trying to get back on the road..........

[wilcom]

I've been getting my R65 back together for almost a year and haven't got it done yet. Maybe if I chat about it along with cleaning out the garage today it will get me going in the right direction or shame into some sort of action LOL

I've piddled here and there with a few things. Initially all I was going to do was take my Hannigan fairing off the bike and ride naked for awhile. The process was ripe with problems from the start and after a week or so chasing different bars and parts I scrapped the idea and the bike has set ever since. I have picked up a few things that the bike needed along the way and the parts have been piling up on the bench.

A month later I was back at it. I had the tank off and mounted a pair of Hagon shocks along with a Denfeld bag mounts with tail rack. During this process my tank fell off the work bench and made a nice 3 inch round by 1/2 inch deep dent. My auxiliary fuel cell went off the bench with it and that was battered also.

I let these little things bother me enough and I was another month before I could go back to it. I have been working off and on and last week I Installed new points and condenser and fired the beast, drooling carbs and all. I tried to paint the timing marks so I could see them, but if I get the timing light to light the flywheel there is no place left for me to look in too. So I got close. It idles fine at 1000, no lag or stumble at take off. Seems to purr right along during the short blasts around the block. Close enough for me for now. Back to my grocery list of things to do.

So far I have:

spooned on new new Tires   ( Shinko 712's),
Mounted the Hagon shocks
installed the Denfeld bag rack ,
the Hyperlite is installed,
installed fork seals and new dust boots
Brown side stand installed.
Master cylinder rebuilt
installed new Gruber battery for $40 delivered
New instrument bulbs and closed up the instrument pod ( thanks Bob Roller for the tip of setting the thing in the sun to make it fit again)

but I still need to ......

Install the Dyna points booster
install the Israeli pan with the spin on filter
rebuild the drooling Bings and change the fuel line
reinstall the Fairing
choke pulls in transit


Parts from:

New shocks      (Hagon)
Hyper-lite          (stop/running) (hyperlite)
points booster       (dyna)
rebuild carbs         (parts from Cutter)
fork seals and dust boots        (more Cutter
Napoleans           ( from parts dealer in Ft Tejon)
Brown side stand                   (saved from bike I sold)
Denfeld bag rack/mini-rack      ( new rack!, score on ebay)
Rebuild master cylinder      ( parts from Cutter)
Change pan to Israeli spin on unit  
choke pulls  to get rid of two cables (boxermetal.com)

Now if I can get off the PC and off my duff and address the things that are still outstanding....................................

MY tank dent that took the wind from my sails..............

[montmil]

Joe,

Try and do just one thing a day on the R65 -big or small, fifteen minutes or several hours-  and it will get finished. Avoid getting overly fixated on the entire project; just focus on the bit you're working on.

That's how I completed a 7.5 year project -an FAA licensed Experimental Category aircraft. Like eating an elephant... it's just one bite at a time.

[wilcom]

Like eating an elephant... it's just one bite at a time. Wink

Monte.............thanks for putting it in context that I can understand LOL

I backed off a lil bit and just ate 1/2 a tusk and part of the trunk( thought if I was gonna eat the whole elephant I would start at the good end first)

I fitted the bags to the new rack.  and washed the darn thing backed it out and have been making 10 miles jaunts looking for things to fall off. So far so good. It runs well enough that I will just address the cosmetics for now. Got a lil head shake when I turn loose of the bars and the new Shinko tires don't fall in very well on corners. The corners could be me too , haven't been riding much in the last year(maybe not at all) and at my state of antiquity the rust forms quickly.

The carbs aren't an issue yet as they don't leak while it's running, back burner stuff for now.  I'll order some real fuel line when I do the carbs and get rid of the Home Depot Racing plumbing.



The side cover I got from BoxerBolshie snapped over the new rubber grommets and looks great... Thanks Boxer , Not often you get a side cover that is color matched and ready to go

[Session101]

you're bike looks sweet!

clean, but i think you're missing some mirrors!

you don't like the shinko's? i like mine and i can get down pretty low in the corners which is nice to have that in my mind in maneuverability.

what bars do you have there on the bike, they look lower than mine and i think i have the low euro bars on mine

[Session101]

also forgot to ask about your points booster? should i invest in one as well, i don't think i want to spend the money on an electronic ignition because i can carry a spare points set and swap it out in like 5 mins but if you go electronic ignition and it fails you're fk'd unless youre close to home and can bring all the tools to swap and change it all out

[wilcom]

you don't like the shinko's? i like mine and i can get down pretty low in the corners which is nice to have that in my mind in maneuverability.

I don't have enough miles on the Shinkos to make any judgement. It just seemed not to fall into a corner like new tires always seem to do.

The bars are flat bars(r90?) worked good with the fairing. The bars are the problem I'm having with my mirrors. The flat bars do not allow the throttle control to slide up high enough to use the Napolean bars ends I got. The twist grip ends up hanging over the end of the bar by an inch.

I have a post on the trading post looking for stock low bars.

[wilcom]

also forgot to ask about your points booster? should i invest in one as well, i don't think i want to spend the money on an electronic ignition because i can carry a spare points set and swap it out in like 5 mins but if you go electronic ignition and it fails you're fk'd unless youre close to home and can bring all the tools to swap and change it all out

I'm anti "black box" if possible. It's just another thing I can't fix if the chips are down.

[Barry]

also forgot to ask about your points booster? should i invest in one as well, i don't think i want to spend the money on an electronic ignition because i can carry a spare points set and swap it out in like 5 mins but if you go electronic ignition and it fails you're fk'd unless youre close to home and can bring all the tools to swap and change it all out  

If a points ignition amplifier is mounted under the tank and fitted with the correct male/female spade terminals the original wiring can be left absolutely stock so that reverting to points is easy at the road side.  I can do it by lifting the rear of the tank without disconnecting the fuel hose. The only reason tools are involved at all are to refit the condenser.

[Session101]

i was curious if the points booster is a real HELP with our R65's, i know that San Jose BMW sells them specifically for dual plugged bmw's which i can see why, but if it increases our spark i think i should buy one

[wilcom]

i was curious if the points booster is a real HELP with our R65's

It keeps the points from arcing and wearing out . Extends the life of the points four fold. If you have weak spark now the booster will do little to solve that.

[Barry]

.... but if it increases our spark  

That's a good question that I've never got an absolutely clear cut answer to.

I believe when I fitted mine I got a stronger blue spark at cranking revs and that it improved starting.  That is of course subjective but there is a theoretical reason why it might be the case

Ignition systems work by switching off the primary current to the coils.  The collapsing magnetic flux then induces a back emf in the primary winding far in excess of the original 12volts supply. The typical figure given is 300 volts (In theory the back emf can be higher than 300 volts but in practice it is limited by the condenser value or in an ignition booster typically by a pair of 150V zenner diodes in series). Assuming a primary:secondary winding ratio of 1:100 this will produce 30,000 volts in the secondary to create our spark.   The efficiency with which that 300V in the primary winding is created is affected by the speed of switching amongst other things. It may be that at low revs or particularly at cranking revs the speed of switching provided by a points ignition booster provides an advantage over the standard points and condenser setup.  Given the stock coils are retained I doubt there is any practical advantage at high revs.  

Using coils with substantially lower primary resistance will improve the spark duration if not the voltage unless the plug gap is opened up. This is where full blown high energy electronic ignition systems get their advantage.

[wilcom]

clean, but i think you're missing some mirrors!

While waiting for the stock low bars to materialize I put the flat RS bars back on and trimmed a bit of the dash panel, trimmed a little off the trottle grip and moved the bar as far to the right as I could and the bar end mirrors just fit. Took a little 2 miles ride on bumpy roads and the mirrors didn't move so I guess they're as tight as they need to be. On my short ride I didn't notice that I had an inch more bar on the right, it was transparent to me.

This will get me back mobile again so I can finish off the other things I need to do.

[montmil]

Really not noticeable to the casual viewer.

Interestingly, I have grips all but identical to yours on both my R65s and find them more comfortable than the larger diameter grips often seen on other Airheads. OEM low euro bars on both bikes and no wrist or back issues.

Joe, that's at least two bites of the elephant. [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

[wilcom]

Joe, that's at least two bites of the elephant. Smiley

More of the "E" has been digested. I tossed the bar end mirrors and put the handle bars back in alignment and reinstalled the fairing. I have been about 50 miles waiting for something to fall off, so far so good.

I just pulled her out of the garage on my way to get some fresh JB to fix the choke pulls. Seems to be running as good as it ever has. I will install the point booster this PM if the phone quits ringing(pesky customers)