Say what you want about Terblanche...

[Drunken Monkey]

...but he thinks the original Monster is one of the most iconic modern bikes and is destined to become a classic

http://www.bikeexif.com/pierre-terblanche

[Curmudgeon]

Say what you want?  The boy has a love affair with a plain vanilla R80GS?! Needs help!!!

[zooom]

Say what you want?  The boy has a love affair with a plain vanilla R80GS?! Needs help!!!

a dead nuts reliable do almost anything you want on it kind of machine seems to make sense to me...

[Curmudgeon]

a dead nuts reliable do almost anything you want on it kind of machine seems to make sense to me...

Hmmm... Presume you never rode one?  Should have said "Singer" on the tank. What you are really describing is an R90/6 or maybe R100/7.

Without writing a book, the R80GS was cobbled together from the parts bin to capitalize on the factory ISDT and Paris-Dakar bikes which had the same paint but were monoshock and quite different. By the intro of the "Bumble Bee", they were onto something which could actually deliver "adventure"...., but you needed longer legs than mine! My son wouldn't mind an R80GS for trips to the drug store. but a clean one costs too much as so few were sold here. Back in the day, they could sit for a year or two on the showroom floor as a "halo" bike. The "S" and "RS" didn't sit, in spite of the price!

[teddy037.3]

hmmm, I liked his designs...

[Moto Motivo]

The BMW GS range are very good sellers in the rest of the world.  I owned a R100GS PD (Paris Dakar) and a R1150GS in South Africa before immigrating to the US.  BMW won the Paris to Dakar race a couple of times with a R100GS.  The GS was (and maybe still is) the best selling motorcycle over 500cc in South Africa.  They are bullet proof and last for ever with very little maintenance.  For a country like South Africa, the GS makes allot of sense.  Many European riders use the GS to ride through Africa from the North down to the South and then sell the bikes in SA.  I had a large collection of Ducati motorcycles too, vintage and modern, including a 900 Elephant but rode my 1150GS daily.  The Ducati's were only exercised on weekends and track days.  BMW did so well in South Africa with their bikes sales that they moved the guy (Pieter De Waal) that headed the sales in SA to the US to improve sales over here.
I recently did a 1000 mile cross country trip in SA with a R1200GS Adventure and the bike was perfect for the trip.

[Curmudgeon]

Bexton, you must have long legs!  That R80 was a "gutless wonder" though, slower than an R75/6 since it was choked with emissions. R100GS was fine for longer trips. In SA I could see the point too. Were those bikes assembled locally as the NKD Land Rovers were?

Will pay you a visit if my kid has to trailer a classic car to or from Zebulon again!

[Moto Motivo]

The SA GS bikes came from the factory in Germany and were "free" of all the emissions sh*t.  I am only 5'10" and never had problems with the std GS bikes, the Adventure is a different story.  The R1150GS has an adjustable seat for height!
British Leyland had an assembly plant in SA where they built their cars and many were exported to RHD countries, including the UK.

[Curmudgeon]

The SA GS bikes came from the factory in Germany and were "free" of all the emissions sh*t.  I am only 5'10" and never had problems with the std GS bikes, the Adventure is a different story.  The R1150GS has an adjustable seat for height!
British Leyland had an assembly plant in SA where they built their cars and many were exported to RHD countries, including the UK.

Thanks for the snaps of the PD! If you still had that, my son would make you an offer.  He's 6' 3+" and ~ 245#. Even a 33" seat height is a non-starter for me @ 5' 8" with a 29" inseam. Had an RS Motorsport from 1978 - 1984 with a 32" seat height and even that could be a challenge! IMO that bike is a true design classic. Young son said that it was only comfortable over 100 MPH with the Pridmore suspension..., so I had to run a K100RT for a while to tour with him!!!


A Pan Am check captain pal had a bumble bee and rode it from NJ all the way up the Alcan once but preferred an RT for those three week jaunts and picked up a Trans Alp to fill the GS void. He's 6' 2"..., and Swiss which explains a few of his quirks. 

BTW, during the years Land Rover was owned by BMW, Defenders were built from NKD kits in the BMW car plant in Jo-burg. LR even did a 6-cyl petrol for SA, not for serious "bush" naturally.

[hillbillypolack]

Wow.

How did this go from a thread about Terblanche to two opposing views on BMW motorcycles?

Back to the previously scheduled program:  Terblanche did some really interesting things during his tenure.  Supermono, Gran Canyon, and (I think) the 851 / 888.  Of course he took a hit for the 999 / 749 bikes and they were wooden in comparison to the lyrical 916 / 996 designs.  Pierre also spawned the 'new' Sport Classics though they were just an update of older bikes.  But adding two significant bikes in the Hypermotard and the Multistrada took bikes to another dimension. 

His work at Guzzi shows promise, hopefully they move on the designs.

[EvilSteve]

I whole heartedly disagree with anyone who says the 999/749 wasn't a beautiful bike (while respecting their opinion of course  ). I still want a 749R.

[Curmudgeon]

Wow.

How did this go from a thread about Terblanche to two opposing views on BMW motorcycles?

Did you read the article on the link? THIS he thinks is a "modern classic". Maybe HE never rode one either.  Has the power of a 500 twin and is heavy. If you downshift for a pass, the revs rise but nothing much else happens. Handling is worse than a /6 750 too. Reality check?

[hillbillypolack]

Did you read the article on the link? THIS he thinks is a "modern classic". Maybe HE never rode one either.  Has the power of a 500 twin and is heavy. If you downshift for a pass, the revs rise but nothing much else happens. Handling is worse than a /6 750 too. Reality check?

You are in the minority. It IS a modern classic, regardless of its weight or performance.  It's the forefather of the GS line.  It's no 60/2, and no HP2 enduro, but they're a lot of fun.

It's not about control, power, balance and lineage with that bike.

Saying that a GS/80 isn't a classic is like saying a Bugeye Sprite or MGB aren't classics.

[hillbillypolack]

from the 09 EICMA

[Curmudgeon]

You are in the minority. It IS a modern classic, regardless of its weight or performance.  It's the forefather of the GS line.  It's no 60/2, and no HP2 enduro, but they're a lot of fun.

It's not about control, power, balance and lineage with that bike.

Saying that a GS/80 isn't a classic is like saying a Bugeye Sprite or MGB aren't classics.

By that line of reasoning, an R65LS is a classic. Bear in mind that both it and the first R80GS above were sales duds. BMW did make some true classics, including the first smoke silver R90S which I had, and R100RS Motorsport above, and probably the K1. ALL of THOSE bikes actually work. The R100GS was the first real GS if you want to consider function into the equation. 

Check the auction reports. No interest in arguing with a Texan...  Not that I owned one, but you do consider a 1973 750 SS a classic, right?

BTW, I'd rather a TR-4A or better yet an AC Bristol, a true classic. For sunny Sundays I prefer a Plus 8, turnkey modern classic. 

At least Terblanche likes Hailwood..., so he can't be all bad.