My 1st Airhead R75/6

[lake_harley]

Went into Grassroots BMW in Cape Girardeau, MO today to buy a new pair of mesh, summer gloves and to "just look at" a project bike R75/6 they had listed in the used bike section on their website. Well, I did find pair of Tourmaster gloves I think I'll like, and also found myself making a second trip back, but with a trailer to bring home my 1st airhead.

I'll probably have a hard time resisting the urge to get on with finding out what needs to be done to resurrect it since I already have about three other projects waiting for me. This may be tough!

Story was it belonged to an older gentleman who passed away. It appears it has been sitting for some time but it appears quite complete, with a few items missing from the bike in a box.....well, actually in the single Krauser side case that came with the bike. I'll go slow on the project and hopefully will become fluent speaking airhead along the way.

Since it didn't happen if there's no picture, here ya go..............

BTW.....yes, I'm really that handsome in real life too!

[samthg]

You're right, you have too many other projects...

Put it back in the trailer and bring it to me, i'll take care of it.

You are gunna love riding that airhead. Since I got mine last Oct I did some minor clean up, paint, shocks & tires. They are a blast! I threw a cheapy National Cycle windscreen on it, which has made it much more comfortable at hwy speeds.

Congratulations & good luck!!

[boxerboy81]

Looks good.
I have a NA spec BMW headlight lens you can have for postage cost...it comes from Oz though. If you're interested, I'll pack it up and get a costing.

[lake_harley]

Originally Posted by boxerboy81

Looks good.
I have a NA spec BMW headlight lens you can have for postage cost...it comes from Oz though. If you're interested, I'll pack it up and get a costing.

Thankfully, the headlight is among the parts that are with the bike.....front turn signals, I'm not sure. It has brackets on the frame for a fairing that was on the bike, but so far I don't know if that's included. Maybe the turnsignals get moved to mount on the fairing? There is a long wiring pigtail coming out of the headlight bucket that has 6 or 8 (?) pins that would have extended the wiring harness to the fairing. It appears to be somewhat "hard wired" into the bike's harness, so that should prove a challenge in itself, getting it back to it's original non-faired status. I have a pretty good relationship with the staff at Grassroots BMW (I think) and they indicated they would make service manual copies and give advice if/when I run into glitches.

I've already discovered that /6 bikes, and maybe other airheads, have one heck of a wonky kickstand! I have never before been intimidated and threatened by a kickstand. Is perfecting the process of deploying that evil spring-loaded device, and leaning the bike onto it, a rite of passage into the airhead inner circle?

Lynn

[Wirespokes]

Welcome to airhead-dom and the wacky world of Old Schoolers!

You don't look any less handsome than the rest of us, so you'll fit right in.

Yeah, airheads come from a different universe. But you'll be assimilated and soon none of it will seem odd at all.

Who knows if we're all wacko because of these bikes, or wound up with them because we were already in that state - chicken or the egg? sort of thing. But you look like you're one of us - you've got that look...

So welcome!

PS - yes, the side stand (and even the center stand, along with the oil filter, and shifting the clunkiest transmissions in the world) will become second nature eventually and almost fun.

[crazydrummerdude]

Hey, an R75/6 was my first airhead, too! Now I have three /6's and two /2's!

If you need any help, PM me. I'm up in St Charles.

[Horsehockey]

Welcome aboard. She looks like a fine prospect. Be patient, take it a step at a time, figure out how to meet up with the Crazydrummerdude - who has BTDT with your model - and hope you left a little $$ in the reserve. A project bike takes one to two years to get completely roadworthy and back to spec. imo. These bikes still make sense. A rare gift. Enjoy.

[brocktoon]

Originally Posted by lake_harley

I've already discovered that /6 bikes, and maybe other airheads, have one heck of a wonky kickstand! I have never before been intimidated and threatened by a kickstand. Is perfecting the process of deploying that evil spring-loaded device, and leaning the bike onto it, a rite of passage into the airhead inner circle?

Nope. The actual rite of passage is immolating the OEM stand and buying a Brown's Sidestand.

[Bill Harris]

Nice bike, good choice. But who is the geezer in the pic???

+1 on the Brown's sidestand.

The 6-prong plug is to the fairing, either a Windjammer or the B&S knockoff, Luftmeister. If it's a standard setup, it should be easy to remove from the system. If he did custom wiring, it'll be a bit more work to remove it. At any rate, get a wiring schematic and shop manual.

Plan to repalce a lot of rubber bits. They seem to go when a bike has been sitting for a while. First off, replace the rubber boot where the speedo cable enters the transmission. If it leaks, you'll get water in the gearbox.

One good source of parts is BMW Hucky: http://bmwhucky.com/ . And there are others, but I usually buy from Hans.

Questions? We're here...

[disston]

I like the side stand on my /6. Everybody always talks about how they don't like the side stand, I don't get it. My side stand works fine. I have long legs, is that it?

OK a Brown might be better. It looks stronger. But I don't have a problem with the stock stand. It retracts automatically the way it is supposed to.

Turn signals should not be a problem. The parts are pretty cheap used. Oh, I just noticed you have the Aluminum ones in the rear so this is a 1974 machine? Aluminum in the front is stock but the black plastic ones will fit and work fine. If you really want the Aluminum ones they should only cost about $50 used.

Then I notice the front disc is drilled. So is this a '74 bike or later? Kind looks like '74 switches but not a good enough angle to be sure.

[crazydrummerdude]

Originally Posted by disston

So is this a '74 bike or later? Kind looks like '74 switches but not a good enough angle to be sure.

Although it has the aluminum turn signals, the switches aren't the '74 (/5) style, the front rotor is drilled, and I don't see the weld on the swingarm.

[disston]

OK. Now I can see the headlight on/off switch so the bike is either a '75 or '76. You still have the option of using the cooler Aluminum turn signals or the black plastic ones.

[lake_harley]

The bike is supposed to be a '75, but I haven't done the paperwork yet to see what the title says for sure. The listing on Grassroots BMW's website said '75, but the salesman kept saying '74. Obviously, I know so little about airheads I'm dangerous. I hope I don't run wide on the leaning curve

Regarding the stands, it actually has three now. The stock side stand, some monstosity sidestand that's welded to the left peg's bracket, and an unknown (to me) centerstand that I'll have to get a picture of to post, and hopefully have identified.

Thanks for all the encouragement, the warm welcome to airhead ownership, and offers of advice and direction.

Lynn

[disston]

There is a seven digit # stamped on a flat above the dipstick. This is the engine serial # and should be the same as the frame # which is on the right front just below the head stock. If these #'s are not the same you have a replacement engine. The frame # will be used for title and registration purposes. the title you have should have this #.

Go to realoem.com and put the seven digit # in. They will tell you when the bike was made. This is sometimes enough to know what year model it is but there are also sometimes some confusion.

http://realoem.com/bmw/

[lake_harley]

disston...thanks for the link and the info. The engine and frame numbers do match one another (Yeah!) and the production date came up as 8/74 for the bike when I entered the number. Would that have been considered a 1974 or 1975 model by the time it came to the US? Based on earlier comments about various items looking one year or another, maybe since it was relatively late in the year some items were "in transition"? Were the airheads like some other bikes (ie. Japanese) in that period that were titled by the year when they were sold?.I guess it really doesn't matter what year the title says, as long as I know what parts to order when I need some.

Lynn