Naming and getting to know the R80

I rode about town running errands on the 1987 R80 I acquired this past Thursday. She's very much fun to ride, and I am getting used to her riding characteristics as opposed to the ones displayed by Maria, my R1150RT.

Brigitta is the name chosen by my loving wife for the R80 and so she shall be named from now on. Some of the things I've found different about her:

1. Being almost 200 pounds lighter dry, she's quite easy to move around (comparitively speaking) when the engine is off in the parking lot. I don't have to think ahead and make sure I don't nose into a downward sloping parking spot from which I can't back her out of!

2. I am trying to learn a specific sequence for shutdown and startup so I don't leave the fuel petcocks in the wrong position. For instance, you have to ensure they're shut off when parked otherwise you risk some fuel leakage. More important, you have to remember to turn them back on before turning the engine on or you'll come to an embarrassing stop shortly after riding off.

3. Brigitta, being much older than Maria, apparently requires a good warming up period first thing in the morning. I did not wait before riding off and had her quit on me about three times before she was fully warmed up. This is unlike Maria whom the manual recommends no delays in riding off once the engine is running! Apparently at Brigitta's age, it's expected behaviour which I will have to adapt to with cold starts....oh well.

4. Brigitta looks a lot better without her Krauser side cases. : )

5. Being without fairings of any sort, she sure allows the air to flow through my Cycleport Mesh Kevlar riding gear! It feels so nice and cool when first moving after long stops after I've built up a bit of sweat under the gear! Almost chilly. Almost. The thermometer only reads in the mid-70s today but the sun makes one feel warmer than that!

6. In speaking to Pete Homan so more, I should run 20w50 oil in the summer and 10w40 in the winter on both the airhead and the oilhead!

An attempt at an "artsy" shot

Made during the Cold War! I was but a freshly minted Captain of Artillery then.....

I hope you like the pictures of Brigitta above, shot them on a side road off of Quincy Road, East of Gun Club Road and before the exit for the Arapahoe County Fairgrounds.

Temperatures were in the mid-80s by this time, was feeling warm with my Cycleport gear but cooled off fast once I got back on Brigitta and started riding again.