The R80 G/S was the first incarnation of what we now call an entire category of "enduro" motorcycles, unveiled for the Paris-Dakar races of the 1980's, but almost immediately becoming the mount of choice for world adventure riders.
Looking forward from 30 years ago, it might have been hard to imagine a dirt-capable bike might end up with 105 horsepower, ABS brakes, electronic suspension alignment and traction control. Yet despite all of these radical, space-age refinements, the adventurous, end-of-the-world spirit of the original GS lives on in the latest GS bikes.
