Hello Chaps, New member saying Hi from the UK

[Diesel_Dave]

Hi everyone,

I've just bought my first Bimmer - an '83 R65LS with only 15k miles on the clock.

I pick her up on Saturday, so I'm a bit excited and a bit nervous at the same time.

My previous bikes have been classic Royal Enfields but I really fancied this little Beemer.

I generally do lots of miles on my bikes, last year I clocked over 22,000 miles on my classics and one of them is a diesel with only 7hp and 45mph on tap.

So I hope to have a long and fruitfull relationship with this new bike.

I have one question - do I need to lube the clutch splines like the K75's?

Thanks & Regards
Dave

[Justin B.]

Glad to have you with us, Dave.  And, BTW, Bimmers have 4 wheels while the original BMWs (2 wheels) are Beemers!    Yes, the airheads need a spline lube from time to time as well.  Although I'm not as religious about it as others (in 30 years of Beemers I have lubed splines twice) a lot of my "luck" probably has been the climate and my hatred of riding in the rain as I get older!    Your bike sounds like a "keeper" so post us some pics.

[nhmaf]

In hindsight, I'd recommend that you do the spline lube, or have it done shortly unless you have
records of it being done recently by the previous owner.   My 82 LS only had 14,500 miles on it
when I bought it, but it had been in seemingly damp storage for at least 12 years.   I figured that
I could ride it a thousand miles or so until putting it up for the winter to do the spline lube, as
I had spent alot of time already rebuilding the brakes, forks, shocks, replacing throttle, clutch, and choke cables,
adjusting carbs, and replacing all the fluids and filters, and battery. Wrong !!!   I now seem to have alot of rust colored
dust in the bottom of the clutch/flywheel housing that is very magnetic in nature, and the bike will not
move anywhere...  At least this happened while riding near home, and I only had to push her 2 miles..
I'm hoping that it was just the clutch disk splines that went - have to pull her apart once the weather warms up at
little, as my garage isn't that well heated and it's well below 0 (fahrenheit) right now !!!
 

Oh, and welcome to the forum !!!

You'll find that there are many helpful people here who love their little boxers, and there are a number of LS owners, too !

[Diesel_Dave]

Wow, thanks for the warning.

Does anyone have an instructions list for lubing the clutch splines, I'm fairly mechanically adept but it would save making obvious mistakes that others have managed to avoid with the benefit of experience.

I have one for the K75, but this bike does not have the full cradle frame of the little boxer, so I'm guessing it's quite a bit different.

Regards
Dave

[milkman]

Welcome Dave.
I also have an r65LS, and I'm a 500cc thumper fan, but mine were/are mostly Yam's. The new Royal Enfields are really gaining momentum over here, but not many are puttin ghte miles on them you are outside of India.

Have a look at these enfield fans
http://youtube.com/watch?v=sKmSk90idpU

You'll find it hard to go back though after riding your new floggable mule (and I mean that lovingly).

[SCJJR65]

I just wanted to throw in my own "welcome!" as well to you, Dave!   I've had the clutch splines lubed on my '84 R65 twice now (she has 140,000 miles on her now), but the second time didn't fix the shifting problem, which turned out to be a worn out clutch plate.  I ended up replacing the whole clutch assembly, and now she shifts like new!  (Of course, she damn well better, considering what I shelled out to replace the clutch!)  

Anyway, we look forward to your future posts.  I'd even enjoy hearing about the Royal Enfield!  I've always wanted one of those to tool around on!  A true classic!    

[Diesel_Dave]

Thanks for the welcome words chaps, I'll try not to bore you all with Royal Enfield stuff.

If you consider motorcycling a monority activity then Classic bikes are the minorities minority; when you get to diesel bikes then your just an outcast that even classic bike fans shun.

If anyone wants and info on either petrol RE's (and you should know this stuff before you buy one) and diesel bikes of any description and not just the Factory RE 325cc versions then shout out.

I even have a contact in Oz with his newly aquired RE 440 Lombardini diesel.

Anyhoo I'm really looking forward to collecting the R65 tomorrow, I've even roped in a couple of friends for the trip to collect as it's about 120 miles away.

It's gonna be a bit of a baptism of fire to ride home the whole 120 miles and this is virtually all motorway (freeway?) - any tips?

Regards
Diesel Dave

[nhmaf]

Well, this is one diesel-powered bike that I'd like to own - a civilian version
of a modified Kawasaki KLR650 for use by the United States Military.

http://www.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dx/05272004112942MWED66.htm

I bet that if Kawasaki or someone else would produce these, with dual purpose
tires, etc, and lose the OD paint, while keeping the price under $8000 US I bet
that they'd sell faster than they could build them !

I wonder why BMW doesn't try to do something similar with the F650 ?  I could
see where this would be the ULTIMATE adventurer's motorcycle - you could run
it on almost anything - diesel, kerosene, aviation jet fuel, bio-diesel fuel, probably
even #2 heating oil.   Now THAT would be the mount to take on a global trek through
3rd world countries !

[Diesel_Dave]

One of My diesel bike contacts with a twin cylinder Ruggerini diesel in a Ural solo went to see HDT, as they say "the news 'aint good".  

Only 21 of the bikes have ever been manufactured from the original order of 500+, they even tried to pass off a dressed up petrol bike to a diesel homebuilder!  

I suspect it's all smoke and mirrors - certainly there is no chance of then being available to Joe public in the next few years.

Rumours abound that BMW have been experimenting - certainly they have the expertise available - the new 530 diesel saloon is one of the most sophisticated out there in the market.

Basically diesel bikes fall into two catagories, the industrial engined and the car engined. Lots are based on the Royal Enfield 'cos it's one of the few bikes available with a seperate gearbox. The best of these conversions is offered by Jochen Sommer in Germany who very professionally installs a 462cc hatz industrial unit making 11hp. This makes the bike capable of 65 mph, with 180 miles per uk gallon of diesel - you can leave these engines pinned against the stop forever as they are regulated to 3600rpm.

Of the car engined bikes, the best I have seen are based on either the Daihatsu 3 cylinder turbo (one litre) or the Smart Cars 800cc diesel triple. Most are installed longitudinally down the length of the bike and are mated to BMW gearboxes and drivetrains.

One of the latest motors to hit the scene is the Chineese made Punsun V2 806cc 20Hp unit, and i can see these being installed like a Guzzi so we are not far away from the BMW boxer unit.

I have a few piccies of the UK diesel bike rally here:

http://www.warham6173.eclipse.co.uk/Diesel%20Rally%201.html

And some of the German rally here:

http://www.warham6173.eclipse.co.uk/Hamm%20Diesel%20Bike%20Rally%202006.html


Apologies for being off topic - I'm trying to take my mind off picking up the R65 tomorrow - I'm so excited I can't go to bed  

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

Bio-Diesel is our future.  You will not bore me with talk about either diesel OR R.E.

[Justin B.]

In fact, there is even a part of the forum for this...

[MrRiden]

From my tech links file, spline lube instructions complete with photos. follow the directions and Bobs your uncle.
Cheers,
Rich
http://www.webbikeworld.com/t2/spline/

[Diesel_Dave]

Thanks for the tips on Spline lubing.

I collected the bike today, and rode it home - only 140 miles!

Fantastic ride but the ride position was a bit sportier than I'm used to - a lot more streached out up top and more knee bend too.



Here's a quick piccie:

,



Topping off the tank at home revealed the 49 mpg fuel consumption - not bad as I had been at 70-80 most of the way.

Mind you this is in comparison to the 75 mpg for the 500Re and 180+ for the diesel.

Cheers all
Dave

[nhmaf]

It looks like you have done very well, Diesel Dave !

It appears your "new" bike has been quite well cared for - it even appears to have
stainless braided brake lines and a redone seat, and it still has the black plastic
pieces that mount inside the fairing and go around the top fork tubes - those have
a tendency to get broken and lost.  What's more, you even have the good hard cases.
I looked for months to find the mounting brackets for these for my LS and they aren't
easy to find.

I think that you'll be quite pleased with your kleinenboxer - they make twisty back roads
alot of fun !
[smiley=thumbsup.gif]

[nhmaf]

Oh, and even the fork gaiters that were added on don't look bad.
I think this was a pretty well cared for bike !