New start

[KTG]

Hello everyone, Ive been sitting on the side lines for a while, Im without a bike at the moment but will be going to look at a R65 in a couple of weeks, if I get it I plan to make a Bobber out of it (are you all purists on here) so will be looking for some technical assistance at some point.
I will post some pictures as soon as I get it. Is there any modified boxers on here ? bobber or cafe or what ever.

Cheers

Kenny

[Lucky_Lou]

Hi Kenny welcome to the forum, here are lots of examples of cafe racers Steve Hawkins has a beauty there are no "pureists" here as far as i am aware if we were all the same what a boring lot we would be.. what part of Scotland are you from?
Lou

[KTG]

Hi Lou, sounds good, variety is the spice o life after all.
Im from sunny Inverness in the Highlands.

Kenny

[clonmore1]

Welcome Kenny,

Let us see some pics when you have your little beauty!

[montmil]

Welcome to the herd, Kenny.

Airhead enthusiasts come in all manner of fashion. Do it your way and enjoy the ride. My grand-daddy told me once that, "If everybody liked what I did, every man in town would want to be married to your grandmother. I'd be a busy fella."

Monte

[Adrian]

Welcome aboard  

[steve hawkins]

Welcome.

If you are chasing performance/lightness for your project, I would recomend the Post 81 twin shock.  It is lighter than the pre-81, with nikasil bores, lighter flywheel, lighter starter motor and a little extra power, amongst other things.

Not that the pre-81 is a bad bike - mine is a 1979!  Its just that it starts 30lb lighter whilst having the smaller frame.......

Rev. Light

[azcycle]

Welcome... looking forward to your bobber project.

[Dave 2]

Welcome to the pack. I started out restoring my 1983 R65LS with the intent of a cafe/bob look, however as I began to slowly take it apart and clean everything up I began to really understand and respect the original design. So now I will  only have non stock silencers and a cool seat from Bayermotors in Germany. My paint scheme will also be non stock. Something in red with black wheels. Other than updated ignition and charging system from Motorrad Elektrik my bike will be mostly stock, and can be changed back to stock with the original seat and silencers. Dave2

[montmil]

Pictures, Dave2, pictures...

[Dave 2]

OK Monte, I have some pictures, 8-) but There is not much to show since I am still taking it apart, cleaning, ordering parts, and trying to keep everything organized . I have been working hard at getting to a nice burnished look on the aluminum. which you can see on the front fork and the front engine cover. My rear drive unit has gotten the same treatment. I was down in Falmouth ME, yesterday at Street Cycles (the only BMW dealer in the state) and picked up most of the parts that I have ordered from them. I am still hoping that I can find LS Dash panel. Dave2

[montmil]

You have been scrubbing a bit, D2! Looking rather tidy. Are those boxes full of parts? Sweet.

Monte

[suecanada]

Boy those forks sure clean up well! You are going to have one clean looking bike with your expertise and patience!

[Dave 2]

Thank You Sue, I have kind of expanded on the Simple Green (SG) and Scotch Brite (SB) Pads idea. So if any one is interested here is what I'v been trying.
 I first clean up the piece with SG and SB and a small brass brush, then it go at it with a 6inch wire wheel on my bench grinder. Once I've done as much as I can with that I go to a fine 2" steel wire cup on my hand drill, and then on to a Foredom flexible shaft tool using  various Dremel bits, and finally WD-40 with Q-Tips for final little spots of crud in tiny places. Then I go over the whole piece with the 2" wire cup to get as uniform service as I can. Then I wet it down and spray on wheel cleaner with acid 1 or 2 times and the acid etches the shiny areas and creates an almost uniform surface. I then dry it and go over the dry piece with SB pads until the surface is uniformly burnished. I go over that with "Never Dull" mostly to protect the aluminum. This may be way overkill but I like how things are coming out [smiley=bmw_smiley.gif] Dave2  PS... I test everything I use on a spot where it won't show. If a wire brush leaves any scratches I don't use it.  

[azcycle]

Wow, that is quite a process but the end results show the labor. Looks great, Dave!