New to Forum

[Luke]

Hi All,
am just about to buy a 1980 R65 with 70,000 kilometres on it. Would welcome any tips, advice etc you guys are willing to share.
Am also wondering if any of you can suggest a good bmw bike mechanic on the central coast or sydney. Want to get someone to have a good look over it ,

cheers

Luke

[Lucky_Lou]

Welcome to the forum Luke we have a few Aussies here, as soon as they pick this thread up im sure they will point you in the right direction.
Lou

[Bob_Roller]

Welcome Luke !!!

Do you know any maintenance history on the bike ?

Ask the owner if a transmission input spline lube has been done, and when .

Any gear oil leakage at the final drive ?

Not uncommon to have o-rings leak on the rear brake cam shaft, possible contaminated brake shoes if it is leaking .

With the bike on the center stand, grab the front tire (tyre) try to move it forward and towards the rear of the bike, if you can, steering head bearings need adjustment .

Pull the dust caps off of the lower fork tube, and see if there is any oil leakage there, wouldn't be surprised if the seals are seeping/leaking .

Check the tire (tyre) sidewalls for a date of manufacture, there will be a 4 digit number like : 0510, that would indicate a date of manufacture of the fifth week of 2010, old tires (tyres) are not your friend .

Does the odometer work, another common failure on these bikes .

If you find any of these problems, use them as a bargaining tool to lower the price .

[montmil]

Welcome, Cool Hand

Lots of Aussies on this site so hang in there for a bit. Once they return from their daily rides, They'll be chatting you up.

How about a photo or some? We be Simple by Choice with our Airhead bikes and we love photos. Usually, you cats from down under have some of the best looking scooters we see.

Check in often and tell us a bit about yourownself. We're all friendly fire hereabouts.

Monte

[ambrose78]

Hi Luke,

Welcome to the forum and to the world of the R65's.

I stumbled into this world a bit over a year ago and have not looked back. They are great bikes that are very rewarding to ride. Amazingly for a bike that is approaching the vintage 30YO mark the support is fantastic. One is able to buy pretty much any part brand new.

I've only ever taken my bike to the mechanic just after I bought mine for a check over. Though to be honest in my case that didn't really do much except relieve me of some folding. Since then I've learn't to maintain and fix the bike. They are very easy to work on and the guys on this forum have an amazing amount of knowledge to assist what ever you come across.

Rumor has it that Motohansa in Sydney is good though I have never personally used them.

Advice for checking the bike - as Bob has mentioned

-Check to see that the idiot lights are working - particularly the "gen" light is lit when the ignition is on but motor stopped.

- Take it for a ride to see if it starts, runs, stops and turns smoothly

-Does it have a service history? Without it there could be - but not guaranteed - a few gremlins in there waiting to emerge. generally nothing that can't be solved but still worth factoring in when negotiating on price.