kentuvman
New member
Q: What is one to do when holed-up when it's 30 below zero in Minnesota?
A: Look for value priced Airheads on Craigslist.
Want vs. Need: Didn't "need" another bike but finding a good value created the "want.”
The Story: Saw posting on Craigslist a couple weeks ago - seller located about 100 miles away. Was interested but did I really need another bike? Besides, it was way too cold to drive up and see it.
At 63, I’ve been trying to reduce "attachments." Gave K75s to younger son when he completed his military service as a US Marine. Sold my '73 R60/5 that I'd improved mechanically and cosmetically, keeping a road bike K12GT and a previous Airhead restoration that I'd have a hard time parting with, a Red '82 R65LS. After doing a couple restorations, reached conclusion that "generally" economically wiser to buy a bike already fixed up than doing a restoration -but I will say the R65LS was fruitful in that I made a couple very good friends through the forums and learned a heck of a lot lot about Airheads, including getting to know Airhead Guru, Mr. Matt Parkhouse, who rebuilt the broken tranny on the R65LS and has provided me with advice and parts for my Airheads.
The Bike: 1976 R60/6 - initially called seller and he was not conversational: Seller: "What can I do for you?" Me: "Well, I'm interested in knowing more about the bike." I didn’t get much info over the phone!
He just didn't sound like a friendly person - but as I kept looking at the pictures of this bike, I couldn't believe how clean it was - usually the metal on an old Airhead is tarnished and the spokes are rusty but not this one.
After a couple weeks, the bike was still posted on CL. I called him again telling him I was interested - when we had a short "window" of warmer weather, like 36 degrees, I went to the bank to get some cash, showed my wife the picture and told her I was going to pick up another bike. It was about a 2-hour drive and I was starting to wonder if I'd pushed my luck driving to stranger’s homes and buying motorcycles of Craigslist - and this guy seemed as gruff as they come!
I persevered and when I reached his home, parked my car with the bumper carrier on the back and walked up and knocked on the door - the seller was about my age and turned out to be a really nice guy - when I saw the bike, my jaw dropped - couldn't believe the condition and what he'd done to it - he'd bought it as a "barn find" in 2005. It had a Vetter Fairing and one of those Cushy seats that are way out of vogue. He had the fairing, seat, and a bunch of parts. He'd done some improvements to the bike as follows:
1) Set it up as a solo rider - bought a high quality solo seat. I'm excited about the solo set up as riding an R60 two up is not great!
2) Bought new exhaust pipes - really nice ones.
3) Removed stock turn signals and installed small LED signals adjacent to tail light and installed new mirrors with LED's on front side of mirrors - actually pretty cool - I do have the OEM turn signals and am debating whether to re-intall them for added visibility or maybe will call Clearwater Lights and find out if they have driving light suggestions to mount on the front forks. Seller did a very professional job running wires.
4) He installed new coils - he said they're hotter and I'm not sure I understand the rationale but perhaps someone will chime in and let me know if these coils are okay to keep on the bike (I do have the OEMs). It looks like they're Bosch 6V VW / Porsche Coils 0-2211000222
5) He overhauled the carbs and installed new throttle/choke cables.
6) Says he rebuilt the front end and greased or replaced steering head bearings - he bought a new damper knob but it doesn't turn (not that I'd use it anyway).
7) New fork lock, original ignition key and working seat lock with key!
8) Paint Monza blue with OEM white pin striping in like new condition.
9) Gauges and trip reset meter work and all light bulbs replaced.
10) OEM rear shocks and may upgrade but not until after I ride it.
11) New Michelin tires.
11) Gearbox is 5 speed (slash 5 R60 was a 4 speed).
12) New battery box with gel battery and a tender wire connector.
It was warm enough to start and it started right up! I put it on center stand and ran it through the gears and checked brakes. Horn, lights, kill switch - everything works! Another nice thing is frame and engine numbers match!
Has @ 25k on the clock and I feel these are original miles - motor sounded tight and good.
I paid him his asking price, as it way under market price and when he signed the title, he signed it in the wrong spot - being 100 miles from home, he was willing to go to the local DMV where we got things sorted out and the registration transferred. Included was a slew of spare parts, an overflowing oem tool kit with extra wrenches, two new spare tubes, a flat tire kit, 2 sets of plugs, points, condensers, the Northwoods points tool, and 2 sets of feeler gauges.
After title was transferred, we drove back to his home and he helped me load the bike on the carrier and the big box of spare parts – the only thing I left behind was the Vetter Fairing.
Was so surprised how different he behaved compared to our phone conversation - I complimented him on his restoration and asked what he did - he told me he's retired and has a disability. That explained it! Followed my intuition, treated him with respect and picked up a real nice example of BMW m/c history.
Wish it had the disc brake up front but for solo riding and mostly off the freeways; it should be a nice back roads rider!
*** Apologies for pics not being in correct orientation - perhaps forum moderator can rotate? I can't see where to do it?
A: Look for value priced Airheads on Craigslist.
Want vs. Need: Didn't "need" another bike but finding a good value created the "want.”
The Story: Saw posting on Craigslist a couple weeks ago - seller located about 100 miles away. Was interested but did I really need another bike? Besides, it was way too cold to drive up and see it.
At 63, I’ve been trying to reduce "attachments." Gave K75s to younger son when he completed his military service as a US Marine. Sold my '73 R60/5 that I'd improved mechanically and cosmetically, keeping a road bike K12GT and a previous Airhead restoration that I'd have a hard time parting with, a Red '82 R65LS. After doing a couple restorations, reached conclusion that "generally" economically wiser to buy a bike already fixed up than doing a restoration -but I will say the R65LS was fruitful in that I made a couple very good friends through the forums and learned a heck of a lot lot about Airheads, including getting to know Airhead Guru, Mr. Matt Parkhouse, who rebuilt the broken tranny on the R65LS and has provided me with advice and parts for my Airheads.
The Bike: 1976 R60/6 - initially called seller and he was not conversational: Seller: "What can I do for you?" Me: "Well, I'm interested in knowing more about the bike." I didn’t get much info over the phone!
He just didn't sound like a friendly person - but as I kept looking at the pictures of this bike, I couldn't believe how clean it was - usually the metal on an old Airhead is tarnished and the spokes are rusty but not this one.
After a couple weeks, the bike was still posted on CL. I called him again telling him I was interested - when we had a short "window" of warmer weather, like 36 degrees, I went to the bank to get some cash, showed my wife the picture and told her I was going to pick up another bike. It was about a 2-hour drive and I was starting to wonder if I'd pushed my luck driving to stranger’s homes and buying motorcycles of Craigslist - and this guy seemed as gruff as they come!
I persevered and when I reached his home, parked my car with the bumper carrier on the back and walked up and knocked on the door - the seller was about my age and turned out to be a really nice guy - when I saw the bike, my jaw dropped - couldn't believe the condition and what he'd done to it - he'd bought it as a "barn find" in 2005. It had a Vetter Fairing and one of those Cushy seats that are way out of vogue. He had the fairing, seat, and a bunch of parts. He'd done some improvements to the bike as follows:
1) Set it up as a solo rider - bought a high quality solo seat. I'm excited about the solo set up as riding an R60 two up is not great!
2) Bought new exhaust pipes - really nice ones.
3) Removed stock turn signals and installed small LED signals adjacent to tail light and installed new mirrors with LED's on front side of mirrors - actually pretty cool - I do have the OEM turn signals and am debating whether to re-intall them for added visibility or maybe will call Clearwater Lights and find out if they have driving light suggestions to mount on the front forks. Seller did a very professional job running wires.
4) He installed new coils - he said they're hotter and I'm not sure I understand the rationale but perhaps someone will chime in and let me know if these coils are okay to keep on the bike (I do have the OEMs). It looks like they're Bosch 6V VW / Porsche Coils 0-2211000222
5) He overhauled the carbs and installed new throttle/choke cables.
6) Says he rebuilt the front end and greased or replaced steering head bearings - he bought a new damper knob but it doesn't turn (not that I'd use it anyway).
7) New fork lock, original ignition key and working seat lock with key!
8) Paint Monza blue with OEM white pin striping in like new condition.
9) Gauges and trip reset meter work and all light bulbs replaced.
10) OEM rear shocks and may upgrade but not until after I ride it.
11) New Michelin tires.
11) Gearbox is 5 speed (slash 5 R60 was a 4 speed).
12) New battery box with gel battery and a tender wire connector.
It was warm enough to start and it started right up! I put it on center stand and ran it through the gears and checked brakes. Horn, lights, kill switch - everything works! Another nice thing is frame and engine numbers match!
Has @ 25k on the clock and I feel these are original miles - motor sounded tight and good.
I paid him his asking price, as it way under market price and when he signed the title, he signed it in the wrong spot - being 100 miles from home, he was willing to go to the local DMV where we got things sorted out and the registration transferred. Included was a slew of spare parts, an overflowing oem tool kit with extra wrenches, two new spare tubes, a flat tire kit, 2 sets of plugs, points, condensers, the Northwoods points tool, and 2 sets of feeler gauges.
After title was transferred, we drove back to his home and he helped me load the bike on the carrier and the big box of spare parts – the only thing I left behind was the Vetter Fairing.
Was so surprised how different he behaved compared to our phone conversation - I complimented him on his restoration and asked what he did - he told me he's retired and has a disability. That explained it! Followed my intuition, treated him with respect and picked up a real nice example of BMW m/c history.
Wish it had the disc brake up front but for solo riding and mostly off the freeways; it should be a nice back roads rider!
*** Apologies for pics not being in correct orientation - perhaps forum moderator can rotate? I can't see where to do it?
