Just picked up a ‘80 R65

[RickyM]

Hi all,

Great to find a forum dedicated to the r65 with loads of useful posts. I picked up a 1980 r65 (~40k miles on the clock) a couple of weeks back and am looking to do some light restoration on it, but on the whole it looks to be in pretty good nick. I should point out my knowledge of bike mechanics is next to zero, can I ask what you’d advise doing first to check the bike over/is there a useful guide anywhere discussing what mechanics to do on an older bike? Also what are the usual “problem areas” of the r65s? Ive experienced a couple of false neutrals and the difficulty of finding first gear-is there much you can do other than changing riding style? I’ve given it a good clean and started to attack the rusty areas with some GT85, as well as going to town with the chrome polish which has got it looking good, I think the next stage is to check the mechanics. Looking for easy jobs a beginner can do with little prior knowledge!!

Many thanks for your help, photo below;



Ricky

[Justin B.]

Very nice looking bike but you are looking at nearly a 40 year old mechanical construct!

I'm sure others will chime in but things to consider, if you don't know the truthful service history, would be:


Check/pack wheel bearings.

All fluids and filters especially transmission and brake system.

Steering head bearings - service and adjust

Swingarm bearings - service and adjust

Clean/inspect/grease rear wheel hub splines  (moly grease)

Clean and grease clutch/transmission input splines splines (moly grease)


I see that the swingarm bearing cover is missing in the picture so this could have allowed dirt and moisture to invade.  Make sure both have caps after servicing.

[Adrian]

Great looking bike & I fully support Justin's list of items to check/change/service.
.
If you haven't already buy a Haynes or Clymer manual. Either of these books will give clear instructions on how to do all these service items.
.
I have almost a total rebuild on my R65 & bought both manuals - between them & with a great deal of help from this forum - I learnt how to do many things.
.
Good luck & enjoy your new bike [ch128076][ch128522][ch128521][ch127462][ch127482][ch127949][ch65039]

[mrclubike]

Preloading  the shifter before pulling the clutch in will help
but don't pull the clutch in any further than necessary

False neutral are very normal until you get the hang of it  But once you master it you will rarely miss a shift unless you hurry it
And eventually you can up shift with out pulling the clutch in  at all

[mrclubike]

I would check the valve lash every 1500 Km until you are sure they are stable
And set them to .10 mm intake and .20 mm exhaust

[RickyM]

Hi guys,

Thanks for all the replies-really useful and will get started on Justin’s points for the initial work. Good spot on the swing arm dust cover-I hadn’t noticed that so will order a couple in. A couple of other Qs;

1) Do any of you find the shifter to be slightly low? Ie I feel I really have to point my toes to the floor and consciously rotate my foot under the shifter-is there a way to adjust this or is this something you just get used to? Using a slightly thinner soled boot helped, however if possible I’d like to raise the shifter to make this shifting more comfortable. Obviously no issues shifting down.

2) The bike’s steering lock has been removed by a previous owner-is this an easy part to source and fit? Also (cosmetic only) it’s missing one of plastic pieces of the dash (below the speedo and where the key ring is on the original photo)-anywhere I can pick up a spare?

3) I only got one key with the bike (the original folding variant), is it easy to get another made up to have as a spare?

Thanks again, really looking forward to getting into this as a project.

Ricky

[skippyc]

I adjusted the linkage on mine to make it easier for me to change gears, but mine is an 86 model.

[Barry]

Check that the foot rest is bolted up correctly because when it's rotated the shift lever moves with it.  It's not meant to be a means of adjustment but you never know what a previous owner might have done. Other than that you would have to replace the linkage with an adjustable type using rose joints and threaded rods. The extent to which it can be raised is limited by the clearance between the lever and the float bowls.

[Bob_Roller]

Welcome to the site !!
Great looking bike, has been well cared for over the last 40 years .
I'll add one item that is an issue with these bikes, the rubber boot that goes over the speedometer cable on the right side is known to deteriorate and allow water into the transmission .
The result is a coffee with milk looking gear oil, not real good for the bearings in the transmission .

[ged in oz]

Nice bike Ricky. Well done. And there is some very handy advice above from some very experienced owners!

MotoBins in the UK is a great source of spares and I noticed the other day that they sell the missing dash piece that your looking for. I’m missing the piece between the clocks but they don’t sell that one...

It looks like your bike has an auxiliary power outlet mounted into the lower dash as well? Nice. Someone has obviously cared very well for your bike in the past.

[Matt Chapter]

3) I only got one key with the bike (the original folding variant), is it easy to get another made up to have as a spare?

If you want an original folding key, might be hard to find a blank.  BMW has a newer fancy folding key, you can get it from any BMW motorcycle dealer.  Or if you don't care about that, any locksmith should be able to duplicate the key.

[jp9094]

Motobins sells the folding key blank. As the BMW keys are steel, some locksmiths do not want to cut them, but persistence pays off.

FWIW,

[Tony Smith]

Motobins sells the folding key blank. As the BMW keys are steel, some locksmiths do not want to cut them, but persistence pays off.

FWIW,

So too does a Chinese seller on eBay, I have bought a number of airhead folding key blanks from him as well as Oilhead key blanks. The quality was just fine, also steel.

And from memory, about 1/3rd Motobin's price.
 My locksmith groans when he sees me bring them in and cuts them by hand for me. I've solved some minor legal problems for him in the past so I haven't sent him a bill and he doesn't bill me - so that works well.

[mrclubike]

I also found the shifter to be low so I fabricated a longer linkage out of some 6mm heim joints

Never mind the Carb
The bike has the heads off right now

[dogshome]

Size 13.5 here 

Yes getting my mahoosive hoof under the pedal was a problem. Also sorted by two M5 female RH threaded rose joints and a bit of 5mm silver steel that I threaded with a die. Simple m5 threaded rod also suitable but theoretically a bit soft to my engineering mind if you stomp on it (don't!). M5 males with RH and LH threads and tube too advanced for me 

What else? Fork oil. If not done, do it. 5W max. Leaky fuel tap/float valves/silly cork carb gaskets. If not leaking, don't touch. If leaking be prepared for fettling with mating surfaces on the tap and use of fibre washers (also silly cork ones originally).

Oh, fuel tank. Check for rust / failing inner coating and clean it. Really easy to do.

Carb balancing. The difference between running OK and properly balanced is worth having.

Sticky throttle. Spoils an otherwise great machine. should be smooth and relatively light in action.

Leaky shifter - really easy to fix.

Centre stand. If not already welded, find a new friend who can patch it up.

Side stand. Take it off and bray it with a big hammer to regain original attitude.

Alternator brushes. If your generator light doesn't go off over ~1500RPM, simply fit new brushes. Quite easy. Red light on at idle with lights etc on is semi-normal.

Lock it up with a good chain and padlock. Increasing in value every day