Boxer Bolshie's '84 Restoration and Rant

[Boxer_Bolshie]

Hey all!

This thread will be my "restoration journal" of the recent procurement of my 1984 R65 and other nick-knacks.

First I should state that I am a born again motorized rider.  I say motorized because I am a cyclist as well as a tour cyclist and have ridden across Iowa, from Pitts to DC, ridden the inside passage (twice), circumnavigated the Salish Sea in three days and so on.  "Born again" because I haven't owned a motorcycle (let alone ridden one) since about 1988 when I sold my Honda 550 four which I regretted 5 mins after the sale.  Ever since, I've through, dreamt and pined for another (motor)bike.  My wife btw said that I could get the R65 so long as I did not call it a "bike" while around her. she is also a hard core cyclist and cycling purist.  

More about me here (www.bmwr65.org/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1326393049)

Anyway since the snow dumped on the islands and my need to do something, I started working on the panniers that I got along with the bike (there I said it).

My first restoration:
Both cases had cracks in them but I took pics of the worse one and then proceeded to clean, plastic weld, de-rust, and repaint.
https://picasaweb.google.com/twodeadpoets/BMWPannierRestoration?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCK201riIiIeYZA&feat=directlink





















A little vinegar makes the rust go-way!





Touch up with brass bristle brush





I"ll probably replace the old elastic traps and clips with webbing and plastic locking clips.

[nhmaf]

So, how many pedal-powered bikes do you have?
Any mountain bikes in the mix?

[Boxer_Bolshie]

I use to have a Biachi SuperBee mnt bike but after breaking some ribs I quit that.  Up until last summer I had six bikes but now I am down to about three after selling the mnt bike, parting one out and right now I'm in the process of cannibalizing my long bike to build my daughter one she can put her son in and ride with him around town.

My former mnt bike



The one I parted out:



The one I'm cannibalizing for my daughter's bike:



My touring bike early in it's life (now an entirely different beast)





My "fast" bike (road)



I don't have a pic of my commuter/gentleman's bike but I'll try to remember to take one for show and tell.  I also have about four or five good frames I will someday build up.

Up until this last spring I owned a bike shop but had to sell my part so I could get spinal surgery last April which I am still recovering from.

Ye Ole Shop

[Justin B.]

[movedhere] Chit-Chat [move by] Justin B..

[Boxer_Bolshie]

Thanks Justin for the notice!

Today I got my first real purchase for the bike!

[Boxer_Bolshie]

Will anyone find me way back here in the drill down?

[Boxer_Bolshie]

I can't even find the "Restoration Progress Logs" thread from the forum's main page and wouldn't think of looking in the "Technical Discussion" page for it.  Hmmm!

Today I think I'll start work on the free pudding helmet I got along with the bike "Bolshie." It was pretty dirty (can't believe I wore it to get Bolshie home) with what was left of the disintegrating liner.  I plan to get another helmet later and will just keep this one around as an extra one to wear when I need to bash my head against the wall.



I also hope to get to the hardware store to get some screws for the pannier hinges and maybe just for kicks install the crash bars.

[Justin B.]

Hopefully I have the access rights mask set properly now... [smiley=whistling.gif]

[Dave 2]

We are up and running [smiley=bmw_smiley.gif] Thanks Justin D2

[montmil]

Today I got my first real purchase for the bike!

And well-tested they appear to be!

[Boxer_Bolshie]

Helmet restore day

The original ear pieces were pretty groddy with the liner literally turning to dust every time they were touched and so I took the webbing out and went about making new ear flaps using REAL leather leftover from another project and fleece from an old Old Navy scarf.





I tried and tried but could not get all of the scratches out of the helmet and so the helmet went from black to "chrome" which will hide the scratches bit better.



Monte, yea I was a little disappointed because the sale said nothing about any damage just that they had "usage."  It wasn't until I took the pictures that I realized that there was some bronze welding where the tubing meets the bracket.  There are also a couple of nice sized dents and deep scratches in them as well.  I'm going to keep them and hope the seller will reimburse me something.  Oh well I like fixing stuff (if that isn't obvious) anyway.  My motto is if it ain't broken, make it better!  

[Boxer_Bolshie]

So all I need to do to the helmet now is to rivet the straps to the shell.  

I other news, I tried to start the bike yesterday but couldn't get the sequence right before running the battery down.  I picked up a NAPA brand battery tender but that did nothing and so had to borrow a portable jump pack to get is started.  Then I parked it in my yard and left it running while I briefly left to take the pack back.  Of course it wasn't still running when I got back.  This confirms that the bike has trouble somewhere in the fuel delivery area.  Either it needs the throttle cable adjusted or maybe the carbs or a clog are killing the engine somewhere.  

Anyone have a good fuel system trouble shooting procedure for me?

[Dave 2]

Hi Carl, My 1983 R65LS is loath to idle unless it has been running for a good while. Other than that it is very smooth throughout the rev. range.  I have recently been going over my electronics and the wiring harness connectors giving everything a good cleaning and a film of diaelectric grease on connections. I  found a crack in my coil which along with they tired state of the harness connections may contribute to poor idling. One of the real experts will need to offer their opinion on this but it can't hurt for you to give all of that your attention. The other thing is that a mechanic at my former employer told me that the NAPA tender needs at least 1 volt in the battery to work. My battery was DEAD but once I replace it the NAPA tender worked just fine. Your helmet is looking good [smiley=bmw_smiley.gif]D2  

[Boxer_Bolshie]

Thanks Dave for the input. I am in the process of doing just what you recommended and finally washed it.  Looking forward to anyone else's input.  I do have hope though.  There's an airhead guru on the island who I've only talked to a couple of three times and will be getting a hold of him hopefully soon.

Wasn't easy being green but green no more!

[Boxer_Bolshie]

Oh and I also picked this up on the cheap to help me on my journeys.  A Clymer book is also on it's way.