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BMW
motorcycles
The history of GS: a career on two wheels
The history of GS: a career on two wheels
Gaudi Max
Who dares wins: The R 80 G / S was the beginning of an unprecedented success story for BMW? a no-frills jester that doesn’t necessarily need asphalt under the wheels.
Gerfried Vogt
10/12/2005
The legendary Yamaha XT 500 actually paved the way. The single-cylinder steam hammer created a new category in the mid-seventies, the enduros. Presented in 1976, the stew found just over 2,000 buyers in Germany a year later; in 1978 it was already 2,833. In the same year, BMW’s motorcycle division in the main export country, the USA, suffered painful slumps. The people in charge looked for solutions, especially because the US general branch was responsible for the local motorcycle importer Butler & Smith tried to swallow, which made the situation worse. Finally, the management of the motorcycle division took over at the end of 1978
closed back. Luck for the motorcycle testing department: They presented the temporary car marketing department with a bold idea to boost sales again: a boxer enduro with a cardan shaft.
At the beginning of 1979 MOTORRAD editor-in-chief Helmut Luckner speculated what it might look like. The study on the cover of MOTORRAD 1/1979 already shows a lot of similarity with the later series. After the rapid implementation of the project had been decided, the team around project manager Rudiger Gutsche was happy to be able to fall back on experience in off-road sports. For example Herbert Schek, multiple German champion in a BMW, and Laszlo Peres, off-road driver and BMW development engineer. The year before, the latter had designed a piece of sports equipment with a chrome-molybdenum frame for a new off-road sports class over 750 cm³. Research manager von der Marwitz had a small series of such vehicles built secretly at Laverda in Breganze.
The new enduro was supposed to be light, robust and suitable for off-road use. A smart single-sided swing arm allowed quick wheel changes and also saved weight. Only 21 months after the presentation of the test prototype »Red Devil« was the
Series version R 80 G / S (terrain / street) ready ?? the line between the book-
staben should underline the “dual purpose” essence. Finally, a study confirmed the thesis that enduro riders mostly moved on gravel roads and on the road.
Equipped with the modified two-valve unit from the R 80/7, the unique rear suspension, a solid oil pan protection and the cleverly laid two-in-one exhaust system, the G / S quickly advanced to a sales hit. The facelift was subtle but consistent: in 1981 the disc brake was improved, in 1982 the exhaust system was more corrosion-resistant, and from 1984 it was possible to refuel without lead. In addition, spectacular successes in rallying brought the end of the homely “rubber cow” image. And with the Paralever, which finally put an end to the elevator effect of the cardan drive, including the new cross-spoke wheels, the second GS generation from 1987 onwards proved that BMW had become a big number.
The principle? Displacement cannot be replaced by anything except more displacement ?? This also applied to the GS: With over 38,000 R 100 GS, almost three times as many 1000 GS had rolled off the production line by the end of 1996 than the 800. All the more daring to break with the past when BMW conjured the completely new R 1100 GS out of its hat in 1994. No longer a real frame, instead of an ordinary telescopic fork, a telescopic lever, a four-valve motor as a drive and a duck’s bill as a design element ?? that could have gone really bad. But it didn’t. The 1100 GS became a hit and the fan base continued to grow. Because this BMW was a long-distance travel motorcycle par excellence.
It was only after almost 40,000 copies had been produced that it was replaced at the end of 1999 in the form of the R 1150 GS. The cylinders of the cruiser R 1200 C helped the revised GS to 1130 cc and 85 hp. Thanks to the six-speed gearbox, the boxer, now equipped with a hydraulic clutch, turned almost exactly 3000 rpm at 100 km / h, which reduced consumption to under four liters. The R 1150 GS immediately topped the sales list in Germany. In 2001, for example, 6,714 units were registered. Undoubtedly, BMW can with the youngest offspring R 1200 GS to build on the success of its predecessor: The all-rounder, which has been lightened by 30 kilograms and has been thoroughly revised, has found over 12,000 buyers with us so far. The GS is still a long way from reaching the end of its career ladder.
Technical data R 80 G / S
2-cylinder boxer engine, bore x stroke 84.8 x 70.6 mm, 798 cm3, 50 hp
at 6500 rpm, 57 Nm at 5000 rpm, single-piston floating caliper, 264-
Disc brakes, full weight
196 kg, payload 202 kg, acceleration 0-100 km / h 6.1 seconds, top speed
161 km / h, price 8920 marks (1980)
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