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The airbox went square in 1981 but it is still aluminum under the black paint.There are undoubtedly those who will say the "early" bikes predate the introduction of the /5 series. I think 1981 was the year BMW did away with the aluminum aircleaner box, so if those are "later" models then everything in-between would be "middle"?
Excellent campfire question...
When I decided to get an Airhead, I decided to consider a late model to be anything 1985 and newer. The 85 and newer models have the valves fixed for unleaded gas, monolever rear suspension and the excellent dual disc brakes (or already had) like I had on my K bikes. The earlier models had a lot of changes over the years but the 85 and newer models stayed pretty much the same until they were discontinued.
I always think of monoshock models as late models. 85 and later along with the gs and st.
No, the 1981 changes moved the Airhead from farm equipment to a modern motorcycle.
Although bikes with the 247 Airhead engine were NEVER approved by BMW for sidecar use, the 1970-1980 engine still retained the inordinately heavy flywheel related to sidecar use, which, combined with extremely heavy clutch action made them not so pleasant to operate.
No, the 1981 changes moved the Airhead from farm equipment to a modern motorcycle.
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made them not so pleasant to operate.
Don't see one of the newer ones in your list.