Double loop tubular frame with bolt on rear section
Front Suspension
∅40mm
Marzocchi telescopic
hydraulic forks.
Front Wheel Travel
225 mm / 8.8 in
Rear Suspension
Whtie Power rear suspension with Paralever shaft
Rear Wheel Travel
180 mm / 7.0 in
Front Brakes
Single ∅285mm disc
Rear Brakes
∅200mm Drum
Front Tyre
90/90 x 21S
Rear Tyre
13/80 x 17S
Dimensions
Length 2290 mm / 90.1 in
Width 1000 mm / 39.3 in
Height 1165 mm /
45.8 in
Wheelbase
1514 mm / 59.6 in
Ground Clearance
200 mm / 7.87 in
Seat Height
850 mm / 33.5 in
Wet Weight
220 kg / 485 lbs
Fuel Capacity
35 L /
9.2 US gal
Review
In 1997 a new model of the old model GS was launched in South
Africa. Known as the R80GS Kalahari, it originates from the R80GS Basic
available in Europe. It is white in colour with a blue frame.
The following is a description of what the motorcycle looks like: Round
headlight with old instrument cluster as found on early model GS's and G/S's.
Small windscreen. High front mudguard with Marzocchi front forks. White Power
rear suspension. Early model 35 liter Paris Dakar petrol tank made of steel. No crashbars or sidestand. The rear subframe is the same as that of the first G/S's
with the lugage rack at the back as an optional extra that bolt on. Paralever
suspension. R80GS Kalahari decals. The old reliable 798cc aircooled boxer engine
is used.
A short test by Bike SA (South African bikes
magazine)
R80GS Kalahari (Lit: "Schwaeche" - -weakness-)
A story about a bunch of city slickers who were intriduced to the way of the
Kalahari. And a bit about the R80GS, a modernised affordable progressive simple
retro BMW.
The name "Hari Kari" would have been more apt than "Kalahari" the way some of
the guys bounced and hopped their way through the road test. The area was around
the Kalahari Geinsbok Park, with our base the Motel Molopo at Andriesvale, also
a stopover for the annual Easter Namib Desert Run. The bikes were the new BMW'S,
named the "Kalahari" in South Africa, a revamp of the original late 1970'S R80GS
into what it should have been in the first place.
They took the legendary and reliable and tough and everlasting boxer two valve
twin GS, first launched in 1978, and did to it what many had done to theirs at
home - they changed the suspension and put on a bigger tank.
The best improvement was the suspension with the front end getting motocross
type Marzocchi forks and the rear a White Power shock with Paralever drive
shaft. This transforms the bike from a good road bike and an adequate offroader
to a better of both. The bike can now hit potholes and ditches and objects of
destruction without denting rims and sending shock waves to the rider. I have
been riding BM's on the annual Easter Desert run for 16 years, each year bending
the bike less and less as home made improvements to the suspension were made and
suddenly in one hit BMW do it all with this Kalahari. Where were you, I asked,
in all those years when 1 needed you.
I now also have a new R110OGS (no, don't phone, I'm not selling the old one) but
it is heavier, albeit much more powerful, especially with the RS motor. And in
low speed sandy conditions I'd rather have the lighter R80. Or, better still,
this R80 with a 1000cc uprated motor, but we'Il probably have to wait another 18
years for that.
Other changes include a big Paris Dakar tank, which completely transforme the
bike visually and makes it look the part, and wider wheels, with the new system
where the spokes attach te the rim outside the tyre rim, allowing tubeless tyres
to be used and making spoke adjusting possible without removing the tyre. The
seat height, despite the better suspension, is actually lower, which is great
news for those who paddle their way through sand and up cliffs and things.
On the first day we did the 170km of fairly straightforward hardish dirt road to
Van Zylsrus and then 2OOkm along the Botswana border on the Molopo riverbed back
to the hotel. It was an excellent route for testing the bikes, with a mixture of
terrain.
On the fast bit the speedo ran to 160km/hr, 15km/hr slower than on tar. And it
required a longish stretch of hard road to get there, with sandy bits sending
the rear into the famous BMW waggle and reducing speed.
The "waggle" is what a BMW does at speed on dirt, and it involves mostly the
rear wheel - it just does not follow the front but hops from side to side. This
trait should be ignored by the rider. The bike, with its low engine mass, solid
engineering and stable geometry, would stay upright and go mostly in the
direction the rider intended it to go, safely and, believe it or not,
accurately. Once the guys realised this, they became more relaxed and more
confident with the throttle and lived with the waltz that gives an idescribably
exhilarating high.
There were some F650's along and the comparisons were interesting. The F650 is a
dffferent bike altogether, aimed at those who want a smaller, lighter bike. The
800 is bigger, more solid, more comfortable and more motorcycle.
Off road the F650 is easier to handle, being lighter. It is especially better on
sandy bends from where it can accelerate away faster while the 800 takes longer
to get up to speed again. With agressive riding of both, there is not much
dffference between the two. On the pans where the top layer crust was thin and
breaking to make the going soft, the 650 was definately better, getting up and
out of the softness better while the 800 was held back more. But neither are
very good at negotiating soft desert or dune sand at low speeds.
On tar we did some interesting top gear roll-ons. We rode side by side and then
wacked open the throttle from various speeds. From 60km/hr in top the 800
convincingly pulled away from the 650, from 80km/hr the difference was less and
from 1OOkm/hr the roles were reversed and the 650 was quicker away and even
quicker at 120.
Top speed was similar, with the speedos at around 180. With slipstreaming the
one could pass the other only to be repassed as the other tucked into the
slipstream and eased past. There was much of this (and other acts of
hooliganism) going on during the 2OOkm trip from Andriesvale to the airport at
Upington. BMW's two new Lifestyle Centres recruits - Colin Howell of Midrand and
Gary Whitehouse of Durban were also there, and both happen to be seasoned enduro
riders, as was Michel Lupini of Style magazine, which added spice to any dice.
And surprise speedsters were Paul Shippey of Wiel and Ian Shrosbee of Topcar
and, although with a lot less hooligan element in his riding, ex rally star
Peter De Waal, now head of a department at BMW. He had become keen on biking a
few months before on a tar excursion but by the end of this lot was worse hooked
than a recently reborn happy clappy, and preached his enthusiasm to all and
sundry. Lekker, Peter. We'Il see much more of you on the road or trail. Others
there were, each deserving a mention, but none more than the late Barry Broady,
the BMW motorcycle manager. We don't write obituaries in Bike SA, but all will
miss the man plenty.
The R80 also did some heavy rock work, as seen in the photos. At the edge of one
pan there was a sharp, rocky incline leading up to some picturesque cliffs. With
much un-BMWlike footup observed trials riding (and thanks to Gary Whitehouses
paddling with long legs) we got some bikes to the top. The torque is lovely and
with momentum a BMW is a more than adequate trials bike.
Impact punctures on rocks are a problem with underinflated tyres though, as
Michel (renamed 'Roeky") Lupini found out after getting one.
Falloffs were mostly of the slow, humorous variety and the fast stuff claimed
only one casualty. After Colin Howell had spent many happy hours with the
throttle cable stretched, a bend eventually did catch him out. It was an
unexpectedlv sharp left hander after many-kilometres of fast sweeping bends.
Colin did the usual rolling back of the throttle into the bend and rolled it on
to power out of what he thought was a fast sweep. It was a sharp bend and he was
a few gears too high and going several dozen kilometres an hour too fast. He
broadsided across the road and flew into and over the opposite bank to record
the fastest prang of the trip. The Iast time I looked he was still employed at
BMW in Midrand so his episode was not among the firing category of misdeeds in
the BMW code of conduct manual.
A really nice bike was almost everyone's conclusion. At R50000 it is affordable
and the basic bike has proved its worth after 17 very successful years on the
market. It is now upgraded in all the right places and should provide good on
and off road ridin to owners for as long as they are likely to ride.