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My first bike

R65LS

New member
I just purchased my first bike. It's an R65LS. Is there any person here who has one as well (I assume there is). I have a few trouble shooting questions. I bought the bike for $1500 with the hard case saddle bags. I think it was a steal. Was it, or not? It is an 83. All it needs is a new speedo, front brake job, and either a generator or battery (not sure which yet). Any info would be appreciated.

R65LS
 
former r65 owner

Hi R65ls !

I bought one of these rascals in 1984 while I was in the Army,
I wished it would have had SAddlebags! It was an 82
in henna red with only 7k miles and i paid $2000 for it.

$1500 seems fair, depending on the mileage and condition.

Over the next 12 years I put an additional 80K miles
on it, here are some points about it I recall.

Alternator output is quite low for city driving, the stop and go
traffic combined with headlight on always will kill the battery.
I would put a switch in to turn the light off for those situations
or get a low draw low beam h/l.

Rear main seal went out at 40K lubing the clutch and requiring replacement. Normal wear I guess

Ignition coil blew up on the road, about $120 at the time. Only
time it left me stranded.

Alternator stator got an open in the windings, $35 to rebuild
or $200 new. I had mine rebuilt. (this a common airhead issue)
2 voltage regulators, one diode board.

rear drive always leaked oil onto the brakes, never was able to resolve that. replaced it several times.

Before learning that bi-annual brake flushing is a necessity
I rebuilt and eventually replaced the front master cylinder, about $200.

Carbs seemed to leak a lot, a royal PITA. I also replaced
throttle linkage a couple times, and the vaccum diaphrams.

Tough to start when its colder than 40 F if you don't keep the battery charged.


I rode the little thang to Maryland, Kentucky and all over Texas. It's a nimble little bike that is very horsepower limited. top speed
~ 110 mph.

I sold mine in 97 for $1600, the k100 that replaced it got
as good gas mileage and was much quicker with better brakes
too. My current ride is a k1200rs, and thats as much of an improvemnt over the K100 as the k100 was over the r65.

I seemed to be prone to puttin holes in the r65s oil pan, fixed
everytime with epoxy.

The r65 has a lot of odd parts on it, heads are different,
carbs, a lot of stuff won't interchange with other airheads.

You can't bolt bigger jugs from another airhead either, the crank opening for the cylinders needs to be machined wider.

There have been a few people who have regretted doing performance mods to this bike. I recommend keeping it stock
unless you find a good used r90 or r100 motor to swap.

Enjoy and learn the bike. It's a very forgiving driver!
 
R65LS said:
I just purchased my first bike. It's an R65LS. Is there any person here who has one as well (I assume there is). I have a few trouble shooting questions. I bought the bike for $1500 with the hard case saddle bags. I think it was a steal. Was it, or not? It is an 83. All it needs is a new speedo, front brake job, and either a generator or battery (not sure which yet). Any info would be appreciated.

R65LS

So how 'bout those questions? What's busted, in particular and what do you need help with?

:)
 
R65LS said:
I just purchased my first bike. It's an R65LS. Is there any person here who has one as well (I assume there is).
I don't have the LS version, but I do have an R65 with the somewhat rare and NLA factory bikini fairing as well as dual discs out front.

A good little bike, but a bit small for me. That said, it has taken me through some of the best riding anywhere...the Alps. The price was right and I didn't see the point to having a lot of money tied up in a bike overseas that gets used one month every year.

R65LS said:
All it needs is either a generator or battery (not sure which yet). Any info would be appreciated.
Well if you can start it up, place a voltmeter across the battery terminals. With the engine at 2000 rpm or more, you should see voltage in the high 12s to mid 13s, maybe higher or lower depending on rpms and the state of your battery. You might put the high beams on to load the system. If you have an electric vest, plug that in as well. If it is overcharging, you might have boiled the water out of the battery - check the level. Anything above the mid 14s is too high.

Get back with some numbers and we'll go from there...rotor, diode board, wiring...lets hope not.
 
Support

Thank you for all your reply's. This seems to be a very supportive club. I will get to the testing of the battery and get back with results. I tested it two weeks ago and it came out like this...
Bike not running-battery read 12.v
Bike at 3,000rpm-battery read 12.5v
That does not seem good to me. Standby for a second test.

R65LS
 
too low

That isn't good, you should see ~13.5-14.5 volts at 3000 rpm.
Is the alternator light on? How many miles are on it?

When my stator failed the lamp glowed very dimly, couldn't see it during the day and barely at night.

I would check the stator for an intermitent open and the diode board.
 
Re: too low

nfgeezer said:
That isn't good, you should see ~13.5-14.5 volts at 3000 rpm.
Is the alternator light on? How many miles are on it?

When my stator failed the lamp glowed very dimly, couldn't see it during the day and barely at night.

I would check the stator for an intermitent open and the diode board.

I'd bet against the diode board. When they fail, they usually result in an alternator light running at half intensity.

I'd check the voltage regulator too.
 
Re: Support

R65LS said:
I tested it two weeks ago and it came out like this...
Bike not running-battery read 12.v
Bike at 3,000rpm-battery read 12.5v
That does not seem good to me.

No it isn't.

Could still be a dud battery. Can you charge it fully using a battery charger. It should reach 14.4 volts when fully charged and then after having been disconnected for several hours it should read 12.6 to 12.8 volts.

Does your "Generator" indicator bulb come on before starting the engine. If yes, good. If no, replace the bulb with the right one.

Next, a few different things can be done that are equally easy. You can bypass the voltage regulator or you can measure the resistance of the rotor.

Voltage regulator: pull off the connector (under the gas tank and to the right of the main frame tube) and using a short wire with male spades on it, connect the D+ and DF terminals of the harness. Now start her up and measure the battery voltage.

Rotor: disconnect the negative battery terminal. Remove the front engine cover. Lift the rotor brushes and place a dry piece of cardboard between them and the rotor slip rings. Measure the resistance between the slip rings - about 3.5 ohms, but more likely "open circuit" if it has failed.

Diode board can be tested using a meter as well. Not always a complete test as I like to use a curve tracer with the high current module in place.

Get back to us.

Hey, does this look familiar - not an LS, but...
BMW R65.jpg
 
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Here are some R65 Links for you.

That's a fun little bike. I've got an 82. (and maybe one of these days I'll get off my lazy butt and re-build the carbs so I can ride it again)

Good luck with it. :)
 
Everyone should experience an R65 once in their life. This bike is for sale, BTW.
 

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Re: too low

When my stator failed the lamp glowed very dimly, couldn't see it during the day and barely at night.
My R75/5 conversion did that once. Turned out that the big fat red wire that is supposed to go to the battery from the diode board via the regulator had come loose at the regulator. Check for loose connections at the voltage regulator. (The VR is a rectangular shaped metal can or plastic box under the tank.)

You should also REMOVE THE GROUND STRAP AT THE TRANSMISSION OUTPUT and then remove the front engine cover and look for something loose or awry under there. While you have it open, take a pencil eraser and rub the slip rings on the alternator to remove oxidation IF they are not all shiney looking. Put the cover back on and THEN re-install the ground strap.
 
Hey,

I have a sweet little 1982 R65LS. I bought it in Fitzgerald GA for $1300. It had 13,000 miles on it. Somebody had tried to make a Harley out of it (Georgia redneck) by putting a sissybar and highway pegs on it. There was a rats' nest in the airbox. We brought it home (Warner Robins GA). cleaned it up and painted it. That was two years ago. I now have 32,000 mi on it. It took me to the national in Redmond and in Trenton. The only thing we have really had to do is replace the diaphrams on the carbs. Its not the fastest bike in the world, but it is very dependable, and a lot of fun in the North Ga mountains : ):thumb
 
jdiaz said:
Painting it red added 8mph to its top speed. :)

Jon

Only on the ticket. I was once stopped for riding red (Moto Guzzi) in the middle lane of an interstate while cages were passing me on the left. Red bikes attract cops like a red cape attracts bulls.

MarkF
 
I just purchased my first bike. It's an R65LS. Is there any person here who has one as well (I assume there is). I have a few trouble shooting questions. I bought the bike for $1500 with the hard case saddle bags. I think it was a steal. Was it, or not? It is an 83. All it needs is a new speedo, front brake job, and either a generator or battery (not sure which yet). Any info would be appreciated.
R65LS
I'll give you $1600 for it!
 
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