Looking for my first airhead - r80gs or enduro

matsmith749

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I have a 1300gsa & love it - but at the back of my mind is the complexity & lack of ability to fettle the bike with standard tools.

Planning on keeping it long term.

But recently have started getting obsessed with something from simpler times & seen a few r80 gs bikes in 'paris dakar' trim (likely homage) that really float my boat.

Top of the list is a full on enduro tribute style r80, with the big 43 litre tank & single seat.

Not planning on building myself, what should I really be looking into to dip my toe in the water of r80 ownership?

Seen a few PD bikes for circa £5k, and there is a nice looking enduro tribute on the trader right now for £9k.

Reasonable / should I look elsewhere?

Appreciate some pointers - it;s a brave new world for me.
 
The one for 9k seems good value if everything works as it should, I did look at that myself but had a change of heart and went for more of a road bike as I already had a PD.


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There is a fettled 100gs on the facebook HPN forum at the moment in cornwall.

The first thing you want to ask yourself is are you prepared to drop it and break / damage parts. Regardless of whether you get a G/S or a GS. If you thinking of going offroad.

If you look up the beer mat thread you'll see awful lot of sense. Made from parts no one cares about, built purely for offroad. Unique and functional.

An alternative

You might want to think about an 1150GS very cheap at the moment. They are still very simple, well made bikes.
The options are many.....
Put it on a diet, throw some unit garage bits at it and hey presto.

See doghouse customs on youtube and look up John Wilkinsons HP's. For what is reasonably practicable.
 
That looks very much like what I'm thinking of - where can I see more details?

Setting off to look at the enduro shortly....
 
Bought the PD tribute enduro bike - picking up sometime over the weekend.

Went to take a quick look & it was just in amazing shape, all felt as it should & seller was happy to take a cheeky offer.

Happy days!
 
I think it might be this one.
444a2a4b134c477f068c4e61f210ae07.jpg



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matsmith749 said:
Bought the PD tribute enduro bike - picking up sometime over the weekend.

Went to take a quick look & it was just in amazing shape, all felt as it should & seller was happy to take a cheeky offer.

Happy days!
Click to expand...
You must be new here, when asking for buying advice you are supposed to ruminate on it for weeks and months and then do nothing, not just go out and decisively buy one, whatever next.
 
Lol - yes - I am new.

It is the one in the pic above, I will take a few better images once I pick it up over the weekend & have given it a good clean.

Insurance sorted this morning (modifications declared - they didn't care) only £156 for the year. Bargain.

Sure there will be niggles over the coming weeks, but on inspection engine appeared oil tight & super smooth, started from cold no issues, wheels turned without roughness & seemed in good shape. Cosmetically spectacular.

HPN tank (some kind of metal - not a plastic tank) looks like it has stickers with weird edges - but in person it's just the contours of the tank make it look like that. Not 100% sure - but feels painted rather than stickered up.

Obvious modifications - front fork springs upgraded (hyperpro internals) / rear shock upgraded (hyperpro) / 980cc engine kit with oil pan increase / HPN tank / mikuni carbs - had a full nut & bold rebuild 10 years ago, serviced last week at BMW specialist. Historic status - no tax - no MOT.
 

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May I ask what was the bike originally?


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Built on a 1984 r80 g/s monolever, to this spec after the full rebuild in 2016.

Looked better in real life than these pictures TBH, other than a few bits of paint on the rear carrier that need re-doing it's immaculate.

Feels like good value at £7.5k & avoids a big project I would probably never finish :)
 
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Home safe & sound after a fun 60 mile trek in the dark with 1980s lights & no satnav - countryside back roads & guesswork FTW.

Lots of first impressions & the list of jobs starting to form already :)

Bike feels super small & light (compared to the new GSA), lights horrendous (as expected). Won't be adding extra lighting as it's a daytime bike for me.

Really enjoyed the ride home, it's so noisy & 1980s & basic - I love it! Didn't uncover any nightmares on the 2 hour trek which is nice.

Needs a better solution for the sidestand (thinking of the surefoot thing - happy to get some guidance if there is better), a few fasteners that look tired, an in depth clean, engine idle when warm is way too high, new battery. Will be adding one of those beeline moto micro satnavs - can't cope with feeling lost.

Very pleased so far.


BMW r80 PD enduro 11th April 2026.jpg
 
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Front light…. Remove the grill, and fit a LED bulb.
I have a LED bulb in my R80GS Basic ( so the same headlamp as this bike) and it is FAR better than the incandescent bulb that was in there originally.

LED is a standard H4 replacement from: www.classiccarleds.co.uk, fits as plug n play in the standard gs binacle.

Bike looks great BTW, and glad you are happy with it.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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