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Bringing my R60/5 back to life.

Look for the Airhead clutch adjustment procedure in the Resources and Links thread...under General Maintenance. Making the adjustment to be "just shy", etc., might be what's causing the noise. In addition, under real engine load, once the clutch has been separated, the clutch disk is supposed to float on the tranny input shaft. In the non-running situation, there's nothing to make the plate float or move around on the splines. So, it could be rubbing just because it hasn't moved yet. I'm sure you did grease the input splines...
 
yup, splines are nicely greased. I am going to go through the adjustment process again, and throw some fluids in there and see if it is still happening.

Thanks again, will post some pictures of the bike cleaned up and put together. Finally got an original wheel back on there. Forgot how sext that /5 hub was.
 
screwed in all the way at the handlebar clutch lever I am still about 10mm shy of 201mm. So I am thinking I simply have the wrong cable on there? May have to grab a new one next week. Bummer.

edit: I went through the rest of the adjustment, and it seems to have gotten rid of the sounds almost completely. Going to fill up all the oil and see if she is catching nicely.
 
Ok, instead of filling her up I decided to dive into the front forks. May as well while she is off the ground, and this will give me a great opportunity to clean up a lot of those hard to get to parts in the front end.

So the forks on this bike have never been right, always sluggish and lazy feeling. I know there is some gunk in there, etc, and assumed they need to be aligned as well.

The geters were split from sitting (I found a fresh set in a box, sweet).

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And the fork seals were covered with crap

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The fork sliders have a bunch of crap in the base

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I may want to even remove the screw plugs to really be able to get in there to clean.

I went ahead and pulled the springs (one is about 1/4" longer then the other, may be time to replace with some better progressive springs, suggestions would be greatly appreciated).

The pipes were gross, and there is so much gunk build up i can see why they were preforming so poorly

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The fork tubes look to be in good shape, and a quick check shows that they appear to be aligned well already (but I need to do more detailed tests)

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Is it normal that the holes in the fork tubes are not aligned?

here is everything pulled out

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and now a little bike porn to show how the back end cleaned up and went back together

Looking pretty nice a shiny
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Final drive cleaned up really nice

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/5 wheel looks great back on there
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this side did not clean up quite as nice as the other but still pretty solid
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I am heading out of town again, but hope to get back into the garage next weekend.

Will read over the fork articles in detail until then.

Thanks everyone.
 
My experience has been that you can get the adjustment in the "ballpark" if you have had the clutch assembly out, but it probably won't be exactly right until you have run the engine.

Once you get it started and engage/disengage the clutch five or ten times, things will settle in where they belong. I wouldn't worry about that 10mm, difficulty pulling in the lever, or any minor sounds just yet.

Run it a few minutes, exercise the clutch, the go back and redo the adjustment.

Barron
 
I'll be interested to see the response to your question about the alignment of the holes in the fork tubes. I have heard a couple of different answers.

:lurk

Barron
 
Is it normal that the holes in the fork tubes are not aligned?

I don't think it matters a whole heck of a lot, but from an engineering standpoint, they should be pointed at each other or pointed directly to the left of right. The reason is that a hole like that creates a stress riser. As the tube tends to bend forward-aft, the highest bending stresses will be on the forward or aft sides. Putting a hole in that area results in nominally a 3x factor on the stresses. If there's a micro crack in the hole, the higher stresses will lead to, over time, a failure of the tube. If the holes are on the sides, this the is the neutral axis of the tube for bending - zero stress at this point. Torsional stresses could be acting anywhere around the circumference of the tube, but given when way the forks are constrained, torsional stresses are quite low.

So, if you have the chance to orient the holes, best to do it by facing each other or facing away from each other.
 
That makes sense. Thanks for the info. I am going to go ahead and do a full alignment, and while I am at it align the holes. Is standard facing in or out? Sounds like there should be next to no functional difference, but would be good to know if there is a standard.

I think I am going to go ahead and get some progressive springs while I am at it. What are the best option for progressive fork springs? I want to get some Ikon / Konis for the back at some point in the future.

Maybe I will have to hold off on the stainless steal heater boxes for my car.

Also should I replace the rings on the guide support while I am at it? Some definitely seem less compressed then others. Is there something I should check for tolerances?

you can see one of the rings hanging out a bit here in this picture:

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Thanks again
 
Also, should I be concerned with the 1/4" difference in length between the fork springs? Should I rush out and buy some new springs.

I was considering the Race Tech fork springs, these are progressive correct? I know people are a bit divided about their gold valve emulators, but any opinions on their fork springs?
 
Havent updated in a while, so here is a quick on.

Well I removed the fork tubes all together, and they are are definitely out of spec. not terrible but not great.

I decided while i was going to go through the forks so deeply I may as well just get some new forks, so I placed an order with Forking by Franke yesterday, supposed to be her in a couple weeks.

In the mean time, since I feel like this phase of the R60/5 is nearly done (road worthy) I picked up a new project.

01 F650GS Dakar (been sitting for a couple years with a blown wiring harness...PO reversed the polarity on a new battery install)....quite a different bike from the R60/5
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Just got a call that my new fork tubes are on the way from Frank's Forks. Should be here next Tuesday. Of corse all the parts for both the R60/5 and F650GS are expected at the same time, will have some tough decisions to make.
 
quick question about the wiring on the front turn signals. At some point I believe I removed the ground cables from the front turn signals.....Dont ask me why, I think it may have just been a mistake, but I no longer have grounds going to them. So my question is where do they ground to? In the back of my mind i feel like there were two green cables going to them.

Thanks
 
Lookie what finally came this morning:

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Really excited to get these on there, last big thing to do. Once I get the front end all happy all that I believe that remains on this phase of the restoration is:

- pull all wheel bearings and grease
- properly shim rear wheel
- figure out connection issue with front turn signals
- re-attach fenders
- re-attach rear turn signals.

That all feels pretty easy compared to the forks.

So I still have a question that was not answered earlier:
Am I crazy not putting progressive (or just new) springs in while I am replacing the front forks and going through the whole alignment process?

Thanks
 
Front turn signal wires..

I don't think you have a ground wire for the turn signals, unless your turn signals were replaced with a newer kind (plastic ones). My 74 /6 has only one wire (+) going to each housing and the ground is the housing it's self (aluminum housing). It be being mounted to the frame gives it a ground path. Do you by chance have a wiring diagram? The one lead going to the turn signals should be either green or blue, (my memory is fading). If in doubt consult diagram, if no diagram hook up a test lead or multimeter and try each one at a time using the blinker switch.
 
/5 Turn signals:

Right: Blau/Schwarz [blue/Black]

Left: Blau/Rot [blue/red]

Grounded through the metal housing to the triple clamp.

With plastic housing; ground via Brau [brown] wire to the frame or any other "brown" junction.

Just to be compliant.... Grun [green] powers the coils/turn signal relay/bat-neutral-oil press lights/ and brake light switches

/5 Wiring Diagram, from our "Links & Resources" page. > http://bmwmotorcycletech.info/SchemSlash5.htm
 
/5 Turn signals:

Right: Blau/Schwarz [blue/Black]

Left: Blau/Rot [blue/red]

Grounded through the metal housing to the triple clamp.

With plastic housing; ground via Brau [brown] wire to the frame or any other "brown" junction.

Just to be compliant.... Grun [green] powers the coils/turn signal relay/bat-neutral-oil press lights/ and brake light switches

/5 Wiring Diagram, from our "Links & Resources" page. > http://bmwmotorcycletech.info/SchemSlash5.htm

Thanks, I eventually double checked with my Cylmers manual wiring diagram, and got it working. They are both blinking now, only the right one works perfect, and the left one is really dim, and dims out all the instrument lights when it fires. Does this sound like a bad relay?

General update: Finished the forks and got it all back together. She was a little hard starting, then I remembered that I had loosened the spark plug cables and back out the plugs a bit. Fired up quite nicely when I finished that. I have to say the forks definitely feel better, but still not quite as responsive as I was hoping for. I would love to see someone else's /5 in SF to compair. Maybe I am just expecting something different. At very least I know the insides are in good shape now, and the tubes are brand new.

It blew smoke out the pipes for a bit, but eventually subsided around the same time it finished burning off any oil on the pipes.

Still need to sync the carbs, but that is pretty straight forward.

I took it on a quick trip up and down my street, I am currently sans helmet and registration, so I made it a very quick trip. The new clutch is AMAZING. The clutch has always been soft on that bike, and after opening it up and seeing all the oil I realize the rear main seal was gone for some time. Its like a new bike, so much power.

I still have to:
- tune carbs
- put the fenders back on
- re-wire the rear turn signals
- trouble shoot the front turn signals
- clean and grease the wheel bearings

Which all feels like small fries. Great to have her running again, and once again, WOW what a difference that new clutch made.

Thanks again for all the help!
 
Just a quick update, I had to take a little break from both bike projects between work and the holidays, but i am back now. Just placed a big order for parts with A&S and going to send Hans a check tomorrow for all the mounting pieces I need to the rear fender. Once I get that in order I think she will be ready to take back on the road.

I am still trying to decide on what I want to do for the suspension. The springs in the forks are slightly different sizes from ware, and I would like to replace them with something progressive.

The rear shocks are off a /6 and probably equally worn out. I have the original /5, but they are really trash. So I am thinking about putting some KONI / IKON in the back. Wondering if there is any way to preserve some of the /5 look?

I think its a real shame that they did not make those /5 shocks rebuildable. They are such a pretty and distinct look.

I would love to be able to ride this through next fall then start to think about a top end rebuild / speedo rebuilt. Maybe get the frame powder coated and aluminum blasted at the same time.
 
You can easily take the top "tin can" and the top mounting bolt off and put them on the new shocks. Yes, that aluminum should does make it look good and it is easy to do.

I think, maybe somebody can correct me, but; someone, maybe Paul Glaves wrote about taking them apart. While you do that you can paint the shock and springs...........Basically, you put the bottom of the shock in a vice, Compress the spring from the top away from the bottom flat of the "washer" enough to get, I think a 9mm, wrench onto a flat that is on the very top of the shock shaft. You hold the shaft from turning with the wrench and use a large bar or whatever to turn off the top........SPROING...........be a bit careful cause there is some pressure on the spring to remove it; but it wont fly across the shop........maybe an inch or two of compression..........God bless and good luck.......Dennis
 
thats great to know. I also saw that Hans has konis (or ikons, i always switch them up) with the aluminum can on top, but they are much more expensive then just the standard set. Would love to keep the original patina from the original shocks.
 
I received my order in from Hans at Hucky's with some mounting hardware and replacement rear signal bar. I finally got the fenders back on. I forgot what a bitch the rear fender is to mount, but I got it on there.

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Really happy with how things are coming out. I feel like she is finally road worthy again (that is, after some DMV paperwork next week). Really excited to get her back on the road. Thank you so much to everyone who has helped.

So far I have:
- rebuilt the carbs
- rebuilt the pet-cocks
- replaced the rear wheel / swapped the tire
- replaced the clutch and all maintenance parts in the back end
- replaced the front fork tubes
- rebuilt all the internals to the front forks
- aligned the front forks
- cleaned the hell out of everything
- rebuilt the rear light assembly
- remounted the fenders

What I want to do over the summer:
- New progressive springs for the fork springs
- New IKON shocks in the back (would love tips on how to remove the large metal covers from the top of the OEM shocks and mount them on the IKON shocks)

And if I want to get really ambitious next winer (which I kind of do if I am not having too much fun riding it):
- Send off speedo for rebuild
- pull engine and send off for bead blasting
- top end rebuild (I am definitely leaking where the tubes meet the engine)
- frame and some small parts sandblasting / powder coating
- tank / headlight / headlight ear / tail light / etc repaint ( would love suggestions to how to keep good patina to this all, I would prefer not to repaint the fenders in order to maintain the original hand pin-striping)
- polish all chrome / etc

Thank again for all the help, really excited to get this back on the road next week.
 
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