1983-87 R80 Mechanical Maladys/ Experiences

[XPLRN]

I am considering the purchase of a 1985-87 R80(stock/naked bike) and would like to hear about how reliable they have been from the people that ride or have rode them.

What I've derived from reading on this 'Airhead' tech forum is that some people have had issues with electrical stuff and brakes?? Are these common issues or just random occurances?? Are there any other "commmon" issues that the R80's had?? Wasn't '87 the last year for the mono-shock/straight swingarm rear suspension??

Just trying to find what to check for on the R80's when shopping and then what to expect as the miles start to accumulate. Thanks in advance for sharing any thoughts/experiences you have!!

Happy 'XPLRN'

[DarrylRi]

I put 92k miles on a 1985 R80 I bought new. It came with a defective solenoid in the tank venting system, but that was replaced immediately. It stranded me once when the diode board went out, but that's typical for all of the Airhead bikes. Otherwise I just recall that it was regular maintenance. Sure wish I hadn't sold that bike.

[flash412]

The Monolever swingarm is nearly bulletproof. The driveshaft in the Paralever will need to be replaced every 40k miles (give or take). The "drawback" of the monolever is shaft-jacking effect. To many this is disconcerting. To others it is unnoticeable. To some, it is preferred. Basically, when you twist the throttle open the rear of the bike RISES. This means if you overcook a turn, the way to get out of it is to get more ground clearance by raising the back end by going FASTER. (This is part of the reason that old BMW riders tend to be fast riders.) Chopping the throttle in a corner is the WRONG thing to do with Monolever (and earlier) BMWs.

Switch gear is switchgear and it's longevity will depend on your climate more than anything else. '83-87 airheads are about as well developed as any machine can be.

[rmoser]

I've got an 85 R80 with 75K miles on it and it just works; no hassles at all.

[jdiaz]

I hesitate to jinx myself, but my R65 has been mostly flawless from an electrical perspective....I think it had a cracked coil and I replaced an ignition switch due to a poor wiring repair, but the bike never stranded me.

The only real grumble I had with my monolever Airhead was needing to rebuild the transmission due to a loud output shaft bearing. It was rebuilt with a new circlipped output shaft and is probably the nicest shifting bike we have.

The naked R80 is a lot of bike for $2500-3000.

[XPLRN]

Thanks for the great response(s) to the questions that I'd posted! Any other input would certainly be welcomed!

Regarding 'Darryl Ri's response;
Yours was the highest mileage R-80 response so far; 92K is certainly inspirational! Did you ever have to get inside the engine/transmission for any head/valve work, rings, bearings, gearbox work, alternator, starter, etc., etc.??

Regarding 'Flash 412's response; Excellent technical info about the 'shaft-jacking effect' and how it affects the handling of the bike. I'm glad to have learned about that so I'll be knowing what's happening when it occurs!

Regarding 'rmoser's response; 75K is a bunch of miles also!! I'm sure you read the questions I posed to 'Darryl Ri' above..........did you have any of that stuff to deal with in the miles you accumulated??

Regarding 'jdiaz's response; Great to hear that your R65 has never stranded you!! I can only hope for the same airhead performance with the bike I get!! Hopefully the electrical gods will be smiling on me also!!

Seeing as how part of the reason for getting a R80 is improved MPG over cage usage, I was wondering what kind of overall MPG averages R80 owners are getting with their bikes??

I'm also wondering about something I read on the www.bingcarburetor.com website. They advertise "Alcohol Resistant Independent Float & Bowl Kits" and claim "improved performance and 5 to 7 MPG improvement on mileage" .

Have any one installed this setup and gotten that kind of noteable increase in MPG?? I'm thinking that would be a modification I'd want to do as it would be paying back as the miles get laid down.....especially if there is a 'performance' improvement!!

I'd also be interested to hear tires are being used and what kind of mileage can be safely gotten before they are take-off candidates??

Thanks in advance for any additional input, as a 'newbie' I do appreciate the shared knowledge!!

Happy 'XPLRN'

[rmoser]

Keeping fingers crossed...

No, no major repair work at all. Just the usual maintenance tasks.

To be honest, I thought a 75K airhead would be considered "low mileage" :D

[DarrylRi]

No, never had to get inside any of the drivetrain. By 92k, it was starting to burn a little bit of oil (noticable as blue smoke when I got on the throttle hard, but not noticable at the dipstick). Because it had Nikasil plated cylinders, that's just a ring job, not a bore/ring/piston job.

It always got in the low to mid 40s gas mileage.

[rocketman]

Originally posted by rmoser
Keeping fingers crossed...

No, no major repair work at all. Just the usual maintenance tasks.

To be honest, I thought a 75K airhead would be considered "low mileage" :D

Yeah, me too, thought that was just the break-in period!:bliss

RM

[b_h_dowell]

I did the bing alchohol proof float mod 2 years ago, and at the same time did a complete carb kit o/h on my 79 R100RT. I have got as good as 60 mp imp. gal. but 50 is more normal. The carb kit probably was at least partially responsable. Before I was getting 35 mpg occasionally.