Tuesday 23 January 2024

Fork Gaiters

 The bike was originally released without fork gaiters, all the 1982 publicity shots have shiny stanchions. 

My first LS had fine 14 rib gaiters, quite slim and quite sharp on the concertinas. 

The realoem parts catalogue doesn't include gaiters. Some retailers have a bulky 11 rib version that looks like it comes from a R75/5 or similar. Motobins list this as "Code: 93900    BMW: 31 42 1 234 908".  This is more bulky than the 14 rib version, not as slim and the folds of the concertina are more rounded. 

With one of my fork rebuilds I found the 14 rib version in the parts catalogue for the R65 and R80G/S:

https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showparts?id=0348-USA-06_1980_2471_BMW_R_80_G_S&diagId=31_0318#31421241666

  • 02 Ring 2 31421241669 $6.97
  • 03 Rubber boot 2 31421241666 $16.90
  • R 65 GS, R 80 G/S, R 80 ST (80-92) R 80 G/S Fork slider
The bulky version clamps directly onto the stanchion and slider. The 14 rib version clamps directly onto the slider but needs a neoprene ring at the top to make up the difference between the stanchion and gaiter. 

I prefer fork gaiters, I like the idea of protecting the stanchion from dust and stones. I think the 14 rib version looks much better on the bike than the thicker one, but maybe I'm just biased because of my history? :-)



11 Rib version on the left, 14 on the right. 

No comments:

Post a Comment