Bingo. I believe that the 1995 GS Classic also came with the peanut covers. And possibly the early 90s R100R? Yes, they are interchangeable. As for durability, I can't say anything about the Chinese covers but I've seen both the peanut and /7 covers wear through in a slide on pavement. If gthe Chinese covers are less durable then it's just a matter of sliding distance before they wear through relative to the others. Either way, you've got to turn them upside down.
JT, I love ya man, but let me explain a few things to the listenning audience. Way back in my days with Bobs BMW, I was the guy that did all the importing from Siebenrock, Jeckel, Ulis, to name JUST the German compamies. Once upon a shipment of the valve covers, They all arrived in boxes with Chinese writing under the flaps. I asked the Siebenrock contact about this and If I remember correctly, was given the the typical haughty German silent treatment then complete denial. As if i had insulted him! ( I'm German and Dutch, I can say this shit) ( Plus I'm retired now and don't give a rats ass anymore) OY such a book i could write! ANYWAY, Back in those days, 1998ish, we were the only game in town for alot of this shit, and Bob Henig led the way for most of the current importers. As far as the cheap valve covers were concerned, in those days they were lighter and they were supplied with "6" mm studs that were no way near 6mm. we had to exchange all the supplied studs with BMW factory studs when I discovered this after a customer complained when he stripped out the threads in the covers. Typical Chinese fasteners, undersized. Just sayin' things morph and change because of companies like Bobs BMW and his staffers (like me) who beat these guys up to offer a better product. Why do you think I started WireWerkes? Because the harnesses we were importing through Ulis and Theofried Jaeckel etc were absolute CRAP. I found this out after attempting to install one on my 64 R60/2 tata for now
I have a set of repros on my GS and they broke falling off the sidestand. There is more to strength than just thickeness, but they are thin where it counts. Alloy type and temper counts for a lot too. The repros dont polish up like OEM and discolour easily, so they are likley a different alloy. Mine are the type with through bolts in place of studs, cant remember where I bought them, might have been Boxxerparts.
Like you, I like the older style covers also and put them on my '78 R100/7. As you now know, the fit fine and IMHO do look better than the square ones. I have seen them recently on craigslist also.
Yup. I have a 95 GSPD Classic. Peanuts (though I never called them that before reading this thread) I bought a couple sets of reproduction covers from Bob's BMW. They were just fine.
Totally right ! That's why I prefer /5 second hand valves cover than repros. Here, Europe, second hand and repros are at the same price. Those at BMW dealer seems to be also chinese now Old ones are heavier (more aloy) casting is better, walls are larger Like many BMW parts quality is not at the rendez-vous like back old days... I think also about ruber boot on carb gas wire that are totally crap and last less than a couple month were the old ones on my Silver smoke had last maybe 20 years
I just came across this when swapping out my left side cover (patched by PO). I picked up a repro cover and realized the studs were too short to get the nuts on... I was tired, so I put some loctite on them and only screwed them in partially. I should probably do it right and pick up the correct bolts. Looks like they're pretty cheap: 17 Stud bolt M6X40 4 07129908104 $0.60
Heck no, those fit all airhead twins from 1951 until 1996. They do not fit the ill-fated exploding Krauzer heads. What is really cool is that they were made in the USA!
Why are you trying to lead these guys astray again? I bought those valve covers from a small importer in Cleveland's Industrial Flats ("There You Go Again Performance Bikes") back in 1982. They fit five-valve Rensport "Autobandenstormer" heads. Very rare, very special and very expensive. Gotta know what you're lookin at kid!
