If you take a Volt Ohm Meter (VOM) with you you can check if the charging system is working. A non working charging system is one thing that could prevent a good start with a new bike. How many miles to get home? Is there a manual coming with the bike? You might as well get that if non is with the bike. The Clymers is a little more complete with more pictures I think. You've got the right idea. There will be stuff that pops up that needs fixing.
I've got a pretty nice VOM that I absolutely cannot find, but I'll dig it up. 20 miles home, buddy said he'd follow me on the ride home. I'll order the Clymer right away, then probably the Bing manual, and the Haynes and BMW manuals if I hit a snag I can't find a solution to.
Thanks guys. But a lot of it is an act. There are people know much better and much more than I do. Charlie
I'd sure like to get them in this thread if that's the case. Which forum would be the best to join up with? I have tried two separate email accounts and BMWOA still won't work right for me. Would I be fine to stay here?
By all means stay here. I don't know the problem with BMWMOA. I'm not sure I belong to it tho. There is IBMWR, I think I belong to that one and then there is the Airheads on the Micapeak channel. The Airheads is the only one you need to be careful on. They can be nice and sometimes they can be brutal. The Gurus are on the Airheads site. It is not set up like this forum but is run through Email only. Find the Airheads at this Web site; http://micapeak.com/
It's what I hear. I want to get all angles of advice, but I think I'm already overwhelmed just googling stuff. People really love these things. Anyway, I'm just glad I have an obvious thing to do first. Line the tank, rebuild/replace petcocks, fuel lines, filters, rebuild carbs, then I get a little lost. Fluids, lubes, timing, points, cables, and while all that's going on I start skipping ahead to powdercoating stuff and how much beer fits in a Wixom. I was hoping for some list-to-end-all-lists of what to do, but I suppose that is a bit unreasonable.
+1 disston's recommendation to ride it, restore later. Typically the airheads respond well to use... with neglect they become disconsolate but really, save your money for what's necessary as you become comfortable with the bike's nature. once it's quite familiar then going deep benefits from the understanding. I'd strive for more riding, wrenching when necessary till the bike feels well-sorted. 'haven't seen this addressed: that's the window for viewing the flywheel timing marks and yes, it takes a rubber plug (OEM) or wine-bottle cork (Muscat) or what-have-you. There's another small weep-hole above it that drains the starter recess.. not to worry unless things start gushing or crawling out of that(!) You're in luck! that header crossover pipe can be repaired-replaced using a bathroom sink drainpipe or vacuum cleaner wand cut to length. Works like a charm for pennies. I'm not seeing enough pics in this thread :ddog This should be addressed pronto And at the price mentioned, I would jump on that bike like a cinema hero on a grenade.
Just get the thing cleaned up and running reasonably well before you start "remaking" the darn thing !!! Valves, ignition timing , snug the carb tubes then adjust and synch. Then the other stuff. Don't sweat the pinhole in the crossover pipe, or the hole by the dipstick. That the view into the flywheel which you will use for valves and ignition timing. Yes there is supposed to be a plastic plug in it. You'll probably come to love the bike. They are great little Kraut Tractors.
You can join as many clubs and lists as you want. Being on the internet is free and advice is free. There are a few things that membership costs a little bit for but not much. The ABC is $25 a year and the BMWMOA cost something, I forget. I belong to those two. There are others.
swb vs. lwb:<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o> from here I might guess swb which usually came with the silver (now bronze-ish) plastic intake runners. <o></o> The black runners/elbows are more typically found on lwb bikes, but the two varieties are interchangeable.<o></o> <o></o> A skilled eye would know by looking at the gap between the airbox and back fender, or simply get a visual sense of the wheelbase. For me theres enough clutter with the bags & etc. that Id want to check the rear swingarm as a definitive answer.<o></o> Of course a previous owner could easily convert swb to lwb, or the reverse. <o></o> <o></o> With the bikes serial number its easy to get the build month & year via the REALOEM link Disston provided, also from http://www.maxbmwmotorcycles.com/fiche/fiche.aspx in the parts fiche which has a similar window for the seven-digit serial number, which takes you to the parts catalog for the bike in question also providing the build mo/yr.<o></o> Some advantage with MAXs site is the up-to-date price list.<o></o> <o></o> You may know by now that many /5s came with no battery covers. That your subframe has the tabs would seem to indicate a later build but still possibly swb and original to the bike.<o></o> <o></o> To the tank: my understanding is that all /5s had the screw-on emblems. Maybe the emblems have been replaced and the later ones are glued on, covering the screw holes? I think the easiest way to positively identify what you have would be to lift the tank and look for a recess that would provide space for an undertank master cylinder making it a /6 tank. <o></o> <o></o> That fairing is most-excellent. Somebody wants it so treat it nicely upon removal. <o></o> And the Wixom bags are about the best possible on a /5. Good score.<o></o> <o></o> Looking at the pic from where I sit, it appears to me those turn signals belong on a Honda or other UJM.<o></o> Im wondering whether the original items were removed to accommodate the fairing and bags I could be wrong *********** and get in touch with the Airheads in your area. There's at least two in Nashville.<o></o>
Judging by the prescence of a 1975/76 slash 6 seat, I can pretty much assure you that the bike has been converted to a LWB using a later /6 as a host. Probably used the /6 tank too.
The last days of the /5 had a tank that had no space for a master cylinder but did not have the screw in emblems. They are rare tanks, I guess. I bought one thinking it had the space for a master cylinder on my /6 only to discover it did not. It did come with a nice /5 Aluminum gas cap. My plan is to some day beat on it with big hammers and make room for the master cylinder. Since this is a kinda iffy task I have not yet had the heart.
a likely story I wasn't paying good attention to the seat's transverse ribbing. looking again, the wheelbase and battery space fairly scream lwb.
I just knew that gaping hole was a timing plug but didn't wanna look like an idiot. I also figured I'd take a cork with me before I brought it home. The tank has a sticker for a Nashville BMW shop, and from what I understand, it came from an estate sale in Crossville. The owner had apparently got it from New Jersey who knows when and passed away with it down here. Considering he even bothered to visit a shop at some point means it might have had some work, so that's possible. My buddy's grandpa put what looks like a big gel battery in there, and the battery tray doesn't line up. As well, it has the tabs for sidecovers, like mentioned before. It has the brassy/plastic intake tubes. I guess the definitive way to tell would be looking at the shaft housing for an extension weld? The luggage seems to be stopping me from getting the seat off and it doesn't really feel latched as much as loosely stuck in place, so a /6 seat with improper installation maybe? The signals themselves I'm not sure of. The stems are still in their places, but the lights themselves are not. I figured they just moved the signals outward, but no telling. That is definitely one of those things I'm going to change though. I'll probably go to bar-end lights and luggage-mounted rear signals. The Wixoms just have reflectors installed right now. Is this normal and how does one route signal wiring through there? The huge fairing is growing on me, but I'd say it'll come off and sell, or stay in the garage for when Adam West comes over. Forgot to mention is has a pressure gauge on the left and an a meter on the right, both of which seem to work. Meter doesn't seem to kick in until you're a bit above idle. I assume that's normal for these charging systems though. Pics will be abundant once I've got it home. I'm a terrible photographer and usually just use a cell phone, though.
The timing window, the hole you have been asking about, does not have to be plugged. Leave it till you get the proper plug. A cork will work but you will probably not bring the right sized one. Wixom bags are easy to remove usually. If you look inside them you will see some long wire passing through small posts. You lift the wire and slide the bags off the post then lift up. Seats are often grumpy. Each one has settled into it's own mysterious locking arrangement. If the seat isn't locked, the button is pushed with the thumb and the seat wiggled and raised. They can usually use a little greasing and cleaning. If the button doesn't push in try the key in it and see if the lock turns then if the button will push in. /6 seats and LWB /5 seats are identical except for the pattern on the vinyl. Seat hinges can be bent but the OEM ones will usually break.They don't like to bend.
Well it's been in a driveway for awhile now and we had a good 6" of rain a couple weeks ago. Anything to be alarmed about, besides replacing fluids? As well, I didn't really see any sort of button, so that's something else to observe. About one week to go.
