This 1981 BMW R80G/S was made to go to war on the brutal Paris-Dakar rally nearly 40 years ago, and it’s still ready to ride into battle today.
Sand scattering across your visor. The Saharan sun baking your back. The distant brappp of the nearest competitor. The folks at Bring a Trailer can’t provide the sand-in-your-mouth experience of the classic Paris-Dakar Rally, but they are currently offering the next best thing: the proper hardware.
The 1981 BMW R80G/S might just be one of the coolest motorcycles to ever grace the trails of this fine world. (BMW proved they also share that feeling with the RnineT Urban GS in released in 2018, which carries much of the same spirit of rip-roaring adventure that bred the original Dakar bikes of the Seventies and Eighties.)
This particular desert sled being auctioned on BaT is a rarely-seen clean example of a bike that was designed to be destroyed in the hard parts of the world. The odometer reads almost 56,000 miles, which is not bad for the air-cooled 798-cc boxer motor making 50 horsepower from the factory. This bike, for what it’s worth, has had a few engine modifications; it’s had Nikasil cylinders, electronic ignition and a lighter flywheel added. The power is sent to the rear wheel via a five-speed transmission and a desert-proof direct drive shaft, instead of the more typical chain drive bikes.
This bike also came with some cool factory options– chief among them being the Paris-Dakar decal package, but also including the larger 8.5-gallon fuel tank and an 8,000-rpm tachometer. Maintenance reports show the front forks and carbs have been rebuilt, as well as fluid changes performed all-around. The front and rear fenders and fuel tank were refurbished, and decals replaced, and the center stand and subframe were all re-powder coated.
The bidding currently stands at $7,100, with a few hours remaining. Go now, and buy this bike before I do.
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