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R75/5 toaster questions

bluecycle3

New member
Sorry that i dont know all the history of the /5's, i have a question about a bike im looking at. /5 Toaster tank, owner says its a short wheel base model, it has upswept stock looking mufflers on it and i couldnt see any name on them but they look like they would block any hard bags. He has a couple of sets of top-loading hard bags that come with the bike if i want to purchase them. What is the going rate for this type of bag? Can i put it back to stock mufflers? what is recomended for stock type mufflers? I kinda want to save the toaster tank so i thought of putting on a bigger one, going rate on one of those? Tach needle is broken, is it worth sending out to get it fixed or should i just ride it?


Anyone put a windshield like a Givi on one of these? It looks like to me it would be hard to do with the key placement. What kind of fairing was used in the day for these?


Any advise or parts offers would be appreciated . Thanks Greg
 
Greg,
Sell the bike to me. Then use the money to buy a later (73-on). Or an oilhead. :laugh Or check at boxerworks.com
 
BC3-Do a /5 Google search. There are several websited devoted exclusively to the bikes. It's kind of hard to answer your questions without pics, but for one, the OEM pipes on /5s ARE kind of "upswept". They fit the bags made for /5s just fine. "Going rate", at this point, is whatever you can get for them. Sienbenrock in Germany sells replicas for ~$125/bag IIRC. You see them on ebay from time to time for $25 and up.
And why, pray tell, would you want to make a SWB a LWB? If that's what you want, you'd be much better off buying a LWB in the first place.
 
As far as the tach needle goes, pretty common for them to fall off. It won't cause a problem unless it works its way onto the odometer gears.

I just received my /5 speedo back from Palo Alto Speedometer because of the same problem. My tach needle was missing when I bought my /5 However, it had already been removed from the case but I didn't know it nor could I see it through the glass So I had it repaired, serviced and calibrated. Total cost was $327 skins. This included shipping via UPS and a new base gasket and it only took PAS 8 days from the time I shipped it down till I got it back.

Good Luck!!

If you send PAS your clock, call them beforeyou do to get instructions.
 
r 75/5 questions

bluecycle3 said:
Sorry that i dont know all the history of the /5's, i have a question about a bike im looking at. /5 Toaster tank, owner says its a short wheel base model [look at the swingarm driveshaft tunnel, if there is only one weld where the tunnel widens out it is a short wheel base model...if a weld and a wider section and another weld it is a long wheel base model] , it has upswept stock looking mufflers on it and i couldnt see any name on them but they look like they would block any hard bags [hard to tell without any pictures] . He has a couple of sets of top-loading hard bags that come with the bike if i want to purchase them. What is the going rate for this type of bag? [what sort of bags? there were a couple of different aftermarket top loading bags available at the time including Bates, Enduro, Craven and others] Can i put it back to stock mufflers? [Sure, why not] what is recomended for stock type mufflers [BMW stock mufflers] I kinda want to save the toaster tank so i thought of putting on a bigger one, going rate on one of those? [painted, primed ,new, used, with all the fittings, without, lots of variables here] Tach needle is broken, is it worth sending out to get it fixed or should i just ride it? [mine has been covered by an aircraft instrument panel "inoperative" sticker for many years and the bike still runs. If you over rev the engine you won't need the tach to tell you so]


Anyone put a windshield like a Givi on one of these? [yep] It looks like to me it would be hard to do with the key placement. [depending on the type of shield, you may have to reach around it to get to the key] What kind of fairing was used in the day for these? [lots of different ones including Bates, Pop Dryer, Luftmeister, Vetter, Wixom, Avon and others]

Any advise [ask questions in a bullet format to make it easier to answer] or parts offers would be appreciated . [check out ibmwr.org and airheads.org for parts and technical advice} Thanks Greg

Friedle
Airhead #46
 
toaster question

bluecycle3 said:
Sorry i also wanted to know how hard it is to make it into a LWB?


Thanks again Greg
To convert to a long wheel base you will need at least,

a long wheel base swingarm with driveshaft
a long wheel base sub frame
a long wheel base seat
a long wheel base brake actuating arm
might need to extend the wiring to the rear lights and turn signals


bottom line, unless you have already collected the parts, not really worth the cost. if you want a LWB model, just buy one to begin with.

Friedle
 
A picture would be helpful. The stock muffler lift is just high enough to pull out the rear axle under the muffler. If your mufflers lift no higher than this you can fit Krausers or just about anything. I have a Wixom Ranger fairing on one of my 5's, and a Memphis Shades small shield on the other. The secret is to pitch the bottom of the windshield forward enough to go in front of the key. I do have a Harley style tombstone windshield (National Cycle) adapted for /5, that I'm not using. E-mail or PM of you are interested. Generally speaking, a large touring tank can be had for around $300. Getting paint matched would easily be another $300.
 
Greg,
There may some folks experienced in old Airheads near you that would be glad to look over the /5 to be sure it is not a "frankenbeemer" or totally worn out (which is hard to do). If you are getting the /5 for a reasonable price, you should go ahead and buy it, and worry with customizing it later.
http://www.5united.net/ is a great souce for /5 info. Also the Airhead Beemer Club ( www.airheads.org ) I wouldn't advise changing it to a long wheel base. That will ruin the great nimble handling characteristics of the short wheel base. The problems with the SWB models are greatly exagerated, and if there is a problem, it can be fixed with aligning the forks. Mostly a problem occured when a bike was fully loaded, with improper weight distribution. I wouldn't worry about the tach needle until you were ready to do some cosmetic upgrades later. Wixom bags are pretty cool and period correct for the /5. Most windshields can be made to work. I sometimes use a large Plexi-fairing on mine, or a smaller sport windshield. The bigger frame mount fairings like the Windjammer and its clones were (are) common but in my opinion detract from the fun handling of the bike. They are heavy and push a lot of air, not really aerodynamic. The /5 is a classic, it retained some of the charm of the older Beemers, and was the first of the new generation as BMW modernized and became more sporting.
Good luck with it! :dance
 
What Hank said.

HankPfister said:
I wouldn't advise changing it to a long wheel base. That will ruin the great nimble handling characteristics of the short wheel base. The problems with the SWB models are greatly exagerated, and if there is a problem, it can be fixed with aligning the forks. Mostly a problem occured when a bike was fully loaded, with improper weight distribution.

I bought a SWB /5 new in '72 and still ride it. They are great fun in the really twisty roads, and setup right will give many a much newer and more powerful bike a serious run for their money. Even if you "lose" you'll have about as much fun as you've ever had with your cloths on. :evil

I wouldn't worry about the tach needle until you were ready to do some cosmetic upgrades later.

Personal preference, but I'd recommend getting it fixed. People tend to lug the older airheads which does them no good and cheats you out of their true performance potential. A working tach will help you keep it in the sweet spot.
The /5 is a classic, it retained some of the charm of the older Beemers, and was the first of the new generation as BMW modernized and became more sporting.

Perfect description. A well setup /5 is an old bike you can have a blast riding every day to work or take cross country as well.

Oh, hello Hank! Hope all is well with you! :wave
 
The 1971-72 R75 "short frame" had bologna-shaped mufflers that mounted in the same position (just slightly higher at the rear than at the front) as later /7 models. I believe that the "balogna" mufflers had the attachment brackets welded to the muffler.

It's possible some previous owner changed the mufflers to some aftermarket things. If so, it's also possible he/she rejetted the carbs. Yes, you can still get stock mufflers for the short frames. However, here's the rub: the shorter mufflers ended about three inches short of the end of the saddlebags, so they spurt soot on the bottom of the bags. Later model ("/7") mufflers will fit on the /5 headers. The original mufflers were rusted out, and I installed a pair of used /7 mufflers to get it running. Frankly, I like the /7 mufflers better even though they are not "period correct"

The advantage of /7 mufflers is that they extend back a bit farther. Use /7 brackets. Same clamps. Same sound. Same functionality. Same ground clearance. Same fit under the saddlebags. Whenever you change mufflers, it's a good idea to check the mixture to ensure that you're not about to melt down your pistons.

The primary advantages to the "long frame" is more space for a larger battery, and a bit more seat space for a passenger. Theoretically, the "short frame" machines had some instability problems that caused BMW to lengthen the driveshaft (subframe, etc.) but my experience with my R75 is that it handles solo quite nicely, with no hint of wobbles. A larger battery disguises the weak charging system, but I've had no problem with the small battery. The transmission does have a kicker.

I have installed a GIVI windscreen. Sorry, I don't recall the model, but I'll attach a photo so you can see what it looks like. It's handlebar mounted, but to keep the shield from buzzing on the headlight shell, I added a pair of brackets to the top of the shell--to which the bottom of the shield attaches. The bottom of the shield is just ahead of the ignition switch.

pmdave
 

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pmdave said:
The primary advantages to the "long frame" is more space for a larger battery, and a bit more seat space for a passenger. Theoretically, the "short frame" machines had some instability problems that caused BMW to lengthen the driveshaft (subframe, etc.) but my experience with my R75 is that it handles solo quite nicely, with no hint of wobbles.pmdave

It's a simple matter to remove the spacers so that the larger battery fits in a SWB frame. I think my '70 R75/5 (SWB) handles much better than my '72 R60/5.
 
dlearl476 said:
It's a simple matter to remove the spacers so that the larger battery fits in a SWB frame. I think my '70 R75/5 (SWB) handles much better than my '72 R60/5.

A true SWB /5 doesn't have room for the larger battery. The LWB /5's did come with the smaller battery and spacers between the front of the rear fender and the battery brackets. You can remove the spacers to make room for the larger battery and use the original brackets, but the front of the battery is not fully supported and it is difficult to get the battery straps to reach and hook where they should. Best to replace with the /6 or /7 brackets.
 
GregFeeler said:
A true SWB /5 doesn't have room for the larger battery. QUOTE]


I don't know what you mean by "true SWB" exactly. I have a '70 /5. I bought a new, larger YUASA battery from IRV Seaver, took the spacers out and it fits just fine. I don't know about the rubber bits, I haven't used them since I bought a new pair for my R60/5 and they cracked after 6 months. (It's true, some things just aren't made like they used to be) I use two stainless steel rods and a velco strap.
 
dlearl476 said:
GregFeeler said:
A true SWB /5 doesn't have room for the larger battery. QUOTE]


I don't know what you mean by "true SWB" exactly. I have a '70 /5. I bought a new, larger YUASA battery from IRV Seaver, took the spacers out and it fits just fine. I don't know about the rubber bits, I haven't used them since I bought a new pair for my R60/5 and they cracked after 6 months. (It's true, some things just aren't made like they used to be) I use two stainless steel rods and a velco strap.

What are these spacers you refer to? Maybe we're talking about two different things. ;)

On a SWB /5 the two pieces which form the battery box (brackets) have a tab at the rear which is trapped between the front of the rear fender and the frame to hold them in position. When the LWB /5's were introduced BMW used the same brackets and battery (18Ah) and inserted some spacers between the back of the battery brackets and the rear fender. The /6's came with a redesigned set of brackets (and a 24Ah battery) which used the enlarged space created in the battery area by the LWB extension to the bike's frame. Does any of this sound like what you have?
 
I'm home now so I'll try and take a pic (1,000 words and all) and post it tomorrow, unless I can find it on a fiche tonight at work.
 
As for the higher tailpipes that might get in the way of luggage, swap the two tailpipes and this will lower the angle. It was the only way I was able to get the Krauser's on.
 
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