly chew up miles, and at superslab speeds. I'm sure it will remain in your stable until you hang up your helmet for good. (Hopefully a long way off)
 
Yes, the Reynolds Ride-Off stand, very popular accessory for the airheads. I actually liked the original though. It was designed by BMW to be a work stand. It was strategically placed about at the midway point of the bike so if you pulled either wheel, the bike rocked back onto the other. I also find it not too difficult to deploy. BMW logically put the lift handle nearly right above the stand. But a warning - DON'T step on the flimsy tang to deploy the stand. It's only there to drop the stand to the ground or lift it back up under the bike. You step on the back end of the left leg to use the stand. There's a little foot pad there, take a look, you'll see it.
 
Really beautiful bike Pete, but I'd like to see her a bit more...well...naked. Winters' coming so I can understand keeping the fairing on till spring. But by late spring she would be stunning with a smaller sports/cafe fairing. There is a hell of a girl buried in there.
 
Really beautiful bike Pete, but I'd like to see her a bit more...well...naked. Winters' coming so I can understand keeping the fairing on till spring. But by late spring she would be stunning with a smaller sports/cafe fairing. There is a hell of a girl buried in there.

Naw...the fairing is what makes her buxom and I like ‘em...buxom.

Pete
 
Naw...the fairing is what makes her buxom and I like ‘em...buxom.
The RT fairing is a bit fuller, maybe as you say more buxom.
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Keep rhe fairing on. Trust me. It works well. Summer and winter. I rode one her siblings 4 out of 5 years I was in her homeland . Summer and winter. True, a RT fairing might have been a better touring experience. The RS made a great sport tourer. I had the saddle bags too. We went to England, Luxembourg, sped on Belgium bahns getting back to base in time for work. Mine did 205 kph on the Autobahn with bags.
 
Back when R-series Beemers were cheap and parts were even cheaper...

I bought an ex-Polis R80RT with about 80K on it. Think I only paid £250 at the time.
WIthin the next six months the only things needing replaced were the battery (discovered a Reliant Robin battery would fit, for a third the price) and the rear wheel bearings - not entirely unexpected on any bike of that mileage.
They had a bit of a reputation for lunching the rear drive splines 'twixt pumpkin and wheel, but mine were fine.
I found a bloke selling the complete 1000cc kit from a crashed R100T, so happily fitted the pistons, barrels, and heads one weekend. The carburettors didn't fit because the intake adapters were different, as you'd expect.
I rode around like that for a couple of months and was reasonably happy with the conversion; definitely more power and coupled with the R80 lower gearing it was capable of giving a good account of itself in the London Grand Prix.
I finally found a set of R100 carb elbows to allow me to fit the proper carbs - an immediate improvement again. The butt dyno felt like it was being kicked by another 5 or 10 horses and the torque at the rear wheel was almost stump-pulling, because of that R80 rear end.
The amazing thing was that, as an 800cc, I'd get an average of 40mpg, in a mixed day - long motorway hauls, London traffic, etc. After fitting the proper carbs my average went up to 50mpg.
Alas, the bottom end, which was shared by all the R-series, wasn't up to the task of the 1000 conversion and it ran a big end bearing. That's probably why the R100 has a cooler and likely an uprated oil pump. If I'd had a decent workshop at my disposal I'd have repaired it and carried on, but just chopped in in against one of the worst bikes ever, but that's another story.
I'd have another R80 / R100 tomorrow, but the prices have gone stupid in recent years.
Those lattice-cast wheels were notorious for cracking - inspect yours carefully.
 
That’s a great tale Grimley - and yes, the bottom end bears a bit of scrutiny on these one litre bikes. It is amazing that you got a bimmer for 250 quid - I’d wager that lenses off the turn signals would cost that now.

My research revealed that those cast wheels (commonly called “snowflake” wheels) were recalled by the OEM shortly after they were introduced in 1977-78 and the revised wheels have a ridge on each spoke - and mine do. The wisdom on the BMWMOA Forum (not nearly as fun as this forum) is that virtually all of those early defective wheels have disappeared off the roads in the intervening forty years. All of that is one reason I wanted a later series bike - all of the wrinkles have been worked out by the time they had been on the market for 3-4 years.

Anyhow - onward and upward.
Pete
 
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Well, it is now time for me to reveal my latest love...Gretel. - - -

Hi Pete,
congratulations but watch for weirdness.
BMW "puts on airs to be interesting"
Why else would BMW 'bars be 22mm rather than the 7/8" (22.2mm) that all others use?
I briefly had an R90 back in the late 1980s.
Bought it from a neighbor & pushed it home 2 blocks on it's flat tires,
Borrowed the plate & battery from my XS650 fired it up and took a test ride.
Never ridden a BMW before so cranked it up to see how it went,
Thought, this thing sucks, there's not much left after 100kph.
Then I remembered seeing the fabric between the front tire's ribs as I pumped it up and that the speedo read in MPH.
Slowly and carefully made a U-turn and rode back home.
Had to sell the bike a few months later to pay my daughter's college fees.
Then she dropped out. I have since forgiven her but I'll never let her forget.
 
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That's a nice looking bike you got there Pete, congrats on the find. I loved the look of the R90S, but couldn't afford one, so got the next best thing, an 82 R100CS. Now, my opinion of ownership will be different from others that have or do own an older airhead. Like a nice German princess she was very finicky, and frustrating to deal with. It was a nice bike, had all the good stuff like Brown and Reynolds stands, both worth it in my opinion. But it literally nickeled and dimed me to death. It cost me money just to look at it. After 5 years, out the door. Final straw was almost getting run over after hitting the famous 1-2 false neutral after taking off from a traffic light. I see them around and think they are a nice looking bike but am quickly bought back to reality. Not for me. But do enjoy yours, they do eat up the kilometers effortlessly, with style.
 
And as you can see, the little tang is missing, lol. Very common for them to get broken off. On that older stand, the tang was nothing more than some 1/4" steel rod. I've repaired several.
 
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