New Member In San Diego...

[Ben_Carufel]

Hi folks,

I just joined a few days ago. I bought my first bike a few days ago as well. It's a '79 R65. I've had Bimmers for years (currently have a Z3 M Coupe, E30 325i with an E36 M3 motor, and a couple of E39 528i's) but this is my first Beemer!

I picked the bike up from a guy locally who had bought it from a buddy in the Bay Area a few years ago. Hasn't been registered since 2002. It's a February 1979 production bike. The fork seals are shot and the previous owner drained all of the fluid out of the fork to keep it from leaking. My first order of business will be to replace the seals and put new fork oil in it.

I'm familiar enough with RealOEM (BMW parts catalog) and such, so ordering parts is turning out to be quite the breeze. However, as I go through the bike and modify little things here and there or fix things, I'm sure I'll have loads of questions.

My first question is...I'm trying to determine what is and isn't stock on this bike. I know the rear springs and shocks aren't stock. I'm not sure if the springs in the front fork are stock (is there any way to tell, even upon visual inspection?). I also know it has Tele-Fix clip-ons and what the previous owner claims are Thomaselli headlight brackets. There are no front turn signals on the bike, as it had a fairing installed with integrated signals which the previous owner removed (I'll likely leave it off as well and just mount some small turn signals on either side of the headlight). The bar-end mirrors aren't stock obviously, though I haven't looked closely enough at them to determine a brand...

Does anything else look not-so-stock? That front mudguard mount seems to resemble the tubular steel type sold by FlatRacer.com.

Pictures to follow shortly...

[Ben_Carufel]

One more post and then on to the pictures...

[Ben_Carufel]

Anyways, the pictures...

[Bob_Roller]

B C , welcome to the forum !

Aside from the items you mentioned on the front of the bike, the rest of the bike pretty much look mechanically stock .

The seat cover has been replaced, bike has been repainted, there were only two colors available for that model year, bronco brown and a champagne beige color .

You know how to use RealOEM, that's good, because you're going to use it a lot .

Only word of caution is, there are what is considered two generations of the twin shock bikes, the '79-80 year are considered first generation, the '81'84 model year bikes are considered the second generation .

There are a lot of differences in the bikes starting with a production date of 09/80 .

So make sure you see the notations about production dates with the parts .

[montmil]

My first question is...I'm trying to determine what is and isn't stock on this bike. I know the rear springs and shocks aren't stock. I'm not sure if the springs in the front fork are stock (is there any way to tell, even upon visual inspection?). I also know it has Tele-Fix clip-ons and what the previous owner claims are Thomaselli headlight brackets. There are no front turn signals on the bike, as it had a fairing installed with integrated signals which the previous owner removed (I'll likely leave it off as well and just mount some small turn signals on either side of the headlight). The bar-end mirrors aren't stock obviously, though I haven't looked closely enough at them to determine a brand...

Does anything else look not-so-stock? That front mudguard mount seems to resemble the tubular steel type sold by FlatRacer.com.

Welcome, Ben, and congrats on your new R65. Glad you found us here on BMW R65 dot com.

Boge shocks are the OEM rear shocks on the R65s. A quick I.D. can be made by spotting the lever that adjusts the spring preload. Boge shocks often get a bad rap but I have a pair on my '83 R65 that seem to meet my specs just fine. Then again, my '81 runs some very nice Hagon shocks out back. Rear shocks, like your choice of wife, is a very personal thing.

The Snowbum site http://bmwmotorcycletech.info/ has plenty of info on the front fork springs, ie: spring length, and mucho additional helpful information. Doubt if you'll be able to determine stock from aftermarket on your scooter.

The fork brace looks quite like a San Jose brace often seen on larger capacity and older BMWs that have the flat steel plate upper triple tree component. Fortunately, you have the solid cast aluminum triples so the fork brace is mostly "bling" on your bike.

The muffs are aftermarket as LS models came with black chrome mufflers.

So what's the plan? A return to full stock configuration or...

Lots of R65 info out on the web. Start surfin' and see what's different on your bike. A Haynes and Clymer manual would be quite helpful

Monte

[Ben_Carufel]

My first question is...I'm trying to determine what is and isn't stock on this bike. I know the rear springs and shocks aren't stock. I'm not sure if the springs in the front fork are stock (is there any way to tell, even upon visual inspection?). I also know it has Tele-Fix clip-ons and what the previous owner claims are Thomaselli headlight brackets. There are no front turn signals on the bike, as it had a fairing installed with integrated signals which the previous owner removed (I'll likely leave it off as well and just mount some small turn signals on either side of the headlight). The bar-end mirrors aren't stock obviously, though I haven't looked closely enough at them to determine a brand...

Does anything else look not-so-stock? That front mudguard mount seems to resemble the tubular steel type sold by FlatRacer.com.

Welcome, Ben, and congrats on your new R65. Glad you found us here on BMW R65 dot com.

Boge shocks are the OEM rear shocks on the R65s. A quick I.D. can be made by spotting the lever that adjusts the spring preload. Boge shocks often get a bad rap but I have a pair on my '83 R65 that seem to meet my specs just fine. Then again, my '81 runs some very nice Hagon shocks out back. Rear shocks, like your choice of wife, is a very personal thing.

The Snowbum site http://bmwmotorcycletech.info/ has plenty of info on the front fork springs, ie: spring length, and mucho additional helpful information. Doubt if you'll be able to determine stock from aftermarket on your scooter.

The fork brace looks quite like a San Jose brace often seen on larger capacity and older BMWs that have the flat steel plate upper triple tree component. Fortunately, you have the solid cast aluminum triples so the fork brace is mostly "bling" on your bike.

The muffs are aftermarket as LS models came with black chrome mufflers.

So what's the plan? A return to full stock configuration or...

Lots of R65 info out on the web. Start surfin' and see what's different on your bike. A Haynes and Clymer manual would be quite helpful

Monte

Thanks for the info, Monte! I've been reading R65.org voraciously for the past few days and am already familiar with your suspension to an extent. I'm definitely considering Hagons. My shocks aren't OEM as they are stamped "MADE IN USA" on the lower bodies. I'll be putting 10WT oil in the front fork, most likely, having read your comments on it.

I'm likely going to go a bit in the cafe racer direction. For instance, the instrument cluster surround deal is brittle and cracking, and the light in the tacho doesn't work, and both gauges are heavily clouded. I'd like to keep both gauges, but lose the rubber instrument pod and have the gauges and ignition switch mounted on a nice metal plate. A good friend has a plasma CNC table, so he's able to cut just about anything I want (up to 1/2" steel plate).

I'm also going to look into tidying up the rear end as the turn signals are a bit ungainly to my taste. I'll also likely do LED bulbs in any lights that don't get outright replaced with LED versions, and am planning to add P3 lights on either side of the license plate for safety (http://www.lights.skenedesign.com/).

After a bit more research today, it looks like the bars are TeleFix "Profi" version. Cool stuff.

The bike came with a new (no-name) black full face helmet, new black leather gloves, and a Clymer manual. I had the Clymer manual spiral bound in two parts at Kinko's last night -- I've found this really helps when you're out in the garage/shop as it lets the pages lie truly flat. I've done the same in the past to my copy of Proficient Motorcycling as well as to my BMW E30 Bentley manual...

[dav]

Welcome aboard mate [smiley=bmw_smiley.gif],

Damm fine R65 you got yourself there mate, love the white paint job.

Looks like you also have a staintune exhaust set up, very nice.

Thanks for sharing the pics [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

[Barry]

I'm not sure if the springs in the front fork are stock (is there any way to tell, even upon visual inspection?).

Welcome Ben C

If you take out a spring you should be able to get a good idea if it's stock.
The original BMW fork springs for a 79 model are  dual rate with 66 coils of which 14 (7 each end) are closely spaced. Can't remember the exact wire diameter but it's either 4.25 mm or 4.5 mm

During the initial travel of the forks the spring has 66 active coils and a spring rate of 26.87 lb/in.  When the 14 closely spaced coils close up there are  55 active coils which gives a spring rate of 34.1 lb/in.

If your springs are not stock I can calculate the spring rates for you if you give me Number of open coils, spring diameter and spring wire diameter.

Or you can calculate the spring rates in a spreadsheet using this formula  Rate =(wire Dia to power 4 * 1470000)/(coil dia to power 3*no of coils)
It's harder than it looks to get that formulae to work accurately in a spreadsheet so I have one already done and tested which I can post if you wish.

[Mike V]

Hey Neighbor!

You found the Holy Grail of forums.  Swing on by the shop this weekend for a visit.

-Mike V.

[Ed Miller]

Nice looking bike.  That fork brace should be OK as long as it doesn't twist the forks out of alignment and cause stiction.

The mirrors look like Napoleon brand bar end mirrors.  I have them on my Triumph and really like them.  I would put them on my R65 but they would whack the Windjammer fairing.

[nhmaf]

Welcome aboard - you will have fun with that bike!

[Ben_Carufel]

Welcome aboard mate [smiley=bmw_smiley.gif],

Damm fine R65 you got yourself there mate, love the white paint job.

Looks like you also have a staintune exhaust set up, very nice.

Thanks for sharing the pics [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

I looked up Staintune, and it doesn't appear that they've got pipes for the dual shock bikes. Also, their exhaust is quoted to be stainless, and mine has a gaping big hole in the left side inner pipe, so that's out!

[Ben_Carufel]

I'm not sure if the springs in the front fork are stock (is there any way to tell, even upon visual inspection?).

Welcome Ben C

If you take out a spring you should be able to get a good idea if it's stock.
The original BMW fork springs for a 79 model are  dual rate with 66 coils of which 14 (7 each end) are closely spaced. Can't remember the exact wire diameter but it's either 4.25 mm or 4.5 mm

During the initial travel of the forks the spring has 66 active coils and a spring rate of 26.87 lb/in.  When the 14 closely spaced coils close up there are  55 active coils which gives a spring rate of 34.1 lb/in.

If your springs are not stock I can calculate the spring rates for you if you give me Number of open coils, spring diameter and spring wire diameter.

Or you can calculate the spring rates in a spreadsheet using this formula  Rate =(wire Dia to power 4 * 1470000)/(coil dia to power 3*no of coils)
It's harder than it looks to get that formulae to work accurately in a spreadsheet so I have one already done and tested which I can post if you wish.

Thanks Barry, I'll post up the specs when I get the front fork apart. It looks like it'll be a few weeks at least before I get my MSF course done and acquire all the gear needed (I'm on the hunt for a certain Belstaff jacket that's no longer in production, for instance). So, I might just disassemble the front end a bit and check the springs out. As I need new rear shocks and springs anyhow, I wouldn't mind replacing the front fork springs when I install the new seals, so as to have a well balanced setup.

[Ben_Carufel]

Hey Neighbor!

You found the Holy Grail of forums.  Swing on by the shop this weekend for a visit.

-Mike V.

Thanks for the help so far, Mike! Hoping to swing by your place tonight!

[Ben_Carufel]

Nice looking bike.  That fork brace should be OK as long as it doesn't twist the forks out of alignment and cause stiction.

The mirrors look like Napoleon brand bar end mirrors.  I have them on my Triumph and really like them.  I would put them on my R65 but they would whack the Windjammer fairing.

Good point, Ed. I had figured that the stiffer the fork brace the better, but I hadn't thought about the idea of it causing stiction of it's not exactly straight.

You're exactly right on the mirrors -- they're Napoleon. Looks like they're hard to find these days, especially in chrome. Good thing I like the look of 'em!