Newbie here

[darrylri]

Howdy, all!  I've just brought home an '81 R65 with dual disks as a project bike.  I've been riding BMWs ever since my first new bike, which was an '81 R65.  I put 56k miles on that before it was totalled in an accident, and I moved up to a monolever R80 from there.

This looks like a friendly forum, and I hope to get a lot of advice and not a few parts for my project.  I don't have any photos yet, but will certainly take some and post.  

The bike is basically stock, although a Rick Mayer custom seat is on it and needs to be recovered.  The previous (and only) owner ran it as his main transportation, puting 169k miles on it, nearly all with a Rabid Transit fairing, which I didn't get.  The bike has Works shocks on it (and I have the stock shocks, too).  Cosmetically, the bike needs more than a bit of TLC.  

Unfortunately, during a brief time while the fairing was off, he hit a deer; so I need to find the fork bracket and complete headlight assembly.  Any leads on that?

The PO succumbed to a new F650 a few years ago and pretty much stopped riding the R65.  A year ago he took it out and the motor quit at the bottom of his driveway.  The bike has a fairly new battery, and the motor cranks easily, but it doesn't even have a hint of firing.  

My goal is to get the bike running and working reliably, and then clean it up and see what real work it needs.  

[Bengt_Phorqs]

Welcome to the farm Darryl.  We are a pretty friendly group around here.  If it's a dual disc on the front the chances are you have an LS model.  Cosmetics are important for sure, but getting the engine to run is a priority.  Fortunately there is a lot of technical know how on this forum.

If you aren't getting any spark at all with a new battery, the pull the tank and take a look at the coil.  Chances are it's the original Crack-O-Matic coil.  If you see fine hair line cracks on the end then it's toast and should be replaced.  Check out the Motoelektrik website.

Another common problem is the "beancan" getting dirty.  It may need a "shampoo, set and curl" for starters.  Search the forum but be sure to go back for at least three months and 12 would be better.  You'll find a wealth of information here.

[drewboid]

Welcome to the forum - lots of problems have been discussed and solved here - some time spent searching will be well rewarded.

In order to run the engine needs compression, fuel, and a spark at the right time.

Easiest to check - spark. pull the plugs and lay them on the cylinders making sure you have good contact. Turn on the ignition and crank looking for a spark. Common failure points are the "Crack-O-Matic" coil (original gray with a stock number ending in 200) and the ignition module. methods for checking them are in the forum history.

Fuel - sniff the open spark plug hole - any gas smell? put a shot of sttarting fluid into the cylinders, replace the plugs and try starting again. If it fires you have a fuel flow or carb problem.

Compression - unlikely but you may have a stuck valve. Pull the valve covers and reset the valves.

Lots more but this should give you a start.

Good luck with it.

[darrylri]

Thanks for the quick replies!

The bike is definitely not an LS.  It has those damn snowflake wheels that require the patience of Job to keep clean.  And the PO gave me the certificate of origin for the bike.  

I literally just rolled it into my garage last night.  It has a tank full of year old gas in it, which I will have to dispose of first.  Then I will almost certainly need to go through the carbs.  

The PO did no diagnostics, just rolled the bike back into the garage.  I will try to have a look at it this weekend and at least see where I am with the spark.

I will definitely be doing some searching on the older posts here.

[darrylri]

Maybe as a part of my intro, I should mention that I have a few other beemers, too.

My daily rider is a 2007 R1200ST.  Unfortunately, I pranged a couple deer with it a month ago and am waiting for a bunch of plastic from Germany.

So, I've been riding around on my '75 R90S.  Last month I rode it to a BBQ in New Mexico.  

My 1994 R1100RS now has 205k miles on it.  I got a newer bike when it had about 160k on it, so I rode it to Daytona and gave it to Stefan Knopf, who shipped it to Germany for me.  It's been there ever since, and I keep it at a friend's place in Karlsruhe.

My 1961 R60/2 was a freeby.  Of course, it came disassembled in a bunch of boxes.  It just went together and then I had a running bike!  This is the bike that got me interested in vintage bikes;  riding it is a very different and almost quaint experience.

I bought my 1953 R51/3 from a guy off eBay.  Cosmetically rough, it also needed a lot of work.  But the plunger frame bikes have a great feel to them!

I'm working on a 1941 R12.  I bought this bike after I got the /2 running.  This is the antithesis of my /2 experience -- it was together and beautiful, but in fact was a mess inside.  

Finally, 6 years ago I bought a 1928 R52 in Germany.  This is a fascinating and fun vehicle to ride, but it's dramatically different than anything else I have.

[Bob_Roller]

Welcome Darryl,

Sounds like the new acquisition needs a good going through !

But if you rode an R65 for 56,000 miles previously, you are quite familiar with the bike .

Post your technical questions and problems, and we'll do our best to help you through the restoration process .

We have a member here his name is lamont, he is an eBay seller, with the eBay name Lamont Sanfurd, real name Larry Chabira, resides in Austin, Texas .

He's a motorcycle dismantler usually specializing in airhead bikes, quite often he has R65 parts for sale .

[Bengt_Phorqs]

Whoops!  I overran the part where you said you'd been riding Beemers for a while.  Perhaps I need to sit at your feet for a while.  That's a very nice stable you have there.  Puts mine to shame.

FYI, a few months back there was a thread about road rats, aka deer, and it was decided universally that they are a menace to those of us who prefer 2 wheeled transportation.  Deer are a lot like snowboarders.  If they could talk, when you met them they would say "sorry about that Dude..." [smiley=rifle.gif]

[azcycle]

I'm a newbie here as well, with a recently acquired 81 r65, and a 1967-69??) /2 r50 (I think?) due to my fiance's father suddenly passing away.  We inherited both bikes. The r50 is not much more than a frame and an engine, with some miscellaneous parts.

I have very little knowledge about BMW bikes so I'm sure I'll learn a lot from ya! Especially when I try to get the /2 back together!  Fiance said I could have the r65 if I built up the /2 for her.  

Welcome!

[darrylri]

Ok, I haven't had a chance to upload some photos yet, but I will.  

I did check out the ignition.  There's no spark at either plug.  The plugs, caps and leads all appear new, as does the coil, right down to fresh dielectric grease under the new rubber boots.

I'm thinking this takes me to the Hall sensor or the ignition control module...

[Bob_Roller]

Ok, I haven't had a chance to upload some photos yet, but I will.  

I did check out the ignition.  There's no spark at either plug.  The plugs, caps and leads all appear new, as does the coil, right down to fresh dielectric grease under the new rubber boots.

I'm thinking this takes me to the Hall sensor or the ignition control module...

I remember a member here posting a test method, that would tell you whether the Hall sensor, or ICU was bad .

Best of my memory, you disconnected the electrical connector at the 'bean can', and then placed a wire across two pins on the bike side of the connector, one was the 12 vdc power supply to the Hall sensor, and the other, was the output signal from the sensor, it just bypassed the sensor, and if the ICU was good, the plugs would fire every time you touched the wires to the pins .

[proctorls]

Well, I must say, I haven't seen a stable like that since the last time I was at The Barn at Emerson Motor Works.  What a lot of wondeful old black machinery you have, Darryl!
     I hope you've figured out the non-start problem.  If you don't already have a multimeter, now might be a good time to get one.  Don't fool around with cheap crap.  I use a Fluke, but a perfectly adequate one can be had for around 50 bucks.
     I'm a little astonished to read you "pranged" a "couple of deer" with your 1200. and suffered no more than shattered plastic.  I have this image of you with a lance balanced over one handlebar, chasing a couple of mule deer down highway 1.  Was there another story?  Pictures, perhaps?  Tell, Tell.

Steve

[montmil]

Ok, I haven't had a chance to upload some photos yet, but I will.  

I did check out the ignition.  There's no spark at either plug.  The plugs, caps and leads all appear new, as does the coil, right down to fresh dielectric grease under the new rubber boots.

I'm thinking this takes me to the Hall sensor or the ignition control module...

I remember a member here posting a test method, that would tell you whether the Hall sensor, or ICU was bad .

Best of my memory, you disconnected the electrical connector at the 'bean can', and then placed a wire across two pins on the bike side of the connector, one was the 12 vdc power supply to the Hall sensor, and the other, was the output signal from the sensor, it just bypassed the sensor, and if the ICU was good, the plugs would fire every time you touched the wires to the pins .

You're in the right neighborhood, Bob R, but here's the simple and correct procedure to check the plugs for spark...

Disconnect the three-wire plug to the bean can and "pin" the center wire of the three coming from the main harness loom; a straightened paperclip works fine. With the ignition on, touch the end of the paperclip wire to a known ground; frame bolt, etc. If you got sparks at the plugs, this confirms the ICU and coil are functional. That leaves only the bean can as a suspect.

Monte

[trolle]

I can vouch for the method!

If it is the hall censor you might be lucky that one of the members has one for sale at a reasonable price or might be willing to renovate your old can. The price of a new can is rather steep and although old cans are found at the German Ebay the price is still high.

Another possibility is to forego of the beancan solution completely and invest in an Omega digital ignition controller. It is a simple and very good solution only costing 50% more than a new beancan.

greetings from a, as usual, wet north

[Bengt_Phorqs]

Here is a thread discussing the Hall Sensor.  Technical Discussion / BMW Technical Q&A, Primarily R65 / Re: Another Bum Bean Can Sender
 on: 09/06/09 at 14:45:57

 They are available from Newark Electric at an inexpensive price.  Monte has replaced at least one and somewhere his thread details the procedure.  Not exactly rocket surgery but you do need to take care.

[darrylri]

Thanks for the links!  In fact, the same approach is suggested in my Haynes book.  

And, indeed, my Hall sensor is dead.  I get nice big sparks when I ground the middle pin.

Do I really have to take all that stuff apart to replace the Hall sensor inside the bean can?  Oh well, it will have to wait until after Xmas for me to work on it again.