Newb from NC - Looking to buy a 1983 R80 (w/ pics)

[carolinabandit]

Hi everyone!

My name is AJ, I'm 25 years old and I've been riding a little over a year now. I hopped on a motorcycle for the first time ever and rode through the mountains of northern Thailand and fell in love. Fast forward to today, I currently own a KTM duke and I really want to get a vintage bike I can tinker with and customize, and I love the way the old airheads look. I'm looking at one locally, and to the purists, it wont be the most appealing bike. To everyone else, I'm looking to get a little help here as I don't know much at all about this era of motorcycles.

About the bike:

It's a 1983 R80 that's been owned for a few years by a guy who used to work on planes doing aviation electronics. It's his first motorcycle, and his claim is that he went through most of the bike to get it road ready, only to end up having back surgery and not being able to ride it comfortably anymore. He went through and re-wired everything with motogadget products including a motogadget M-unit, switches, horn, wiring, lights, and RFID key. It seems like a really slick setup. He also installed an aftermarket LED headlight and renthal bars.

As far as mechanical, he showed me a $2,500 receipt for a shop that specializes in european motorcycles that went through and a did a lot of mechanical including new brakes, forks rebuilt, drivetrain, carbs, wheel bearings, etc.

In addition, the rear shocks are new, the seat is new (although not the best looking design), and a lot of what's original on the bike looks to be in really good shape. The instrument cluster is original with a working odometer which reads 25,000 miles.


I'm having a hard time getting a feel for pricing on these bikes, especially ones that aren't very original. Would $4-5k be a good range for this bike? Anything else I should look at specifically on the motorcycle?

Thanks!

 

[carolinabandit]

More pics...

 

[m_stock10506]

The photos show that the bike has been gone over quite a bit. I’m not a price expert, but 4-5k seems to me a price for a very good condition original bike. Very nice looking custom work on the bike but that doesn’t always translate into the selling price. You have to decide if you’re willing to pay for the work that was put into it.

What’s been done to the charging system? What about the valve seats? Have you looked to see what stock bikes are being offered for?

Lots of Airhead riders in NC. It might help if you fill out your profile and add your city or general location.

 

[20774]

Michael mention my chief concern and that was the valves and seats. The '81-84 period had issues with the seats not very good for heat transfer...the 1000cc bikes were probably worse because of the higher heat output.

With a bike like this, you have a snowflake...no other bike will be like it and electrically, you don't have any existing diagrams to fall back on when you have to trouble shoot something.

I presume that he has dealt with the needs of the Airhead charging system and made sure that the system will charge in the usual manner.

 

[carolinabandit]

Michael mention my chief concern and that was the valves and seats. The '81-84 period had issues with the seats not very good for heat transfer...the 1000cc bikes were probably worse because of the higher heat output.

With a bike like this, you have a snowflake...no other bike will be like it and electrically, you don't have any existing diagrams to fall back on when you have to trouble shoot something.

I presume that he has dealt with the needs of the Airhead charging system and made sure that the system will charge in the usual manner.

Thanks for the feedback. So what exactly would need to be addressed with the stock charging system and a modified electrical setup? Would the stock unit need to be tested to ensure proper function? Or would it need to be replaced altogether with an upgraded unit?

I will follow up with the seller on the valves. I know a lot of work was done to refresh the mechanical components.

 

[m_stock10506]

Thanks for the feedback. So what exactly would need to be addressed with the stock charging system and a modified electrical setup? Would the stock unit need to be tested to ensure proper function? Or would it need to be replaced altogether with an upgraded unit?

I will follow up with the seller on the valves. I know a lot of work was done to refresh the mechanical components.

35 year old bike.... original system, rotor, stator, diode board and voltage regulator. Original system probably able to produce 240 watt output. Depending on your accessories and already switched headlight to LED, that could be enough. Have components been replaced? Have wiring connections been cleaned or maintained. Original setup actually works pretty well, but there are a few replacement options with higher output. If you stay with original setup, you are likely to have spare components available from many other Airhead owners, as well as from several vendors that carry equivalent spares. The upgraded charging kits will somewhat limit your source for replacements if something fails.

 

[carolinabandit]

35 year old bike.... original system, rotor, stator, diode board and voltage regulator. Original system probably able to produce 240 watt output. Depending on your accessories and already switched headlight to LED, that could be enough. Have components been replaced? Have wiring connections been cleaned or maintained. Original setup actually works pretty well, but there are a few replacement options with higher output. If you stay with original setup, you are likely to have spare components available from many other Airhead owners, as well as from several vendors that carry equivalent spares. The upgraded charging kits will somewhat limit your source for replacements if something fails.

I understand your point about the original system. Definitely something to keep an eye on if i do decide to purchase. But your comment about the LEDs, and forgive me if I’m way off, but don’t they use a lot less electricity? Which should put less load on the system.

I’m located in Charlotte by the way. There’s not a lot near me to choose from that’s for sale and A lot of the more original bikes seem to be in a similar range for asking price.

Another question I had: does that look like an original paint color combo? And is that fairing original?

 

[20774]

Another question I had: does that look like an original paint color combo? And is that fairing original?

Not an original paint job. The fairing is aftermarket.