ATE calipers

[lamont]

when did the R65 go from ATE calipers to Brembos?

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

1980-81 changeover?

Wow, that is one place Noemi Berry came up short!

http://www.nebcom.com/noemi/moto/r65faq.html#CHRONOLOGY


I guess you can't believe every thing you read on the net!

[R65Guy]

FWIW my 81 model (mfg 10/80) has the dual ATE calipers.  I believe all LS's had Brembos.  Anyone confirm whether the 82, 83 non-LS single caliper was ATE or Brembo?  My experience is that most of the online catalogs are either wrong or misleading.  This includes the EBC catalog.

Neal

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

All I can say for sure is what my '79 has, ATE, of course.

I think where I got confused was when the big bikes went to the dual-opposed piston design (like ours), they were all made by Brembo.  And they looked identical to our ATEs.

It will be interesting to hear from more owners with other years.

[nhmaf]

I also thought this roughly corresponded to the '81 changeover.. My '82 (LS) has the Brembos, but I also thought that I had seen a guy with an '81 non-LS with ATEs, and he though that they were the original equipment... Maybe BMW did a bit of "use up the left over parts in the bin" thing at the start of the '81 production season ?
I'll have to look into my boxer airhead history book to see if it has anything on this topic.. more later.

[steve hawkins]

Lets hope your 1981 R65 is not really a 1979/80 that was left in the showroom.

I too have seen a post 81 with ATE's - or it might have been a 1979 with a plastic airbox .......did not look at the final drive or master cyclinder.

No doubt the ATE's and associated master cylinders had to be used up.

[R65Guy]

I bought the R65 in June 1981 fresh out of the crate w/dual ATE's, 16mm rectangular MC, Magura controls.   Correction on Mfg date (I checked the frame) and it was manufactured 11/80.   I found the following info at http://www.roadkill.com/~davet/moto/R65.faq.html  
1982:
    * R65LS introduced.
    * Slight carburetion changes (idle jet & needle position) to all R65s.
    * Non-LS R65s all have a single front disk brake, with ATE caliper.
    * R65LS gets the dual front disk brakes, with Italian Brembo calipers. (See r65ls.faq)

So was 1983 the year?  Were all ATEs silver?  Were all Brembos black?  Did all single calipers use 13mm MCs and duals use 16mm MCs?  Inquiring minds want to know!  All I know is the brakes were, and still are, awesome for a 27 year old bike.  

[Justin B.]

Seems we have discussed this before but I can't remember the consensus.  We have three, the 1980 has a single ATE (silver), the '82 LS has dual Brembo (black) and the '84 has a single black Brembo.  

[lamont]

when did the R65 go from ATE calipers to Brembos?

Well, i don't think there is a definitive answer, i'm looking through piles of my old sales literature and I see an 1981 dated brochure with a R65LS with ATE's on it, both a red one and a silver one.  I have a 1984 flyer with 2 R65s with ATE's and I wonder if they are just pics that they put in there knowing the new generation R65 was coming and they just went ahead and filled the  space with old pics. My 83 has a single brembo and my LS has brembos, the defense rests, your honor!

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

I have a 1984 flyer with 2 R65s with ATE's and I wonder if they are just pics that they put in there knowing the new generation R65 was coming and they just went ahead and filled the  space with old pics. My 83 has a single brembo and my LS has brembos, the defense rests, your honor!

Man...that would be sooo disheartening to find out BMW lied to us as we salivated over the brochures back then!

(Actually, I don't think I ever had a BMW brochure with a R65 in it until after I bought mine.  I learnt about the R65 from the cycle magazine tests.)

[Altritter]

FWIW, my 1981 is SN 6385209, manufactured 10/1980. It has twin ATEs. Having said that, I found on the net a fiche printout (from RealOEM?) listing a twin-disk retrofit kit, which would make a reasonable person consider the possibility that BMW might have made a mid-year change in the 1981s.

There is precedent for this with German manufacturers. I have a '66 VW that originally had a 6-volt electrical system. I have read that VW changed over to 12-volt systems *during* 1966 production, making the VIN of a 1966 particularly important.

[Lucky_Lou]

it looks like  from 1981 started useing brembo on the R80 then switched it to other models as and when. My 1980 R65 is ATE twin front disc with the 16mm master cylinder my brothers is 81 with a single disc? and 13mm master?/ either late release from the factory or been alterd by some muppet,it did have harley bars on it when he bought it.
Lou

[MrRiden]

My '82 LS with a manufacture date of 01/82 has dual ATE's on it. dunno if they were fitted as replacements as I'm not the original owner and don't have a service history.
rich

[nhmaf]

Rich,

My '82 LS was built in December of 81, and has Brembos...   obviously, this is as confusing this time around as it was earlier.  I *think* that my bike's Brembos are original from the factory, but I couldn't guarantee it..

[steve hawkins]

The ATE to Brembo change happened in the 81 to 82 period - probably as a result of the brembos being cheaper than the equiv ATE's.  Also be careful, as some market always had dual discs specified irespective of the year.

My 1979 R65 has brembos.......but then I changed them, and then I removed one of them....and changed the master cyclinder from a round 1979 example to a later 13mm rectangular single disc setup.....the next owner will be very confused as few twin shock R65's were sold with a single disc setup in the UK....Not that I am about to sell it!

Steve H