Really New Newbie

[lebicicletta]

Good afternoon,
You guys got a somebody with a lot to learn.....

Name is Lon, from central and northeast Ohio, haven't written a bike (with engine) since my teens (Nixon-Carter years :-)......

Looking to purchase and ride a solid R65. Time to start doing more that I've put off for too long..... No stranger to turning a wrench, mostly wear items on German cars with six figure mileage......or fixing/building finicky road bicycles......a minor R65 winter project isn't out of the question, but good condition preferred.....

Been reading what I can online; downloaded the 81+ owners manual; watched a couple of you tube R and R videos....

Is there a FAQ on what to look out for on purchasing a later model R65? Advice on common - or uncommon - wear/age/use/disuse items - forks? main bearings? rings? headsets? Diode assemblies (haven't gotten that one straight yet) and other stuff??? I plan on maintaining it myself whenever possible.

Any and all advice appreciated.  Sorry I can't contribute to the R65 world yet, but if anybody needs road bicycle advice, old four cylinder Porsches, or middle aged BMWs with four wheels, I'd be glad to help.

Thanks

-Lon

[montmil]

Hey, Welcome to the asylum, Lon.

Plenty of places to shop for an R65. Besides the usual Craigslist of your area, there's eBay and a site that has lots of Airhead info plus a marketplace. The Internet BMW Riders site: http://www.ibmwr.org/ has good info and you could post a Wanted R65 advert. Other members may offer additional shopping sites.

But you'd want to check tires -there's a born on date cast into the sidewalls- and general condition, any parts missing, instruments working, etc. Plus the biggie... does the rascal run and shift properly.

Too much info to post right here as to what to look for and be aware of. Suggest you start your search and if you trip across a possible purchase, post up some pics and ask questions of the seller. We will try to sort the wheat from the chaff with you.

Keep us posted on your quest.

[nhmaf]

Welcome aboard!

There certainly are quite a number of things to look for... and to look out for, when shopping for any used motorcycle, not just a BMW airhead.    Tires, tubes, etc. are indeed pretty much assumed to be in need of replacement unless you buy a bike that someone is actively riding (and even then....)

some models have certain peculiarities that others don't, so it might be best to just keep shopping and learning, and when you see a particular one that turns your head - post us a pic and the details here and we can help you based on what info is available.

There are also, for example, instances of seller ignorance - or willful misleading? - that can inadvertently show up... for example, here is a clean looking (all bikes look nicer in pics than they do in real life) R65 for sale in new jersey.   It is advertized as an LS model, which would make it rarer and potentially justify a slightly higher price... but it isn't an LS model.  It is red like many of them were, but it has an aftermarket fairing, the standard R65 seat and rear tailpiece, and standard snowflake wheels from the regular model.   Possibly the bike was originally an LS, and someone decided to throw out all the LS-specific parts and put standard R65 model parts on and repaint it all a non-standard paint scheme - but I doubt that.  It could be a very nice bike all the same.
http://newjersey.craigslist.org/mcy/4586874641.html

So, just keep looking and learning, and don't be afraid to ask questions!

I see that there is a 86 monolever framed R65 for sale in the Springfield area.   While it does have the larger frame of the R80/100 of the time, it isn't a bad handling bike - just not quite as quick turning and low in the seat as the twinshock models ->1985.  Still, the monolever bikes are decent smooth riders, pretty forgiving, easily run tubeless and are also fairly straightforward to operate/wrench on - might be worth a closer look unless you need / want the lower seat height or shorter wheelbase.

http://dayton.craigslist.org/mcy/4603915317.html

And, +1 for putting a msg on the ibmwr.org webpage like Monte suggests!

-Mike

[CraigC]

Lon,

I still have a very clean, low mileage 81 R65 for sale. It's been parked since 2008, but wouldn't take much to get back on the road. PM me if interested.

CraigC

[D Mann]

Lon
Check out this site http://www.verrill.com/moto/kbikebuyingguide.shtml It will help answer a lot of basic questions for you.