New Guy

[bmwhacker]

I've been a BMW rider for years and ended up with an R65 as part of a bike sale. My intention was to sell the R65 to raise funds for a Zundapp project I'm working on but.....after riding the R65 just a few miles I found that it is a real sweet little bike. So for now this bike has found a new home. I haven't had time to sort the bike out yet but will be giving her a thorough look over soon.
Not sure where the seat came from...kind of ugly but actually comfortable...on a short ride anyway....

[montmil]

Welcome to the herd, BeemerWhacker [smiley=cowsleep.gif]

Appears the PO was into a bit of touring. Quality bags and rack. Nice bit of bling with the Brown sidestand. Also note PO wisely zip-tied the side panels on. These things, particularly the right side, tend to disappear during road trips if left unsecured.

Yes, the seat is a bit funky for an R65 but it's not a cheap addition. Stock seats show up on eBay and a new cover can be a nice DIY afternoon project. The harley crowd will probably dig it.

What year is the bike? Noticed the gubmint-mandated "air injection system" is still in place and you have the US import specific high handlebars. I'll guess 1984.

How about posting up a slightly smaller photo of the Zundapp?

I read in the news that Montana is about to log its one-millionth resident. Billings feeling a bit over crowded?

Monte
Deep in the Heart of millions of Texans and mexicans

[bmwhacker]

I believe the R65 is a 1982 Model. The PO had the sidecovers tied on with bread ties of all things...I swapped them out for zip ties. The rubber grommets are missing in two places. I only had a couple of days to look the bike over before departing on a 3 month work assignment out of state. Hope to get home in the next 2 weeks and check  it over better. I took a few short rides on it and it was a joy to ride. I immediately knew I'd have to keep it for a rider for a while. Presently my only other rider is a sidehack rig so got to have a running two wheel speciman around.
Gosh I shrunk my R65 photo down to 160 KB and it is still coming in huge.(?)

My 1953 Zundapp Project:
It is a "barn fresh" speciman which has been resting for a long time,
very complete but rough around the edges....

[montmil]

That's a very nice old Zundapp. Looks like it's pretty much all there, too. Sure would look nice sitting next to the R65; a brace of German heritage cousins.

"The PO had the sidecovers tied on with bread ties of all things..."
Actually, many R65 side panels are secured with color-coordinated bread twisties.

"The rubber grommets are missing in two places."
Same issue with my 1981 R65, plus... no side covers. Scored a pair in well used condition w/o the grommets. One cover even had the mounting tab broken beyond use.

Here's my DIY grommet solution that I continue to use on all four corners of the '81:

Ghetto Grommets-  A trip to the hardware store, with a side cover in hand, produced rubber grommets that fit the side cover's mounting tab. The too large i.d. of the grommet was filled with a short piece of vinyl tubing that also matched the o.d. of the stud on the chassis. I was in business for pocket change!



Here's the ghetto grommet positioned on the frame. Leaving some length on the vinyl tube permits positioning the grommet to the side cover without stressing the plastic mounting tab. So far, so good.



One of the eBay covers had a broken grommet mounting tab. Spot in on the yellow paper. By tracing the tab's shape, I was able to fab up an aluminum replacement with an extended lower portion that was epoxied into the molded slot on the "vent rib".



The aluminum replacement tab is easily mated to the ghetto grommet's adjustability feature.  [smiley=clap.gif]




OK, Hacker... We all love photos. Now let's see the sidecar rig. Rule of the Forum: No photo, the bike doesn't exist.

Monte

[nhmaf]

Welcome aboard!

As I'm in the process of trying to get a Sputnik chair married up to my "scrambler" setup R100/7, I'm very keen on seeing your hack setup, too!

[bmwhacker]

Thanks for the replacement grommet tutorial Montmil....definately what I'll do!

I built this thing from 3 different derelict bikes I scrounged up...based on a 1974 R90/6 frame and wiring....used a (better designed) 1973.5 LWB rear subframe...and a 1978 R100S engine. The lower hack attachments mount to a home made subframe which holds everything together.  The front end is a BMW Earls with a pair of Suzuki Tokico calipers grafted on. Gauges were toast so mounted an Acewell computer as a replacement.
The hack is a 1974 Jupiter, the top of the hood slides forward for passenger access.

Not a show bike by any means, but a low budget driver that we run the crap out of on camping trips. My wife loves the thing as she can read / sleep / navigate, etc.....

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

NICE rig!  Beautiful tank - is that a Day-Long seat?

My ex-wife was too self-conscious to ride in the sidecar.  She said she felt like a circus clown.
She did go off-roading with me in it once though.  Wonderful experience!

[bmwhacker]

That is a "Tuetonic QSL 1000 mile solo seat". They were a 70's after market seat. Kind of hard to come by now days. Some guy in Chula Vista Ca. made them for a few years.
My wife rode her own bike for years but she finally became uncomfortable riding. She made a terrible passenger riding two up so hence the side car. She feels safe and sound in her chair.

[montmil]

Gawd... that's a bee-u-ti-ful rig.  [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

Monte

[RSMike]

Welcome, that looks like a very clean R65, love your rig also, What tank have you got on your R90/R100, its real beefy looking, I love it!

[nhmaf]

VERY NICE RIG!!

I aspire to have something approaching that when I am done - though have to get some more paying gigs before I can progress further...
 

[bmwhacker]

Welcome, that looks like a very clean R65, love your rig also, What tank have you got on your R90/R100, its real beefy looking, I love it!

That is a 70's "Heinrich" 8.5 gallon tank. Years back I bought an old  derelict  R65/6, sight unseen over the phone for $100.00. When I went to haul it away it had the tank on it. The tank was in primer and ugly but had no dents or damage. It was missing the tool box cover, etc.
Perfect sidehack tank.

[bmwhacker]

Silicone VS Gasket?

I ran a "maiden voyage" on the R65 a couple of weeks ago. I am working in Nebraska so trailered the R65 there and then ran it back to Montana after work one afternoon. Approximately a 480 mile run.
About 45 miles from home (in the dark) I experienced an odd vibration when pulling out onto the Interstate after a fuel stop. "To hell with it" and on I went as I needed to get home.
Upon pulling into my destination I pulled in the clutch and immediately felt a "drag" somewhere in the drive train. Definitely not rolling freely.
Today I finally had a chance to look things over so first drained the final drive / coupling / transmission fluids looking for debris, and expecting to find something. But the final drive and trans oil looked as new with the drain plug magnets showing nothing but the typical spot of "gray mud"......but the small 100cc reservoir for the coupling appeared to have some water in it, dark and not pretty.
Pulling the final drive off I immediately see that the pinion nut on the input end had nearly completely turned loose with the pinion gear had walked out towards the coupling. I inspected everything and nothing looked out of the ordinary so I re tightened the nut with a bit of Blue Loctite this time.
While in the area I lubed the wheel bearings....the outside (opposite the final drive) feels a little less than smooth so I gave it a generous shot of grease and will need to likely replace it soon.
I swore I had an extra final drive - drive shaft gasket but didn't.
I went ahead and reassembled and used a blue Permatex Silicone gasket material to be used in lieu of gaskets.
I have never gone this route but under duress I went ahead and assembled with the Silicone.
I filled everything to specs. and spun the rear wheel and all seems well. No more "drag". I ran the bike about 15 miles or so to heat things up and no leaks....yet anyway.

The maiden 480 mile voyage was a great ride. The R65 has a great sweet spot at 75 MPH and is really happy there. 65MPH is a little buzzy.

I am thinking of going to a higher geared final drive. Maybe a 32:10.
Don't know if that would benefit anything or not.....
Will a smooth case final drive from the 70's fit on the R65?
Has anyone around here messed with the R65 Final Drive gearing?

Another question: Is the 1982 R65 transmission interchangeable with the 70's transmissions?...or is the 1982 transmission of the short input shaft variety?

[steve hawkins]

As your R65 is 1982 and it has a plastic airbox then it has the post 81 transmission as well - i.e. it will not swap with the earlier transmissions - the pre-81 heavy flywheel type.

But it should be noted that all transmission whether they be R65, R80 or R100s of the same period, will have the same ratio's.

My 1979 R65 has a smooth case final drive - and I see no reason why you cannot fit an earlier final drive though.

Personally I would drive in the sweet spot

[trolle]

The R65 has a great sweet spot at 75 MPH and is really happy there. 65MPH is a little buzzy.
 

Figures, one of the points of critique of the r65 was the vibration between 4500 and 5000 rpm. Mine is a PIA in that area but above 5500rpm she is really sweet and can go on for hours - well I can.

Sorry I forgot to bid you welcome, the Zundapp is a real find, if you are looking for spare parts use the German Ebay you are welcome to use me as an interpreter. The gig is very beautiful, my wife would love to ride in it. - As you can tell we are a talkative bunch of people here. I hope you will make use of the wealth of good advice on this forum.

greetings from a wet and grey north