Bought Another ST...

Cool looking bike - nice find. I rode one a couple of times riding around the Alps when they were current year rental models, i.e. in 83. I'm pretty sure your gas tank is aftermarket for long distance riding - adds to the charm of the bike. Enjoy
 
I had a 1990's Honda Shadow
until this February.
It was the model VT1100- DTBW with the ZT package.

That means it was mostly held together with duct tape and bailing wire, but some zip ties having been installed as an upgrade to the drying-out duct tape.
 
Moto-Charlie said:
Cool looking bike - nice find. I rode one a couple of times riding around the Alps when they were current year rental models, i.e. in 83. I'm pretty sure your gas tank is aftermarket for long distance riding - adds to the charm of the bike. Enjoy
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Not surprised them ending up in the rental fleet. If the G/S was slow to be adopted; the ST was apparently redheaded step child.
 
babydiego said:
Not surprised them ending up in the rental fleet. If the G/S was slow to be adopted; the ST was apparently redheaded step child.
Click to expand...
Many of the rental shops in Europe are motorcycle dealers. They use current year bikes as demos and rentals, so the rentals are always going to be current year models. I've been going over to the Alps for more than 40 years, and my rental bikes have always been the model year that I am touring. I tend to rent BMWs (but have rented Hondas, Yamahas, Aprilias and KTMs) and because they are current year models have pretty much ridden every model BMW since 1982, especially the R and F series bikes. Europe frequently gets new BMW models before North America, so I have often rented/ridden a new model BMW on tour before it even shows up in dealerships here.

In the case of your R80 ST it was a somewhat sought after bike in its day. BMW had the dual purpose R80 GS and the street ST version. In some ways in was a precursor to the tall sport touring bikes we see now like the Kawi Versys 1100, the Ducati Multistrada, etc. It had the tall stance and wide bars of the GS, but road going tires and ergos. Riders in Europe would sometimes put sport fairings and aftermarket exhaust on them and use them as sports bikes in the mountains. They weren't as fast as the Honda or Yamaha sports bikes of their day (they'd get clobbered in a straight-line race), but their torque, tall stance, and wide bars helped them hold their own in the twisties.
 
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