freefalk
Pack Dog
This is my first post to the forum, I recently joined, but have owned my old airhead since '93.
My '82 R80G/S is my first love and is with me, to have and to hold to the day I keel over.
My garage looks like a yard sale and time has come to lean up a bit. Currently I have a 1962 (...to 67?can't quite tell what it is) Vespa (with older and not great restoration), a 1975 odd P150x Vespa (non runner after I seized it) and a Montesa 247cc Cota 2T smoker (non runner, I co-own it with a mate of me). So there is a bit of capital lying here, which I am considering making liquid to address my space problem and to "re-invest" in biking. The BMW is the only one I ride, so the question is this:
Do I spend the sum value of the sales of the other bikes and farkle the 99% stock beemer, Or do I keep the BMW and enjoy as is and buy another bike to ride day to day. I figure the total budget is around R50K.
I love the ethos of the GS, but have never endeavoured to conquer Africa by bike. I generally take her out for pleasure with the odd commute to town (50km round trip).
So to address the dilemma above, I have chased my tail plenty.
Option 1- Farkle
First I have exhausted the internet and read and ogled every GS build out there... looking at what needs doing and what I would like my boney to look and be. From HPN down. As with most things classic and collectible the budget can be anything between a shoestring and the Kruger millions. In an effort to remain true to my question, I have tried to offset desire against reality aka budget. On the list would be... Basic ergonomic upgrades,lowered foot pegs, handle bar raisers and some optical upgrades like Baja fenders, HPN style seat. Bigger headlight, perhaps a Baja style fairing. And some upgraded tech, like upgrades to the electrical system and then some which straddle the lines like 18 inch rear wheel with offset spokes. Upside down forks. MX style handlebars and a decent exhaust. Since I am more keen than knowledgeable about the actual "how to" I would likely have to outsource and pay for someone to do the work. So how far would 50K take me? Once you start shopping online for the bits and pieces, it doesn't seem to go that far.....
Option 2- Keep the BMW as standard as it is (the prices are climbing and I'm not sure if a 'non standard' bike would appreciate at the same rate, although irrelevant, since it won't ever be sold, I must consider it in my rationale) and buy a 2nd bike to do the commute and the odd bit of offload/farm road riding. Oh boy, oh boy.... does such a thing even exist? At my budget point. I have looked at a host of candidates, street legal KTM525exc, WR450F DRZ400 but I am put off by the little motors' desire for oil changes and maintenance, although they promise to be fun for the 20% dirt I may eventually do. BMW R100 tracker/custom. etc etc KTM 690 endure is out of reach and possibly expensive to maintain. The only one that got the juices flowing most so far is a Honda XR650R.
I realise that this is not an original problem and that there are threads out there which have discussed this ad nauseum. But given the South African logistic of parts /bikes availability I'd be curious to hear how you would solve my luxury problem. Thanks for hearing me out, your comments and suggestions regarding the "farkle" would be much appreciated!
My '82 R80G/S is my first love and is with me, to have and to hold to the day I keel over.
My garage looks like a yard sale and time has come to lean up a bit. Currently I have a 1962 (...to 67?can't quite tell what it is) Vespa (with older and not great restoration), a 1975 odd P150x Vespa (non runner after I seized it) and a Montesa 247cc Cota 2T smoker (non runner, I co-own it with a mate of me). So there is a bit of capital lying here, which I am considering making liquid to address my space problem and to "re-invest" in biking. The BMW is the only one I ride, so the question is this:
Do I spend the sum value of the sales of the other bikes and farkle the 99% stock beemer, Or do I keep the BMW and enjoy as is and buy another bike to ride day to day. I figure the total budget is around R50K.
I love the ethos of the GS, but have never endeavoured to conquer Africa by bike. I generally take her out for pleasure with the odd commute to town (50km round trip).
So to address the dilemma above, I have chased my tail plenty.
Option 1- Farkle
First I have exhausted the internet and read and ogled every GS build out there... looking at what needs doing and what I would like my boney to look and be. From HPN down. As with most things classic and collectible the budget can be anything between a shoestring and the Kruger millions. In an effort to remain true to my question, I have tried to offset desire against reality aka budget. On the list would be... Basic ergonomic upgrades,lowered foot pegs, handle bar raisers and some optical upgrades like Baja fenders, HPN style seat. Bigger headlight, perhaps a Baja style fairing. And some upgraded tech, like upgrades to the electrical system and then some which straddle the lines like 18 inch rear wheel with offset spokes. Upside down forks. MX style handlebars and a decent exhaust. Since I am more keen than knowledgeable about the actual "how to" I would likely have to outsource and pay for someone to do the work. So how far would 50K take me? Once you start shopping online for the bits and pieces, it doesn't seem to go that far.....
Option 2- Keep the BMW as standard as it is (the prices are climbing and I'm not sure if a 'non standard' bike would appreciate at the same rate, although irrelevant, since it won't ever be sold, I must consider it in my rationale) and buy a 2nd bike to do the commute and the odd bit of offload/farm road riding. Oh boy, oh boy.... does such a thing even exist? At my budget point. I have looked at a host of candidates, street legal KTM525exc, WR450F DRZ400 but I am put off by the little motors' desire for oil changes and maintenance, although they promise to be fun for the 20% dirt I may eventually do. BMW R100 tracker/custom. etc etc KTM 690 endure is out of reach and possibly expensive to maintain. The only one that got the juices flowing most so far is a Honda XR650R.
I realise that this is not an original problem and that there are threads out there which have discussed this ad nauseum. But given the South African logistic of parts /bikes availability I'd be curious to hear how you would solve my luxury problem. Thanks for hearing me out, your comments and suggestions regarding the "farkle" would be much appreciated!
