Greetings from a new member in the Rocky Mountains...
I'm an experienced rider and have been looking for the right airhead for about four years. I just purchased a 1975 R75/6 which appears to be in very good shape. The seller had a partial service history going back 8 years through his ownership but no further. It had a top-end job back when he bought it, rings-only I think, nothing in the receipt about valve work.
He serviced it regularly, but hardly rode it, putting only 1800 miles on it during the 8 years he had it (according to the mileage on the service receipts). Last year he had electronic ignition installed... Boyer. Odometer says only 16K miles, but who can say for sure, it could have clicked over past 100K. It's possible the mileage *may* be accurate: the bike seems to be in excellent condition generally: all hoses look new, cables relatively new, wiring looks decent, fasteners look clean and undamaged, fluids appear fresh, no leaking anywhere, no odd noises, no smoky exhaust, new battery, no sign of past battery leakage, no problems starting, no hesitation or sputtering, acceleration decent, front brake good, rear brake merely a suggestion. The tank/fender/panel paint looks very good but is not original; was done more than 8 years ago; the paint on the frame appears original with very little signs of rust. I've put 300 miles on it in the few days I've had it (more than the PO did in the last 3 years) with no major issues so far. I'm quite pleased.
As nice as the bike is, I am experiencing a couple of minor issues:
1) The tachometer is wonky... jumpy. The seller disclosed this. Now (as of about 20 miles back), broken. On my last ride it began fluctuating wildly, the needle broke off, and it began howling. I pulled over and disconnected the tach cable at the instrument end. From my reading it seems the tachometers on these /6 bikes are a common problem. Suggestions? Can I rebuild it? Is a new cable likely to fix the underlying jumpiness problem?
2) The ignition key will not switch the engine off, it just keeps running... must use the kill switch to stop the engine. It didn't do this during the first 100 miles; switching the key off would kill the engine. This isn't a huge problem... I can keep using the kill switch, but I'm wondering if there is a more serious underlying issue? Bad diode board? Something else? Ideas?
I'm an experienced rider and have been looking for the right airhead for about four years. I just purchased a 1975 R75/6 which appears to be in very good shape. The seller had a partial service history going back 8 years through his ownership but no further. It had a top-end job back when he bought it, rings-only I think, nothing in the receipt about valve work.
He serviced it regularly, but hardly rode it, putting only 1800 miles on it during the 8 years he had it (according to the mileage on the service receipts). Last year he had electronic ignition installed... Boyer. Odometer says only 16K miles, but who can say for sure, it could have clicked over past 100K. It's possible the mileage *may* be accurate: the bike seems to be in excellent condition generally: all hoses look new, cables relatively new, wiring looks decent, fasteners look clean and undamaged, fluids appear fresh, no leaking anywhere, no odd noises, no smoky exhaust, new battery, no sign of past battery leakage, no problems starting, no hesitation or sputtering, acceleration decent, front brake good, rear brake merely a suggestion. The tank/fender/panel paint looks very good but is not original; was done more than 8 years ago; the paint on the frame appears original with very little signs of rust. I've put 300 miles on it in the few days I've had it (more than the PO did in the last 3 years) with no major issues so far. I'm quite pleased.
As nice as the bike is, I am experiencing a couple of minor issues:
1) The tachometer is wonky... jumpy. The seller disclosed this. Now (as of about 20 miles back), broken. On my last ride it began fluctuating wildly, the needle broke off, and it began howling. I pulled over and disconnected the tach cable at the instrument end. From my reading it seems the tachometers on these /6 bikes are a common problem. Suggestions? Can I rebuild it? Is a new cable likely to fix the underlying jumpiness problem?
2) The ignition key will not switch the engine off, it just keeps running... must use the kill switch to stop the engine. It didn't do this during the first 100 miles; switching the key off would kill the engine. This isn't a huge problem... I can keep using the kill switch, but I'm wondering if there is a more serious underlying issue? Bad diode board? Something else? Ideas?
