New owner/ 1st street bike

[wcelliot]

Since I've been browsing at the site, I just wanted to introduce myself. I'm a long-time gearhead, but one that generally stuck to cars (with only some offroad motorcycle exeprience and a fondness for unusual mopeds/scooters/bike powered cars)

Anyway, a trip to Italy led me to get the urge for a vintage Ducati (like an old 250-350) and my search here in the US ended up with me trading a project car for a 900 Darmah.  

Now a Darmah as a first street bike is akin to handing the keys of a porsche 930 to a 16 year old and saying "have fun"! So I doubt I'll be riding it anytime soon... needing to get some training, a license, and some serious seat time first.

So of course I considered a disposable starter 250... but then thought... why get something disposable? The Ducati is not really an everyday sort of machine... so why not something to learn on -and- keep? So I immediately began shopping for a BMW airhead... the bike I always assumed would be my motorcycle of choice if I ever rode.

I lucked on a lady doctor owned low mileage '81 R65; being sold reluctantly in a divorce. It was heavily maintained but had a few issues (missing side panels, broken turn signal switch, needle broken on the speedo) but ran and drove so well (and with a price soft enough to budget the fixes) I loaded it on the truck.

Anyway, I'm sure as I learn more I'll have questions, but I'm already very comfortable with the size, weight, and power... I think it will be a great choice!

Thanks for a great site! Now to scare up some parts....

Bill
Frederick, MD

[Bob_Roller]

Welcome Bill !!

With your fondness for vehicle 'oddities', you'll fit quite well here .

Once you get the few problems worked out, your R65 will around for a long time .

Ask all the questions you want, we live for this !!!!

[montmil]

Welcome aboard, Bill, as an "official" R65 dot org member. Your secret decoder ring is in the mail [smiley=wink.gif]

Some very interesting photos from your collection. We can tell you've been lurking for awhile; usually necessary for us to break in the newbies by reminding them that we love pictures. Sometimes we may color outside the lines but it's all good.

Lots of resources here. If you can't find it, we can probably provide a link. Or maybe a link of beer brats.  [smiley=beer.gif]

Monte

[wcelliot]

I guess my first question is "what octane fuel does the R65 like"?

Already have a used turn signal switch on the way; what a great resource this is!

Bill

[Bob_Roller]

You can use the 'regular' 87 octane, if you have any detonation, or 'pinking', try  the next grade higher to eliminate it .

Once May hits the calender here in the Phoenix metro area, I need to go to 'premium' grade 91 octane, due to detonation in the hot weather .

[wcelliot]

Thanks!!!

And risking talking religion, is there an oil concensous? Egnine, gearbox, etc?

Or asked another way, is there any agreement on what NOT to use? ;-)

[Lucky_Lou]

Welcome.....ah the old oil question ive just aquired some Castrol Classic 20W 50 i usualy run 15W50 but this was sale and i thought i would give it a go stay away from synthetics as the word is the seals ect dont like it.
Lou

[montmil]

You've got the higher USA bars on your '81. Both of mine have the lower Euro tubing which makes it a little easier cruising on the naked bikes. My '83 R65 is 501 blue -like your R65- while the '81 is original OEM black.

Dual discs, crash bars and shiny, factory-looking mufflers are big pluses. Very nice. The OEM Boge rear shots, uh, shocks, and the overlaid seat cover, well... add 'em to your list.

How about some details on the three-wheeler 2-stroke 'vert? Get some stares, I'm sure.

Monte

[wcelliot]

Any recommended rear shocks and/or seats?

On the Berkeley, they sold 4 wheelers in the US, but the trike was a UK-only model designed to be driven on motorcycle tax and a motorcycle license... if you lost your auto license it was about the most car you were allowed to drive and in fact became their biggest seller.

http://fnader.com/Berkeley.htm

The crank in mine came apart... might have had something to do with the fact I had the tach wound back around to zero in top gear whilst playing with a buddy and his classic Mini on some back road twisties.

I have a 3 cylinder being built for it (the Excelsior engines really need a few speciali tools to play with them), but I just picked up a pair of salvage Honda 200's... the 200 nearly bolts in (though I lose reverse). A Rebel 250 will fit with just a few mods... and a GT550 actually fits under the bonnet but has so much torque it breaks everything!  (I have a new billet differential... but once that's no longer the weak point, something else is...)

Bill

[montmil]

Just last week I replaced the rear shocks on the '81 with a pair of Hagon shocks from Dave Quinn Motorcycles. Best bang for the buck at less than $200.00. Call dave before ordering as he will build the shocks to your weight, personal equipment on the bike and riding style.

http://www.davequinnmotorcycles.com/

I used this vendor for a new seat cover on my '83 R65. An excellent product and fast service.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1981-86-BMW-R65-SEAT-COVER-do-it-yourself-installation-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQitemZ390186182592QQptZMotorcyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories#ht_1600wt_945

Check the photo gallery for a photo DIY on my seat cover gig,

http://www.suraklyn.com/r65_forum_gallery/thumbnails.php?album=24

Other R65ers may chime in with their recommendations.

Monte

[nhmaf]

Welcome aboard !

You've picked a bike that seems quite solid - a bit of wrenching and some quality time bonding with her and making her pretty will have you all set for a long and beautiful relationship!

 

[montmil]

- a bit of wrenching and some quality time bonding with her and making her pretty will have you all set for a long and beautiful relationship!

Usually works well when dealing with motorcycles as they are always responsive.
Unfortunately, the same can't be said about me ex.  [smiley=lolk.gif]

Monte

[Dizerens5]

Stand by for a bit of nostalgia. When I was at school in Britain (1950s) there were a whole lot of three-wheel cars around. As    says, they could be driven on a motorcycle driving licence as they legally counted as a motorcycle and sidecar. In those days a lot of people had a motorcycle license but no car license, so this avoided taking a driving test for cars.But originally there was a condition: like the sidecar combination, the 3-wheeler could not have a reverse gear. Mostly it didn’t matter as these cars were so light they were easy to push. But there were other solutions. The Bond Minicar had a two-stroke engine mounted directly on the single wheel,  which was at the front and could be steered through 180 degrees. The little Bond could literally turn in its own length. Must have been the world’s easiest car to park. Some 3-wheel cars, including I think the German Messerschmitt Kabinenroller, took advantage of the two-stroke engine’s ability to run equally well in both directions. They had an electric starter which could spin the engine either way, depending on which way you turned the key. You got a reverse which let you drive backward as fast as forward (if you dared). Eventually the reverse gear requirement was taken out of the law and the driving licence facility also.
In Britain one 3-wheeler, and I think it was the Berkeley, was available with the 700 cc twin cylinder 4-stroke engine usually fitted to the Royal Enfield Constellation motorcycle. It must have had some poke! My “Connie” certainly did and I still regard it as one of the best bikes I have owned. Hence my screen name.

[Lucky_Lou]

This seasons top gear had a special (funny) on the good old Reliant Robin 3 wheeler, and wondered why they were so popular up north...mainly due to us Po Folks not having the cash for cars. They did alter the bike licence rule over reverse  gear but my mate was saying the other day he was thinking of buying a gold wing as it had a reverse??? how does that square with the rules?? he has a car licence anyway but what if he hadn't?.
Lou

[Dizerens5]

Reverse gear has nothing to do with it these days. The law was changed a long time ago - don't know when! Curiously I think we still don't have a special license for driving motorcycle with sidecar, though that really needs some special skill. I guess our gummamint will think of it one day. And get us to pay for it.