Hi all, I'm thinking of getting myself a BMW R80 Road Bike. I'm 185cm tall and am wondering if the length of my limbs will be a problem with the layout of the bike ? Has anyone else as tall as me riden one of these bikes ? I'm wondering if I'm better off going for one made in the 1990's or if getting one from the 80's is just as reliable ? Thanks, Remus.
I'm taller than that and I've been riding airheads since the 1980s. As with any motorcycle, the bars, seat and footpegs need to be set up for your personal situation. Frankly, I don't see your height as being any problem at all. Most complaints about airhead have to do with the rider having problems putting his/her feet on the ground....
That's only slightly over 6 feet. No, that's not a problem. There are quite a few different airheads, some small, others pretty large. One of my friends is 6ft 2 or 4 or something like that and they don't fit him well. His feet don't fit under the shifter and his legs hit the carbs. He had the seat re-done to give it more height, so still rides the R100R. But the R1200 is his ride of choice these days because they fit him better. But at your height, any of them should be ok.
List out the airhead models from shortest to tallest. I'm just curious ;-) I can't flat foot on my R90 It'd be good for someone who was 6 feet tall. What are the models that have a lower stand-over?
I think the lowest is the R45 and R65. Some of the /5s are about the same - some are as tall as the /6. After that, they're pretty much all the same height till 84. I'm not that familiar with the monolevers, but don't think their seat height is much different than the twin shock models. I believe the R100 Mystic has a low seat height. It might be the same as the R65. The R80ST is a little bit taller than the /6, /7. The tallest ones are the G/S (taller than the /6, /7 etc twin shocks) and GS being the tallest of all. The lightest are something like 440 lbs and the heaviest (RS, RT, GS) are about 525 lbs.
My 90/6 has a seat height of around 820mm, you can buy a new GS with a lowered frame from bmw with a seat height of 790mm.... All Airheads have foot pegs that are adjustable.....
I am about 6'4", that's about 194cm, I ride an R80G/S I've fitted bar risers and slightly lower and rear set footpegs. It's no problem and I enjoy riding it as much and probably more than my R1200GSA. The only small problem is the Paris Dakar tank, it's wider than the normal G/S tank and your knees don't fit in the recessed space provided. But that just a minor issue. At 185cm you should be fine.
I am a hair shorter than that ... 184cm (right at 6' tall), and these things fit me PERFECT. As a matter of fact, the later Airheads fit better than the older ones. I have a /5 that feels too small. I have a monolever that has longer forks and extended swingarm that may be a hair big ... and my '91 R100GS is perfectly sized.
Check out this cool website. Just add the bike you are interested in and your height/inseam and it will show how you fit. http://cycle-ergo.com/
It's also down to how confident you are on your bike.........you don't need to have both feet flat footed or most of us would be riding Harley's
For me it's city riding and sand on pavement. I've had a few "I didn't know I could do the splits while lifting 400 pounds" moments due to having my one foot on the ground sliding out from under me on sand or wet concrete. Some of that is my poor choice or tread on my riding boots or dress shoes for work (no traction, flat leather bottoms.) I'm not that old, but hiking a leg up and over when wearing tight pants is a talent I'm quickly losing. I should probably start doing yoga or something. The squat isn't that many inches so it's not as hard for me to get onto as say something like a Yamaha WR250R that I really got get onto like a horse. Someone posted a video of a short dude riding a big BMW and I'm nowhere near that short legged so I guess I'll have to quit complaining :)
That's pretty interesting for the ergos, but as mentioned above, we "short-inseamers" have a slightly different take... I am 5-7 with a 29" inseam, and when riding the bike the ergos are fantastic... but at a stop I do have to slide over to one side to put a foot flat on the ground (either that or tippy-toe with both!)...and that is with a Corbin seat cut down to the minimimiminimum that they could provide! I used to have a Slash 2 which was perfect for me, but a 6-2 BIG guy buddy on it looked like the proverbial monkey-on-a-football!
I'm 6-1 and the biggest issue for me is the bent knees while riding for more than a couple hours. Some days it's OK, other day not so much. I've often considered putting my feet up over the barrels for a while, but afraid of getting zapped by high voltage!! :eek1
I am 5'8" tall with a 28" inseam, my wife is 5'6" with an inseam somewhere north of 30" I am comfortable on her R80 for as long as my ass is my knees feel right I don't bash the carbs or heads She's only comfortable on it for an hour or so, then her knee gives her fits and she bashes the carbs and has a hard time getting her foot down so the peg doesn't hit her. The biggest thing is the rider triangle, Seat, Footpeg, Handle Bar position. It's mostly easy to change it if you need to. There's two types of fitting on the bike. The putting your foot down when you come to a stop And the Rider Triangle. It's the triangle that effects your day to day comfort.
I think the egos of BMW's work for better taller people, and at roughly 6', I'd put you in that category. I'm 6'4" (194cm) with a 32" inseam. My R90 is about perfect fir me, although I wouldn't mind rear set pegs. I went with the lower bars as I have long arms (37" sleeve length), and was cramped with the US bars. RSR
