Do You Know the Adventure History of BMW R80/GS?

As the ancestor of the adventure model, it may be difficult for you to imagine that BMW was once in a business crisis. In the 1950s and 1960s, BMW had not fully emerged from the depression after World War II. However, the demand for cars in the market has not shown a significant upward posture, and the company is struggling to operate. Although the production and sales of motorcycles are relatively ideal, cars that can shelter people from the wind and rain are the real needs of the market in the future. At the time, no one would foresee that BMW R80/GS would become the most successful model in the company's history, and would forever rewrite the history of the motorcycle industry.

Seek change in a difficult situation

At that time, some motorcycle factories and manufacturers who had difficulty operating in the UK still stubbornly insisted on making motorcycles. These motorcycles designed based on previous experience were very conservative, so they all failed in the battle with Japanese manufacturers. BMW have to do something unexpected designs, which even the Japanese can't do.

For this reason, the company's engineers have been silently creating their ideas. Among them is an engineer named Laszlo Peres. He is an off-road motorcycle enthusiast. Not only that, he is also an expert in that field, and has been using BMW racing cars to participate in various off-road events. But at that time, BMW executives have no interest in Peres' achievements in cross-country motorcycles.

Red Devil design

However, no one can recover the declining sales, and the BMW Motorcycle Division urgently needs a variety of novel ideas to save the market. Therefore, when Peres and other engineers told their boss that he had something to show him, his interest was aroused. In this context, the boss saw the "Red Devil" design for the first time. 

At that time, the existing BMW models were carefully selected and finally decided that they use R80 motorcycle starter engine, R65 motorcycle cradle frame, and the R100 motorcycle front fork. And the structure in which the transmission system is integrated with the interior of the R80 engine has also been re-optimized. The original motorcycle cylinder liner has been upgraded to a Galnikel-coated cylinder liner, and the flywheel and clutch assembly have also been replaced, which reduced the weight of motorcycle engine assembly by 20 kg. Not only that, the engine uses a new ignition system to improve reliability. For the off-road positioning of the new bike, the engine is equipped with a larger air filter to better cope with the dusty environment and uses a "two-in-one" motorcycle exhaust system, so that the muffler can be installed in the high and it is not affected by the rear suspension.

After the plan was determined, they quickly produced several test bikes and completed thousands of miles of tests in South America. As expected, the performance of these bikes was very satisfactory to the engineers and drivers, and the company decided to produce these bikes immediately. In the autumn of 1980, BMW R80 G/S appeared at the Cologne Motorcycle Show for the first time.