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Serial Number Lookup

G

geezergolfer56

New member
I'm looking for detailed info on a recent purchase. I'm pretty sure it's a 1986 R65, but would like confirmation via serial number lookup. The serial number is WB1046200G6128294. Can someone tell me how to do this? Thanks, Rick
 
I would be pretty sure yours is the higher powered version. That belief is based on the below, which I found on Wikipedia:

"Following standard BMW practice of the time, two 32 mm Bing CV carburetors were used and the R65 used a single dry plate clutch. An additional lower powered version was also produced for the German market and was fitted with 26 mm Bing CV carburetors. "

Here is the link to the whole Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_R65
 
PGlaves said:
"Following standard BMW practice of the time, two 32 mm Bing CV carburetors were used and the R65 used a single dry plate clutch. An additional lower powered version was also produced for the German market and was fitted with 26 mm Bing CV carburetors. "

Here is the link to the whole Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_R65
Click to expand...

German licensing and insurance rules limit horsepower of motorcycles during a newly licensed riders first year of riding. In addition to differing carbs, there are also examples of mechanical changes in the throttle mechanism (on F800/F700 for instance). The widget change the maximum throttle opening and makes it so the handgrip on the throttle side still turns the whole way to get to the reduced opening. Our mechanic installed one on a F800ST when our daughter first got her license.

I heard some German riders who had Harley's detuned to satisfy this requirement. US military personnel were exempt from this requirement.
 
At that time, motorcycle insurance premiums in Germany were mostly based on horsepower. A significant step up in insurance premium was above 27 hp. I think this was (and maybe still is) an insurance specific rule in Germany.

I doubt that BMW shipped any motorcycle with lowered horsepower to the US. WHY???

But, some military guy stationed in Germany might have brought one back to the US.

I bought a new R45 in those days. To save money I bought the version which was lowered from 34 hp to 27 hp by a baffle (?) in the exhaust system (illegal to remove!). It was a poor decision and I sold it after 6 weeks.
 
Last edited:
Epa

European BMW airheads may also be slightly higher in HP due to different emission regulations. I don't know specifics for the R65 but I do know my 84 R80RT US model came with slightly less HP and torque due to EPA emissions requirements. It has since been bumped up to European specs from the time. The difference in performance is to say very small between old and new. St.
 
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