Bmw R80/7
BMW R80/7
CYCLE WORLD TEST
50ccs for the R75, Refinements for the Family
Whatever else you may think of them, you can’t accuse the gents responsible for making BMW motorcycles of being capricious. There are no weathervane mentalities guiding the fortunes of Bayerische Motoren Werke, and the winds of change are experienced only as timid little breezes in the company’s Munich headquarters. Talk of change is taken up with considerable caution in high management quarters, and the actual incidence of change can be expressed in near-geologic terms; the word glacial springs readily to mind. As we never tire of pointing out (and for all their patience, the grafs and burghers controlling BMW must be damned tired of hearing it by now), BMW motorcycles are the 20th-century mechanical equivalent of the shark, having survived virtually unchanged from the earliest times. Behold the Dawn BMW, circa 1923: Isn't that a boxer Twin nestled down there in the tubing of a double-cradle frame? And isn’t that a driveshaft extending from transmission to rear wheel? Ja wohl, world without end. The reason BMW succeeds with this program of conspicuous gradualism is because the beasties are bolted together to last at the very least until the design engineers can agree on the next change, which usually comes to a prodigious time span, at least measured against today’s trendy industry.
Given BMW’s reasonable reluctance to meddle with a Good Thing, then, it’s news when anything is changed. And when there are several changes, one of them justifying an entire new model designation, then it’s high time to see what Wotan, through his agents in München, hath wrought.
Meet the BMW R80/7 and observe a brief moment of silence for the R75/7, which has gone to Valhalla. The newcomer represents yet another example of BMW’s tireless program of product refinement and. at a more practical level, a rationalization of the model line-up. An 800cc slips much more easily into the gap between the R60/7 and the various Thousands. It probably won't eclipse the R60 in the way the more closely positioned R75 did, yet it’s still sufficiently distant from the bigger bikes—particularly in price—to have an identity of its own.
The extra 50cc is a good place to start assessing this new Beemer. They were added by enlarging the R75’s bore 2.4mm, to 84.8. Displacement is thus raised to 797cc (from 745). Oddly enough, there hasn’t been a corresponding gain in the amount of horsepower claimed for the updated model. In our last visit with an R75 (January, 1975), BMW was claiming 57 bhp at 6400 rpm, but the R80 is rated at 55 (at 7000 rpm) even though it’s got a tad more compression (the R75’s compression ratio was 9.0:1, compared to 9.2:1 for the R80). Everything else being more or less equal, we attribute the difference to the flat-topped shape of the updated Bing CV carburetors. Torque is up from 43 lb./ft. at 5000 rpm to 46.3 at 5500, and the gain feels even bigger when you twist the throttle.
Incidentally, there are two versions of the new' engine in production, the 55 bhp model and a de-tuned 50 bhp edition designed to run on low-lead fuel. This latter version has a c.r. of 8.0:1, and the lesson is that you’ll do well to inquire into your R80’s c.r., etc., before you drive it off the showroom floor.
When our R80 arrived, we weren’t sure what sort of performance to expect. The header pipes were thoroughly blued, indicating (a) the Beemer might have been running a trifle lean and (b) that a lot of that running w^as put in at substantial velocities.
But it purred happily from the first lightup, and performed without complaint throughout our test, getting poor marks only for its disinclination to idle once warm.
Whether horsepower is down or up from the R75, it’s a slightly quicker bike than its predecessor. Getting big Beemers out of the hole at a drag strip is always something of a wrestling match, thanks to the boxer Twin’s torque reaction and the shaft drive, but we eventually got down to a respectable 13.72, which is a couple tenths quicker than the R75 could manage and only three tenths slower than the R100RS we tested last May.
In any case, drag racing isn’t what you straddle Beemers for; when you light these things up it’s generally to go somewhere in style, in comfort, and rapidly. Zoom. Graded by this standard, the R80 is very much in the Beemer tradition. It thrives on 80 mph cruising, delivers reasonably vibration-free living from about 3000 rpm on up to the 7250 rpm redline and manages to sound like a motorcycle without being at all offensive.
The biggest improvement in BMWs as a breed is the new shift linkage installed on the 1978 line. The new system, which pivots on the left side footpeg mount, is connected to the gearbox by a short rod with ball joints at either end, the whole thing sheathed in rubber to keep out bad stuff like mud and sand. Is the clunk gone from the shift linkage, you ask? Well, no. but it’s not as pronounced as it was and besides, you’ve got to remember that Beemers have been clunking for some 55 years. Eliminating the clunk too abruptly is likely to create an identity crisis for some of the Faithful. Clunk or no clunk, the shifting is positive and sends the bike’s feeling of solidity reassuringly up through the rider’s toes each time he trips the lever. About the only difficulty we experienced with it was an occasional vagueness in shifting into 5th gear, but this seemed to be a matter of technique more than anything else.
Other new licks on the '78 Beemers seem to be a mixed bag. The electric tach is a particularly welcome touch to the improved instrumentation (light green numbers and white indicator needles for easier reading at night, relocation of the turn signal repeater light to the top of the pod), but the brake failure warning light was a trifle hysterical, and blinked on every time anyone hit a shift too vigorously. The turn signal warning beepers are the neatest thing this side of self-canceling—they won’t beep when the bike’s in neutral or when the clutch is disengaged. But we’re unable to get very excited about the foam rubber pad over the steering head, BMW’s discovery of the one-key system, or the headlight/ignition interlock. We have the feeling the pad—which is attached only by two clips—is a placebo for riders who’d prefer to look down there and see a good old-fashioned steering damper atop the head. The one-key idea, of course, is sound, provided the bike’s various locks respond to that one key. Two of our bike’s complement of four—fork lock and gas cap—did not.
All of which seems to justify Beemerish suspicion of change. The carry-overs from the R75 are all without fault. The suspension system employs the same super homegrown forks that one finds on the entire line, and Boge shocks at the rear. The forks are outstanding, combining a smooth, soft ride on almost any type of road surface with progressively firmer response when the going gets hot, heavy or both. Although a lighter test rider wasn’t overawed with the performance of the BMW forks in the freeway world of expansion joints and lane marker bumps, this wasn't at all apparent to the biggest of the crew; draw' your own conclusions. The Beemer’s front end also tracked through rain grooves as though they weren’t there—none of this eternal nervous hunting for the proper groove. No one had any gripes about the shocks, which continue to be supplied with built-on adjusting levers. The latter make selection of one of the three pre-load settings an easy task.
There are three shock mounting positions on the frame, offering progressively softer ride as the mount is moved forward. The swing arm, which uses heavy oval steel tubing for the arms, looks to be bulletproof and rides in tapered roller bearings at the pivot point in the frame to allow' adjustment for wear, etc. The frame is constructed of the same sturdy stock, the sort of stuff you could employ to build either Beemers or bridges with equal success.
Continental tires front and rear augment the Beemer’s natural ability to track straight and true. The 19-in. RB2 model on the front is a particularly interesting blend of ribbed center and dog biscuit outer> tread that looks to be a strong wet weather performer. Although it never rains in southern California, the tire served us well enough when we got into a freshly oiled section of pavement unexpectedly late one night. We held our breath, pointed the bike as straight as possible and rolled off gently from 65 mph or so. The Beemer never twitched, bless its heart and tires.
We have only one question concerning the Continentals: Why do German tires bear the French words “Fabrique en Allemagne” on their casings?
Comfort for here-to-Tierra touring riders has always been a long suit with BMWs, and so it continues to be with the new offerings. The seat strikes just the right balance between too firm and too soft, and the relationship of rider to footpegs and handlebars (these are nicely angled and of an agreeable length) is excellent, albeit somewhat upright. Our only objection to the topside layout is the two plane feature of the saddle. The slight lip at the back of the pilot’s position does provide a certain amount of welcome support against the tailbone. but it also limits foer and aft travel, keeping riders, particularly taller ones, from being able to alter their posture significantly. A riding pal of ours, owner of an R60 he treasures almost more than his fingers, stopped by to behold the R80 during our test, so naturally a little comparison riding yvas in order. Franklv. we like the old seat better than the more recent models. It's a bit slippery, doubtless due in some measure to years of polishing byDave's bum. but it lets you sit where you want on the bike.
The seat covers the BMW's outstanding tool kit—it's complete with tire irons and a small monogramed towel which rides in a trav above the big battery.
The footpegs are sheathed in extraheavy rubber that helps keep the big Tw in's low-speed vibrations isolated from pilot and/or passenger. The aft pegs look to be a trifle close to the forward set. but we experienced no crowding for foot space in riding two up. and the proximity of the rear pegs is nice for one-up freeway cruising; you simply hook vour heels over them, giving your body a better forward angle, less wind resistance and greater comfort.
BMW continues to obtain its grips from Magura. and we continue to view this as an unfortunate alliance. The '78 line employs grips that the factory calls softer. Maybe so. but the distinction is a subtle one. like the difference betyveen granite and sandstone. The Magura dogleg control levers, however, are first rate.
There were two shortcomings on our BMW that speak of inadequate quality control, and on a bike that commands such respect and such a price we view these as serious indeed. The first of these was the brake light, which wasn't working when the bike arrived. Upon im-estigation, we found that the actuating mechanism was botched, which meant the R80 had left the factory with no brake light and no one had bothered to check it out along the wav. The second was only a cosmetic flaw—the crossover pipe had poor finish —but it seems reasonable to expect all the cosmetics to be right on a S3600 bike.
Insofar as the overall looks are concerned. well, you’ve seen them before and if you're at all favorably disposed toward these machines our bet is the whole layout looks right. Incidentally, the R80 will be available in three colors—blue, orange and black—all spiced up with a little metalflake. We were intrigued to learn that our BMW’s apparent black finish was actually an extremely dark shade of brown. We thought perhaps this yvas just the result of the different sunlight on our side of the water, or something equally mysterious, but learned that this rich-looking color is simply BMW's idea of black, and a good one at that.
Black, blue, brown or heliotrope, though, this is an expensive motorcycle: coughing up $3600 for the updated R75 requires something more than a desire to possess a machine that's smooth, reliable and. in general, the Pegasus of its breed. You have to be the sort of rider w ho wants to participate in a legend. 0
BMW R80/7
$3595
Most riders will be happy with the BMW forks, which have a high secondary spring rate during the last inch of travel to prevent bottoming. Sports-oriented riders should use heavier fork oil, how ever, for increased damping and control.
As you might expect, spring and shock rates are fine, and provide a comfort able ride while maintaining control. The external adjuster makes preload changes easy, and satisfactorily ac commodates the weight of a passenger or baggage. Tests performed at Number 1 Products
