'82 R65LS Restoration

[BPT]

That's a really sharp looking bike. I know that all of the pieces were going to be top notch but it came together as a whole really well.  I especially like how you managed to do some "chopping" and upgrading (modernizing?) but the end product is still recognizable as what the bike was originally.  Great job on customizing but keeping true to the roots.

[Justin B.]

I'm anxious to see your finished product!

[marcmiller001]

Thanks for the compliments guys - this has truly been a journey. I am writing a proper blog for this and a story to go along with it - as well as have a couple photoshoots scheduled. Tomorrow, the bike's first public appearance will be at the Gilmore Vintage Bike Festival near Kalamazoo, MI.... so I am excited to hear feedback from people in person, but this forum is the first I have posted on with progress photos.... and have loved the feedback and assistance!

That's a really sharp looking bike. I know that all of the pieces were going to be top notch but it came together as a whole really well.  I especially like how you managed to do some "chopping" and upgrading (modernizing?) but the end product is still recognizable as what the bike was originally.  Great job on customizing but keeping true to the roots.

[wilcom]

first public appearance will be at the Gilmore Vintage Bike Festival near Kalamazoo, MI..

Bring back pics for us.....

[marcmiller001]

Here is the latest round of photos I have processed and cropped.... hope you all enjoy!

I had mounted up the VonZeti sub-frame and had to make several tweaks just to insure there was no bind, but overall I was really happy with the fit. I got all new mounting hardware as well.

photo 99 - The seat I ordered with black leather with titanium gray stitching - as well as piping. It mounts with fender washers and nuts, but I replaced those with rubber washers, fender washers, a wave washer and (4) wing-nuts so that I had easier access to underneath the seat w/o the need to get tools out.

photo 102 - Here is an "assembled" image. I rode it like this a bit to make sure the fender height was ok during the ride - so I can hard-mount it. At this point, I knew I needed to removed rear fender and cut it down to match front fender. The rear fender is a R65 fiberglass front fender obtained from ebay for $15.... I made the front mount from aluminum angle mounted to lower cross-frame, a steel strap and some hardware.

photo 104 - front view. As you can see from last 2 photos I had the Continental ContiClassicAttack tires mounted up - and road test was great! Rear shocks don't really have any dampening control, so I had decided to replace those...

photo 105 - ...with a set of YSS shocks with adjustable pre-load and rebound adjustment. They "bolted right on" ... with some exceptions.

photo 106 & 107 - Being a racer, suspension geometry is pretty important to me and I tried to match up shock angles. I noted some weird angles the left rear shock cambered in and the right rear more positive. I used machined down chrome spacers in the top and bottom of the right shock and the top of the left to adjust them to get them within .1 to one another.

photo 108 - this is the top of the left side shock. The right side uses only one smaller shim.

photo 110 - bottom of right side shock spaced out for desired angle.

Next step was removing everything - again.... and finish up the rear fender modification & mount, paint the fender, sub-frame and various bits as well as re-assemble and re-wire the signals......

[marcmax]

Love your build Marc. It looks like it will be a blast to ride. When I had mine fully cafe'd I cut my front fender down similar to yours. I wasn't happy with the height it ended up at and trimmed about a half inch from the end of the fender brace and end of the fender mount tabs. Followed the curve of the tire better IMHO. I even mounted some pretty aggressive dual sport tires just for the look and had to clearance issues.

[Justin B.]

Looks very slick, Marc.  Do you think the shock mounting geometry might have been due to the aftermarket subframe?  Now all you need are some rear-sets and you can lay down on it and cruise all day!

You need to get rid of the coathanger-wire shift link under that rubber boot I noticed in an earlier photo.  Pm me some shipping info and I might have one adjustable heavy-duty link left.

Good luck at the show!

[marcmiller001]

That would be awesome Justin! PM in process!

Looks very slick, Marc.  Do you think the shock mounting geometry might have been due to the aftermarket subframe?  Now all you need are some rear-sets and you can lay down on it and cruise all day!

You need to get rid of the coathanger-wire shift link under that rubber boot I noticed in an earlier photo.  Pm me some shipping info and I might have one adjustable heavy-duty link left.

Good luck at the show!

[marcmiller001]

It is quite possible. I still have original sub - so I might remove and check, but that makes sense. It is a beefy subframe from Vonzeti - much stiffer than original factory one.

Looks very slick, Marc.  Do you think the shock mounting geometry might have been due to the aftermarket subframe? 

Good luck at the show!

[marcmiller001]

On the day of the debut... I wanted to give you guys a sneak peek!

Here is the latest updates....

Photo 112 - I removed the LED's and sub-frame to prep for paint. VonZeti sends the sub pre-primered, so I cleaned it up and shot it in satin black epoxy VHT, which is the same paint used for the carbs and forks. It has proven to be pretty stout.

Photo 113 - New YSS shocks resting - waiting to have something to grab on to.

Photo 115 - The sub took 3 coats of the Epoxy paint.

Photo 116 - At this time, I also finished the cut-down of the rear fender, and painted that as well as the rear license plate bracket/mount.

Photo 118 - All my new hardware was laid out and ready for final assembly. Wingnuts, rubber & fender washers for the seat, Long countersunk bolts with aluminum spacers, fender washers and fiber washers for top of rear fender, and hardware for the front of the rear fender bracket. Also in that mix were my X-arc rear lights that you have to snake through the sub-frame hole, and then snake all the wiring through a washer and a nut. It was a tedious process in both wiring and removing and replacing the signals several times.

Photo 121 - Subframe finally got mounted - and fitted for no bind, shocks re-attached.

Photo 122 - Next up was re-routing the X-Arc signals back in and preparing for the wiring.

Photo 123 - Then it was the license plate bracket mounted on the pinch bolt for the rear axle, then torque to spec.

[marcmiller001]

...and the final assembly is completed!!!! and ready to ride down to Kalamazoo, MI for the Gilmore Vintage Bike Festival!

Couldn't be happier to share the completed project with you guys.

Photo 124, 125 & 126 - Next step was to re-fit the custom cut-down rear fender. I used dual mount points from the sub-frame - with the sub-frame drilled and countersunk.

Photo 127 - Next up was getting the rear lights re-wired back and secured. I used a nice wrap. Not shown  in this photo is the 1/4" wrap I used for the side wires to match - then sealed it all up with Tesa tape for weather-proofing.

Photo 128 - Only needed one zip-tie to secure in place and it is ready for the seat!

Photo 129 - Here is the completed bike, shot in my garage. The next day, I rode it down 20 minutes to a photo studio for some "proper" photos to use in my blog build story. I will post those when available as well as any links where the bike gets shared.

ORIGINAL BIKE PHOTO OF R65LS - And this is what it looked like in October of 2016, in "ok" condition minus the Krausers.

Feels good to have it done, but I have a feeling - it will never be truly done. Since this thing is mostly hand crafted, I'm already looking for things I can update... the frame and engine could be disassembled and painted, some of the brackets could be replaced, I would love to get some custom leather bags to fit where the side skirts used to be... I have plans of making a seat pan for storage and an easier/quicker way to access under the seat. Electric upgrades or custom foot pegs might be cool too... that is what I love so much about this project is it really never has to end.... but I am very happy to be where it is now and can't wait to ride it down to the Festival today and share it with thousands of people.

Thanks all!

[Justin B.]

Well, Marc, tell us about the Festival!

[marcmiller001]

It was great! Seemed like hundreds of bikes were exhibited, several hundred showed up... an entire field of parking filled with bikes. Beer tents, plus the Gilmore Museum is an amazing experience regardless with cars of all eras on display.

I got down there a bit late with my buddy (who had a Kawi 400 Mach 2 and another friend on his Harley. No issues on the ride down - other than a slight tire rub on the rear fender.... which was fixed by raising the mount point on the rear fender to the subframe after I returned home. Also, I pulled the tank and sloshed it around, emptied it, cleaned my fuel filter and my petcock filter and there is no signs of slow fuel flow anymore.

The bike is a joy to ride - nimble, quick acceleration - not to mention a major head-turner. Riding into the show it got a lot of looks, compliments and photos taken - which makes me extremely happy.

This was my first bike festival and was really happy to see a large array of bikes there... I am not a harley fan, and that seems to be the only bikes around - so the fact that there were Nortons, BSA's, BMW's, Guzzis, triumphs, ducatis, hard to find japanese bikes & several custom bikes. I will post up some pics when I get them off my phone.

Well, Marc, tell us about the Festival!

[marcmiller001]

Also - here is one of the glamour shots of the bike..... 

[Justin B.]

Marc,

Lookin' good, I'm sure that sponser will be pleased! 

But, the more I look at your pictures the more it seems like maybe you have the valve covers swapped.  Although they will fit on either side the fins wont sit level if they've been transposed.  It might be a trick of camera angles but yours seem to be pointing "up" instead of level.  Unless that's the affect you were after, like it's trying to get airborne!