Guzzi with saggy jugs? BMW R80 build. Probably at a glacial pace...

Bought a few days ago and came home tonight.

Nursed a pretty bad fuel leak all the way home. My boots are wet now. No fires though.

Been into things that burn fuel my whole life and this is my first foray into anything German. Wish me luck.

I bought a Clymer manual from the local Mom-and-Pop BMW motorcycle shop and I think they will be getting a bunch of business from me in the future.

The fairing and luggage are pretty rough. I think I'm going to convert it back to a plain R80 naked. 
It's an '87, if I keep it looking stock, I can get a collector plate for it and insurance will be dirt cheap.

I didn't go looking for it, it just sort of fell into my lap.

I have an eye-talian friend, that would falloff his chair at your title! Great stuff.

Hey, now your just being mean

Besides, I resemble that remark...

That's the HD wana bee on the left, or at least what they see in the mirror. A guzzi rider would be a lean (read looks like a stick) guy with his hair slicked back, and a Mr T starter set on.

Moto Guzzi has a richer history than even Harley Davidson.

MG is still in the original factory.

The same windows have been broken for the last 100 years but they're still in the same factory, lol.

In reply to ShawnG :

Wasn't comparing HD and Guzzi's at all. Just the "biker" in funny cartoon. Not the look I think of, although I've seen all kinds.

Cool story on the factory, though. From my limited experiences with Guzzi's, I'm not surprised at all!

Well, it's on the lift in the garage and I poked it with a stick a bit.

As much as I want to just blow it apart and get started on a restoration, I'm going to spend some time making it roadworthy and put some miles on it to see if I even like it.

I'll go through the carbs, change the oil, check the final drive, adjust the brakes and see how it runs.

If I like it then I will probably restore it for myself, if I don't love it, it will get shuffled on down the road to someone else.

On the ride home, I learned that these seem to have more shaft-jack than my Guzzis or my Hondas had. Probably just some of that "character" that Germans deny exists.

Stopped in to the local BMW specialist today and ordered everything I need to rebuild the fuel system.

Did some digging on the bike and figured out why I have intermittent lights at the back. Going to have to get rid of this mess.

Hmm..  Found some goodies. Twin plug heads with a Motorrad Elektrik Alpha ignition and Dyna coils.

Worx adjustable shock with remote reservoir and dual rate springs.

Rich's Custom Upholstery touring seat.

The P/O claimed the engine had a top-end overhaul and the transmission was rebuilt and shimmed. He'd a good friend of mine so I have no reason to doubt him.

The farkles are worth more than what I paid for the bike. Feeling pretty chuffed about that.

I'm actually looking for a complete k bike RS fairing... but there are a few of those earlier  boxer RS ones that have been adapted to k's. Not the best look, but that is apparently considered to be the best designed ever! There is one on eBay asking $1000!

I've heard the shaft jacking is a bit better on the k's, and even better when they went to the paralever suspension. The early K75s is the only one I've put more than a few hundred miles on, so only going by what I've read. 

Parts came in .

Yeesh, I thought Ducati bevel parts were expensive.

Carburetor kits don't include needle and seat, those are extra. Good grief. Don't include floats either.

So, all new rubber carb parts, diaphragms, needle and seat, petcock rebuild kits, fuel hose and fuel filters set me back nearly $300 Canadian. 

Started dismantling and cleaning the grotty carburetors today. Left side is apart and soaking in my parts washer.

Anyone got any solvent recommendations for my ultrasonic cleaner? Last time I used simple green and it discoloured the carburetors.

Cleaned.

Looks like I arrived at plain old washer fluid for the ultrasonic cleaner.

Works great too.

Left carburetor rebuilt.

I have to say, I'm impressed with these carburetors. Easy to service, well designed and the hardware isn't made from cheese like Mikuni hardware seems to be.

Left carb installed, right carb soaking.

Right carburetor rebuilt and installed:

Both fuel taps rebuilt, new fuel lines and filters.

It's now running and not heaving fuel so I'm calling it a win.

Got a bunch more fiddling to do but hope to have it back on the road in the next couple weeks. I hope I like it.

So far, I like how it's built, things just make sense. The tank sits under a hook at the front and on pins at the back. E-clips go over the pins to hold everything together.

Sooner or later, you're going to have to take the tank off at the side of the road and this beats fussing with bolts.

Got the carbs balanced and went for a ride around the block today.

Looks like I've got a new commuting machine for the a few months. Hopefully I like it.

Stuck my long-suffering Ducati cafe project back on the lift. Maybe I'll finish it this year:

Also discovered while moving bikes in the garage, my faithful LeMans needs a new universal joint. 

It's like having sister wives or something. 

Been riding it to work for the last week or so.

It's a decent machine. It doesn't excel at any one thing, just a very competent, nice motorcycle to ride.

I changed all the oils tonight.

Final drive and driveshaft oils were pretty black and less than they should be. Transmission oil had a fair bit of greyish silver tint to it and a bit of metal on the drain plug. I was told the transmission had been gone through and shimmed so it could just be some liquid moly or some type of additive that someone tossed in there. I've refilled them all with Redline heavy shockproof gear oil. I use it in my 'Guzzis and it holds up really well.

Engine oil was pretty black, planning on a couple changes to flush out whatever might be in there so I tossed in some Lucas 50wt I had on the shelf from a previous Britbike I no longer own.

It has a nasty bog at anything more than 3/4 throttle, I reset the floats because I had them a bit too low and that helped a little. I went for a ride to get it nice and hot, then reset the carburetors to be sure they are correct, got a little better again and the idle is where it should be now. It used to creep up to around 2,000 rpm as the bike got hotter.

The carb needles are so worn they have a step in them, I need to order new needles and needle jets before I can chase the bog problem any further. I'm also going to order silicone valve cover gaskets at the same time so I can check the valves.

I think I'm going to keep it. Probably not to restore right away as it needs everything. I'll probably use it as a commuter bike for a couple years and then decide what to do.

New air filter, new silicone valve cover gaskets, new plug boots and adjusted the valves.

It's getting better the more I fiddle with it.

In this episode, Brunhilde finds her purpose...

Chatting with some friends at coffee, one of the guys suggested that I just keep it the way it is and ride it in the off season.

I like the bike but it's too rough to restore and not end up upside down on the money and it's too nice to part out.

I hate taking a nice bike out when they've put that brine garbage on the road to prevent frost because it eats everything aluminum.

So, tonight I bolted on the fairing lowers and went for a spin. This barn door really keeps the air off of you, I think it's better than my old GL1100 was.

So, I give you Brunhilde, the Ugliwethermaschine (it's German, look it up), my new year-round commuting bike.

Love it. Big fan of the RS, but I like the RT, too. 

I've owned several airheads and loved them all. Haven't owned one in 20 years or so. But here's what I remember: You will want to make sure the cable boot at the trans seals well; otherwise, water will enter the trans, IIRC. Also, I had trouble with grounds. Clean them all up. That may be contributing to some of the electrical gremlins you describe. I seem to recall there was one in the headlight bucket that gave me fits on a /5 or /6. The transmissions did have some problems. I spoke to an old BMW mechanic friend (Ted Porter) about it recently when I was considering the purchase of an older GS. I think he machines one of the shafts and installs a clip to hold things in place. Lastly, I seem to recall a system of metal pipes that is designed to get rid of unburned gas in the exhaust . Get rid of that crap...although I don't see it in the photos.

Ted has some videos on his website for the airhead enthusiast. Worth a look: https://www.beemershop.com/category/airhead-parts-and-service-queue.html.

Enjoy the ride and keep us posted. I'd love to get another airhead if/when you decide to sell.

--bb