R65 center stand

[montmil]

Any one know if a 1983 R65LS center stand will fit my 1981 R65? I have a "standard" 1983 R65 but no LS for comparison.

I've checked A&S and the parts numbers are the same although the actual parts are different in the foot pad design. The 1981 BMW center stands were a one-year design. If you've ever attempted to grunt an '81 onto the stand, you'll know.

May have a line. Looking for a possible confirmation. BTW, is their any difference in R65 and R65LS main frame design?

TIA,  Monte

[Bob_Roller]

I'd sure like to know as well, the LS I have is about 10% of the work to get it on the centerstand, compared to the '81 R65 .

[montmil]

Well, d'oh! Just did a quickie measurement of leg lengths on my '81 and '83 R65 center stands.

The '81 is longer by approx 0.75 inch. The '83 is a breeze to place on the center stand whereas the '81 requires a pretty heavy grunt. I believe the longer stand legs means it's necessary to lift the bike higher before it will flop back down onto the extended stand.

The '81 has a flat strap "shackle" from a frame pivot to a short spring and then onto the hook on the center stand cross member. The '83 gets rid of a potential connection rattle by using a longer straight wire length and then the same coil-length spring.

Chassis are the same. I'm betting the LS chassis and center stand is the same as on my '83.

Monte

[montmil]

So... I've put in a bid for a 1983 R65LS center stand offered on eBay by one of our members, Larry Chabira, aka: lamontsanford, out of Austin, Texas. Question: Am I bidding against anybody on this list? It's not an absolute must have item so I don't wish to drive up the price too far for either of us.

[Bengt_Phorqs]

Monte, FWIW, my son Earl Phorqs has a Reynolds stand on his 83 R65 and it's totally effortless to get on and off the stand.  If you don't get this one then keep that in mind.

[montmil]

... Earl Phorqs has a Reynolds stand on his 83 R65...

Is this what's know as a "ride off" stand?   Monte

[Altritter]

If you've ever attempted to grunt an '81 onto the stand, you'll know.
 

+1 on that, Monte! and FWIW, I found that getting my '81 off the OEM stand was even more of a grunt. Buying the later-model stand was about the best use I've made for the $$ I've spent on my bike.

Is this what's know as a "ride off" stand? Monte

I've nearly always seen the Reynolds listed in print as a "Reynolds Ride-Off" stand.

John

[Bengt_Phorqs]

Yep, the correct term would be Reynolds Ride-Off Stand, but since you were in the military for so long, I should have styled it "Stand, motorcycle, ride-off, Reynolds, mil.spec.xxxxxxxxxxx.

[NC Steve]

I put a Reynolds Ride-Off stand on my 1st R65, and that was one of the very 1st mods I did to SC John's Britta too.

Frankly, I love the things, and will put them on any future Airheads I may ever acquire, as long as they can still be found.

[Adamastor]

My center stand is really a pain to use and sometimes I think it was not meant to use on my R65... why?
Because when I bought the R65 the PO only had installed the side-stand, but he told me a friend of him was going to get him a center-stand and after two weeks he did gets him and he posted it to me.
Why I think it could not be the right model: it is really heavy to put the bike on it. When I pull it up, it scratches a little bit the muffler ring (that connects the muffler to the tubes that come from the engine, sorry can't remember the name in english).
Are there any ways to check if we have got the right model? Does a R60/R90, etc center-stand work on a R65?

Regards...

Sergio

[bruce_launceston]

What size front wheel does the 81 have?
If it's a 19" that might explain why the LS stand is shorter?

I understood that the LS frame is the same as the standard model but I guess there could be variations in the model years.

[montmil]

Sergio,

You could possibly check BMW part numbers to see if the R65's is the same number as the centerstand from the R60/R90. I kinda doubt it would fit.

Can you post a close-up photo of the stand on your R65? We might be able to confirm if it is indeed an R65 centerstand.

Monte

[Altritter]

What size front wheel does the 81 have?

My '81 has 18" snowflake wheels, front & rear. I haven't heard of any OEM R65's having a different size, or two dissimilar sizes on one bike.

Are there any ways to check if we have got the right model? Does a R60/R90, etc center-stand work on a R65?
 

I think your best bet would be to find one that was OEM for a SWB R80 or R75 (SWB, also), and I would be very careful about those, even. The R65 supposedly was a pilot for larger SWB bikes, but who knows?

Yep, the correct term would be Reynolds Ride-Off Stand, but since you were in the military for so long, I should have styled it "Stand, motorcycle, ride-off, Reynolds, mil.spec.xxxxxxxxxxx.

Close, except for two things:

1. It's more accurate to say that "I haven't been in the military in so long." (See #2 below.)

2. Mil.spec? I don't recall that term existing, back when. Then, catalogs and TMs identified items by FSN (Federal Stock Number).

At the risk of instigating an OT rant, I'll state that I've had the impression that the principal beneficiary of the "milspec" has been not the military, but rather the contractors. I'm of the subjective opinion that there are very few items that last long enough, are reliable enough, and  their non-milspec counterparts to justify their higher cost to the government.

I have some examples of procurement stupidity — small quantities of nonstandard items that must be custom-manufactured because of their nonconforming specs, thus driving the unit cost through the roof — or concepts that were so ill-conceived that even the contractor tried to dissuade the military from buying them. Because I don't want to give the Forum Czar heartburn, I'll save them for later.  

JT

[Justin B.]

Oooh, JT, you must be REALLY old.  FSN had been superceeded by NSN (National Stock Number)by the time I enlisted and I'm sorta old!  [smiley=ROTFLMAO.gif]  I believe it was just the FSN with two additional digits prepended (?) to it.

[Bob_Roller]

Everything I deal with on a regular basis, is Mil-Spec, with manufacturer spec codes after the Mil-Spec number .