29 Oct On Yer Bike: BMW R80RT

This month FMM Curator Wayne Harley delves into pros and cons of handling donated machinery, in this case a lovingly-owned BMW R80RT…

During the recent lockdown, the museum was again honoured to receive a wonderful donation of a 1982 BMW R80RT motorcycle of the early-1980s. The donation was made out of the goodness of her heart by Mrs Alet de Hart in remembrance of her late husband Martin, and the background leading up to the donation was covered in a touching story published in Afrikaans in the October 2021 newsletter.  The motorcycle was brought back to life by Martin in his own way of doing things, and as they say in Afrikaans, ’n Boer maak ’n plan. So, while not everything about the bike is as it should be, thankfully Martin didn’t chop or customise it in any way. The bike had stood for a long time after his passing, and when we collected the motorcycle it didn’t run.  Since then we have progressively got the R80RT running and in a ‘rideable’ state again. However, it is because the bike is not a perfect example that its presence becomes interesting from a museum point of view, and creates something of an ethical conundrum…

As a museum we are mandated to collect, conserve, document and or educate (display) items of historical value, and the more original an artefact, the better it is. As a motor museum, we also need to reflect the vehicle’s provenance and patina, but this is not always possible. For me, restoration is always the last way out, and it is here that we see these two mandates clash with this donation. The bike’s ownership history that we were given goes back three owners and, as mentioned a little earlier, Martin had his own way of doing things. That is the true life history of this BMW and what he did – no matter how honourable his intentions were at the time – have affected the motorcycle, and if left untended could lead to problems down the line, such as corrosion or technical failure.

So, do we leave as it is and just conserve it as such, or do we restore it? Ethically, I have to honour the donation after many hours were spent chatting to Alet in her kitchen or on the phone: the donation and its history will always remain. Alet would so like to see this R80RT running and looking as good as possible, and FMM will honour her wish and get it looking as good as new, which I think was always Martin’s plan.

1982 and 1983 were the only two years that this specific model was manufactured before it was upgraded in 1984 to the single swing-arm rear suspension version. Basically, the R80RT is a touring motorcycle (RT) powered by the trusted Type 247 engine, an air-cooled flat-twin with two valves per cylinder, also known as the ‘airhead’ boxer. It was used by BMW in its motorcycles from 1969 to 1995. The R80/7 version of the 247 as fitted to our R80RT has a capacity of 798cc and was one of the first to use an electronic ignition system that helped deliver a healthy 36,5 kW and 59 N.m of torque at only 6 500 r/min. Unfortunately, our bike’s motor is showing its age and needs its tappets set as it is rather smoky on start-up, so I can’t yet say that we’ve covered everything.

In its day, the R80RT was perfect for long open roads and was able to manage a fuel economy figure of 4,9 litres/100km, which is rather good even by today’s standards. Yes, it wasn’t a racehorse and with a five-speed gearbox only achieved a top speed of around 170 km/h – but it got the job done. To top it all, the boxster engine is simple to fix with easy access to most of the parts “which wasn’t needed that often to be honest“.

Along with the BMW R100RS, the R80RT were the first motorcycles to feature a full faring as a standard feature, which led the way for so many other brands. The riding position is upright and still very comfortable considering its age, and the windscreen still does its job well. The gearbox and driveshaft are still slickly smooth, despite this old R80RT having ‘been through the mill’.

We at the museum are very grateful to Alet de Hart for choosing us as the home for her husband’s project, and we will undertake to have it running as good as new as soon as possible. The R80RT is currently on display in Hall D.