Why are R65LS's "Collectible"?

ALL the airheads from that time period came with the same snowflake pattern wheels. The R65 and R45 models did have 18" front wheels (and rear), instead of the 19" front wheels on the R80/R100, and have different chassis geometry, rake and trail.

boxermaf said:

ALL the airheads from that time period came with the same snowflake pattern wheels. The R65 and R45 models did have 18" front wheels (and rear), instead of the 19" front wheels on the R80/R100, and have different chassis geometry, rake and trail.

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except these two 1982 R65 and R65LSs.

http://www.bdogeng.com/images/1982_BMW_R65.jpg (R65)

and the R65LS of the same year:

http://www.obairlann.net/reaper/motorcycle/galleries/r65ls/images/front-right-1.jpg

but... it's all good.

Wife's '82 R65LS definitely does not have snowflake rims.

Holy Cow! That's the first time I got a picture posted on the first try!

mblackwood's right though, the whole is more disappointing than the sum of it's parts.

What I had MEANT to say, was that all airheads EXCEPT the LS had the snowflakes during this period. I have an LS in my garage so I know it, but hadn't formed my sentence clearly.

That is a good looking bike. If it traps your hands, just play with how the bars sit.

That fairing looks as if it would handle our eternal cross-winds pretty well

108625 said:

Wife's '82 R65LS definitely does not have snowflake rims.

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Well, if it traps your hands and you think it's so slow, think about selling it off. There are a few of us who appreciate the R-65LS for exactly what it is and when equiped with that fairing, it's really sharp. OTOH, I certainly don't expect an R-65 to run with my Hot Rodded R-90 or even my bone stock R-100RS. The R-65s occupies a place of it's own.

If you decide that you want to get rid of that underperforming little parts-bin bike, get in touch with me. I'd clean it up and give it a really good home!

Just for the heck of it

Anything worth doing is worth overdoing, right ? Fond memories of my R65LS, a 1983 model. This is my Christmas card for 1984. She topped out at 118 (indicated) lying down, peeping over the bars, toes over the license plate. Carbs had been rejetted in Pridmore's Santa Barbara BMW. Cheers / Ron

rbleau said:

Anything worth doing is worth overdoing, right ? Fond memories of my R65LS, a 1983 model. This is my Christmas card for 1984. She topped out at 118 (indicated) lying down, peeping over the bars, toes over the license plate. Carbs had been rejetted in Pridmore's Santa Barbara BMW. Cheers / Ron

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No swimsuit, Rollie?

In response to those who fear the bike deserves a better home, we're probably the best thing that's happened to it for a long time. However, it is not the bike people made it out to be, thus disappointment.
We weren't looking for a rocket, but geez, some of the high praise and rather "optimistic" descriptions of it's capabilities were representative of most of what we had to go on at the time. Then when you travel out of town to look at a bike, and find it sitting forlornly in a garage with a dead battery and a license plate that hadn't been renewed for years, that d@mn "we have to give it a better home" mode kicks in, and before you know it, you've adopted a dog (most figuratively).
We don't mind riding slow, if it's the right bike for the right ride, but having it forced upon us by a bike of this size, capacity, and era is not what we had in mind. It was pitched as a sporty middleweight; when it's really just a styling exercise on what was essentially nothing more than the entry-level beemer at the time. Having lived with it and accepted that, it's on the "time to move on list" in our garage, to make space for some vintage enduros (also slow, but more like what we choose to ride when we don't want to go fast).
Others may feel differently, they're entitled to their own point of view.
That's part of why this thread is here, and the opinions are so widespread.

108625 - Bob,

Send me some picks of your poor little old R65. And set a price. If I don't grab it, I know of many others that will. I presently have about 3 people looking for an R65LS and some others that will take a regular R65. All of them are willing to give it a good home.

Natrually, ultimate selling price will depend on overall condition and what you are willing to take vs. what the buyers are willing to spend.

Dave