So, I managed to squeeze in the 500klm round trip last weekend to collect the final cache of missing bits. Again, cheap as chips and in the current market, buyers can’t give this stuff away! A complete rear subframe with guard, mud flap, lights, nice seat (black too!), toolboxes the missing instrument binnacle top section (and original fold over key!) sidecovers, front guard, fairing etc etc... It didn’t include the binnacle lower section, but bizarrely enough, I collected one of those with the R45 cache.
Before I could fit all of that up I needed to buff the tailpiece that I had painted blue when I did the all of the other pieces a few months ago. I took me seconds to buff through the colour coat of course, thus starting a revolving cascade of tail chasing paint adventures for another half a day!
So I did the “convertible” changeover today and as expected, it took probably an hour or so, after sorting the obligatory electrical issues of bad earth and dirty connector... Initially nothing worked! One indicator and the tailight went off when you activated the brake lever, that was it. 45 minutes of testing and prodding later, I hit the actual connector plug up with contact cleaner and blink, blink, blink. All good.
Excellent! All the electricals then, are a single 6 pin connector under the left hand side cover. The rest of the changeover job was the 4 subframe bolts, the two upper shock mounts, swing the seat on and it’s done.
Which is good.... I really like the single seat now. Along with the rack, it’s been great. Ive been running boxes around for my work, and running up lots of klm’s so it’s been really utilitarian and useful. There’s photos below but, now that all of that is finished, it looks like any other bloody 1983 R65! The pooncy cream couloured single seat and the little rack, actually really give it character and an identity and it’s useful as well! I miss them already, so I can see it all going back on again in a few more weeks time. I’ll get some photos of it like this in the meantime.
I went for a run this afternoon with my Mrs, and I know that she is the pillion in a million! but still, the little R65 didn’t even notice.... It just handled beautifully two up, more than enough power and it just soaked up the extra weight without even thinking about it. The rear YSS’s are always set to max spring preload. Keep it reving, and the motor always has just enough power to do whatever you ask it to.
There are a lot of things about this R65 that I really, really like.
So, I reckon that that concludes stage 1. It’s not going to win a medal in any shiners parade, but it looks fine, runs well and so far is really, really reliable. We’ve did have that one trip home in a trailer a few months ago, but that was a flat tyre, so it doesn’t really count.
Lots and lots of other things to do as it goes along but I guess that I’ve done what I set out to do and it’s now on the road, looks largely standard, runs beautifully and reliably and it’s been saved from the knackers yard or even worse, a set of Firestone cross plys and wrapped exhaust pipes!
Stay tuned, more to come I’m sure.
