New Member from Sydney Australia

[MultiplexMan]

Hi,

I've just purchased a silver 1985 R65LS.  It's got 70K km on the clock and I'll be the fifth owner.  

The mileage checks out - matches the registration papers - unless a previous owner snuck in a 100K somewhere  :-?

The bike has spent at least half its life parked in sheds and garages  

Current bikes: 2x W650 (one "bobber", one "cafe")

Previous rides:
- Kawasaki Z200 (learnt to ride on this),
- Honda/Yamaha/Suzuki/Kawasaki 250cc 2 strokes & 4 strokes,
- Kawasaki GPz600R (engine grenaded as odometer clicked over 50K),
- R80RT (toured around Australia-great bike),
- Aprilia DiTech SR50 (won it in a competition),
- Vespa PX200E (fun scooter, quirky gear shift),
- Messerschmitt KR200 (OK it had 3 wheels...)

Look forward to riding the R65LS when she arrives.

Cheers, MM

[Bob_Roller]

Welcome MultiplexMan,

Great, clean looking LS you have there !!!!

[Lucky_Lou]

Welcome i do hope you have a picture of the Messerschmitt that has to be German !!!! right.
Lou
ps nice looking bike

[montmil]

It's getting to be that you can't take your R65 out for a ride on the internet without running into an Aussie! And the cats all have cherry R65s.

Welcome to the asylum MultiMan. And hope you're enjoying summer down under.

Monte

[plc]

G'day MM,

Welcome to the forum. It is nice to see another silver LS in Sydney. May see you on the roads. Nice looking machine.

Best wishes,
Paul

[Bengt_Phorqs]

Welcome aboard Multiman!  Good clean LS, did the Aussie versions have chrome mufflers instead of the black ones the USA got?  And you have TWO W650's?  Those are such cool bikes.  That one is on my wish list to own some day.  Hard to find here but they do pop up now and again.

[SCJJR65]

Howdy, MultiMan!  Welcome to our little slice of Beemer Heaven (or Hell, depending on how well your bike is running at the moment)!  Love to see more and more members from down under joining our rag tag contingent!  You guys have some outstanding beers, too!   [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

[suecanada]

MM welcome!! Easy thing for you to sparkle up your beautiful LS is to get shiny white, new BMW Tank emblems. I did it when mine were yellow. Of course I didn't throw them away but you'll be grabbin' a beer, sittin' in a chair and just oggling your bike with the new emblems on....trust me ...hmmm...dental floss to remove right guys and a touch of heat or not?!

[MrRiden]

MultiMan,
Ahh, a silver LS just gives me the warm fuzzies. That's 'cuz it's what I have. Splendid example there. You are now entered in the Best Photo of an R65 in front of the Opera House Contest. Prize to be determined.
Get after it mate!
 
rich

[dav]

Welcome MultiMan, nice set of wheels mate [smiley=thumbsup.gif] ...

[MultiplexMan]

The R65LS arrived last night off the transporter (21:30).  I went for a late night ride to get the feel of it.

I've given it a quick inspection and have a list of "To Do" items.
1. Fork seals - they are leaking
2. Helicoil as the previous owner stripped one of the head cover bolts.
3. Front brake discs
4. Brake pads-EBC standard compound.  The HH may be a bit too aggressive. Any other suggestions?
5. Braided brake lines (reflex action on my part)
6. Caliper/master cylinder kits-to be determined after full flush.
7. New badges.  Yes Sue, they are in desperate need of renewal.
8. Instrument bulb is out on the tacho.
9. Oil & filter change
10. Air filter
11. Headlight relay mod (the headlight was dim compared to my W650?)
12. A good scrub and a couple beers  

I'm sure there's more but this should keep me out of trouble for the next couple weeks.  

[Bob_Roller]

Concerning, the front brake pads, I've got EBC FA18 graphite pads installed on EBC semi-floating steel rotors, and while I haven't seen any dramatic improvement in dry braking conditions, the wet performance is greatly increased .

I rebuilt the Brembo calipers, and master cylinder on the LS, with kits from Motobins, and I can recommend them with confidence .

If you take the calipers apart, there is an o-ring between the caliper halves, and it is not available from BMW, it is in the Motobins kit .

You may be able to source it locally .

My only suggestion on front rotors, is get rotors with overlapping holes, you won't get that heavy grooving, or wavy look to them, like the OEM rotors do so quickly .

[Altritter]

Welcome, Mpx Man! Great to have you aboard.

Easy thing for you to sparkle up your beautiful LS is to get shiny white, new BMW Tank emblems.

With great respect due to Sue, who has ridden an R65 much longer than I have, I suggest that reasonable minds (and tastes) can differ regarding whether to replace the badges. (BTW, they are "roundels" in BMW jargon.) My black 1981 standard R65's tank roundels have (IMHO) a gorgeous sepia effect in their white sectors that complements the gold metallic borders. (Query: could the borders have been gold-tone when new, or is that an antique-lacquer phenomenon similar to the aging of a vintage guitar-top finish?) Antique-furniture experts shudder when someone even mentions refinishing a valuable piece; is there a similar mindset among lovers of vintage and classic bikes?

It just occurred to me: the tank roundels of my bike are gold-tone, but the larger roundel on the rear cowl is snow-white, with silver metallic borders. Makes me think that the cowl might have been repainted relatively recently.

[Bob_Roller]

I'll have to agree with you, on the aging effect the roundels get after 20 years .

I replaced my originals about 5 years ago, the desert sun finally turned them completely brown, the new ones haven't even showed any color change yet .

[Darwin_R65]

Welcome, nice to see a few more of us in OZ balancing the forum out a bit.

John