The New And Improved Unofficial R65 Forum V2
General Category => General Announcements => Topic started by: DeeG on January 12, 2009, 07:19:17 PM
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Hello, my name is Dee and I'm a bikeaholic. ;D
Found this forum through the Pilots of America board, where one the members happened to post a link.
I currently have three airheads:
One of the local HD mechanics was trimming his herd and since I've always wanted to learn how drive a sidecar, we picked it up. 1978 R80. It WAS an R100, but for some unknown reasons, the previous owners swapped the engine out....... have had the rig for almost two years..... I still don't have my 3 wheel endorsement. ~sigh~
The second I 'think' is a 1975 R100. Its still at my friends house. He can no longer ride on two wheels and he's had this bike since it was brand new. He used to own the BMW dealership in Merced, CA many, many moons ago. I couldn't let this bike go to just anyone.
The third is my 'orphan baby'. Its a 1978 R45/N. It was owned by a good friend of the guy we're getting the R100 from. Again, like my friend Bill, the previous owner is having issues with riding on two wheels. (Although nothing stops him from speeding around in his Grinnall). I love this bike. Hardly any of them here in the states, and since the PO had imported it not three years before, again, I couldn't let it go to just anyone.
Yeah, I'm a sucker for bike sob stories..... ::)
Since the 45 is pretty much a little brother to the 65, I figured I'd join up and learn how to keep my baby running and happy.
I also have a 2004 R1200C, and a pair of 2007 F650GS's.
(and some 'off brand' ones as well)
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Wow. An R45. I have looked at them on UK Fepay, wish I had found one here. I understand they are the "sweetest" running of all the airheads. How good is it on the freeway? What kind of mpg do you get? Welcome to the funhouse, we love'm all.
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[size=12]Thrilled to have a R45 owner here, especially Bronco Brown and the neat leather saddlebags! :)
Please don't be shy of posting a bigger picture when you get the chance! ;)
The sidecar rig is no big deal - if you WANT to pilot it. It is NOT a motorcycle! (well, not until you pull the car up into the air and balance it there!;)) It is a vehicle like no other, and it is a blast! Do you training in a big empty parking lot! Be safe. Know the rig. I was lucky, I built mine, so I knew what was in it, and I knew who to blame! But then I was unlucky and I sold it... :'(
Anyway, here is mine, sort of. I crashed mine in October and messed it up pretty bad. Due to broken fingers, I've yet to turn the first nut on the rebuild...
I don't have many pictures without the tank cover on. This one is a few years old:
click on any for a larger image
(https://bmwr65.org/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pbase.com%2Ftomfarr%2Fimage%2F65452640%2Fmedium.jpg&hash=aa36a5185e3e67be41277cac2271febd2ba12666) (http://www.pbase.com/tomfarr/image/65452640/large)
This is what it looked like on October 3rd, 2008:
(https://bmwr65.org/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pbase.com%2Ftomfarr%2Fimage%2F102573776%2Fmedium.jpg&hash=d048450295a3019372bfeb702474361a00525d77) (http://www.pbase.com/tomfarr/image/102573776/large)
This is what it looks like today...
(https://bmwr65.org/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pbase.com%2Ftomfarr%2Fimage%2F105672257%2Fmedium.jpg&hash=fa7b6a6a636770a3d79c03b1ecb7fe20559850e6) (http://www.pbase.com/tomfarr/image/105672257/large)
Welcome to the R45/R65/R65[size=10]LS[/size] Forum![/size]
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An interesting intro .... kinda like an AA meeting ;D
But seriously welcome aboard Dee. I see that you and Rob have something else in common - a single seat....
And what a herd...I seem to have to it 'a-about-t' - one bike and 3 cars. Currently I am looking to sell one of the cars - rego is just too expensive and it's sorta just sitting there not doin' a heck of a lot - kinda like me most of the time actually ;)
I'd also like to like to know how good the R45 is on the highway.
Cheers
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Hi and welcome to this forum.
If you ever need cheap spare parts for your 45'er look at the German eBay and should you need a post '80 final drive for the bike I have one lying on the shelf which can be had for the transportation and a few $ more.
greetings from a grey and warm north (41F)
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Thanks for the warm welcome!
I haven't done a whole lot of riding on the 45, mainly a couple of trips from home to work and back. She handles very smoothly on the highway, shifting is a bit clunky, but I think that's normal. I THINK I'm keeping her around 60-65 mph, hard telling, the speedo is in Kmph. I've got another RAM mount for the Zumo, just have to get it installed. All I know, is that when I'm out riding, I've got the biggest grin on my face. I don't want to push the bike too hard just yet, I have no idea of how she was treated before she came over here. I really don't want to learn how to re-built things just yet.
I'm a bit hesitant to ride the bike very often, the PO had installed one of them cool flashy brake light things, but somethings wrong and the brake light sometimes stays on all the time. So, I need to figure out the wiring mess and uninstall it, and re-do it right. He also mounted a set of fat round Bosch driving lights. But never finished the wiring part. I tried to do it, and let all the magic smoke out of the wires. :-/ Got a new Odyssey battery and we'll try again this spring. hehehe Its just too cold to be working out in the shop right now.
She's due for fluid swaps (all of them). I've checked all the FAQ's and "oil" posts, including some from ABC, I think I'll try the Golden Spectro 20W50. I know this is prolly a question for the maintenance section, but, any of you use the pink colored Red Line oil in the final drive? I'm using it in all the Guzzi's, would like to use the same in the airheads.
Rob, sorry about your beautiful bike. I was reading some of the old posts last night. :'(
Happy to hear that you're doing better and that you didn't quit riding.
Where did you get the rear rack from? I have the 'radio box' which is kinda neat, but I like the idea of a rack, should I take any long trips.
I'm going to take a sidecar course this spring (Evergreen Safety council has one in my area in April). Will haul the rig to the class and get used to it there. Lots of big empty lots around here to practice in. I just get kinda tense about riding it, specially when one of the Guzzi riders crashed his GS rig this past summer. He's still recovering. So many new things to learn.
I haven't quite figured out what the mileage is yet. The numbers I kept aren't making sense. I think my math is off when I went from Km to miles to gallons to liters.
Anyways, here's some pics:
(https://bmwr65.org/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi42.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fe340%2Fflymymbz%2FR45%2Fr45side.jpg&hash=0bb110dfc276d7a68878cae2860bee4ff03511ea)
(https://bmwr65.org/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi42.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fe340%2Fflymymbz%2FR45%2Fr45front.jpg&hash=75c0103944baffef4b625838de7ac4b6ae460333)
(https://bmwr65.org/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi42.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fe340%2Fflymymbz%2FR45%2Fr45back.jpg&hash=fe8279b60cc5bede252a8fd346339871cf67c6ea)
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Welcome aboard Dee!
Sweet looking scooter. First R45 I can remember seeing on here. Are the chrome luggage guards a normal accessory? They look a lot like the engine guards I've been trying to find used to fit my Mono.
Best,
Ed
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Ed, the rear guards are a BMW period accessory -
possibly still available.
Chicago BMW - the left one shows, but the right one does not. You would be best off shopping on German eBay. I have found sellers willing to ship here, as long as you say "No, I don't think that is too much for shipping!" ;)
Those radio boxes are rare as hen's teeth, as well.
Dee, I got my seat and rear rack as a set from a German company, S. Meyer. It is meant for the R80G/S (or R65G/S...), so there were modifications that had to be made. I still don't have the seat secured, yet. I would be very interested in a detailed shot of the underside of your seat, if that is not getting too personal... ::)
Here is the gallery of the construction of mine last spring: http://www.pbase.com/tomfarr/solo_seat
It is nice to see such a nice example with all the accessory bits. I would be interested in hearing how you like that windshield. Chicago does list the windshield kit at $305. Again, that does not guarantee availability on these weird items.
Dee, it appears yours have 4-way flashers, as well? Cool! I found a NOS kit a few years ago. It is "keen", where as Semper Gumby (a regular on here) has proven there are modern alternatives that are less expensive and even give you auto-cancel turn signals...
But keen is so cool!
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That's got to be some rare stuff on that rare R45 ! Looks sharp, and Welcome Aboard !
We like all the little and big airheads here !
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Oh, Dee, you are smart to go with an alternate speedometer. The originals CAN be fine tuned (they say) for accuracy, but now days with GPS and digital speedos, what is the point?
Here is mine:
(https://bmwr65.org/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pbase.com%2Ftomfarr%2Fimage%2F80167065%2Fmedium.jpg&hash=3fab524302a2cbebd142aee074c50904721092b1) (http://www.pbase.com/tomfarr/image/80167065)
click for larger
This one got destroyed in a parking lot tip-over (but kept working!), but it's replacement was thrown free in the Oct. 4 collision, and came through with "flying" colors!
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Wow! Dee, I've seen that exact bike. 8-) It was at the 49er Rally here in California in 2005 when it was in Sonora. That's when I still had some of our patches and the owner bought one from me. Someone posted once a while back that it was for sale maybe on Craigslist or maybe e-bay? Don't remember. I'm so glad someone got it that can really appreciate it.
So glad you found us. I might even get to see this beautiful bike again. ;D
Thanks for posting the pictures. Welcome to the forum. It's a great group of folk here with years of accumulated knowledge about these bikes.
I have a picture to post, but it's too big. :-[ Excuse me while I go make one of the right size. (sigh)
Okay, I have it now. ;)
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Damn - ain't it just the smallest world??
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Melena,
You didn't have to make it THAT small! 256k is a nice size...
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Cool!
I saw an R45 at Steve Prokoff's shop in Dundee, Oregon, back around September when I was getting my cylinder heads rebuilt. I don't remember the luggage, and I think it had an even bigger mud flap type thing on the rear fender, but it was the same color. Hmmm....
We're glad you found us, and yes this forum is for R45s too, it was just too wordy to say it that way in the name! :D
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Melena,
You didn't have to make it THAT small! 256k is a nice size...
Oops. Sorry. I was in a hurry and just did a quick fix. Let me see if I can fix it later when I get home tonight. ;)
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Melena,
Yuppers, it is the same bike!! Mike lives in Merced and probably rode it to the rally. He may have had it for sale online. A mutual friend of ours mentioned that it was for sale, and I just couldn't pass it up. He was pretty happy it's 'still in the family', so to speak. We brought it home in late 2006.
Rob,
I'll head down to the garage tomorrow and get some seat pics for ya. I can't recall if it has four ways or not but I'm pretty sure your dash looks just like mine. So far I like the screen, haven't really thought much about it. (I really need to spend more time riding this thing.....)
Ed,
Unless someone stole the bike then brought it back, there IS another bronco R45 in the PNW! :o :o
dang, and here I thought I had something rare..... hehehe
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Keep talking to us all here Dee!! This is wonderful... you have an obvious love and knowledge base. Boy I do love that single seat!! And the sidebag bars!
Welcome, welcome. I had a crash this summer as well (first time in 38 years) and have some things I learned or hope I learn from it. Don't even know what happened but I sure don't want to have it happen again!! I'll impart any info on getting fatigued if you want.