"New" BMW R65 owner....

[quackster]

Hello to members of the forum!  I just brought home today two (yep, TWO) 1986 R65 models, one in apparently excellent condition, with about 50K miles that has been sitting in a garage unused for approximately 2 years.  The second is either a parts bike, or for restoration.  It had been involved in an accident about the same time the other bike went into involuntary storage.  The woman who owned both bikes husband died last year, so she decided to part with them.  the one that may become a parts bike, but which I'd like to restore, has damage to the front headlight, and to the top front fork assembly that holds the headlight.  The damage to the fork assembly is a rather large dent in the left fork tube.

I rode a BMW R60 for a few years which I purchased new in 1965, an old Earles forks version, and I've wanted another Beemer Bike every since then.  I've been away from motorcycles for many many years, and these bikes, once checked out (and the second bike hopefully restored) will be given to my son and daughter in law.

Questions: how is parts availability?  The "parts bike" is also missing the left side cover for the battery compartment (white) as well as the back white plastic fender trim and rear tail light.  As I said, I'd like to restore it if possible.  I'm in central Virginia, about 1/2 way between Richmond and Charlottesville off I-64.  Any suggestions as to parts and service would be appreciated. Thanks!

Oh, and one other question... the R65 in good condition is a black version, fairly basic, with a simple windshield and the longer handle bars.  The "parts" R65 has shorter handle bars, a white version, and had a small upper front faring with two gauges in the faring, and also this bike has no rear view mirrors, which I find interesting, but they might have been on the faring.  Is there a difference in models between the long handle-bar version and the short version?  I've also tried to find an owners manual on the internet but no luck so far.

Thanks Again.

[MrRiden]

BD
Parts availability is excellent and there are a number of discount / used outlets that will have parts for you as well as dealers. I use a dealer near you and have been satisfied with price / service.http://www.webparts.com/fiche.php Be sure to select the button that says "Mobile Tradition" when looking at their parts fiche.
The bike with the small fairing and short bars sounds like an LS model. Does the fairing look like this?  

Manuals are still available. Have a good look at this sites 'BMW Technical Q&A, Primarily R65' section you'll find info on manuals at the top of the page there.
rich

[nhmaf]

Welcome aboard !

You've come to the right place!   There is a growing number of monolever R65 owners here, too.   Many of the parts on the monolever bikes are the same as the R80 and R100 models of the same vintage/frame, so that may help you with locating bits like fenders or sidecover panels, etc on your '86 bike.  I would imagine that because they all used the same frames at that point, the fork tubes and handlebars are also interchangeable, but we've got some R65 mono-owners who will chime in to correct me if I'm incorrect.

It is also possible to get new forks tube fabricated here in the US by a small shop called "Forking by Frank" or something like that  - if you cannot find an affordable NOS or good condition used tube:
http://www.frankmain.qpg.com/


Hmm, if both bikes are 1986 models, then it cannot be an LS model as they stopped production in '84 and were only of the dual-rear shock frame vintage, and the '86 bikes would have been monolevers..  Perhaps if you can give us the frame&engine numbers, we can help show you how to determine the model year/build date of these bikes.

[Justin B.]

Possibly has an "S" fairing mounted?  They had a clock and voltmeter...

[quackster]

Wow!  Thanks for the quick responses.  You guys are great!  I'll pull the serial numbers off the frames of both bikes tomorrow.  I think they are within 50 serial numbers or so off the production line.  I can easily see how the farings could be different, and the one on the white R65 does have a clock and a voltmeter in it.  There is also a short windscreen on the fairing as well.  Also on the white R65, it looks like the telescopic portion of the front fork is in good shape, but I probably won't know until I begin tearing it down.  I did pick up the general manuals for that vintage BMW, the Clymer and the Haynes both, and I've been sort of looking them over, but as previously mentioned, I just brought them both home today.  This should be fun!

[Landlubber]

A whole new world awaits you, enjoy the trip, these guys are quite knowledgeable (for bike riders anyhow), I know there are many little tricks that you will pick up on, as i have , as you read more and more.

[montmil]

Welcome aboard! Takes some snaps and let us see your new treasures.

Monte

[quackster]

I'll try to post a couple of photos today.  I still need to identify the models of the R65.  I should be able to get both serial numbers and a couple of photos posted some time today. Again, thanks to all who have responded so far.  This is going to be fun!

[not-so-fast-ed]

Welcome aboard, Duck.

It seems that we are starting to see a resurgence of the fairly scarce "Mono" models.  I understand that only three hundred-some-odd were imported to the states.  Your profile doesn't mention your location.  Where are you located?

Factory service manuals can be ordered from many BMW affiliated sources, as can parts.

Check the top of the right swing arm for the bikes' serial number and build date (if the foil label is still there).

Once you have the info, there is a wealth of info and advice on this forum.  Try the search engine here.  If it gets too frustrating, just ask and we'll be glad to address individual questions.

A great source of part numbers and illustrated parts breakdowns can be found on www.realoem.com

You can indicate that you're looking for "Motorcycle" info, and enter the last seven digits of your VIN, to gain access to a bunch of info.

I haven't been able to locate the out of print Owner's Manual, but you can still get the R80 version which is pretty close.

Post pictures and remember that you have a lot in common with a great many of us who returned to riding after decades of missing it.

 

Best,

Ed

[quackster]

 :)Well, no pictures yet, as I have to take my wife to a doctor's appointment today, but serial numbers are as follows: WB1046200G6128022 for the Black R65 and WB1046201G6128062 for the White R65.  My research, thanks to a good internet search engine, says that the Black one was produced on 08/85 and the white one in 09/85, both for export to the USA.  That doesn't tell me much about the differences in the seats, faring, etc., but at least it gives me a place to start. If any of you can add any information to the above, that would be great! Hopefully I'll have pictures up by this evening.  Keep those posts coming!  If I should post more specific questions in different ares of the forum, don't hesitate to make suggestions to me.  I've been on a few forums before, but I'm a newbee on this one!  Oh, and an answer to the previous question as to my location, I'm in Virginia, about 1/2 way between Richmond and Charlottesville just a couple of miles off I-64.

[nhmaf]

I think that they were both "standard" R65 models at that point, and shared the same frame as the R80 that year.   Because of that, any of the accessories, such as an S-style fairing or different seats which would fit the R80 model would also fit the R65.  Alot of BMW owners liked to customize their airheads over the years, and the S-fairing styling was-and still is- rather popular.   This isn't a bad thing by any means - just shows you a few of the possibilities that were possible with what was a very good  "standard" bike.

When you get some pics posted we can tell if the S-fairing is BMW stock or one of the aftermarket copies - still not a bad thing either way, really.  A pic of the seat and the underside of the seat will help us determine its source.

Enjoy!!!!!!!!

[quackster]

Well, no pictures yet, but IT RUNS! ......at least the Black R65 does! I checked the controls, oil level in the crankcase, turned the key on, the headlight turned on, thought "what the heck, I'm not going anywhere with it, let's open the fuel lines, set the choke and hit the starter"... and it caught after two tries and fired right up, It took about 3-4 minutes to warm up, then I backed off the choke and it settled down to an idle of about 1000 rpm.  After it warmed up, I revved it up to around 4K just to listen to the motor.  There was a bit of noise, which I suspect were valve and lifter noises (mechanical lifters, right?), but it sounded great, considering that it hadn't been run in at least two years that I know of.  I didn't want to press my luck, so I shut her down after about 6-7 minutes.

Back to the white R65, I'm pretty certain that it is an "S" faring on the bike.  It's a bit crumpled up, damaged during the accident that put it in storage permanently, because it does have the clock and voltmeter.  It's also a bit more rounded than the diagram of the LS faring posted by MrRiden earlier in the thread.  Now I need ti see how I can get the damaged faring off, as well as the front headlight, so I can see what needs to be done and what parts I need.  I don't intend to try to start this one right away.  I did take the battery out of this one also, found that it had an internal fault, so it will need replacing.

I'm excited that the one at least runs!  I'm a very happy camper this morning.  

[drewboid]

Congratulations!  And welcome to the world of R65s. Yes - they will take enormous abuse and still run. Don't be too concerned about valve noise - one BMW airhead motto is "noisy valves are happy valves".  With the valves sitting right out in the open it is easy to hear them and also easy to check the clearances.

So change the oils, set the valves, clean the goo out of the bottom of the carb float bowls,and check the timing. then get out there and enjoy!

[quackster]

Well, I spent a little time working on the White R65 on Sunday.  Yes, I know it was Easter Sunday, but we went to church and then went over to our Daughter and her husband's for dinner.  I squeezed in some "quality time" with the R65 in the early morning before church.  Here's what I think I have figured out....

First, based on previous comments in this thread, the faring appears to be an "S" faring.  It does have a clock and voltmeter, and I have removed the badly damaged faring, but was able to remove both gauges from the faring, so they will be re-usable.  There are safety labels on the faring next to the gauges, but I think they came on the faring.  Either that, or they are decals.

Second, I have managed to almost remove the damaged front headlight assembly.  I will need to replace both headlight support brackets, as both were badly bent, however (hooray!) it seems like the front fork was not damaged at all.  I'm assuming that the headlight brackets can be removed from the top of the fork assembly, but haven't yet checked the after-market shop manuals to see how that is done.  I was able to save the reflector from inside the headlight assembly, so will need the housing, and the front chrome trim ring.  Now I just need to figure out how to easily and safely disconnect the wiring.

Third, I'll need the back white plastic trim piece that goes over the fender, at least one new front turn signal assembly (the left, which was missing), and the white trim side pieces that go along side the battery compartment.   I will probably need some front brake parts as well, hopefully just hydraulic hose, maybe a cable, and definitely a master cylinder cap.

Am I looking at big bucks here for what I need so far?

Thanks, everyone. As I said earlier, this is going to be fun!  In fact, it's fun already!

[NC Steve]

Personally, I think you should just enjoy the black runner you've got up and going, and let me take that old crashed up parts bike off your hands, for a very modest sum, of course. Who needs all those headaches, and besides, you can't ride but one at a time, right?  

Seriously though, I'd be up for a mono that needs a little TLC, so if you decide to skip all that agony, expense and frustration  [smiley=wall.gif], keep me in mind, ok? I'm just over the hill, in NC...