This R80 GS Paris Dakar motorcycle was one of only a few thousand that was built in 1985 as a commemoration of BMW factory rider Gaston Rahiers win in the 1984 Paris Dakar rally. Its factory spec for the Paris Dakar model included an 800cc boxer twin now known as an airhead engine fed by twin 32 mm Bing carburetors. It was fitted with a 32 litre fuel tank signed on the upper surface with Gaston Rahiers signature.It was fitted with a kick starter, single seat. single high outlet exhaust system and monolever rear swing arm.It was fitted with BMW panniers and pannier rack. I modified this BMW to ride around the world so it could carry my luggage safely and securely and above all not break down in isolated countries. I left Australia to ride west to east around the world in December 1990 and returned in April of 1992. I visited 51 countries on this machine including America, Canada , Mexico, Iceland, England, Scotland, European countries, the Mediterranean countries then followed the high road from Europe to Arabia. I rode through Turkey then via the Grand Trunk Road to India and down to Calcutta. I then shipped the bike to Thailand and made my way back to Australia. The bike covered more than 96000klm on the journey with only minor fixes required and normal servicing which I did on the road side. Some memorable sights were seeing the Space Shuttle STS 37 lift off from Cape Canaveral, riding across the Mississippi river, seeing Mount Everest and Mount Ararat in Turkey. There were so many sights and people that filled the journey every day that it would fill a book. The bike returned home via Tokyo Japan and I have it still. I undertook a freshen up of it a year or so again and I would like to take it back to Germany some day to renew old friendships made there
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