Happy new (to me, at least) bike day!

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Lion_Lady · Tue May 26, 2009 7:06 am

How'd I miss this??? Congratulations!!! What number is it? (Look on the left side of the triple tree, there should be a silver plate mounted there with WHICH Edition 80 you've got).

Now for the bad news. Man... I have to say, that crash bars are an abomination on a Rockster. Once you get comfortable on that tall/topheavy beast, sell them and use the cash to buy some useful accessories.

They add a lot of weight, for no real purpose... All you really "need" is the plastic drop guards (which you have) to protect against scratches from the stupid driveway tipovers. The cylinder head covers are easily replaced if damaged, and will actually survive a surprising amount of abuse before anything begins leaking.

Here's my Ed 80:

P

Brackstone · Tue May 26, 2009 7:25 am

I like the Asymmetrical headlights

#13 Unread post by **MZ33** » Tue May 26, 2009 2:04 pm

Happy Bike Day!!

But you'll always be Grey Thumper to us . . . right?

Grey Thumper · Tue May 26, 2009 3:27 pm

Lion_Lady wrote:How'd I miss this??? Congratulations!!! What number is it? (Look on the left side of the triple tree, there should be a silver plate mounted there with WHICH Edition 80 you've got).

Got it! I've been told there are 5 Ed 80s in my country; I know two other guys who have one, haven't heard word of the other two (they could be in other parts of the country). If it's a "collectible" I guess that's a nice extra, but otherwise, it's a pretty fun bike.

Lion_Lady wrote:Now for the bad news. Man... I have to say, that crash bars are an abomination on a Rockster.

Thank you, THANK YOU! Totally agree; I've been feeling iffy about the bars, but have been wondering if I'm just picking fashion over function. IMHO, they don't really fit on a bike unless it goes offroad or has lots of shiny chrome. But then, the only times I've dropped a bike is during parking lot drills, and I'm doing a lot of those again these days, so they're staying (for now

).

By the way, where'd you get your tank pads? They look great, match the bike perfectly.

Grey Thumper · Tue May 26, 2009 3:35 pm

Brackstone wrote:I like the Asymmetrical headlights

I'm amazed

Actually, I think they look pretty cool too. But when the Speed Triple came out, I thought it looked a bit weird, and then the lopsided-headlight GS and Rockster came out, they were even weirder, but I guess time has mellowed out the design. Now BMW is really testing the limits of our eyeballs with bikes like this one

Grey Thumper · Tue May 26, 2009 3:42 pm

MZ33 wrote: Happy Bike Day!!

But you'll always be Grey Thumper to us . . . right?

Thanks, and heck yeah! Still got my single, and I'm trying to convince my wife to use it (but she wants to relearn on a 125-150cc bike, which, I have to admit, is a really sensible way to go). If I have to let go of the F, at least I've still got the name

Lion_Lady · Wed May 27, 2009 10:19 am

The tank pads are made by Wunderlich. They're thick stiff/rigid foam. They were one of the first couple of modifications I did to the bike. (The first two mods were the windscreen and a centerstand - added when I took delivery). They're looking kind of scuffed now, but no where near in need of replacing any time soon. Can't remember which one, but one of the BMW dealers in CA is the sole US dealer of Wunderlich stuff.

There are only 200 Ed 80s in the US... and at least a handful have been taken out of service for various reasons.

P