Introduction

First an introduction to the bike....

This is a 1988 R100GS PD. The G/S basically stands for G, Gelände ("offroad" in German motorcycle vocabulary) and S for Strasse ("street" in German). PD represents Paris Dakar, the famous race across the desert. Some say it the toughest motor race on earth.

This is probably the few or maybe the only remaining bike of the same kind in Singapore. The only other one i know of is a R80GS and i have not seen any others around. I bought this after riding an African Twin for the last 3 years. Have always wanted one of these 'oldies' because of the classic look and its rugged reputation. After spending the last few months getting it serviced and conditioned, the bike is good to go!

Changed the seals, bushings, bearings in the gear box, serviced the carburretors, valve clearance, modified the controls, side stand, handle bar risers. I still have a missing speedometer (have been using a digital one, but that has since 'died'), waiting for a used one i bought on ebay to arrive. This is good enough to go touring and i will be heading up north in a couple of weeks, more updates on that later.

In the long run the couple of other modifications i am looking at includes a change to the Siebenrock Replacement Kit (Pistons, Cylinder, Pushrods) and possibly a replacement of the electrical system. A service of the suspension will probably do some good, new wheel bearings too.

I have sort of got used to the different riding style of the bike and its little quirks. The bike still has a bit of back firing, probably due to the different exhaust (exhaust was supposed to be for the R80GS). The handling is not as stable as my AT, but i am getting used to it. This is probably due to a softer front end. I have put up some pics, hopefully this gives a clearer picture of the bike.

I am really beginning to enjoy this bike. It always turns heads on the road, i get to make many new friends because they are always curious about the bike. The next big test is the road trip up to Malaysia and Thailand. Looking forward to it. Check out the pics..