The New And Improved Unofficial R65 Forum V2
General Category => Chit-Chat => Topic started by: SCJJR65 on March 30, 2007, 06:56:15 AM
-
Well, I finally got off my lazy butt and got going on getting some needed parts and repairs for my bike, in anticipation of an "active" riding season this year!
Yesterday, I placed my order with Moto-Bins for a new rotor, pads, and a seat cover, and expect the goods to arrive by this time next week. A buddy of mine has graciously offered to help me put the rotor and pads on Britta, in exchange for a six pack of Michelob Amber Bock. (Now that's what I call "cheap labor"! ::) ) I still need to find an upholsterer to put the cover on the seat for me, however. I hope this doesn't prove to be a problem.
I also pulled my speedo out of Britta and am sending it to Palo Alto Speedometer today for refurbishing. They told me it would be about a two week turnaround time from the time they receive it to get it repaired and sent back to me.
With any luck, by the end of April I should have Britta ready, willing, and able for the spring and summer riding season! ;)
-
Right ON! [smiley=clap.gif]
It's great motivation watching other people get their R65's ready for the road. (Maybe this weekend for me.)
You GO John! Don't forget to snap some pics of your first ride to make the rest of us with PMS turn green. [smiley=camera_sm.jpg]
-
John, if I may ask out of curiosity, what's your speedo doing, and what kind of $$ does Palo Alto want to fix it?
PS: Surely some local auto upholstery person could install a pre-cut seat cover for you!
-
Steve,
Well, the needle wags back and forth wildly as you accelerate until you reach 5th gear, and then it settles down a little. (Still wags, though) Both the odo and trip meter only work sporadically at best (hell, the odo rarely works PERIOD.)
Palo Alto charges an average of about $189 plus UPS shipping for a complete refurbishing. Several of our club members have had speedos rebuilt by them and have all been satisfied with their service. I think there is also a place in the Atlanta area who also rebuilds speedos and tachs as well, but I decided to go with Palo Alto. They seem to have gained a pretty good reputation over the years.
-
The last time I checked Chicago BMW (sometime last summer) that was about what they had the price for a brand new one listed at! :o
My wife and I glued on one of the Moto-Bins seat covers in about an hour counting the seat R&R time... If I can do it... ::)
BTW, what did the shipping on all that cost ya? I remember getting a 10% off coupon from them, going ape-$hit ordering crap, broke the dollar-volume where they shipped by a courier, and that pretty much wiped out the 10% coupon! Seems the order was about 90 pounds sterling (that right?) and the shipping was almost $40!!!
-
Justin, the new speedos have definitely gone up: Chicago wanted $276 + s&h back in November, and I doubt they've gone down! BMW retail was $346.
John, the needle in mine does the same thing, but gets worse the faster you go. Tripmeter works when it feels like it.
Strangely, the odometer works like a Swiss watch! Of course, having now said that, I'm sure it'll stop on my next ride... ::)
I'm still torn between the $200 Palo Alto and the $30 bicycle computer routes. :-/
When in doubt, perhaps I should do nothing & just ride the damn thing until next winter... ;)
-
Ouch. I priced one about a year ago and they were under $200. These parts prices have gone absolutely bonkers!
-
I've got an odometer and tripmeter that work about a third of the time I ride. When one works, the other one does too. I'm going to try to fix it myself sometime in the not too distant future...
http://www.airheads.org/content/view/160/98/
I've been mulling over getting one of those bicycle computers, but I really don't want to clutter up my bike with gadgets if I don't have to. However, if I can't fix my odometer myself then I will be getting one of those computers. There's no room in a grad student's budget for an unessential $200 repair.
-
hmmm, what's an R65 seatcover run, and what's the part number?
-
just to let you know, I fixed my odometer this past sunday using the link I included in my previous message. The instructions were very good. I took up the slack between my number wheels on the odometer and dabbed some super glue on the spindle to hold them together. The trip meter has a spring that keeps the number wheels together (why couldn't they do that on the odometer?). There was also some play in the worm gear that may have been a problem too, which was easily adjusted. While I was at it, I went ahead and reset the odometer to 0, as it wasn't working when I bought the bike so I don't know how many miles is on the bike anyway. Seemed like a nice way to give the bike a fresh start. I was surprised how easy it was to reset the mileage (could have changed it to anything I wanted)! It's been working for about 30 miles now (knock on e-wood).
I don't know if it is in my head, but it seems like the speedometer is reading a little faster than before. I'll have to find one of those roadside police signs that give you a readout of your speed to see how accurate it is.
-
Fixer,
The Moto-Bins part number for the seat cover I ordered is 91841. The price in US dollars after the exchange rate is about $35.45 or so, plus S&H. I'm hoping the stuff I ordered from Moto-Bins gets here by the weekend, but I'm not holding my breath.
-
John, did you or Justin either one get the Ebay ad I sent to you, from a guy who recovers seats for $60?
I forwarded his listing to you both, but I know from past experience that those things sometimes get filtered into junk mail.
If you didn't, let me know and I'll try to find it again and send just the link this time...
-
Yeah, Steve, I got it. The only problem I might have is I really need a one day turnaround time on getting my seat recovered, since I don't have another vehicle to use while my seat is being recovered. I'm hoping to get an upholsterer here in Easley agree to let me drop off my seat in the late afternoon and pick it up the next day before closing. (Hmmm... Maybe getting rid of my car wasn't such a good idea after all!) :-/
-
towels on the subframe! ;D
-
Yeah, Steve, I got it. The only problem I might have is I really need a one day turnaround time on getting my seat recovered, since I don't have another vehicle to use while my seat is being recovered. I'm hoping to get an upholsterer here in Easley agree to let me drop off my seat in the late afternoon and pick it up the next day before closing. (Hmmm... Maybe getting rid of my car wasn't such a good idea after all!) :-/
Well, you obviously need another bike anyway. ;)
-
That's the logic for my plan to get a Moto Guzzi Breva 750! ;)
Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha! (evil laugh sound) ;D
-
Woo-Hoo!!! My stuff from Moto-Bins arrived!!!! (Actually, the shipment arrived yesterday, but I wasn't here to sign for the shipment, so I picked it up this morning at the post office.) The stuff got here MUCH quicker than I thought it would, too. Moto-Bins used their "premium" service, which apparently included Express Mail Delivery.
I got my rotor, Ferodo "Platinum Series" brake pads, and the new seat cover. A buddy of mine is going to help me install the rotor and pads tomorrow, and I'm going to see a local upholsterer about putting the seat cover on.
A question for those more experienced than I: Is there anything special I need to do regarding the rotor, like scuff the rotor up a bit with sand paper? Anything with the pads other than get the old ones out and fit the new ones in their place? I've got a copy of the BMW shop manual, but thought I'd ask anyway, since sometimes there are helpful tips by actual owners that the shop manual didn't include. I want this rotor and pads to work as well as they possibly can!
-
I don't think that any special preparation is needed, maybe wipe the rotor with alcohol, or something similiar to remove any oil that may have gotten on it. Just take it easy on the brakes for a hundred miles or so until everything gets 'seated' . Good time to bleed the brakes, if you havn't done it yet this year.
-
The rotor should be properly machined so nothing else is required. Some prep is usually required on resurfaced rotors but not on new ones. I am kind of partial to lacquer thinner for cleaning rotors, flywheels, pressure plates, etc. Alcohol should work but be careful of "rubbing alcohols" that may contain some oils, etc. Acetone, Berryman's B-12, brake parts cleaner, etc. would probably be good as well, you just need a fast evaporating solvent that doesn't leave any residue.
How much did the shipping come out to? I hope your seat cover lasts longer than the one I put on. I don't think the Brits understand just what hot TX sun can do to upholstery... :P
-
Good luck with your new parts, John, and have fun, but don't forget to go wring out that F800ST sometime this week while you're on Spring Break.
We're expecting a full report, OK?? ;)
-
One little thing I've read...put some anti-seize on the BACK of the brake pads and I guess lightly on the pins and clippy springy thingy...just a little so no contaminating the brake pad surface itself. Makes things easier to remove later and cuts down on brake squeal or something.
-
Justin,
It looks like the S&H came to 37 pounds. My whole bill on the credit card came to just over $294 including the S&H. Considering I placed the order on Saturday and it arrived yesterday, I'm pretty pleased. Could I have gotten everything cheaper? Maybe, but it would have required a while lot more looking around than I was prepared to do. With any luck, I won't have to sink any more dough like this into Britta again for a long time!
(Now, if I can just get my speedo back and working properly, I'll be good to go!) ;)
-
Usually if I order something from MotoBins on a weekend I have it the following Thursday.. ;D I have only once had to wait longer than this and I've probably put in 15-20 orders to them. Their service is second to none, I just wish UK postage wasn't so high! :( On the other hand, Chicago BMW just keeps getting slower and slower... >:(
-
Not only has Chicago gotten slower & slower, but on my last 2 purchases, at least, they've also added $4-5 to the total bill, with no explanation. I'm not sure that's even legal considering I've used a credit card & have a printed online receipt. [smiley=deal2.gif] [smiley=furious3.gif]
I'm switching to Hammersley BMW in VA from now on for any web purchases, http://www.webparts.com/cycles/ficheframeset.cfm?tablename=R65_1 .
Haven't tried them yet but their prices are below retail ( Max's, A&S, Bob's) & they can't possibly be any slower that Chicago...
-
I sure love having a local BMW dealer. They don't stock that many of my parts, but can get them in the next week. They give me 10% off just because I asked them too. That includes helmets, luggage, and stuff like that. Even tires I think, tho they still don't match MAW on that score. But then they mount and balance them for only 10 bucks more. And the parts guys are fun to talk to.
-
Well, folks, just thought I'd let you know that I got the rotor and pads replaced on Britta without "too" much trouble. It took longer than I thought it would, but considering neither my friend Chris or I had put in new pads or swapped out a rotor on my bike before, we did OK. (Chris had done this before on his Trophy 1200 by following his Haynes shop manual closely.)
I'm taking it easy on the front brake while the pads seat themselves, but I can already tell the bike has a LOT more stopping power! It will sure feel better know that Britta's brakes are much improved.
Tuesday, I'll drop my seat and cover off at an upholsterer before he closes at 6:00pm, and he said he would start work on it first thing Wednesday morning, and I could pick up the seat by noon. He's only charging me $25 for putting on the new cover, too, so that's a decent price.
Now, I'm just waiting on my speedo to be fixed by Palo Alto Speedometer! Boy will it be sweet to know how many miles I've gone since my last fill up! ;D
-
John, did you put an OEM rotor and pads on your bike , or are they aftermarket ?
-
Bob,
I believe the rotor is a Grimeca brand, and the pads are by Ferodo (Italian, I think). I'm guessing that these are aftermarket brands, rather than OEM.
-
Well, I picked up my recovered seat from the upholsterer this morning! Ya-Hoo!! :D One day service, dropped it off yesterday before they closed at 6:00pm, and picked it up at 11:30 this morning!
No more riding on black duct tape strips!!! ;D I can park Britta out in front at the BMW dealer with all the other "pretty bikes", instead of in back so no one will have to look at the duct-taped seat! ::)
The cover from Moto-Bins looks great, too! I'm gonna try my dead-level best to keep Britta covered up when I'm not riding it, so the seat won't get exposed to the rain and sun so much. (Geez, I can't wait until we buy our house with a real garage!)
Now, if only those deadbeats at Palo Alto Speedometer would get off their collective hinnys and get my speedo fixed!!
-
Yeah, as the owner of a semi-functioning speedo myself, I'm real interested to see how the whole Palo Alto experience turns out, so please keep us posted, okay? ;)
-
I'm looking to hear from them sometime this week. I'll keep you posted! ;)