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Motu
9th December 2008, 19:22
Lets make our first sticky on the most important subject of all.

I'm only an apprentice Airhead,dead keen to ruin a perfectly good R65 before your very eyes! Max Headroom is stepping in as an able tutor,and I'm sure I'll spend many hours in his shed kicking a ball around to keep his dog happy for a few seconds.

Let's talk wiring - I'm well versed in Lucas of old,and still frustrated by meaning less colour codes for Japanese bikes.Of course the Germans have their own way....and it seems reasonable....but quirky.

What is the ''Special Connection'' socket? What can I put in there? What's it for? I have other dead end wires.....For different models (GS/RT?).

Dodgyiti
9th December 2008, 19:57
BMW electrical parts rarely fail from my experience. Shop around though, and never, ever buy factory parts.
And Max knows his stuff. Ya got the right mentor.

BTW, the rectifier is the same as roundbarrel Guzzis and much cheaper from a Guzzi parts place.

Ixion
9th December 2008, 20:58
You can also quite easily replace the diodes in the diode plate, for just a few dollars.

Pedrostt500
9th December 2008, 21:02
Dunno about rearly fail my old K100 seemed to have many electrical gremlins.
fixed it by selling it.

Ixion
9th December 2008, 21:04
K100 ain't an airhead.

Bonez
9th December 2008, 21:07
The old mans R80 ignition pickup went tits up. Only electrical gremlin since he bought it in '89 or there abouts. Sump screws can rattle lose, believe it or not.............

gammaguy
9th December 2008, 21:34
the airheads had a strange alternator.the rotor was inside the stator.this lead to the occasional issues of it burning out,but at least there are a number of new ones available,or rebuilt units.

apart from that and leaking pushrod tubes they are pretty bulletproof.look after the driveline though,a little MP3 grease goes a long way....:done:

Motu
9th December 2008, 21:50
I know about pushrod tubes - I lost a VW engine that way....they lose more oil there than you think.Or at least,more than I think.....which is possibly not how you think.

The thing I like about the airhead - the alternator is not strange,it's just like a car one.Ditto the ignition system - the Bosch module is well known to me in it's more common other uses.Ditto the starter,I know how that one works too.Diodes on a board...cool,just where I like to see one,not imbeded in resin.It's so simple,I can see everything I need to work on,I can pull them off without removing half the bike around it.

I'll ride it for the summer,and do the dreaded spline lube in the winter.

rudolph
9th December 2008, 22:20
I have a brand new R65/75 R100 work shop book if you want, never cracked the cover, but blew my engine to peaces

Voltaire
11th December 2008, 06:24
BMW electrical parts rarely fail from my experience. Shop around though, and never, ever buy factory parts.

BTW, the rectifier is the same as roundbarrel Guzzis and much cheaper from a Guzzi parts place.

:rofl: replace German Electics with Italian .

Richard Mc F
11th December 2008, 10:03
:rofl: replace German Electics with Italian .

Should this be in jokes and humour:rolleyes:

Motu
11th December 2008, 20:57
First ride on the R65 Streettracker project tonight - Oh happy day,this thing will make dirt bikes look stupid on gravel.

Seeing as this is the Classic forum - real eagle eyes will of course see the Doherty grips.These were my favorite grip in the '70's,before we got spoiled for choice.So I was happy to find a brand new pair in my junk looking for something else.

<img src='http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/4456/slidewaysjm3.jpg'>

Kickaha
11th December 2008, 21:35
this thing will make dirt bikes look stupid on gravel.

Quite possibly, I always found my R75/7 awesome on gravel roads

Did the R65 come out monoshock?, only seen twinshockers myself

Motu
11th December 2008, 22:31
Quite possibly, I always found my R75/7 awesome on gravel roads

Did the R65 come out monoshock?, only seen twinshockers myself

The requirements for a bike to handle on gravel are not the same as for off road - but of course dirt bikes are so much better on gravel than street bikes that most people assume that is the case.The tyres were chosen for the purpose,not because they are ''classic'',but because they work well in gravel.Likewise the bars - they are genuine flattracker handle bars,called Slideways that I got from the US.It's no fluke this bike is good on gravel,it is being made to be good on gravel.

Plenty of mono R65's....it's just that they are the same as an R80 so easy to miss.

Max Headroom
11th December 2008, 22:32
Did the R65 come out monoshock?, only seen twinshockers myself


Sure did. Last of the twin-shock R65 production was 1986, then in 1987 the 650cc mono came out at the same time as the rest of the R80 mono range. The R100RS & R100RT mono came a year or so later. The R65 mono was scorned by those who never rode one, respected by those who did.....

Dodgyiti
12th December 2008, 15:34
:rofl: replace German Electics with Italian .

Oooooh! There's nought wrong with them :blink:

Richard Mc F
12th December 2008, 16:13
Oooooh! There's nought wrong with them :blink:

Hahahahahahahahaha you made a funny :wacko:

Dodgyiti
12th December 2008, 16:20
Hahahahahahahahaha you made a funny :wacko:

....as long as you don't ride it, and pull the blinds in the lounge when it's raining so it can't see it.. and your fine.

I even charged up my mobile phone with one once, and push starting a shaftie is easy :stupid:



Motu- are you going to up the performance a little? It looks good in stripped trim. I could show you a pic of one of my old R90s in the same trim but someone would have a heart attack. The wide bars and skinny tires are great in the gravel, plus the natural low COG that the Boxer's have lend it to a great back road blaster. The early GS was only really different from the road version with a bit more suspension travel and some bodywork. Says a lot for the versatility of them.


(get some Dellorto's and a cam on it):eek:


:chase:

Motu
12th December 2008, 17:24
How about a couple of 34mm Blue Magnums? I used to run them on my XS650....should wake up the R65.

Max Headroom
12th December 2008, 21:23
....I could show you a pic of one of my old R90s in the same trim but someone would have a heart attack. :chase:


OK, I'm game.

And I'm sitting down now.

Let's see the pics...by the way, was it based on the silver R90/6 you had, or the R90S?

Kickaha
12th December 2008, 21:27
OK, I'm game.

And I'm sitting down now.

Let's see the pics...by the way, was it based on the silver R90/6 you had, or the R90S?

mmmmmmm R90S:drool:

Dodgyiti
13th December 2008, 07:40
OK, I'm game.

And I'm sitting down now.

Let's see the pics...by the way, was it based on the silver R90/6 you had, or the R90S?

Based on the R90s I had before the R90s bits I sold you. I will search for the pic. It is pretty bad, tasseled leather jacked and M-X boots and single seat stripped down to bare bones.

Motu
15th December 2008, 21:19
Pretty happy with the R65 now - getting rid of the narrow bars and sitting up with some good wide bars has transformed the handing for me.They have made it light and flickable,I can make it go where I want,when I want now...rather than tagging along on it's rock steady course.Love the burble from the short megas,and the snarl coming out of a turn - I have to look down at that engine to remind myself I'm not on some other 2 valve 650 twin.

I noticed something else I hadn't picked up on yesterday - the notorious R65 vibration.Yes,it really is there at 4,000 to 5,000rpm just like they said.This is strange as there is a very definite dip in the torque curve at those revs,and yet is is the range the engine really likes to run at....and me too as it equates to 100 to 120kph.No big deal,but I hadn't noticed it before.

<img src='http://www.bmbikes.co.uk/photos/specphotos/r65%20mono%20power%20graph.jpg'>

<img src='http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/8018/r65nk0.jpg'>

Max Headroom
8th January 2009, 12:37
Ok, I'll play....

I have a *cough* few airheads lurking in the shed. And a *cough* few bits on the shelf as well....

First up is an R90S that I bought in boxes from Dodgyiti about five years ago. He'd previously told me it would never be for sale, but I think he took a bump to the head and went cross-eyed or something:whistle:...anyhooo, after gathering all the parts needed for the rebuild at one address, I began to reassemble it three years ago and finished it six months of nights & weekends later. It's about to hit 13,000km since completion of the rebuild. It's a '76 model, with several subtle departures from standard spec while still retaining the key features that set the R90S apart from the rest of the range.

<a href="http://s55.photobucket.com/albums/g124/r90s_2006/BMW%20R90S%20project/?action=view&current=P1000836.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g124/r90s_2006/BMW%20R90S%20project/P1000836.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

This next shot is a '72 R75/5, with what's usually referred to these days as the Toaster tank. This tank (and the matching chrome battery covers) were only available for the 1972 model year, and were universally despised at the time. Nowadays, they're quite rare and sought-after....We've had this bike for several years, and although it looked OK it was actually getting quite tired and no longer fit for regular use. I stripped the bike a few months ago, and found broken compression rings and absolutely knackered steering head bearings among other things. This bike will also receive some subtle updates to help "enhance the riding experience".;)

<a href="http://s55.photobucket.com/albums/g124/r90s_2006/BMW%20R90S%20project/?action=view&current=P1010171Large.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g124/r90s_2006/BMW%20R90S%20project/P1010171Large.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

vifferman
8th January 2009, 12:50
I have a *cough* few airheads lurking in the shed.
Good stuff! :niceone:

xwhatsit
30th April 2009, 00:48
So how about this? http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Motorbikes/Motorbikes/Classic-vintage/auction-214167880.htm

I'm dead-set on an airhead. Perhaps not that old though. Which is the sweetest engine? I've read the 65 is one of the nicer engines (different from the rest -- Type 248/1, not Type 247 like almost everything else) but I've also heard it's a bit gutless (not that I'm particularly fussed). Avoid the 1000s? 80? 90?

Panniers appeal. Barn-door fairings do not.

Voltaire
30th April 2009, 07:23
So how about this? http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Motorbikes/Motorbikes/Classic-vintage/auction-214167880.htm

I'm dead-set on an airhead. Perhaps not that old though. Which is the sweetest engine? I've read the 65 is one of the nicer engines (different from the rest -- Type 248/1, not Type 247 like almost everything else) but I've also heard it's a bit gutless (not that I'm particularly fussed). Avoid the 1000s? 80? 90?

Panniers appeal. Barn-door fairings do not.

It's a US import judging by the bars, seat and tank. Looks fairly unmolested apart from the mufflers.
I have an r50/5 and r75/5 ( in bits) and find the R50 so underpowered I hardly use it. I toured the R75/5 all over Europe 20 years ago and its a fabulous all rounder solo/two up, even had a Watsonian GP on it for some years. Parts are plentyful for these models.
I'm currently building up a r90 cafe racer...35 year old motor and just needs new bearings and rings!!!!
Far better than any British bike in terms of build quality, reliability and engineering(, and yes I have owned Triumphs and BSA's).
I do have a soft spot for pre unit models however
Personally I'd give anything under 750 cc a miss.
There have been a couple of R100's on recently for under 5K.

Badcat
30th April 2009, 09:27
nice IMHO.
http://www.wrenchmonkees.com/monkee09.html

ken

BMWST?
30th April 2009, 11:25
nice IMHO.
http://www.wrenchmonkees.com/monkee09.html

ken

the front tyre looks bigger than the back!Flat track look!?

Badcat
30th April 2009, 11:33
the front tyre looks bigger than the back!Flat track look!?

yeah - i'm not a fan of those vintage tyres.
i do like the very simple look though.
k

Motu
30th April 2009, 20:57
I wanted a traditional bike,without delving into the past for something with twin shocks,or paying through the nose for some form of modern nostalgia - the mono suits me well.....after I tossed the German ergo,and got some decent sort of noise out of it.

Power and capacity has never been a drawcard for me - the R65 is a 650cc pushrod two valve twin,and that has always been perfect for me.Bikes to me are going around corners and coming out hard...got no problems there.Simplicity,reliability (I hope!)...lots of things I like in a bike.

XP@
30th April 2009, 22:32
You can also quite easily replace the diodes in the diode plate, for just a few dollars.

Mine came with a spare diode plate, diodes, solder and a small gas powered solder iron as part of the on board tool kit. (well one of the tool kits, there are at least 5 toolkits on the bike, not including the host of stuff in the paniers intended for longer trips)

Andre obviously knew it was a problem and suffered a few times at the side of the road. But I never really managed to find out what happend when it broke. Unfortunatly it is a tad late to ask him :(

xwhatsit
30th April 2009, 23:42
I wanted a traditional bike,without delving into the past for something with twin shocks,or paying through the nose for some form of modern nostalgia - the mono suits me well.....after I tossed the German ergo,and got some decent sort of noise out of it.

Power and capacity has never been a drawcard for me - the R65 is a 650cc pushrod two valve twin,and that has always been perfect for me.Bikes to me are going around corners and coming out hard...got no problems there.Simplicity,reliability (I hope!)...lots of things I like in a bike.
No you're right, power and capacity is not important for me either, it's just the R65 at 45 horses sounds like it might not be the bike for me with lots of luggage, pillion, heavy bike to start with etc... then again, they say with these twins they make every horse count. Am I wrong? Or would one be better with another 150cc or so?

I've got two pedal-bikes already, one you have to pedal to get to 60kph (C50) and one you have to pedal to get to 110kph (CB250RS) -- I'd like something that will lug me and a girl and a pile of crap along the open road without having to pedal.

Motu
1st May 2009, 00:06
it's just the R65 at 45 horses sounds like it might not be the bike for me with lots of luggage, pillion, heavy bike to start with etc...

See the previous page for the torque/hp graph for the R65 mono - 48hp and a torque curve that's just horizontal.That's 2hp less than the R80,max torque 500rpm lower,max hp 750 higher....sure it's got less grunt,but you don't have to rev the shit out of it to get it up and going.Load it up and it will fall away quicker than the big bikes - but I mostly ride solo,and my luggage on a trip won't be much either.It'll run at any speed forever....my zone is 100 to 120kph,and it's sure not taxed to do that.As a comparison (for me) it is pulling 1,000rpm less than my XLV750 did in top gear....so it feels pretty lazy to me.

xwhatsit
1st May 2009, 00:16
See the previous page for the torque/hp graph for the R65 mono - 48hp and a torque curve that's just horizontal.That's 2hp less than the R80,max torque 500rpm lower,max hp 750 higher....sure it's got less grunt,but you don't have to rev the shit out of it to get it up and going.Load it up and it will fall away quicker than the big bikes - but I mostly ride solo,and my luggage on a trip won't be much either.It'll run at any speed forever....my zone is 100 to 120kph,and it's sure not taxed to do that.As a comparison (for me) it is pulling 1,000rpm less than my XLV750 did in top gear....so it feels pretty lazy to me.
Shows the importance of looking at a single number out of context, I suppose.

Airheads are relatively thin on the ground anyway (not like plastic-covered watercooled fours, owners don't seem to want to keep them) so I'll take my time and wait until something nice pops up -- factory panniers would be the icing on the cake!

Bonez
2nd May 2009, 12:08
factory panniers would be the icing on the cake!Make sure you've got the lids bunggied on.

Voltaire
13th May 2009, 21:39
I'm rebuilding a set of wheels, spoke set from Motobins and took the rims into Manukau Metal Polishers, and had hubs blasted.
Got my Son to do the spoking after five minutes training.
Spent the evening with a ( very ) DIY truing setup.
offset is 5 mm per side so just needed a straight edge and 5 mm drill bit to check the gap. Started with a a pair of spokes at NSEW and two hours later.....:banana:

Motu
13th May 2009, 22:17
offset is 5 mm per side

Um.....?? That equals equal? How can it be off set both sides?

Voltaire
13th May 2009, 22:45
Um.....?? That equals equal? How can it be off set both sides?

two wrongs dont make a right...but three lefts do....:rolleyes:

XP@
14th May 2009, 14:10
I'm rebuilding a set of wheels, spoke set from Motobins and took the rims into Manukau Metal Polishers, and had hubs blasted.
Got my Son to do the spoking after five minutes training.
Spent the evening with a ( very ) DIY truing setup.
offset is 5 mm per side so just needed a straight edge and 5 mm drill bit to check the gap. Started with a a pair of spokes at NSEW and two hours later.....:banana:

I've just rebuilt the rear wheel for my James. Using an equally DIY set up!
It seems there is little in the way of wheel rebuilding info on KB will add a thread in the spanner section - like this one:
http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?p=1129211819#post1129211819

Motu
29th June 2009, 22:20
I finally succumbed to the negative internet pressure....and did my spline lube.The bike has done 70,000km,has had dealer servicing 90% of it's life...but a spline lube is not what a customer willingly asks for (trust me,I know customers).

So it was perfect.....:angry2:

I used the Optimol grease that BMW recommend....surprised to see the high moly grease is white - but I have seen white CV joint grease before.Black moly grease is just a consumer identification thing,like red ATF.It's not a big job,although I pulled more stuff off than needed,but I'm doing a few other things as well....and I'm poking around to see how this thing works and stuff.

I'll do the driveshaft next winter when I pull the rear drive to repair the stripped driveshaft oil drain plug.

Ixion
30th June 2009, 19:45
Ah, but you don't lube your splines because they NEED it. You lube them because it's what you do, and so you can throw it into general conversation to prove your workshop cred. Like "doing the tappets" was once.

tri boy
30th June 2009, 20:09
Motu's air head is becoming a bit of a talking point down this way. two customers have mentioned seeing it about the Huntly region, ("Stand Up John on the Scrambler, and another bloke).
Next he will be signing autographs:sunny:
(Oh, I mean the air head bike):shutup:

Kokopelli
5th July 2009, 17:20
Ah, but you don't lube your splines because they NEED it. You lube them because it's what you do, and so you can throw it into general conversation to prove your workshop cred. Like "doing the tappets" was once.

Well, I've lubed the splines because I had to dive into the clutch housing three times, due to the lack of my workshop skills :-). So I thought I might as well do them. I also used the white Optimol, but I am not too impressed by its stickability (technical term :-).. Next time I'll use a Wuerth product.

Well, thanks to Max's know-how the R80GS Basic is humming again. While no flat tracker, it's a pretty good ride on gravel.

Motu
5th July 2009, 17:42
Next time I'll use a Wuerth product.


You'll need to brush up on the German Alex.....I'll use Wurth next time too,but thought I better use the Optimol as a newby.

I was a bit stunned when the Basic went past like I was standing still! But once over the hill I seemed to find my pace,ditched those pesky KTM's and started to reel you in...I could see your white helmet as my rabbit.

Kokopelli
5th July 2009, 22:13
You'll need to brush up on the German Alex.

ue is the substitute spelling for the umlaut ü (with the two dots), Motu. However, my recently deceased German teacher would have agreed with you :-).

I enjoyed meeting you again. We are so lucky to have these roads, even though they are doing their best to seal them all. Up north the black cancer is taking over. Kaipara Hills road is no longer rough and ready and they've started to seal more of Makarau road.

Motu
5th July 2009, 22:46
My youngest son has decided to learn German,and the others are all getting into it too.I'm surprised at the similarities to English.

Kaipara Hills Rd is my favorite road of all time,it'd be a shame to see it sealed.I was hoping to get up that way to go over all my old roads while my daughter was still in Auckland.Now I'll have to find a bridge to sleep under.

Eddieb
7th October 2009, 19:43
My R80G/S is now for sale.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Motorbikes/Motorbikes/Dual-purpose/auction-246482702.htm

Eddieb
24th October 2009, 17:15
I just put a short vid of my R80G/S for sale on Youtube.

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/w_AXFvtiykw&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/w_AXFvtiykw&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

Dodgyiti
28th October 2009, 07:10
Ah, but you don't lube your splines because they NEED it. You lube them because it's what you do, and so you can throw it into general conversation to prove your workshop cred. Like "doing the tappets" was once.

:laugh: remind me to avoid the "I lubed my spline" conversation... Tappets?
Yeah, my whole fleet has 'em but I never put that into conversation, I have few enough friends already:o

That BMW optimol paste looks like sunscreen in it's wee tub. My Mrs opened it up when it was on the bench, she thought it was makeup:crazy: