When I got this bike I found the left side cover, but not the right. Bud Provin of The Nickwackett Garage offered to supply me a new right side cover at no cost in support of my project goal to auction this bike and donate all the proceeds to the Motorcycle Relief Project.

I wasn’t able to get an ST muffler, so I installed an R80 G/S muffler from Keihan Systems in the UK. They provide an adapter kit to mount the ST heat shield on the G/S muffler.

I also had to repair the original left side cover tabs as several were broken.

Parts

I got the following parts from Euro MotoElectrics who generously has supplied parts for this project at no cost. They also suppled the decals from Heritage Stickers in Italy as they are a reseller.

Part #	Description	Qty
46 63 1 236 510	GROMMET, Battery Covers	5
62 21 1 459 439	SEALING STRIP – 60X15X4, Battery Covers	2
46 63 2 301 767	BUMP STOP, Battery Covers	2
51 14 2 301 938	Side Cover Decals (R80 ST)-Heritage Stickers	2

Video

Here is a summary video of how I did this work.

VIDEO: 1983 BMW R80ST Install Side Covers & Muffler Heat Shield

Install Right Side Cover

The new right side cover has three brackets. One is a complete circle and I install a rubber grommet in it. It slides over the front pin on the sub-frame tube. The other two are open circles and they slide over a grommet installed on pins on the rear of the sub-frame tube. To make it easier to slide the cover on, I put a bit of silicone grease on the grommets.

Rumor has it the right side cover can fall off if the tabs break, which they haven a habit of doing. So I drill a small hole in the bottom of the top tab and insert some garden wire through it. After I install the right side cover on the pins, I twist the garden wire around the sub-frame tube to retain the side cover should the tabs break.

Install Muffler Heat Shield

Here is the adapter kit parts from Keihan Systems that are used to attach the R80 ST heat shield to the R80 G/S muffler.

The top strap fits around the muffler and the heat shield securing the top of the heat shield to the muffler. I had to remove the rear wheel so I could get access to the bolt and nut that tighten the strap around the muffler and heat shield. The left side cover will cover the strap so it will not be seen.

The bottom heat shield bracket attaches to the bottom muffler mounting bolt. There are two M5 screws that attach it to the bottom of the heat shield. I have to drill the holes into the heat shield. I attach the bracket to the lower muffler bolt and align the bracket with the heat shield. I mark where the bracket fits against the heat shield. Then I remove the bracket, align with the marks, and drill the two holes. Then I mount the bracket onto the heat shield.

NOTE:
The screws provide by Keihan for mounting the lower heat shield bracket were too short so I substituted some longer Allen bolts I had.

Repair Left Side Cover Tabs

The left side cover is original and the legs of the tabs are broken off. I use Plast-aid to form new legs on the tabs. I make a template by tracing one of the tabs on the right side cover on a piece of paper. Then I trace the tab on a piece of file folder cardboard and cut them out. I attach them on either side of the tabs with a dab of silicone seal. I use some scotch tape across the edges of the file folder template to keep the Plast-aid between them.

I pour the Plast-aid in the gap between the file folder pieces the build up the legs of the tabs. It takes several pours to build up the tab legs. Then I remove the file folder cardboard and apply more Plast-aid down the sides of the tab legs and onto the existing base of the tabs to strengthen the tab legs.  I use a Dremel tool with a milling bit to clean up the Plast-aid and get the holes the right size for the grommets.

Install Left Side Cover

After the Plast-aid has dried, I install the left side cover. I loosen the bottom muffler bolt so I can get access to the lower pin to install a grommet that has some silicone grease on it. I install the other grommet on the top pin. Then I insert the left side cover tabs over the grommet.

The back end of the left side cover is attached to the heat shield with two short M5 screws. I use some loc-tite on the threads so the screws won’t back out.

NOTE:
I couldn’t get the bottom screw hole in the left side cover to align with the hole in the muffler shield, so I left it out. The side cover is very secure, to I don’t think this is a problem.

Here is the left side cover installed.

Install R80ST Decals On Side Covers

I got a set of decals including the “R80 ST” ones for the side covers from Euro MotoElectrics who resells the ones made by Heritage Stickers out of Italy.  Before installing the side cover decals, I cleaned the surface with alcohol wipes to remove any oil, finger prints and dirt so the decals will stick well.

I peal the white paper backing off the decals by folding the paper over so there is a sharp edge as I pull the paper down off the front backing. This helps keep the parts of the decal on the front backing. Then I position the decal on the side cover and press along all parts of the numbers and letters of the decal. Then I peal the front backing off, again with a sharp edge on the backing to prevent pulling the decal off the side cover.

NOTE:
I forgot to have the rear pinstripe painted on the left side cover. Joe Broxterman came back and added it a couple days later. Below is the correct pinstriped left side cover after I installed the pannier frame.