R65 starting to take shape for summer

[wilcom]

I've had the R65 home for a week and it's coming along. Still no surprises and nothing has fallen off. Yeah!!

I've taken note of some good things The Metzler tires have very few miles on them and they will do for the summer. The PO said it didn't have a center stand..... well it was there just the tang was bent and hiding, reshaped it and now I have a center stand. I can get it on the stand easily too, not like my 79 where I needed to lift the bike almost off the ground before you get get it on the stand.

It has upgraded brake lines and the front brake works well. The back brake is well a back brake it will stop the bike so it will do for now.

It starts like a champ and so far runs perfectly. next week I will give it a tune up,but it runs so good there is no hurry.

I got the hitch mounted for that trailer i bought out of Canada a couple of years ago. lights are hooked up and I have towed it around town 20 or so miles and I don't even know its back there.

The trailer's purpose is to allow me to go fishing and ride motorcycles at the same time.  I make 3-4 trips a summer up in the Sierras to go fish'n. I take a lot of junk and have always used the van to go camping. Stuff like camp stove, tent, axe, shovel, multiple fishing poles, fishing gear, a couple bottles of my favorite adult beverage, just a lot of stuff and I think if I can do a little planning I can get it all in the trailer and bags.

Unhook the trailer at base camp and jet around to the lakes and streams on the bike.... best of both worlds.

[Justin B.]

Sounds like you got a cherry, there!  Last one I bought came home in boxes...

Don't reckon I've ever seen a trailer behind an R65 before, though!

[nhmaf]

Nice!  And I see it is the "faster" color R65LS, too!  ;-)   What is the brand of trailer?   Looks like it can hold a fair amount of stuff, but must not weigh alot... does it have an aluminum frame the length of it, or just a fiberglass "box"?  It looks pretty nice but I think it would do well to have some sort of side marker lights on it for getting cager's attention, particularly after dark..

[wilcom]

Nice!  And I see it is the "faster" color R65LS, too!  ;-)   What is the brand of trailer?   Looks like it can hold a fair amount of stuff, but must not weigh alot... does it have an aluminum frame the length of it, or just a fiberglass "box"?  It looks pretty nice but I think it would do well to have some sort of side marker lights on it for getting cager's attention, particularly after dark..

It's going to get faster too..... I just tried on my jacket to my leatrhers and it won't zip up..... looks like I need to lose 30 lbs, boy will the lil 65 fly then,

The Trailer is a Monogo. It was manufactured in Quebec and never sold here as the little shop that made them could have never gone thru the proce$$ to sell in the States.

I had been looking in Craigslist and all over for years with no luck. a couple of years ago I found this one in Canada for sale and talked the guy into shipping it to me.

So I have had it for awhile and was just able to score on a hitch that would fit the R65. The trailer only weighs 56 lbs and has a full frame under it.

Great idea on the side markers. The trailer has a LED running light and turn signals, but no brake light. The brake light on the bike is way above trailer level and can be seen fine. I'm going to add Hyperlite brake and turn signals, when I do that I might add a lite brake light to  the trailer also. Definitely going with side markers though , thanks for that safety tip.

[Tony Smith]

Nice!  And I see it is the "faster" color R65LS, too!  ;-) 

Ha! true fast bikes are black, you don't see them coming and you don't see where they went.

[Matt Chapter]

Ha! true fast bikes are black, you don't see them coming and you don't see where they went.

More than once I've been stopped by a local official and heard some form of "I couldn't get the radar lock, but here's a citation for whatever I can get you for".

Not only is black faster, it's radar resistant as well!

[Semper Gumby]

What kind of trailer is that??   

(MeLikeee)

[wilcom]

What kind of trailer is that??   

(MeLikeee)

It is a "Monogo",  was manufactured by little shop in Quebec and sold only in Canada.

They use to have a web site but is is now closed.  I hunted for one here in the States for 3-4 years but never ran across one. Finally  I went and searched in Canada and found this one and the owner agreed to ship it to me from Canada.

 I've had it for a couple of years and this is the first time I have had it hitched up. So far in my testing (never puled a trailer in my life) I don't know it's back there. It weighs 56 lbs and has a frame under it the full length of the carrier. I plan on carrying about 50 lbs of camp stuff when I do make a trip so I will be doing some more testing  with a load to see how the bike reacts.

Other than the initial little trial below, I have about 50 miles with it behind the bike, so far so good........

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sp_0IrWk9Ng

[Justin B.]

Does it affect the handling very much?

[wilcom]

Does it affect the handling very much?

 I don't know yet, so far I don't know it's back there at all. Haven't gone too far and nothing over 60mph

 I thought I felt it turning in once, like it was falling into the turn with less effort. If that is true it will be more pronounced when I get a load in it. Once I turn and tip the trailer into the turn all the weight of the trailer plus load is trying to pull the bike down into the turn. A little throttle would counter act that but it might be something I will have to learn,  especially at slower speeds

I'm more concerned with what it is going to do when transitioning uneven pavement at speed(50mph+). It would be somewhat of a surprise if it just hung on the edge of the transition and then climbed up all at once.  Sometimes in a car you will climb up to a new level of blacktop that has been just laid down and as you steer into it the tire doesn't want to go up on it until all of a sudden it will bite and jump up there. I don't want the trailer to do that after the bike is already there. I have no idea how that would be dealt with handling wise..........this is all new stuff for me.

We have all pulled trailers ( over loaded, miss loaded) where they would wag the dog.......... on a bike wagging the dog would be disastrous!! 

[Justin B.]

Hope it doesn't wag ya, could really ruin your day... 

[wilcom]

Hope it doesn't wag ya, could really ruin your day... 

My new Michelin tire and tube came today for the trailer.. It had a lawn & garden  Chen Fling tire that probably came on it new. I'll feel better with fresh meat under it

[wilcom]

What kind of trailer is that??   

(MeLikeee)

Gumby............ I just got a call from a fellow in Tn. that wants to sell his for $200. Since I already have one( how many trailers does a guy need?)i'm not interested, even at that killer price. You expressed a "Like",  so if you would be interested,  I can put you two together............ Wouldn't cost much to toss it on the Grey Hound going in your direction

[orforester]

I have some saddlebag frames on my bike (new to me) but no bags, and there are so many different kinds of BMW bags, which ones do you use?  Brand name or rather style name?

[Matt Chapter]

which ones do you use?  Brand name or rather style name?

I believe wilcom has the Krauser style BMW bags.  There are also the integral bag types.  The mounts are not compatible AFAIK.  Look at mototbins' website, they have lots of luggage and mounts for sale.