Hi,
I just bagged a '73 R75/5. The bike was stored in a barn under a cover for 17 years. I got it home last weekend and have started sorting things out. The bike "ran", basically it would start cold and die after warmup. I looked down the tank and there is some rust. The carbs were full of powered rust residue.
I've already ordered the carb kits and I've pulled, disassembled and ultrasonic cleaned the carbs. As I suspected, the orings were shot. The floats didn't look great, but the diaphragms were perfect. I have no problem with CV carbs. I have a Honda CBX (6-carbs) and a Kawasaki KZ1300 (3 2-barrled carbs).
Here is my question: The bike came with Wixom fairing and Wixom bags/trunk. I've pulled them all (see the faired and naked pix). The fairing is brand new and was still in the box. The man selling the bike for the deceased PO pulled the fairing out of the box and mounted it (no instructions). The fairing hit the tank and put two small scrapes on the tank which I can fix.
The handle bars had "rearset" aluminum bars attached to the triple tree. These pushed the bars down and back a good 4 inches. This resulted in a small scrape to the tank top.
In my zeal to get the bike running and on the road, I pulled the fairing, bags and trunk. I removed the rearsets. Now I can't remember whether the rearsets are needed for the Wixom fairing or it they were just added for the PO's comfort.
Does the Wixom fairing REQUIRE the handlebar rearset brackets? I'd rather not use them. The USA bars had stock mirrors. Maybe they hit without the rearsets?
BTW. I paid $1500 for the bike with 8100 miles on the odometer. Everything is there, including 2 keys, the Wixom keys, the owner's manual and "service center" books in the plastic sleeve, and the original tool roll.
Name here is Stu.
Stuart B.
Los Alamos, NM
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My New 1973 R75/5 and a Question
My New 1973 R75/5 and a Question
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Stuart Bloom
Los Alamos, NM
CBX; KZ1300; Alazzurra; R75/5; SR500
Los Alamos, NM
CBX; KZ1300; Alazzurra; R75/5; SR500
-
schrader7032
- Posts: 9040
- Joined: Fri Oct 27, 2006 3:00 am
- Location: San Antonio, TX
- Has thanked: 2 times
- Been thanked: 34 times
Welcome! The barbacks are
Welcome! The barbacks are usually for comfort to provide for a more upright riding style...especially if you're behind a fairing. The thinking is that the wind gathering on your chest should support the upper body, but if behind a fairing, no air is getting to your chest. But the barbacks could also be due to the mirrors. The fairing was handlebar mounted so they might get into the mirrors. I've not seen too many /5s with Wixom fairings but your picture seems to show the fairing mounted with the top really far back. That doesn't seem right to me...maybe that was the only way it could be mounted and the "fix" was barbacks.
There are a few pictures of /5s with various fairings on this page...Wixom style at the top:
http://5united.org/history/fairings/
There are a few pictures of /5s with various fairings on this page...Wixom style at the top:
http://5united.org/history/fairings/
Kurt in S.A.
'78 R100/7 '69 R69S '52 R25/2
Fast. Neat. Average. Friendly. Good. Good.
'78 R100/7 '69 R69S '52 R25/2
Fast. Neat. Average. Friendly. Good. Good.
It Lives!
Got the carb kits Friday. Rebuilt them Friday night and Saturday morning. I did a thorough ultrasonic clean. At least there's only 2 (my CBX has 6).
I spen 4 hours MEK cleaning, then acid washing the gas tank. The red coating was flaking badly. I found lots of rust and red flakes in the petcocks and carbs when I first pulled things apart. I used 2 1-foot lengths of chain with the acid/MEK washes. Got 99% of it out. I neutralized the muriatic acid, then did a phosphoric acid wash. Finished with some alcohol and a good air dry. I was so worried I was going to splash and ruin the nice white tank.
Next I rebuilt the Everbest petcocks using vech's (spelling) procedure to cut new cork out of 1/8" stock. Worked like a charm. My petcocks still had the screens, which I cleaned up.
Finally, I put it all together, carbs, petcocks, tank, etc. I did a quick adjustment of the carb/choke cables and set the mixture screws to 1 turn out. I installed fairly large clear paper-pleat fuel filters just in case. I put a gallon of gas in, and gave it a whirl.
2nd kick with the kick starter and OFF SHE GOES!. 17 years in a barn and I have a Beemer!. I had to run the idle up a little and ended up setting the mixture to 3/4 turn (I'm at 6500ft and have to lean things out a bit). Idle's great.
Well, I just had to take the bike out (I had previously changed all fluids except the oil, which the PO said he changed. Wow, what a feeling. Of my 3 barn-finds, this is by far the most satisfying to get running.
I have 2 problems. First, something is wrong with the starter. When I hit the button, it makes half a rev and stops. I have a new battery that came with the bike and I re-terminated the bad connectors. I'll check that circuit out later (lots of experience with these).
Second, the tranny sure clunks a lot. I'm not sure what to make of it with only 8100 miles. Every gear shift is a solid cur-clunk. The clutch is smooth, so don't think its that. Engine has 10-40W (PO put in). Tranny, drive, and shaft have gear oil.
I may take it down to our local BMW guru in Santa Fe for a checkup and an opinion. I don't want to start another oil war, but I'm going to read up and figure out what I should use in the tranny.
Thanks for the encouragement, and hints/tips from the site. Here's a pic after my 10 mile ride today.
Stu
Los Alamos, NM
73 BMW R75/5
79 CBX
79 KZ1300
78 SR500
85 Alazzurra 650
I spen 4 hours MEK cleaning, then acid washing the gas tank. The red coating was flaking badly. I found lots of rust and red flakes in the petcocks and carbs when I first pulled things apart. I used 2 1-foot lengths of chain with the acid/MEK washes. Got 99% of it out. I neutralized the muriatic acid, then did a phosphoric acid wash. Finished with some alcohol and a good air dry. I was so worried I was going to splash and ruin the nice white tank.
Next I rebuilt the Everbest petcocks using vech's (spelling) procedure to cut new cork out of 1/8" stock. Worked like a charm. My petcocks still had the screens, which I cleaned up.
Finally, I put it all together, carbs, petcocks, tank, etc. I did a quick adjustment of the carb/choke cables and set the mixture screws to 1 turn out. I installed fairly large clear paper-pleat fuel filters just in case. I put a gallon of gas in, and gave it a whirl.
2nd kick with the kick starter and OFF SHE GOES!. 17 years in a barn and I have a Beemer!. I had to run the idle up a little and ended up setting the mixture to 3/4 turn (I'm at 6500ft and have to lean things out a bit). Idle's great.
Well, I just had to take the bike out (I had previously changed all fluids except the oil, which the PO said he changed. Wow, what a feeling. Of my 3 barn-finds, this is by far the most satisfying to get running.
I have 2 problems. First, something is wrong with the starter. When I hit the button, it makes half a rev and stops. I have a new battery that came with the bike and I re-terminated the bad connectors. I'll check that circuit out later (lots of experience with these).
Second, the tranny sure clunks a lot. I'm not sure what to make of it with only 8100 miles. Every gear shift is a solid cur-clunk. The clutch is smooth, so don't think its that. Engine has 10-40W (PO put in). Tranny, drive, and shaft have gear oil.
I may take it down to our local BMW guru in Santa Fe for a checkup and an opinion. I don't want to start another oil war, but I'm going to read up and figure out what I should use in the tranny.
Thanks for the encouragement, and hints/tips from the site. Here's a pic after my 10 mile ride today.
Stu
Los Alamos, NM
73 BMW R75/5
79 CBX
79 KZ1300
78 SR500
85 Alazzurra 650
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Stuart Bloom
Los Alamos, NM
CBX; KZ1300; Alazzurra; R75/5; SR500
Los Alamos, NM
CBX; KZ1300; Alazzurra; R75/5; SR500
-
schrader7032
- Posts: 9040
- Joined: Fri Oct 27, 2006 3:00 am
- Location: San Antonio, TX
- Has thanked: 2 times
- Been thanked: 34 times
Stu - Nice work. RE: the
Stu -
Nice work. RE: the starter...it could be that the starter needs to be overhauled...the bushings may be shot and the battery just can't turn against that resistance.
As for the transmission, the correct gear oil is a GL5 Hypoid 80w90. First, I'd try using some fresh oil. There are other additives but I've never used them...I heard about some GuardDog products that might help with the shifting. But they basically clunk, especially the lower gears. Shifting into 4th and 5th on my /7 are very quiet. It possibly could be your technique but my guess is it's in need of some new gear oil.
Nice work. RE: the starter...it could be that the starter needs to be overhauled...the bushings may be shot and the battery just can't turn against that resistance.
As for the transmission, the correct gear oil is a GL5 Hypoid 80w90. First, I'd try using some fresh oil. There are other additives but I've never used them...I heard about some GuardDog products that might help with the shifting. But they basically clunk, especially the lower gears. Shifting into 4th and 5th on my /7 are very quiet. It possibly could be your technique but my guess is it's in need of some new gear oil.
Kurt in S.A.
'78 R100/7 '69 R69S '52 R25/2
Fast. Neat. Average. Friendly. Good. Good.
'78 R100/7 '69 R69S '52 R25/2
Fast. Neat. Average. Friendly. Good. Good.
-
schrader7032
- Posts: 9040
- Joined: Fri Oct 27, 2006 3:00 am
- Location: San Antonio, TX
- Has thanked: 2 times
- Been thanked: 34 times
Shouldn't be a problem with
Shouldn't be a problem with GL5 in the /5 transmission...no brass components. I think even the owner's manual recommends GL5.
To be honest, I don't hear much about /2 transmissions trashed by the side of the road due to using GL5 gear oil. There are high sulphur content GL5 oil which might be suspect, but I really think that a good quality oil is probably OK. I believe the issue with GL5 was in an older Volvo transmission...I wonder about the direct comparison to the /2 transmission.
YMMV...
To be honest, I don't hear much about /2 transmissions trashed by the side of the road due to using GL5 gear oil. There are high sulphur content GL5 oil which might be suspect, but I really think that a good quality oil is probably OK. I believe the issue with GL5 was in an older Volvo transmission...I wonder about the direct comparison to the /2 transmission.
YMMV...
Kurt in S.A.
'78 R100/7 '69 R69S '52 R25/2
Fast. Neat. Average. Friendly. Good. Good.
'78 R100/7 '69 R69S '52 R25/2
Fast. Neat. Average. Friendly. Good. Good.
Bar Backs
No, the Bar Backs are not needed for the fairing. If the fairing is mounted correctly, the mirrors won't bump either. I see you also have a Reynolds Ride Off Stand.
The starter may well have a "dried" out or rusted problem. You may have a sticking solenoid, this will cause the starter motor to spin before actually turning the vehicles motor. I've often been able to bring back these starters just by taking them apart, cleaning and lubricating them. Before you go too much further, I would suggest you remove the air filter and top engine cover (you'll have to pull the gas tank) and just inspect the space around the starter motor. When a bike has been parked for any period of time (especially in a barn) Mice often find their way into the starter motor space and make a nest in there. Over the years I've found nests as well as the remains of the little critters in there.
Sorry, I forgot to mention, oil to be used in the transmission, shaft and rear drive is hypoid gear oil (the stinky, sticky stuff). Depending on the time of year, use either an 80-90 (cold weather) or a 90-140 (warm weather or summer). Yes, there are brass bushings in the transmission on the cluster shaft. First, second, third and forth all have brass bushings the gears ride on. If any of the bushings start to go out, usually (but not always) the oil will start to get a "golden" hue as this is particulates of brass being suspended in the oil.
The transmissions on the /5 series are very stout and are kind of crude, no syncros, so they will clunk when you shift. Folks will tell you all kinds of stories of how to shift these transmissions from pre pressure to shifting without the clutch. USE the clutch when shifting and just shift, you'll be fine. When starting from a dead stop, if the transmission won't go into gear, keep pressure on the shifter and slowly let the clutch out, it will pop into gear. DO NOT stomp on the shift lever, this WILL damage the shifting mechanism. Same with finding neutral, if the transmission won't find neutral, put a small bit of pressure on the shifter and start slowly letting the clutch out, it will easily click into neutral.
The starter may well have a "dried" out or rusted problem. You may have a sticking solenoid, this will cause the starter motor to spin before actually turning the vehicles motor. I've often been able to bring back these starters just by taking them apart, cleaning and lubricating them. Before you go too much further, I would suggest you remove the air filter and top engine cover (you'll have to pull the gas tank) and just inspect the space around the starter motor. When a bike has been parked for any period of time (especially in a barn) Mice often find their way into the starter motor space and make a nest in there. Over the years I've found nests as well as the remains of the little critters in there.
Sorry, I forgot to mention, oil to be used in the transmission, shaft and rear drive is hypoid gear oil (the stinky, sticky stuff). Depending on the time of year, use either an 80-90 (cold weather) or a 90-140 (warm weather or summer). Yes, there are brass bushings in the transmission on the cluster shaft. First, second, third and forth all have brass bushings the gears ride on. If any of the bushings start to go out, usually (but not always) the oil will start to get a "golden" hue as this is particulates of brass being suspended in the oil.
The transmissions on the /5 series are very stout and are kind of crude, no syncros, so they will clunk when you shift. Folks will tell you all kinds of stories of how to shift these transmissions from pre pressure to shifting without the clutch. USE the clutch when shifting and just shift, you'll be fine. When starting from a dead stop, if the transmission won't go into gear, keep pressure on the shifter and slowly let the clutch out, it will pop into gear. DO NOT stomp on the shift lever, this WILL damage the shifting mechanism. Same with finding neutral, if the transmission won't find neutral, put a small bit of pressure on the shifter and start slowly letting the clutch out, it will easily click into neutral.
You might want to check the
You might want to check the manufacturing date on those tires.... I had a bike with like new tires blow out on the road....when I checked them closely I found that they were over 25 years old...and unsafe... tires are cheep when compared to road rash ...
Joel
Joel