Another R65LS resto

[jamestnewsonr65]

Well I thought it was about time that I got my bike up on here after asking a couple of questions previously and getting some good help and advice.

I bought my first ever bike (without having a licence (Passed on friday) and set about taking it apart to chop around and create what I think to be the bike I want. I love the look of the r series and think they have a good proportioned frame to shorten and customise.

So I started off with what seems to be a really good 83' 65LS, but I think some of my parts are from the 81'.



After a couple of hours and a bit of swearing at seized bolts I ended up with this..




Well a bit of time has passed since I stripped the whole bike down and ive had the frame powder coated satin black, along with the wheels and the newly shortened rear seat frame.

The engine will be stock and there is nothing wrong with it so for now it gets a bit of a clean and some rebuilt carbs after they now had there vapour blasting which turned out great.

Before:


After:


I also had the forks vapour blasted too which turned out equally great once I had rebuilt them. These were the first thing which I rebuilt following the chris harris videos on youtube!

They turned out ok and seem to work well, but wont be able to tell until they are on the bike  .

Before:


After:





So at the moment I have all the bits back from the powder coaters and my brother did a great job on painting the tank in a colour I specified. Went for a flat colour in the end as I think it suits the shape and the style better.

I have this week off work so i'm hoping to get the engine back in and all the bearings back in with a little guidance from the trusty Clymer manual, otherwise I am lost as I've never done anything like this before. But here is how she will look sort of.



I will try and keep the updates coming on the major leaps forward.
Thanks for now.

[montmil]

Nothing like jumping in feet first!

We all love the photos.  [smiley=thumbsup.gif] Now ready for your next update.

[steve hawkins]

James,

Looks like a quality Resto going on.  Nice blue - similar 'Teal' blue that Tony, my brother used on his R65....an old bike of mine.

So what sort of custom job are we talking?  Sort of a Bobber? With UK sensibilities?

I take it you are familiar with Bike Sheds (BSMC)?

Are you a 'hipster' as the 'yanks' would say?  You might get a bit of leg pulling, but no matter.  

Apparently I might be - All trendy and every thing, if a little old.  I have done a similar to my R100 recently.

This is the place for all the R65 specific questions, no better resource for those fiddly little issues that might slow you down.

Keep the pictures coming.

Cheers

Rev Light

[jamestnewsonr65]

I am going for a sort of minimal look.  I would like to tidy up the front end, run some brake pipes and eliminate the brake pipe splitter at the front.

The frame is shortened and upturned to the end, but I have not really had any ideas on rear mudguards yet.

Will be going with rear sets from here: http://www.flatracer.com/#/bmw-frame-handling/4538139964 or maybe those from boxermetal as I prefer the look of them.

Engine will be just hand cleaned and Patina kept on the main case and transmission, but the front has been vapour blasted, but I may paint it satin black to match the top and airbox which I had powder coated with the frame.

Im also going to do away with the choke cabling from the handlbars and install some choke pulls on the carbs to clean things up a bit more. I like the simple ones which boxermetal has.

Originally I was going to use this bike as a commuter once it was finished, but I just bought a Yamaha XJ6n Race Blu for that , so this one will be more of a toy and sunny day machine.

Seeing what it will look like with just the tank and frame painted has spurred me on a bit to get the thing complete.

[steve hawkins]

In the link that you had, it shows RAASK rear sets.

They seem to be massively over-priced.  When I bought mine, years ago, I admit, it was for less than 100 notes from Motobins.  I would not be expecting to pay what they are quoting.....Phew!  Unless they have gone the way of the Barbour Jacket......Pity I let them go last year for a fraction of that money....

Also, I have found that shortened push bike spokes make good choke pulls.  Using the nut that goes inside the wheel.  Might save you a few bob.

I am doing the similar to my R100 now.  Just got to figure out a way to tidy up the handlebar mount as well.  Got to show off that engine with as little extra clutter as possible.....

I have to admit I am not a fan of too much satin black.  I prefer to keep my engine alloy, with some patina - no choice there  But with a black frame and black wheels, it might be a step too far......But at the end of the day its your bike and you are the only one you have to please.....

Front brake pipe routing can be changed to a much simpler setup using 2 pipes with banjo fittings, one leading down to the right hand caliper, and the second looping over the wheel from the right hand caliper to the left caliper.  I used BF Goodrich fittings.

Have a look at Tony's R65, which used to be my café racer.....He has done a nice job.....

Cheers

rev Light

[jamestnewsonr65]

They did seem over priced, but I need a set which is bolt on really as the frame etc have been painted, and I have looked elsewhere. If anyone knows of anywhere.

Good idea on the spokes, I might look into that and then just get some choke pulls from ebay.

I am undecided on the engine at the moment. The front cover is bare aluminium, then scratty black on the timing cover, then cleaned up aluminium on the rest, apart from the top starter cover and the air box, which will have a dusting of black paint to make it look a bit better.

Think I will just pain the timing cover and reveal the metal stripes and leave the rest as is. I like the idea that it is just cleaned and not too precious, but everything works.

The pic that tony has in his post as inspiration is the exact same bike I was inspired by. Also i think that may be where I got the idea for the minimal brake installation.

I got around to putting the front end on today and on to the engine tomorrow.

Thanks for the comments and will get some more pics up of progress.

James

[steve hawkins]

Yes,

I had a quick look around on the interweb for the rear sets, and that seemed to be the price in the UK.  Although I think they can be got from PandP slightly cheaper - if they have them in stock.  I was a little taken aback, not least because I let my second hand set go so cheap

As you are putting rear sets on, I still have a set of Tarrozzi race clip-ons, that used to be on my Café Racer.  They go just under the top yoke.  If you are interested.

Black engines.  I have seen many.  Occasionally, someone does a really decent job.  Your workmanship so far indicates that you might be one of the few who might be able to get it right.  I really only have reservations about the longevity and resiliency of the finish.  I do not like polishing an engine either - there lies madness...

Keep the pictures coming

Cheers

Rev Light

[jamestnewsonr65]

Well Steve, you were right about the engine painting. It turned out a bit sh**. Kind of wish I had just left it, but you live and learn I guess. For the moment though I will just leave it and see how everything turns out.

As i'm building it up I am liking more and more the idea of new vs old parts and the look of a nice new frame, wheels etc with the cleaned up parts and bolts.

I am going to be sticking with the original bars to start with and see how they look as I found the bike to be pretty comfy for riding position. I know the rear sets might change this but I will see how it goes.

Will post up some more pics later on today as i'm planning on getting the bulk of the engine in and back together.

Cheers for now.

[steve hawkins]

I am sure you can brighten up the engine with some shiny bits.

And those beautifully clean carbs.

Cheers

Rev Light

[jamestnewsonr65]

After a bit of fettling today I managed to get the engine in and the front end built up. Pretty happy with how the whole thing is coming together and just ordered another load of bits to keep the momentum up.



Unfortunately I have to go back to work next week so progress will be a little slower :-(

Rebuilt the clutch actuator and the airbox also. Parts have come up a treat and look like new.











Sorry for the rotated images, but I forgot to rotate them before uploading.

On to the tricky electrics next!! I found some random wires which seemed to go nowhere on dismantling, so you'll probably see some calls for help very soon on here.

[steve hawkins]

Looks a bit Matt on the timing chest area.  Perhaps a Satin finish to match the starter motor cover might me a better match.  You could probably do it with a brush in situ, if you were careful.  I did this on my R100 recently to tidy it up.

I have been looking for some 'scotchbright' disks that mount on a drill to clean up my cylinder fins for a cleaner look. You have to be careful as you do not necessarily want to shine them up too much.  I had one recently that I used up, but have struggled to local another one in my local tool emporiums.

The gearbox is, typically, an entirely different colour to the engine.  Keeping it clean and using a spray like GT85 on it every time you wash it is a good idea.  

Also you might think of brightening up the rocker covers, either by painting, or perhaps, by replacing them with the peanut style ones.  I do have a set of gloss black ones at home going spare - they are not perfect but then you could paint the ones you have gloss black.

But it is looking very good so far.

Oh, and I like the tent - a great idea when you are short of garage/workshop space.

I am thinking of getting one to keep a boat in whilst I refurbish it.

Cheers

Rev. Light

[DerekM]

Looks Great! the fork cleaned up real nice, and the black handlebars were a nice choice.

[jamestnewsonr65]

The tent is a great help. I can just leave everything in there and really worry about seeing any of it.
Got it from eBay for about £68 I think. Bit of a bargain. Also it's held up to the wind and rain we had a couple of weeks ago.

I've started to use some Cintique 5 on the trim parts and that stuffs amazing. I oringinally bought it for the z4 as some of the exterior trim had gone a bit greyish, but used it on the air intake cover and headlight and they are like new now. Definitely recommend it, but not cheap if I remember rightly.

[steve hawkins]

Well, keep on going, keep that momentum up.  I look forward to the next installment.  

You are actually ahead of me, I am effectively doing a dry build at the moment. but whilst running the bike.

I'll have to keep an eye out for the tent.  I need to be able to work around a 12 foot by 6 foot boat though.

Cheers

Rev Light

[DerekM]

Your clutch actuator arm looks a bit different than mine. I had no rubber boot covering the transmission and a non-threaded stud with a c-clip at the bottom. is the threaded stud a typical upgrade? the standard C-clip is obviously a bit weaker.