The New And Improved Unofficial R65 Forum V2
Technical Discussion => BMW Technical Q&A, Primarily R65 => Topic started by: georgesgiralt on December 02, 2012, 11:18:11 AM
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Hello !
In order not to have anything breaking I try to replace parts before they fail.
But for this one should know what to expect for life expectancy.
I know the R65 valves are best if changed before 120 000 km....
So what should I expect for barrels and pistons (Nickasyl)
Oil pump ?
Connecting rods bearings ?
Crankshaft main bearings ?
Flywheel seal (on clutch side) ?
Gearbox bearings ?
Many tanks in advance for sharing your thoughts and knowledge.
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These engine are capable of going round the clock twice - bottom end. When talking to Motorworks some years ago, they stated that they would never bother to strip a bottom end because of this - it was just not worth the bother or the expense - there are always plenty of serviceable bottems ends available. Generally they are rock solid.
Nickasyl Barrels - life of the engine. Pistons should not need changing - but rings might benefit a change half way through engine life.
Oil Pump - life of the engine.
Connecting rods and bearing - Life of the engine
Crankshaft main bearings - Life of the engine
Flywheel seal - do it when you change the clutch - you might get 100,000 miles out of a clutch - by that time the seal is probably weeping.
Gearbox bearings - gearbox is the weak area. But it all depends on what sort of abuse its had over its lifetime. Some gearboxes go for life of engine, but many do not. Depends on water ingress and insensitivity of the rider. And luck. Should see out 100,000 miles though - enless you like wheelies.
The thing to look at is the top end, as all your woes can start from ignoring this area. New valves and guides by 60,000 miles or less - although my bike did not get them till 95,000 miles and my R100 has not had them yet and it has a similar mileage. A dropped valve could potentially knock out the whole engine if you are really unluckly.
Timing chain - replace when noisy - anything from 30 to 60,000 miles. Again, did mine at 95,000. It was cheap when I bought it.
All assuming you service the bike regularly, store it appropriately when not in use, and ride it with a little mechanical sympathy.
Don't go looking problems that are not there. And do not going having nightmares about what the previous owner might have done if you have no evidence to back it up.
Rev. Light
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I agree completely with Steve!
Another point is that these bikes don't tend to leave you stranded - they'll give quite a lot of warning that something needs to be replaced. Just watch the warning signs and when the time is right, fix the problem. Oil consumption will be your big indicator of engine health. You'll see consumption going up, time for either rings or valve guides - most likely valve guides.
It's kind of like tires, why replace a half worn tire because it may go flat?
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Well, thanks for your answers, but as I own no car and need the bike to go to work every morning, I like to plan a bit to avoid "downtime"...
And as some parts are really expensive (barrels and pistons) I've to save a lot of money to get a new pair...
Mine have 180 000 km, I just changed the rings and saw that one barrel begins to have wear marks. So I have to plan a replacement....
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If you are really concerned about down time the gearbox is likely to be the weakest part of the mechanical bits over very high mileage. Whether the failure mode is bearings or the broken selector spring a gearbox overhaul is going to keep you of the road for quite a while unless you can do the work yourself. When the opportunity arises some high mileage riders buy up a 2nd hand box, overhaul it if need be and keep it on the shelf. Having said that we don't hear of a lot of boxes failing on R65's.
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One additional seal you may want to replace when you have the flywheel off, is the o-ring for the oil pump cover .
Four bolts and the cover comes off, a quick replacement item .
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I would be looking into the spares people that you have access to.
I am not sure about an French BMW specialists, but in the UK we have several.
Motorworks
Motobins
James Sherlock
And others.
They all do second hand spares as well as new, to keep things reasonable, and the postage is normally very quick. That way you will have the best of both worlds - you do not have to keep a stock of spares you might never use, and you can get what you need quickly. Also they can usually offer worthwhile advice.
Alternatively, you can keep your eyes open for a 'spares bike', but be careful, they usually end up as project bikes!
Rev. Light
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The items with the highest failure rate are the alternator rotor, diode board and transmission.
Not that it'll keep you off the road, but I think the odometer has the worst failure rate over anything else.
Worn rings or cylinders won't leave you stranded - they'll just gradually get worse and worse. But a rebuilt set of cylinder heads would be a great idea. With those four things you'd be all set.