BMW R80/7

[Big Derek]

Hi
i don't yet really know why but for my birthday next wed i have bought a 1981 BMW R80/7 don't know much about them it was my cousins for the last 13 years, the odometer don't work but its taxed test for 7 months panniers the lot seem stood starts 1st crack no smoke sounds nice.I will need are things i am sure , don't know if i should fit electronic ignition, it has POINTS lol... and do i strip it all down or do i just clean and mend little bits? Any advice and where bits come from etc et could be good.
Why is it a R80/7 was there a six nor a eight ?

Why does it need fuel additives is that cos it really needs what was 4star..?









I have the feeling i am a chap who likes to see the old bikes and things maybe even likes to clean it up and repair of parts etc.. but can't help thinking when i ride it on Linc's classic bike nights etc. i will think Why am i on this old shed? an then it would be on SALE....here or eBay.

Big D

 

[Kenny]

"Old Shed" ... wash your mouth out my good man !!

 

[Rob Farmer]

It may have been registered in 81 but that's a 1980 machine. Heavy flywheel, points in a bean can etc.

the 800 never set the world on fire. Looks a nice one though

They did make a /6 range of bikes but not with a 800 machine. The / designations were dropped after your model.

 

[MikeP]

That's nice.

I occasionally get to ride my mate's "Old Nail" R80/7 that I tarted-up for him back in 2004. There are few bikes that just feel so "right" - meaning that despite the technology (or lack of it) the sum of the parts seem to be perfectly balanced. The bike feels tiny, slim and just goes where you think it.

The only real weakness is the brakes and only then if they are not kept adjusted properly.

 

[ahutcheon]

the 800 never set the world on fire. Looks a nice one though

Whereas the R75/5 merited acclaim a decade earlier? I'm guessing that the 80/7 is at least as good a bike as the 75/5 (in practical terms; we could argue all day about the aesthetics of spoked wheels and the lovely two-tone paint on Derek's bike). But at this end of the time tunnel comparison with contemporary (mostly Japanese, I suppose) offerings is irrelevant, and it would be missing the point to compare with modern bikes.

 

[Rob Farmer]

I'd say the same thing about the r75.

 

[ahutcheon]

I'd say the same thing about the r75.

But not the r80g/s or r90s? Not taking the piss, genuinely interested in what the differences between models mean now, rather than what the differences were way back when.

 

[Rob Farmer]

I would and have said it about the 80g/s. I rode one for years.

It's just a personal opinion at the end of the day but the softer, low powered models lack something. As a big airhead fan I like them all and would love any of them in my garage but I wouldn't want to live with one as my only airhead. The 900 engine in the /6 and S is a gem of an engine and probably the best airhead power plant, the 1000cc bikes have plenty of grunt to them. Buying an airhead means your prepared to except a compromise on handling and braking against other bikes so you may as well have a decent engine to make up for it.

I think Derek final paragraph sums it up well and is a pretty common one. A chap round the corner bought a lovely r75 " it's really nice..." You just need to add the unsaid "but". Every bike needs to have something to make it special.

 

[Paul Rochdale]

Derek

I've an R100/7 which is a cracking little bike. Very similar to yours except mine has twin front discs and spoked wheels. It was a ride-to-work bike for many years but has been in dry storage for a few years.

You ask what you should be doing with it and the obvious answer is to ride it regularly and get to know it. You'll soon discover that one or two things are not to your liking and made modifications. When I bought mine, I took her to see Jim Cray who not only discovered a bent conrod (a rarity he said) but twin plugged the engine. This made it as sweet as a nut, improved mid range torque and improved the fuel consumption.

No need for fuel additives - just add 2-star.

Other than adding a small top box - I picked up an old Craven one for £10 at an auto jumble (which looked right for it's age), it saves having the leaving the panniers on, that's about it. Be careful when putting the panniers on as once, one fell off only yards up the road.

As they say - enjoy.

 

[cookie]

Hi


Why does it need fuel additives is that cos it really needs what was 4star..?


Big D

it won't have hardened valve seats unless someone has had them fitted, so it really should have some kind of additive to stop valve seat recession. arguably though, you could just run it, and be ok

 

[MikeP]

I'll admit to being somewhat confused about "hardened" valve seats for these bikes. How much harder than original are the hardened ones?

I know that cast iron cylinder heads need steel inserts but aluminium heads already have steel inserts.

 

[Rob Farmer]

The original valve seats were designed to be run with lead as a lubricant, when lead was removed from fuel a lot of the bikes ran, and still do, run without any issues due to the work hardening that's taken place over the years. If you recut the valve seats and then run unleaded fuel they wear at a frightening rate - I've a pair of heads in the garage with the exhaust valves sunk well below the valve seat, the chap I bought them from only stopped using them when he was almost out of adjustment, it must have ran like a bag of shit. Bmw changed the metallurgy of the seats after 81 (marked with a single ring on the inner face of the seat and then again in 85 (double ring on the inner face). This second version sorted the problem out.

Almost every airhead I've ever bought has needed new valves and guides to get them running well. Yet the guys I buy them from are convinced they're running well - maybe I'm just a sucker though. I just assume I'm going to have to have the heads done when I buy one.

 

[Paul Rochdale]

You are right about the valves. I think Jim recons on 50,000 miles on the originals before they need to be replaced. Apparently there a risk of the heads dropping off with expensive results.

 

[snelly]

YO big lad how yer keepin,i seem to remember you having a birthday last year also::That looks a tidy present to yersen. As you know there should be plenty of good advise on here to help you along,but first and foremost,don,t forget yer piss~pot and goggles.And have a good birthday.

 

[Big Derek]

Well fetched the old girl today BMW R 80/7 1980 53K MILES taxed and tested till next june i think... looks all ok loads of spares cables tool kit books even petrol Started 1st crack when i got it home rode a little round our yard and lane... Mmmm bloody hell is that what 1980 was like I was on Kawasaki GPZ 1100 then, can't really remember but sure is a nice bike for the year. Noticed it came from Rainbow at Rotherham old shop.It has new exhausts tyres and brake pads too. Just have the feeling that this Classic thing ain't going to work for me? But will have a proper ride on it first to decide so anyone looking for a 1980 old shed I may well be offering one real soon

 

[Voyager]

Just have the feeling that this Classic thing ain't going to work for me? But will have a proper ride on it first to decide

Stick with it . . Its an acquired taste

Bob.

 

[Kenny]

Well, I like it a lot !

 

[Big Derek]

Guess I ain't a classic kind of guy? Tried it so it will no for sale soon as I get chance the thing is taxed till June and tested till sep2014

 

[Owen Snell]

Guess I ain't a classic kind of guy? Tried it so it will no for sale soon as I get chance the thing is taxed till June and tested till sep2014

Maybe it's not running right or got other problems that make it unsatisfying to ride? My R90/6 makes me smile, as opposed to the R1200GS which was much better at everything but hasn't got quite the same feeling.

 

[ahutcheon]

Maybe it's not running right or got other problems that make it unsatisfying to ride? My R90/6 makes me smile, as opposed to the R1200GS which was much better at everything but hasn't got quite the same feeling.

Or maybe Mr Farmer is right about how good the R90 engine is, and that the R80 carries a silent "...but" in comparison?