I've been thinking about picking up a new toy, to fill a void in my stable. Between the BA and my Sprint, I want something that has a full fairing that I can really ride year round - a very good commuter (my commute is 100 miles a day) with good wind protection, and sit-up seating position. I also want something that is reliable enough to be used as a commuter, gets decent gas mileage (40+) and something that is dead easy to wrench on.
I have seen some 75 - 78 Gl1000 Goldwings with full fairings and bags for less than 1500 bucks that, cosmetically, look in pretty decent shape and have less that 100K on them, but I've done some reading and am not conviced that these first generation Goldwings have quite the longevity of their more evolved family members. Does anyone have any first hand experience?
But today a friend of mine who works at a local Triumph/BMW dealer let me know that they just took in a 1983 R80 with less than 50K miles that has a full fairing, hard cases, and is in excellent condition. I could probably get it for a little over 2K. I have heard nothing but good things about these BMW airhead boxer motors but wondered if anyone here had any experience with them?
The down side is that both bikes are ugly as sin, but if they meet my needs and the price is right, some sins can be forgiven. After all, if I want to be seen I have the BA; if I want to have people seeing my tail lights I have the Sprint.
