R90 man is converted to R65; Gimmee some tips! PLS

[fishypaws]

Hey, Thanks for the time; I have had many BMW airheads and now have a garage princess 1979 bronco brown R65 not looked at for years. Gas tank smells like varnish, Carbs not flowing, throttle cables (has TWO separate) so frayed it shocked me, and the worst spark plug wires I have ever seen on vehicel. I did have the joyous moment when i realized AT LEAST the engine sounded tight and sound when I got it to turnover after dumping the varnish, using using syringes to feed a little gas in . Brakes good, generator light went out, oil pressure light went out, tires good.
My biggest gremlin is the differences between my many R90's and this little gem.
Also, I am very interested in sources for the stuff I need other than A&S, Bob's and other top dollar wallet drainers!! I know BMW oem can be best but 80.00 for a carb gasket kit seems over the top!!!
Well, THANKS for reading my rant. Any good words will be appreciated

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

Congratulations on getting one of the best R65's (well, color-wise, anyway ) made!  

On the carburetor, I would begin by making sure the small passageways are clear, and check the floats for weight.

Back before the internet, I bought a couple of carb kits before I dropped my bike off with a former BMW mechanic that was working at a Honda dealership.  The first thing he said was "Aww, you shouldn't have wasted your money on those!"...

You might need to replace a diaphragm, but they can be had separately.   So can the plastic ring that holds them to the slide.
This part is unique to the flat-top Bings.


click for larger & more

[Bob_Roller]

Welcome aboard Fishypaws !

Having owned airheads before, the R65 isn't going to be a difficult bike to get back on the road again.

Don't know where in the US you call home, but Chicago BMW has some of the best prices on parts, they are restricted by BMW from publishing their prices, but several members have gotten emails from them, and they have a standard 20% off of BMW 'list prices'.

At times, they have been a little less than timely on getting parts out, so make sure they are in stock before placing an order.

Motobins in the UK seems to be another great source for airhead parts.

Several members here do business with them on a regular basis, and even with shipping costs included, their prices beat most BMW dealership prices.

[nhmaf]

I also end up buying a fair amount of stuff from capitalcycle.com.  The prices they show in their web catalog are usually outdated, but their prices are reasonable, usually cheaper than Bob's BMW or Max BMW, but sometimes more than Chicago BMW.   I find that they do a pretty good job with shipping stuff out asap.   IT is best to search for what you want on their website and then call them up to place your order and they'll let you know if there are any back-orders, etc.

There are some ebay stores that I've had good luck with on parts like plug wires, special tools, and used parts.   Once you get to working on her and have an idea of what you need for parts we'll be glad to chime in on suggestions on where to find things.  

We like all bikes here - so post some pics of your R90s in the gallery when you get a chance!

[montmil]

...I am very interested in sources for the stuff I need other than A&S, Bob's and other top dollar wallet drainers! ... Any good words will be appreciated

Try these for starters:

http://www.capitalcycle.com/index.php
http://chicagobmwmotorcycle.com/store/
http://www.motobins.co.uk/
http://re-psycle.com/
http://www.motoelekt.com/index.html
http://www.flugelnus.com/

Oughta keep you busy for awhile. Where you at?

Monte

[Justin B.]

I'd like to add http://www.euromotoelectrics.com/ to the list.

[NC Steve]

Here's a mix of an R65, R90, and older /2 frame. Pretty cool conversion!  [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

[steve hawkins]

Nice looking bike.

Did he manage to keep the top yoke (triple tree)?

One of the best bits that differentiate an R65 from the rest of the heard.

Moo!

[Semper Gumby]

Hi Fishy Paws,

To clean the varnish out of hte tank I recommend the Bill Hirch Marine Cleaner Degreaser

http://www.hirschauto.com/prodinfo.asp?number=CD&variation=QUART

Mix with equal parts warm water and sloosh it around in the tank for a couple of days (4) then pore it out.  They claim you can use it again on other stuff.

This can also be part of a sealer kit for the tank:

http://www.hirschauto.com/prodinfo.asp?number=CRK-01

I really like this stuff.

Looks like a Windjammer fairing and a comfy seat.  You could put some miles on that bike if you wanted to.

Welcome to obsession.... 8-)