Old Airheads are great and all....

[Paper]

I have Multibike issues.. I'm not saying I have too many, but because I have multiple bikes something doesn't get ridden..

I've got a Helix, and while it's a hoot to ride and tour on, it's not practical for the long haul.. My 10 mile ride to work is perfect, and at almost 70mpg, I like it when my car doesn't move for weeks at a time..

I've got a KLR650 and I'm a moderator on a KLR forum, so I try to ride it often, and it's a great bike, comfortable (Russell Day Long Seat) and has a ton of luggage space. It's also the bike I ride when the going gets tough because it's not an expensive motorcycle if it were to end up on it's side, and with the protection I've got on it, it's not damaged much if it does end up on it's side..

Two airheads.. Monoshock R80 that I truly love riding.. Smooth and it handles very well with the aftermarket suspension, and when it's hot out it's the naked bike I gravitate to and wear mesh gear.. 81 R65 that I ended up with in a trade.. It had issues and I've sorted out most, but I don't have luggage for it yet, so it's just a day trip bike since I've only got a tankbag and a duffle strapped to the back if needed..

And then there's the problem.. I've got a 05' R1200GS.. Farkled out very well before I bought it, it's a powerful, well handling touring machine that loves gravel. With the bags I have on it, and the rear seat removed, the back of the bike has more open space than a small pickup truck..  

Warm weather here in the Midwest has allowed riding season to start a month early.. So, since the GS needed a battery when I put it away last fall, I've left it alone and have already put a couple thousand miles on the other bikes..

Tonight I installed the new battery in the GS and took it for a short ride..  And it showed me what technology has done for motorcycling in the last 20 years.. The thing is Amazing!!! More smooth power than needed, brakes that stop NOW, all day comfort, and an engine that really requires nothing.. No tweaks, rattles, adjustments.. Just jump on, turn the key and you've now got tons of power, great handling and brakes, and a motorcycle that can be ridden all day long and tomorrow the only thing you'll have to worry about is which pocket of your riding jacket the key is sitting??

Part of me wishes the other bikes were so effortless to own and operate, but on the other hand, it's those little tweaks you need to make in the morning that keep the old bikes interesting..

Since I'm guessing the majority of us here have more than one bike, what makes you gravitate back to technology of yesteryear and continue to own and operate your R65?

[Motu]

I got the R65 Mono so I could have one bike instead of several. I pull it out and ride it with no problems, and spend a couple of weeks in the depths of winter working on it. With two sets of wheels, two seats and rear guards, two front guards, two sets of panniers, two exhaust systems, two fairing/screens and several handle bars I can turn my bike into whatever riding condition I'm set to do.

I did ride a fairly new cruiser the other day - what impressed me was the suspension. Even for a cruiser, it handled the bumps far better than my old R65.

[Lucky_Lou]

The challenge, like a good marriage it needs to be worked at but when you get it right it rewards you...... can i go play with my "K" now love..pleaseeeeee
Lou

[suecanada]

What a good question! There are 3 bikes in the Brrrm Closet and it would be delightful to have just 2 to worry about and pay for insurance. One bike kept would be the wee DR200 simply because it is fun and very easy...easy to ride and easy to maintain. I can take me into old age. I am old school maintenance skilled.....fuel injection, throttle bodies, ABS...egads...I am attracted to simple bikes like the R65 and the DR200 because I somewhat understand and can fix 'em mostly myself. If I had a ton of money, I'd be inclined to just hand off the maintenance chores like spline lubes to a mechanic but I don't. And if everything goes well, I enjoy puttering and that nice feeling when it is done and "I actually did it"! I always have a nagging feeling that the mechanic doesn't have any vested interest in my bike so wouldn't do as thorough a job or "see' other things that may need attention. To a female rider, mechanics is a bit of a challenge as I didn't learn it from the cradle....although I was at least surrounded by it growing up with the guys.
I just like the looks of the older bikes...that bent in the middle, pregnant gastank look I don't admire particularly and the size intimidates me even if it is not heavy....looks heavy! I like flat gastank profiles. (the bonneville has that)
One bike to do it all is always a compromise. Any bike that cruises all day at 75mph, good on gas, carries all the gear like your 1200GS ends up being too heavy for me in many situations because I'm small and weak. Your KLR650 (DR650 for me) is closer to the mark for a do it all but older technology....ya gotta love that FI and just press the starter and vrooom...no warm up and away we go!! I want my DR200 to cruise at 75 mph. I'm asking too much I suppose.
One other aspect to your question is pride of ownership....R1200GS's are everywhere by the thousands. When I show up on the R65LS at a rally, people notice and even getting gas, people notice and comment. Yup, I LOVE a pat on the back!!
The R65LS has an easy 200+ mile gas range, is light enough for me 456 wet, is low enough at its 30.9" sagging suspension, has a low maintenance shaft drive, carries lots of gear with nice luggage, can handle my heated gear and is beautiful in my eyes....not too shabby for one bike. Needs better tires for gravel....then it would be that much better.
Make a pro and con list for each of your bikes. I'd be interested to see what it uncovers. Maybe weight the factors in order of impt. to you.

[suecanada]

One other point: it would seem to me that yes, it is easier to work on an airhead of old and yes it is harder for the average joe to work on a modern, 1200GS for instance. But, one probably HAS to work on the airhead more often than the modern FI bike but when things go wrong on a modern bike, one might be down and out except for making the roadside assistance phone call. We just might juryrig a solution on the old airhead. :-/

[Paper]

You're right about all the GS's and the old airheads..

We have a local even coming up (twice a year) called the Slimey Crud Run, just outside of Madison, WI.. It's usually close to a thousand bikes, and it's mostly NOT A HARLEY EVENT..  

Instead, it's a lot of Euro bikes, old Japanese bikes, and then the rest are filled with sport touring bikes of all makes, including dozens of GS's..

I usually ride my R80 to the event and there will only be a small scattering of airheads.. Your red LS would be a hit at the event!!

This year I think I'll take the R65, unless the weather is crappy.. The heated grips on the GS and electrical vest sometimes changes the decision on what bike when you leave in the morning and it's still below freezing and you've got 70 miles to ride.

The mention of the Monoshock R65 was spot on.. Mine was bullet proof. I just wanted the smoother motor of the R80.. My R80 (after a carb rebuild) is completely reliable..

My 81 R65 was missing a lot of items when I got it, and I have no idea how many miles are on it, and what its history is.. When I changed fork oil there were two different colors between what drained out of each fork.

The carbs have been the issue.. I rebuilt them 2 weeks ago, and I've about got them sorted, but they're not 100% just yet.. My choke return spring sometimes disconnects on one side, so I've purchased new springs to install tonight.. It's not a happy bike when one jug is running on full choke and the other isn't, and the choke isn't needed.

Oddly enough, weight of the bikes doesn't matter to me.. I sold my 08' GoldWing last spring.. The day after I bought it I was comfortably riding down gravel roads with it.. My issue with it is that I wear full Aerostich gear and everything else, and when the temps are in the 80's or more, I cooked behind that full fairing.. So, it turned into the expensive motorcycle I moved out of the way to get out the bike I was going to ride. Kind of expensive dust collector.

The GS is a hoot.. I bought it in Spokane last spring and rode it 2000 miles back home over a long weekend, and getting a chance to see some great spots while doing so.. Miles are effortless on it, but as you said, they're everywhere.. Or as we like to call em', Sheep.. I actually kicked around getting Baaaa on my license plate.  

They're all different, that's for sure!!

[Motu]

I work on cars for a living, so the electronic mumbo jumbo is no problems for me. But that's what I do all day, I don't want to do that for my hobby - love the simplicity of the Airhead.

In NZ we have yearly registration costs, and with insurance for all the bikes, I needed to get down to one bike. I still have a shed full of dirt bikes, but they are not registered for road use, and not insured either...although might get something on contents.

[Lucky_Lou]

The GS is a hoot.. I bought it in Spokane last spring

Got a Buddy lives at Liberty Lake... nice part of the world he tried to drowned me waterskiing on Coer d Alene, but what the heck i can walk on water.
Lou

[Barry]

Having done some basic work on fuel injected engines I'm sure with the right support from forums we would learn to keep them running for a long time to come. I'm confident that will happen when today's modern bikes get old. They say nature abhors a vacuum so when the franchise dealers give up on servicing what were once modern engines then enthusiasts will step in to fill the gap. It's already happening if you look at oil-head and K bike forums.

I enjoy the refinement and efficiency of a fuel injected engine but an airhead is just at the right age when if properly fettled it can be a start on the button, reasonably refined daily rider. And the fettling is fun into the bargain.

[Ed Miller]

Since I'm guessing the majority of us here have more than one bike, what makes you gravitate back to technology of yesteryear and continue to own and operate your R65?

Simple for me:  my R65 is my modern bike.  

[tom_hudson]

The GS is a hoot.. I bought it in Spokane last spring

Got a Buddy lives at Liberty Lake... nice part of the world he tried to drowned me waterskiing on Coer d Alene, but what the heck i can walk on water.
Lou

Hey  Lou - We had a home at Liberty Lake for 30 years - Raised our kids there - Moved back to California for the year around motorcycle weather - We do miss the North West sometimes but not the snow & ice - tom  

[Lucky_Lou]

Hey  Lou - We had a home at Liberty Lake for 30 years - Raised our kids there - Moved back to California for the year around motorcycle weather - We do miss the North West sometimes but not the snow & ice - tom  

Tom you must have been there when i was. My friend Franks house backed onto the lake and there was a grass area in front of the house about 1/2 the size of a Football pitch with homes all around it, we had an impromptu game with the neighbors one afternoon it was great fun.
This is/was? his company,
http://www.econoheat.com/
I had a UK distributorship for them in the late 1980,s  sadly it didn't work out for us though.That said i still work on some of the origonal kit i sold and had some parts from them earlier this year.
Lou

[Semper Gumby]

HI Paper,

I must be living backwards in time because I started with the R65 and moved back to the BSA's.  There are now three of the dang things (two of which actually run).  I like doing things that people do on the "modern" bikes on something that I bought for a song and still runs.

Don't get on that GS...very seductive creature that one.  May be spawn of the devil...   [smiley=bmw_smiley.gif]

[Paper]

Don't get on that GS...very seductive creature that one.  May be spawn of the devil...   [smiley=bmw_smiley.gif]

You might be right about the GS.. When I get on it, I have a hard time getting off.. I just want to keep riding!!!

Photo from last year.. Rode up to Angle Inlet, MN and then did 200 miles of gravel before riding the loop around Lake Superior..

[tom_hudson]

Hey  Lou - We had a home at Liberty Lake for 30 years - Raised our kids there - Moved back to California for the year around motorcycle weather - We do miss the North West sometimes but not the snow & ice - tom  

Tom you must have been there when i was. My friend Franks house backed onto the lake and there was a grass area in front of the house about 1/2 the size of a Football pitch with homes all around it, we had an impromptu game with the neighbors one afternoon it was great fun.
This is/was? his company,
http://www.econoheat.com/
I had a UK distributorship for them in the late 1980,s  sadly it didn't work out for us though.That said i still work on some of the origonal kit i sold and had some parts from them earlier this year.
Lou

I know the area where he was at - Back in the 30's Liberty Lake was a big deal - there was even a train to bring folks out from Spokane to enjoy the beach - Big dance hall out over the lake - Spokane is 15 miles away but back then it was an all day deal -