R65 Turbo spotted on ebay.

[AJB]

Didn't quite know where to post this, as it's not me that's selling it - in fact it's not even in the same country, but it came up on a search I did and I thought it was worthy of some discussion on here.

Is it just me, or does our favourite motorcycle seem to be an unlikely candidate for the turbo treatment?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/122239961614?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

If anyone is close to DeLand, Florida and wants to report back, I for one would be keen to read a full report!

[Justin B.]

Interesting...

[wilcom]

Is it just me, or does our favourite motorcycle seem to be an unlikely candidate for the turbo treatment?

That's for sure...AJB

The ad seems to be from a dealer, but gives no info about the turbo. Seems if he doesn't want to put a battery in it and fire it up why would I be keen to do it .
also in the back ground there is a bike with the same paint job on the tank... wonder what that one is...........

[marcmax]

I posted a thread about this same bike last April in the chit-chat section.

It is a friend of mine who is an independent BMW shop that specializes in concourse level restorations, among other things. He knows more about airheads than anyone I know. Check out his website at www.rennsportmotorrad.com.

The bike belongs to a friend of his and he offered to try and sell it for him. The turbo kit came from the questionable firm called Luftmeister and was quite the thing in its day even if the company was, lets say, less than ethical at times. I don't need another project or I would consider it just because it is different.

[Barry]

In keeping with BMW heritage  I'd prefer one with a kompressor rather than a turbo. 

I have a kompressor on my car and I'm absolutely sold on the concept. There's no turbo lag just instant torque from ridiculously low revs.

[marcmax]

Wilcom, the bike behind it is an R100S also with a Luftmeister turbo on it owned by the same individual. The person selling the R65 is keeping the R100 for himself.

[nhmaf]

Yes, the Luftmeister turbo kit was certainly available in that period, though I think was much less commonly found on airheads in North America - possibly as there were even fewer dealers over here who would know how to deal with it.

It was popular as Kawasaki, Honda, and Yamaha all came up with mid-size (500-750cc) sport bikes with turbochargers intended to offer liter-class HP (once you got through the lag) but otherwise fuel economy and docility of the middle class.   I briefly rode the 1982 XJ650J Turbo that a local dealer had on his sales floor for 3-4 years before selling it, only to have the new owner trade it back in later that year.

In general, I think the turbo bikes of the time promised alot more than they delivered, but they did have a certain cache', and were kinda fun in a straight line when the turbo came full on.

[wilcom]

Back in the late 80's early 90's I rode a R90/6. During that period I got a chance to take a 20 mile ride on a friends Honda 650 Turbo.

I loved the power feel as the turbo kicked in. A really smooth and powerful bike that I thought of buying a while back. The bloody alternator setting in the middle of the engine turned me away

[Lucky_Lou]

I recall one of the members here embarking on a fuel injection project on his R65.... I don't remember the outcome of that which must have been more challenging.
Lou

[Tony Smith]

I recall one of the members here embarking on a fuel injection project on his R65.... I don't remember the outcome of that which must have been more challenging.

He got it working very well indeed. On the off chance I might want to go down a similar path I've taken a pair of good R850 throttle bodies (same external dimensions as 32mm bings) into stock. I already have a basic Megasquirt system board - I reckon it would be an interesting and fairly simple project using known components rather than doing as our fellow member did and "breadboarding" the lot.

In fact converting an R65 to fuel injections would be a cinch - R850 injector/throttle bodies, a pump, intake air and oil temp sensors, a lamba sensor in the exhaust and I'd reckon on having it running in a day or so and perfectly after a couple of hours of on-road testing (less if I could finangle the use of a rolling road dyno). Given the choice I would run the system in an adaptive mode using the lambda sensor to trim mixture against some (hopefully) accurate rev/throttle opening setpoints.

[Justin B.]

I think I just registered the new owner of this.  It seems to be moving to Canada...

[suecanada]

I'll watch for it!! Happy New Year!

[Justin B.]

Quite a ways from you, Sue, BC...  Road Trip!!!