The New And Improved Unofficial R65 Forum V2
Technical Discussion => BMW Technical Q&A, Primarily R65 => Topic started by: r_kleinschmidt on January 10, 2023, 04:03:31 PM
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BMW vs. aftermarket (?) fusebox
I'm rehabilitating a trashed '83 R65. It was missing a fusebox, so going by what appeared on the parts fiche, I bought a used fusebox/harness on eBay (last photo). When I started looking at the bike to figure out where the fusebox and harness fit in, I noticed a little black fusebox attached to the frame by a hose clamp. (first photo). What have I got ? It looks like some kind of aftermarket part, possibly European. The clamp is similar to the BMW euro style clamps. Is this a BMW or an aftermarket part ?I would like to identify the part and attached harness and figure out which part and attached harness to go with. Thanks for any help.
Rob Kleinschmidt
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Hello,
What you've got is the BMW OEM fuse box with it's original hose clamp.
This installation is not that bad given you can get to the fuses by opening the seat bank.
The fuse where standard on European bikes and cars of the era so you could find them at every petrol station so all in all a sensible design.
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The OEM fuse box has been known to be problematic at times !!
Here in the US, these ceramic fuses are not very common, auto parts stores like NAPA have them and I see them on occasion in the national chain type national auto parts stores .
Fuel stations here in the US normally don't stock auto parts just a convenience store for snacks, beer, etc .
Depending on how you want to go, you can remove the OEM box and splice in two fuse holders with the more common blade type fuses .
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More info and more confusion. Turns out both fuseboxes are stock BMW parts, with the smaller square one replacing the larger one that fit into the subframe triangle. Supposedly this changed in 1980. To add to the confusion, the '83 has the newer box while the '84 harness has the older one. I still have to investigate the wire harnesses themselves to try to figure out how much mixing and matching is possible. Also considering whether modern blade fuses would be a good idea, probably with a few extra fuse slots added for aftermarket additions. Thanks for the helpful comments.