BMW R80 GS Kalahari

[Chairman Meow]

Hi Guys and fellow Airhead owners

As all you passionate owners will probably know the history of the R80 Kalahari, its rarity & value and the fact that they were basically a derivative for the approx. 3500 Basic models that were build they are not listed on http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/select?vin=0264754 as Kalahari specific models.

We know 54 bikes were assembled in SA for the SA market and apparently one was written of on the launch , making technically 53 of these models. - A rare breed indeed.

The purpose of this exercise and my research as a fellow owner of one is to establish once and for all the Vin numbers of these bikes.
This I would then like to send the the above site and have them listed. This would hopefully give some kind of authentication of the bikes making potential copies of them traceable and thus protecting these the current owners & future buyers of what has become quite a sough after jewel in the Airhead GS line up.

The Vin numbers I have accumulated thus far has revealed some interesting facts. As there are no current records of the specific Basics that were turned into Kalahari models ( Basics were not sold in SA market) it would be great to get them listed. What I have establishes is the following:

1. The Vin numbers are not concurrent , but rather in three frame batches as they were send here from Germany and modified to become the bike sold here.
2. That according to the numbers it seems that we could currently be at 53 out of the 53/54 of them. - This is based on the assumption that the concurrent numbers within the three batches I have completes the mystery. ..ultimately the more numbers I have the more accurate the list will be.

Once I’m sure of the Vin numbers I can send it through and have them listed on the site.

Feel free to contact me directly should you have this model and would like to share the Vin number with me...I will of course then also send you the list of numbers I have privately as some owners surely prefers the discretion. Should anyone know anyone else that has one...not sure that there can be that many in Europe please pass on this request.

Hope to get your bike’s Vin number from you and keep chipping away on my list.

Regards

Lorenzo Brocchetto
Cape Town SA
[email protected]

 

[Captain Black]

Ok I'll ask.

Would it not be a bit silly to make your vehicle VIN / Engine numbers available on a forum ? Or anywhere else for that matter.

Especially for a rare ish vehicle .

 

[Chairman Meow]

CB...not to sure I understand your question. ...but this is how we ( many owners over here) see it regarding this model.

Because the Kalahari model is not listed on its own and technically any Basic model can easily be changed into one any potential buyers will never know whether it is one of the 54 SA models or a modified version of the 3000+ basics that were released.
By getting the batch of Vin numbers of these models registered on a reputable site like real oem is will serve as a way of being able to check and verify its authenticity as all BMW ever produced are on the site.
Owner info is obviously not listed.

Taking an example another sought after model like a 90S and what they go for one the market these days one can easily modify a 90/6 to look like one and sell in on to a unsuspecting buyer as the real deal. Site like Real Oem at least gives the layman out there a opportunity to check its Vin number...the only really true authenticity for any vehicle out there when planning in buying or selling.

Some of these Kalahari did make their way back to Europe and are out there ...but will be lost among the sea of thousands of Basics around. - Seeing what they go for these days like so many other rare and sought after models it would be nice to at least be able to check before one buys something that might not be what the seller claims it is.

Hope this makes sense.

 

[Beemerboff]

The reason that they were never listed separately might be that they never were a separate model - they were a Basic with a retrofit kit , fitted initially by SA dealers.

But that does not rule out the possibility that the retrofit parts were also available to and fitted by dealers in other parts of the world to new basics before sale, and if that happened these bikes would be just as authentic as the few which were done in SA .

From the numbers that exist in Europe it would appear to be a real possibility, but there is little chance than any records were kept.

 

[Captain Black]

The reason that they were never listed separately might be that they never were a separate model - they were a Basic with a retrofit kit , fitted initially by SA dealers.

But that does not rule out the possibility that the retrofit parts were also available to and fitted by dealers in other parts of the world to new basics before sale, and if that happened these bikes would be just as authentic as the few which were done in SA .

From the numbers that exist in Europe it would appear to be a real possibility, but there is little chance than any records were kept.

Would the month / year of manufacture be more of clue ? I have German paperwork with mine, its still on the original tachometer as far as I know with 26k k m.

I'm pretty sure a mid August 1997 date of Mfg rings a bell .

I'll have a look sometime..

As I understand it they were the run out model to assist in moving the last Basics in 1997 ? I also thought about 250 were sent to the Namibia police as a final order, and that a certain number were released into the German market ? They never came to the UK I don't think.
Hard to know if accurate records were never kept and chassis frames were just plucked from the line randomly.

Porsche were the same with certain areas of production years ago.

So much for German efficiency !

 

[Chairman Meow]

A good friend of ours here called Guenther Meyer formed part of the team here that converted these bikes for our market - He has also tried to dig out more info and tried his contacts but to no avail.

Not sure of the '250 Namibia bikes" ..first I hear of this and a bit doubtful. This is the way we have understand the story around these models:


The R80 GS Basic was the final type 247 air-cooled engine motorcycle production run by BMW.
They cleared out all the factory bins of engines, 247e frames painted Blue, GS PD 32litre tanks (or standard 17litre.)
They re-engineered the G/S rear subframe for the paralever suspension, using a thicker wall tube to fix the G/S overload/underspec problem.
They used the classic pre-1980 /5 and /6 models "peanut" valve covers.
For the "Kalahari" model, BMW Motorrad SA added the GS PD wind deflector and a white instrument cluster instead of the G/S black.
Nobody is quiet sure exactly how many R80 GS Basic bikes were built, but (number subject to correction) only 50 of them came to ZA.
(Of those, 1 was damaged without being sold!)
These were all 32litre tank models with an "R80 GS Kalahari" decal instead of the production "R80 GS Basic"

At the time, BMW was also selling the new generation of R1100GS bikes,
so the retro styling of the R80 GS Basic did not sell here as well as had been hoped. Undecided

At some point, BMW Germany said: "They are selling so well in Europe, we'll take them all back!"
As they were all Euro-spec models (apart from the LH-dipping headlight)
all unsold "R80 GS Kalahari" models in ZA at that time went back into crates,
repatriated to Germany and the European market snapped them up.

By the time the South African buyers worked out that the BMW R80 GS Kalahari was a actually GREAT investment, there were none left.
The application of an "R80 GS Kalahari" decal instead of an "R80 GS Basic" decal doesn't take much effort and so many 'fakes' abound overseas.
I have NO idea how many are left in ZA - but all of them are 'genuine' Kalaharis.
Some used ones have been snapped up here in Rands and repatriated to Europe to regain Euro value.

..so the point of this exercise is to once and for all try and determine what they're Vin numbers are, get them listed and rather have clarity vs speculation for future potential buyers & sellers.
( From the numbers that I have of the bikes here CB is correct as the numbers forms batches/ groupings and were plucked randomly , but already forms a clear picture of where these models numbers should/could fall in the list.)

I have also emailed BMW's archives and hopefully might get some feedback on them....all & all...a interesting piece of Airhead history.

 

[Chairman Meow]

Weekend Bump -- Hoping for the best..

 

[SteveM]

Don't know anything about R80GS Kalahari's Lorenzo, but your nom de plume 'Chairman Meow' made me laugh.

 

[quintono]

Hi Lorenzo,

I am a proud owner of a R80GS Kalahari and have had it since the year 2000. It now resides with me in Australia (Brisbane) and still runs like I bought her yesterday ;-).

If you are still after some information I will forward you the VIN details. Great to see some one else interested in this elusive model (other than wanting to buy her from me .

Regards,
Quinton

 

[solidstate100]

Whilst I am sure this is not in any way a scam, I would be mindful of giving out my VIN on a rare model - It is always possible (and in fact has happened in many spheres cars as well as bikes) that the VIN number will then be applied to a made up copy of a Kalahari and then passed off as genuine with the resulatant hike in value.....

Just sayin....no offence to anyone

 

[Kenny]

Whilst I am sure this is not in any way a scam, I would be mindful of giving out my VIN on a rare model - It is always possible (and in fact has happened in many spheres cars as well as bikes) that the VIN number will then be applied to a made up copy of a Kalahari and then passed off as genuine with the resulatant hike in value.....

Just sayin....no offence to anyone

Absolutely 100% proper advice.

 

[Captain Black]

Absolutely 100% proper advice.

See post # 2

And me a thick Manc

 

[Kenny]

Well your lot did buy Raheem Sterling from us ! We owe you !!

 

[Captain Black]

Well your lot did buy Raheem Sterling from us ! We owe you !!