newbie

[Boycie1150]

Evening all. My name is Phil, and I am from the UK. I will soon be the fortunate recipient of an R65 from my father. He bought the bike new way back in 1980 and has had it ever since. He has not ridden it since 1985, and it has been sitting in his garage siince then. It has done, get this, 10500 miles which I think makes it quite remarkable. I suspect to find an example with this mileage on is going to be hard to beat.
Anyway, he has offered it to me and I intend to restore it. It is not far off showroom condition anyway as it has been stored in a dry garage all its life. I need to inspect it closely, but I think that it will just need various deals replacing, fluids pads and tyres changing, and it will be good to go. It is bloody imaculate!
i intend to use it for sunny days and the odd tour, perhaps. As it belonged to my Dad who is nearly 80years old now, it has a family history, so I want to treat it with loving care.
Anyway, having had a brief trawl through this site, I suspect I might be back, as it appears to be a mine of information. Look forward to chatting with you guys

Phil

[montmil]

Good score, Phil. It's a family affair.

Several UK R65ers on this forum so you'll find some riding friends and help when you need it.

Do one more post and the webmasters who will be obeyed will allow you to post up some photos of your family heirloom. If we don't see some pics, the bile obviously doesn't exist.

Welcome to the asylum. Resistance is futile. There ain't no cure.

Monte

[Bob_Roller]

Welcome Phil .

Sounds like you got yourself a sweet bike with low mileage !

[Bengt_Phorqs]

Welcome aboard Phil.  I think you're gonna like the bike.  Just a suggestion to do a really close inspection on the inside of the tank.  It's not uncommon for a bike that sits up that long to have rust.  

Everything you need to know about care and feeding can be found here.  Lots of good knowledgeable folks.

[Barry]

Welcome Phil

I got mine 4 years back with only 6185 miles on the clock. After the obvious fluids etc take a close look at anything made of rubber. Somethings may have perished including the tyres.

Another thing to check is that the grease may have dried out in the headstock, swinging arm and wheel bearings

You have an early model which is in the minority as far as R65s go and there are a few minor differences.

Presume you will have the original riders manual. If not someone will send you a scanned PDF copy.

[Altritter]

Hi, Phil,

Welcome to the club! (Some Beemerliebers on the other side of the brand call us a cult.   ) Like the government, we're here to help. (Ha!) Seriously, there aren't many problems that you might have that someone here can't happily help you fix; there are none that anyone won't lend a friendly message to try to correct. So don't hesitate to ask. Myself, I'm so new to the group, my reaction to some of these discussions is still "!!"

You have an early model which is in the minority as far as R65s go and there are a few minor differences.
 

True, but you have the essentials: frame, engine block, basic design. The R65 was in production so long, it was evolutionary. You don't like the '79's stopping power with the single front diak? There's a retrofit kit in existence that converts to dual disk, which stops much quicker. Do ignition points give you a hassle? It's possible to convert to electronic ignition. Is the '79's center stand a hassle?  BMW Motorrad redesigned the R65's center stand in 1982 or so, and it's a dream.  Others of us have replaced the BMW stand with a Century Ride-Off stand, and swear by it. (I have a 1983 R65 center stand on my '81 It's a bolt-on, requiring only a return spring about 1 cm. different length. (Longer or shorter, I can't recall at the moment.   ) It's great! Is the '79 sidestand a dropped bike waiting to happen? Many of us opted for a Brown's sidestand, and my sense is that those who have one, love it. (I have one, and I do.)

The advice in the previous replies is excellent. Do what our colleagues suggest regarding fluid changes, maintenance, and adjustments, and you should have an exceptionally dependable machine that's a delight to ride. Beyond that point, enjoy the projects of improving lights, horn, and reflectives to make the bike safer, and finding a windscreen to make it more comfortable in bad weather. One caution: there are differing opinions about radical modifications to make the R65 significantly faster. Though some hardy riders have dropped R80 or even R100 engines into an R65 frame,  others say, "The R65 does not soup up well; if you want a faster bike, buy a faster bike in the first place."  (Your countrymen, Lucky Lou or Steve ("Lighter, faster - where's me hacksaw!") - might disagree on that point.)

Summary: You have a great bike that, with luck and no crashes, will last for decades. (Maybe one of your children will inherit.)  A lot of TLC and a moderate number of Euros should make it something that will stand out among a group of parked bikes at a gathering. Enjoy the ride!

John

[azcycle]

Welcome!

[Nice_One_Son]

Hi Phil,

Welcome to an excellent resource for valuable information on the "65".

I got mine about 13 months ago and am deep into a complete rebuild, without a doubt, the guys n" gals on here are extremely helpful and passionate about airheads!

They have helped me when I have found myself in difficult times when stripping the bike down.

Sounds you have a "minter", nice!

Enjoy your machine and ask for help whenever you need it. I live in the UK (West Yorkshire), so welcome to a growing band of brothers...

Cheers

Chris

[Lucky_Lou]

Summary: You have a great bike that, with luck and no crashes, will last for decades. (Maybe one of your children will inherit.)  A lot of TLC and a moderate number of [size=18]Euro,s[/size] should make it something that will stand out among a group of parked bikes at a gathering. Enjoy the ride!

John

Welcome Phil.......John are you trying to start a riot !!!!!! Euro,s ....Euro,s over my dead body if it aint got the Queens Head on it its worthless round here...
Lou
ps where in the UK are you ? Our R65s stand out where ever you park them..

[Nice_One_Son]

I'll er, take the one in front please...

[suecanada]

Just want to chime in here Phil as one of the few but very informed [smiley=wink.gif] [smiley=rolleyes.gif] females who own an R65 and are active on this forum....welcome!! I do have an another motive too...I love England, Yorkshire in particular, and may get there some day again and am scheming to get to ride with some of you blokes!!!!!

Hmmm...I think the comment about checking the gas tank to make sure the liner (red) looks intact is good advice. All and every filter needs to be looked at for particulates. Float bowl on the carbs for sure and any inline fuel filter/strainer and the gaskets. One thing that got me but may not be an issue with such a low mileage bike...check that the domed final drive filler cap is RAISED say 3-5 mm (?) above the hex nut so the final drive can breath. You will be changing the oil there so good time to check that out. Nhmaf can add the correct height it should be raised.
Oh yeah, there are O-rings on the brake actuating arm that goes through the final drive hub from Left to right. It comes out after the shoes are taken off and the rear brake rod released from the arm on the right side. The rubber on those O-rings there may have deteriorated and need replacing. I have 3 O rings, there may be more I have read as this is one place things seem to vary.

Good blow by blow about how to clean and grease the steering head bearings on this forum in the maintenance section. If you wobble down the road and have a hard time steering, that might be a culprit.
But hey, if it's your lucky day, none of these things will be an issue. Never feel embarrassed about asking a question, no matter how mundane, on this forum. The guys are very good about answering without any snide remarks. This is the best forum!!!!

[Barry]

I have 3 O rings, there may be more I have read as this is one place things seem to vary.

They do vary in number on the later bikes but as Phil's bike is a 1980 model I suspect he may find there are no O rings on the rear brake shaft nor are any needed on the early type final drive so don't think of it as a fault or in any way inferior if you find none. It's just one of the differences from the 81 on models where the shaft is lubricated by the final drive oil. Early ones are greased so it may still be worth removing for a clean and new grease.

[aussie]

They do vary in number on the later bikes but as Phil's bike is a 1980 model  

Pfffffffffffft - what a youngster! '79 here, and I love it

[Boycie1150]

Blimey, thanks for the welcome chaps and chappesses. Actually, I suspect that the bike is slightly younger than 1980. I talked to my dad the other day about it, as I found that the bike has in fact got twin discs at the front, which I think will make it 1981 onward.  I need to look at the reg document to check. No matter. I am in the process of sorting out my trailer to get it over to my house. Hopefully, that will happen in the next month and then i can get a real look at the bike an see what's what. I have actually owned several BMW twins in the past, including two R80s, so I am pretty clued up as to the usual BMW twin issues. The last twin i owned was an R1150GS. what a cracking bike that was! Sadly missed. I intend to get a 1200GS Adventure in due course, but it will have to wait until I can afford one.

For whoever asked where I am in the UK, I am in Northamptonshire.

When I can, I will post up some pics.

laters

Phil

[Bob_Roller]

Post the last seven characters of the bikes VIN, you can get the month and year of manufacture .