R80RT or Connie?

[gradus]

At some point in my life I'd snatch up that BMW and turn it into a beautiful cafe bike similar to cruisin's.  

[Kneescrubber]

  I'm having trouble understanding why so many are saying you will have to work on the beemer all the time or that it will leave you stranded.  My old R75/6 never required any maintenance other than tune-ups, fluids and tires on schedule.  I drove it just a little over 50,000 miles in the five years I owned it and never had a single mechanical failure on the road or anywhere else for that matter.  There are lots of airheads out there with over 100K miles that are still running strong.  I'm betting the R80 you are looking at can easily make that mileage and more.

 


I bought a 4 year old '83 R80ST with 8008 miles on it. Rode it until '98 and it had just under 99k. I sold it because I needed the money. I'm still beating myself over the head for that.  

[JonS]

The Beemer. I wouldn't even think twice. This picture tugs at my rider heart.

[SoCalFJR]

I flogged a C10 2001 Connie for maybe 50K on the brutal commute out here in Kalee.......as all old Connie owners know, every nut bolt and tupperware screw that wasn't loctited fell off, broke, or fractured at a fairly regular rate.  Other than that tho, the screw type valve adjusters made it somewhat user friendly if you kept the gaskets lined up.  But like others, after it's all said and done........the BMW will be a collectible in a few years if you treat it right,  and the Connie will be recycled into beer cans.  

[919]

you know you want the BMW, just buy it, go over it or pay someone else to, then ride the wheels off it.

[Limeymike]

  I'm having trouble understanding why so many are saying you will have to work on the beemer all the time or that it will leave you stranded.  My old R75/6 never required any maintenance other than tune-ups, fluids and tires on schedule.  I drove it just a little over 50,000 miles in the five years I owned it and never had a single mechanical failure on the road or anywhere else for that matter.  There are lots of airheads out there with over 100K miles that are still running strong.  I'm betting the R80 you are looking at can easily make that mileage and more.

I agree, a well set up and maintained R80 should be reliable. The Connie is more the left brain decision and the BMW a right brain decision. My wife put it best when she said which one will you enjoy the most? and which one would you regret not buying the most?. I'm going to check out the BMW next week.

Thanks for everyone's input, I'll keep you updated on progress.

[Pat S.]

Years ago I got an opportunity to ride an R100S and R80RT. The power of the R100 was acceptable, the R80 even ridden solo was dismal at best. If you can live with the dismal performance of the R80, buy it.

    I also owned a new Concour in 1990. The performance level between the two is very different. The Concours is a sport car and the R80 a 4 door, 6 cylinder family sedan. If you ride a motorcycle to get smile when you twist the grip buy the Concour. If performance isn't important buy the Beemer. If future resale is a factor the BMW will have an edge.

                                                                          Pat

[ConPilot1]

Years ago I got an opportunity to ride an R100S and R80RT. The power of the R100 was acceptable, the R80 even ridden solo was dismal at best. If you can live with the dismal performance of the R80, buy it.

    I also owned a new Concour in 1990. The performance level between the two is very different. The Concours is a sport car 1982 Crown Victoria and the R80 a 4 door, 6 cylinder family sedan. If you ride a motorcycle to get smile when you twist the grip buy the Concour. If performance isn't important buy the Beemer. If future resale is a factor the BMW will have an edge.

                                                                          Pat

FXT.  

[Roadhound]

I rode BMW airheads from 1977 thru 1989 an R75/5, a R90/6, R100S.and 2 R100RS. I've been riding Concours ever since, IMO if you really to hit the road and ride, buy the Concours, solid
dependable scoots which with a few cheap aftermarket items can be made to handle and stop very well. I've owned a 1986, a 2000, and now ride a 2006, I've enjoyed all 500,000+ miles I've racked up between the 3 of them.  Just don't buy one that has been owned by the Frenchman.

[Kneescrubber]

 

Last I saw it, it was owned by a guy who also owned a Road King. It had 69xx miles on it when I unloaded it. He said he put about 300 on it and couldn't wait to get rid of it. It left him stranded a couple of times.

I'm sure he was talking about the Harley.





 

[ConPilot1]

Never understood how a descendent of Gimli could handle one of those tall top heavy bitches anyway.  

Yeah they are pretty unreliable. My kickstand was getting sticky from all the mud and I had to spray WD-40 on the pivot today.

Fucking Connies.

[cbsnbiker]

Here are a couple other considerations:

Do you plan to operate the bike using a bunch of electrical accessories, such as heated grips, aftermarket lights, heated vest, etc.? The R80 has a 280 watt alternator. You can run a heated vest, but I wouldn't run too much more. I don't know how powerful the alternator is in the Connie, but I assume it's higher.

What are the load ratings on the two bikes? That's a factor if you plan to carry a passenger and/or lots of cargo.

Finally, if you've had some down time, consider signing up for an MSF BRCII (formerly known as ERC) course. It would be a great way to get used to your new bike and brush up on some rusty skills.  

[ConPilot1]

Here are a couple other considerations:

Do you plan to operate the bike using a bunch of electrical accessories, such as heated grips, aftermarket lights, heated vest, etc.? The R80 has a 280 watt alternator. You can run a heated vest, but I wouldn't run too much more. I don't know how powerful the alternator is in the Connie, but I assume it's higher.

What are the load ratings on the two bikes? That's a factor if you plan to carry a passenger and/or lots of cargo.

Finally, if you've had some down time, consider signing up for an MSF BRCII (formerly known as ERC) course. It would be a great way to get used to your new bike and brush up on some rusty skills.  

I'm not sure of the wattage output of the Connie, but I've run my Gerbings, gloves, GPS, and auxiliary 55w driving lights all at the same time without a problem.
The only time you see a noticeable drop on the voltage meter is when I have all that shit on, stopped at a red light with the high beams on and maybe a turn signal blinker going.

[sagerat]

I had a '74 R90/6 that I put 3K on back when I had a four-bike stable and I've put a couple of hundred miles on first-gen Connies.  The Connies can buzz and the exhaust note is out of "The Jetsons" but even with all that, I'd go with the Connie over the airhead.  

[Limeymike]

I had a '74 R90/6 that I put 3K on back when I had a four-bike stable and I've put a couple of hundred miles on first-gen Connies.  The Connies can buzz and the exhaust note is out of "The Jetsons" but even with all that, I'd go with the Connie over the airhead.  

No, the St1300 'owns' the Jetsons sound, very sad.

[DeansZG]

 Bought my '99 C10 brand new back in '99, it now has almost 150k on it. I don't buy my bikes for investments, I buy them to ride/enjoy them!
Sold an '80 R100RT beforehand, owning it about 3 yrs... Happiest day of my BMW ownership was when I sold it. Fine german engineering my ass! Piss poor performance, it spark knocked even though I ran a half tank of hi-octane race gas every other fill up, irregardless of timing & valve clearance settings, not real accomodating for two-up touring, excessive fork dive under heavy braking(real exciting during the nite rides through the twisty stuff), darn near blistered my ankles during stop-n-go traffic one 90+ degree day, very seldom was fuel mileage over 40....... The one positive thing was; it sure LOOKED nice!

[Dragonknee]

I had a Bmw Rt 100 and being 6'1" tall and weighing 240 the bike was just to small for me... Ive had 3 connies and they have their faults but seem to be able to do all that is asked of them. I can ride the corners and take my wife with me and load it up with stuff and ride all day on it.. Im looking for another one....Bmw stands for barvarian mechanic wanted...not really.... just kidding... Either way you should enjoy either choice

[photojojo]

I had a 78 R100 that had 180,000 miles on it when I upgraded. I've had a few bikes since then, some airheads, some not. The airheads are definitely different and almost always a conversation starter so it really just boils down to what you want to do. FWIW I sust bought an ST1100 and am VERY happy with it.

[sagerat]

No, the St1300 'owns' the Jetsons sound, very sad.

The ST13 doesn't make any sound.  Every time I ride my buddy's I catch myself doing 20 mph+ more than I thought I was doing.