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Post a pic of your Airhead

my "new" r80st (1984)
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I picked this up in September of last year: 1970 R50 /5 with 04810 miles (zero four eight one zero ! ) on the the clock.

I had heard through a neighbor that an elderly couple had 'an old BMW bike' in their garage, and that they were going to sell it since the husband (almost 81 years old) had not ridden in years. I stopped by one day; they bring me into the garage and there sits a dust and cobweb covered black BMW. The thing looks entirely intact. The husband said it was never crashed or abused in any way, just neglected. The bike sat in a corner with a bunch of junk piled around it, but it looked ok. From the rear I could see the turn signals and taillight were intact, no visible dents on the tank, although I peeked inside and I saw a lot of rust. The twin mufflers look ok, and the seat was unmarked as well. The tires I'm sure all totally dry rotted (although with full tread), but the spoke wheels looked fine, just dirty. The bike has an aftermarket windscreen. It doesn't have a "toaster" tank, but the regular black one with the black rubber side panels. No luggage, but it has the mounting brackets.

IO have not touched it yet but I am fairly competent with mechanics' tools and would not be afraid of tackling this project..I just need to do some research and learn some of the basics of restoring this bike. I have the Clymer manual and will be coming to resources such as this forum looking for help :)

Serial numbers on the frame and engine match which is all I care about. I checked the oil and it was totally CLEAN - like honey. There is fuel in the tank but it doesn't even smell like gasoline anymore. The mounts for the bags are intact, as is the seat. The handlebars are badly pitted. The only rust I can see so far is the battery bracket. I have the key to the seat lock but not the integrated fork lock. The rubber boots on the forks are also intact.

This bike has no electric start, only kick start. I gave it a couple of shots and she sure feels like she wants to go. :D

Behold Gisela. I decided to call her that since the previous owner's wife is a lovely 80 year old lady named Gisela who speaks with the thickest German accent, and Giselle, the French form of the name, was the name of my late sister.
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The headlight-mounted speedometer:
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Looks like this is one of the Slash 5's with only a left side mirror, notice the mount on the left side vs the right-side add on:
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Some of the shiny bits are a bit pitted:
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Complete toolkit. I even found the original BMW air pump under the seat.
It looked like it had never even been taken out of the bag:
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After I tucked her in for the night:
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The bike was bought new in Germany in 1970, ridden, and serviced by a German dealer. The next dealer stamp is from Italy. The bike was subsequently shipped to the US and was last registered in 1985. This will be a fun project. (I hope !)
 
Yeah I definitely will. I may make a couple of improvements like putting in electronic ignition, new diode board, etc (does that make sense ?)

I'd get to know things a bit before you make wholesale changes. Points can be fixed easily if there's a problem...but who am I to say, I put an electronic ignition on my /7; my /2 with points balances things out! See how the charging system works before considering changes. It's relatively easy to diagnose. I'd say most times, the problem is the rotor and not the diode board. But let her tell you what needs to be replaced.

No eletric start? What's wrong with it? You might want to consider getting that fixed and rely on the kick start for backup.
 
Start button is on right-push in. Same switch is turn signals, down for right and up for left. I use garden tractor batteries in my /5.
 
My r100 sidecar rig with a couple passengers.
 

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my r80 st with jesse bags and 9 gallon tank. The top box flips up and back to get full access to the seat.
 

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Finally rolled her out. Been working on this one since last fall. Now just waiting on some fuel line to finish things off. The originality police need not comment. I built it to suit MY tastes (whatever they may be!). And YES I know I have a "recall" front wheel. It hasn't cracked in 30 years, so chances are that it isn't going to fail any time soon!

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It hasn't cracked in 30 years, so chances are that it isn't going to fail any time soon!

That's what those F-15 pilots said several months ago over Missouri...but then the airplane broke in half.

It's your bike (and it looks good!) so have fun...
 
Newbie's 1st Beemer (a 1984 R100RT)

I recently purchased my 1st Beemer after lusting after them for years. Saw the picture and description on Craig's list, looked at the bike and decided I had to have it despite my wife's protestations. Something about the kid's college education or whatever...Overall I'm very pleased. It has 31K on the clock and runs just like a truck. Seriously though, the motor, tranny, drive and suspension all feel nice and the PO (a fellow Minnesotan and Airhead) did a lot of maintenance and cosmetic work to make it a very functional machine. I plan to use it as my daily commuter this summer along with some occasional day tours and maybe some longer trips as time allows. Thanks for letting me ramble...
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This is my '74 R90S. Got it in '86, went through it as it was pretty much a wreck of a bike. 46K and goes like new, maybe better. Stainless lines and Ferodo pads, Venturied inlets, large stainless battery holder, Albert mirrors, Pedone grips, first overbore, 336 cam, braced front and rear forks, Progressive springs, CC Products upper fork clamp, Koni shocks, deep oil pan, sport clutch, and an oil pressure gauge.
 

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This is my first BMW. Just bought it in May 2008. It was sold with a CS package from a dealer with 14K miles. I guess it was a demo.
After pushing my Honda 4 1/2 miles home, I needed something dependable, so I bought this. Only thing, the beemer isn't running; no charging of the battery, and the carbs were spuling fuel out of the overflow tubes.
Here's what I did so far:
New Metzler Lasertec tires
Bing carbs were rebuilt
New fuel hoses
Cleaned out the tank and sealed it
New trans fluid and left side seal (at the gear shift lever)
Oil change and filter
new air filter
new gel battery (Yuasa)

It still won't charge. The gen light is out. I'm going to start there, then replace the diode board, and if that doesn't do it I will check all connections and possibly install a new rotor and voltage regulator.

Anyway, here's the picture...Oh, and the milage is 39,000
 

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It still won't charge. The gen light is out. I'm going to start there, then replace the diode board, and if that doesn't do it I will check all connections and possibly install a new rotor and voltage regulator.

Before you start replacing things, determine what the problem is. Get the book on the charging system from Rick at Motorrad Electrik. It'll guide you through a process to isolate the problem. If the gen light doesn't work, then indeed you will have to charging. His book has several ways of forcing the light to get power. If it doesn't light, then you much dive into the instrument pod to figure out why.
 
bmw bobber r100rt at birth

This is my first BMW. It started as a 1980 r100rt. I stripped off enough fiberglass to make a bass boat, added a triumph rear fender, bought the largest cop seat I could find, added a 1928 ford taillight and started ridding it.
 

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