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Author Topic: What is this?  (Read 1406 times)

mjabamm

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What is this?
« on: April 05, 2011, 06:14:51 PM »
I have, what I think to be, a 1982 R65LS.  This bike was built in Nov. 1981 and the serial number is 311.  This motorycle has points.  The final drive housing is smooth (no ribs) simular to an older BMW.  The gear 31/9.  What do I have?
Thanks,
Matt

Offline montmil

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Re: What is this?
« Reply #1 on: April 05, 2011, 06:47:22 PM »
1982 should be the electronic bean can... unless a PO decided to refit a points ignition. Check you ignition coils, too.

The engine and chassis VIN should be a much longer number. Armed with the VIN, there's a web site that will provide yo u with month and year of manufacture.

Welcome to the herd, Matt. Might suggest you add your bike model and year in your sig line as that's a large help in answering your questions

Post up a photo. And where do you hail from?

Monte.
Monte Miller
Denton, TEXAS
1978 BMW R100S
1981 BMW R65
1983 BMW R65
1995 Triumph Trophy
1986 VW Cabriolet

Offline nhmaf

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Re: What is this?
« Reply #2 on: April 05, 2011, 07:44:24 PM »
Check the serial number of the frame on the right side, up toward the steering head on a flat piece of metal, also check the serial number stamped into the engine casing by the oil fill/dipstick.   Are these numbers the same ?  IF not, post them up and we can help you figure out what you have - it sounds like someone's been playing mix-n-match with your bike.   The 81 would definitely have the solid state bean can, and it would definitely have a ribbed final drive (most, but not all were also 32/9, at least in the USA)  Does it have the LS (unique, no other BMW has them) wheels and fairing?   Dual Brembo disks up front?

I've seen a yellow R65LS out in california with an old style final drive - the owner had fitted it with 'old school' spoked wheels - looked pretty cool.


« Last Edit: April 05, 2011, 07:46:17 PM by nhmaf »
Airhead #12178 ? BMWMOA #123173 ?BMWRA #33525 ?GSBMWR #563 ?1982 BMW R65LS ?1978 BMW R100/7 1998 Kawasaki Concours

mjabamm

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Re: What is this?
« Reply #3 on: April 05, 2011, 08:52:12 PM »
The number on the frame is 6370331 R65LS and engine is 6370331.  I was surprised to see points.  The coil is a lost spark set up.  One coil, two spark plug leads.  I am trying to identify the final drive.  Not sure which bike it came from.  If the previous owner changed it to points they did a very good job.  Parts list points as well as electronic for the LS.  Wheels and fairing are LS.  This one came with dual ATE up front. They were in bad shape and it was cheaper to switch to Brembos.  
Matt

Offline Justin B.

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Re: What is this?
« Reply #4 on: April 05, 2011, 09:56:50 PM »
Sounds like the final drive has been replaced along with the ignition trigger.  There should be a gear ratio stamped on the final drive housing, possibly somebody changed to a "taller" gear?
Justin B.

2004 BMW R1150RT
1981 R100RT - Summer bike, NEKKID!!!

Offline nhmaf

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Re: What is this?
« Reply #5 on: April 05, 2011, 11:17:17 PM »
The final drive is likely from a 79-80 R65, which would be the smooth style and many (I think) were the 3.44:1 (31/9) ratio instead of the 32/9, though I think that the R65 bikes could be had with either depending on where you lived.   If it was built in November 81 then it would be an 82 model year bike - it was probably one of the last bikes that had ATEs on it.  My R65LS was built in December of 81 and came with Brembos up front.

Do you have the 85 MPH speedometer on it?   What is the small number on the bottom of the speedo face (e.g. W1318)?

These bikes DEFINITELY came from the factor without points, so if you have them, perhaps someone decided they'd rather do maintenance on points than the slim chance of a dead hall effect ignition trigger beancan -OR- their hall effect trigger did die and they somehow decided to replace it with a points setup instead of a new beancan.  New, a hall effect beancan is ~ $400..but if one is patient, you can find a used one for sale for much less, and if you're handy with tools and tiny parts, you can fix one yourself for about $20 in parts...
Airhead #12178 ? BMWMOA #123173 ?BMWRA #33525 ?GSBMWR #563 ?1982 BMW R65LS ?1978 BMW R100/7 1998 Kawasaki Concours

mjabamm

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Re: What is this?
« Reply #6 on: April 07, 2011, 12:08:14 PM »
http://www.motobins.co.uk/history/r65_ls_data.htm list the 31/9 final drive as standard.  Has anyone seen a ribbed 31/9 final drive?  This bike has a 120 MPH speedometer with W1318 at the bottom.  The fitch list these bike as with points or with electronic.  The part number for the points is 12111243555

  The fitch also list ATE  or Brimbos.  The ATE are listed as NLA.  

Offline nhmaf

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Re: What is this?
« Reply #7 on: April 07, 2011, 12:26:24 PM »
BMW is 'famous' for using up existing parts before swapping to new.   The R65 bikes started with ATE calipers, but during the 1982 model year production run, they switched to Brembo.  The parts are very similar and can use the same pads, but internally the calipers are different.  The Brembos are used on all the R100, R80, bikes of the 1982-1994 period, so they are much easier to find parts for, etc.

Some parts were different between europe and north america bikes, too.  But, I've never seen a 1982 R65LS that came from the factory with a smooth sided final drive (ie. not ribbed).  All the advertisements, magazine articles etc. also show ribbed, so it is fairly likely that someone swapped it with a dinal drive from a 1979-1980 series R65, which were smooth.  BMW did not ship any bikes with points after 1981, so I am pretty sure that your's was also swapped out if it has points now.  Again, the 1979-1980 bikes did have points in a can, and many parts are interchangeable with even older BMWs, so it isn't unheard of to find points on a bike that didn't come with them.   The W1318 code on your speedometer indicates that it is (or was) calibrated for a 32/9 (3.56:1) final drive.   These can be changed/recalibrated by numerous shops like Palo Alto Speedometer.   All the US-based 1982 bikes had mandatory 85 MPH speedometers also as standard.  So, if your's is 120 MPH and has W1318 it may well have been worked on by them or similar type of shop and had a new face installed.   If the speedometer was geared for the 31/9 (3.44:1) final drive the code at the bottom of the speedometer face should be "W1276".

Now, if you aren't confused yet, all BMW speedometers tend to read ~ 4% faster than you really are going (though the odometers are generally perfectly accurate if they are working).  The difference in final drive ratios of 3.44/3.56 is about 4%, so the speedometer if still calibrated for a 3.56:1 final drive is probably given you a very clost to exact speed reading.
Airhead #12178 ? BMWMOA #123173 ?BMWRA #33525 ?GSBMWR #563 ?1982 BMW R65LS ?1978 BMW R100/7 1998 Kawasaki Concours

zebedee

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Re: What is this?
« Reply #8 on: April 14, 2011, 02:09:50 AM »
Quote
The Brembos are used on all the R100, R80, bikes of the 1982-1994 period, so they are much easier to find parts for, etc.
Would anyone like to buy a right caliper off of a 1987 R65/R80. Looks just like a 1984 R65LS right caliper until you actually put it next to the bike and discover it is actually very different.

Be careful assuming all Brembo calipers are the same, they are not.

Quote
The W1318 code on your speedometer indicates that it is (or was) calibrated for a 32/9 (3.56:1) final drive.  

The speedo calibration marking W1318 means that the speedo requires 1318 turns of the cable for each km recorded on the odometer. The corresponding MPH speedo would be marked about W2108.

zebedee

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Re: What is this?
« Reply #9 on: April 14, 2011, 02:16:43 AM »
Quote
New, a hall effect beancan is ~ $400..but if one is patient, you can find a used one for sale for much less, and if you're handy with tools and tiny parts, you can fix one yourself for about $20 in parts...

The "bean can" is actually a Bosch car distributor with no vacuum advance, no rotor button and no distributor cap.

In Australia, the same distributor design, manufactured locally by Bosch in Clayton, rotating the opposite direction, with vacuum advance, and gold passivated zinc plated instead of the BMW silver colour, is used in the Holden JB Camira. It's almost "exactly different", but deep inside it has the same hall effect pickup, and by now if you can find a JB Camira (1982-1984), chances are it (the Camira) is dead and isn't using its distributor, so it will be cheap.

Elsewhere, try extracting your dead beancan and showing it to various european car wreckers/dismantlers/recyclers/scrappies (choose your local term) until you find the same animal in a car. Or just buy a new pickup from an electronics store.


Tony_T

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Re: What is this?
« Reply #10 on: April 14, 2011, 04:18:13 AM »
I never cease to be amazed at the wealth of knowledge out there!  :)
Especially to a Beemer Newbie like me.......  ;D
Thanks fellas. Very interesting reading.

Olliepup

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Re: What is this?
« Reply #11 on: April 14, 2011, 08:10:13 AM »
My buddy's '81 R65 ignition died a few years back and the repair parts price gave him severe sticker shock. He replaced the electronics with the older style points and coils from e-Bay. So, it's not an unlikely scenario, 'specially since so many of you are gearheads.
Fired up my '86 R65 mono yesterday, for the first ride of the season, 65 and sunny up here. Fired right up and runs like a dream! My son just bought an absolutely mint '92 K75. His old beater was a '82 Suzuki 650 Tempter (it doesn't tempt me!).
Dave

Offline nhmaf

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Re: What is this?
« Reply #12 on: April 14, 2011, 09:54:09 AM »
Quote
"The speedo calibration marking W1318 means that the speedo requires 1318 turns of the cable for each km recorded on the odometer. The corresponding MPH speedo would be marked about W2108."

Sorry - you are not correct.   The MPH speedometer is marked W1318 - I'm looking at one on my stock north american model 1982 BMW R65LS at this moment.   One can search on the web for the BMW speedometer ratio numbers - there is no "W2108".   The 1318 revs is correct - based upon the final drive ratio applied and an 18 inch diameter wheel with suitable profile tire.

I had assumed that the Brembos were the same between my 1988 R100RT and my 1982 R65LS, but since I had never owned the two of them at the same time I hadn't the chance to physically examine them side by side - memory can be a fuzzy thing...
Airhead #12178 ? BMWMOA #123173 ?BMWRA #33525 ?GSBMWR #563 ?1982 BMW R65LS ?1978 BMW R100/7 1998 Kawasaki Concours

Offline Barry

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Re: What is this?
« Reply #13 on: April 14, 2011, 11:04:52 AM »
A quick check for the correct speedo ratio is to divide the final drive ratio by 2.7. e.g.

3.44/2.7 = 1.27556  or a speedo ratio of 1276

This holds approximately true for all imperial speedos and final drives
Barry Cheshire, England 79 R45

zebedee

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Re: What is this?
« Reply #14 on: April 30, 2011, 12:50:22 PM »
Quote
Quote
"The speedo calibration marking W1318 means that the speedo requires 1318 turns of the cable for each km recorded on the odometer. The corresponding MPH speedo would be marked about W2108."

Sorry - you are not correct.   The MPH speedometer is marked W1318 - I'm looking at one on my stock north american model 1982 BMW R65LS at this moment.   One can search on the web for the BMW speedometer ratio numbers - there is no "W2108".   The 1318 revs is correct - based upon the final drive ratio applied and an 18 inch diameter wheel with suitable profile tire.

Let me try again.
W1318 means the speedo records one unit of distance (mile or kilometre as the case may be) for 1318 turns of the cable.

Since yours is apparently miles, the corresponding metric speedo should have a calibration constant of about 824.