Vintage BMW Motorcycle Owners

I put in two transparent inline fuel filters, so I can see fuel going to the carbs. I found spark on both cylinders. Yet when I idle the left side exhaust is only 90 degrees F while the right exhaust is 290 degrees F.

It only has barely enough power to move to shift to second gear.

While your compression is low, the two cylinders are very close, so that is not your problem with running on one cylinder.

First, change the plugs and make sure your valves are correctly adjusted. Remember that you must turn the crank 360° in order to adjust the opposite cylinder.

With the plugs sitting on the cylinders, kick it over and see if the sparks look the same. If there is nothing obviously different, put the plugs back in and swap the caps and wires from side to side.

If the same side is still weak, try swapping the carbs from side to side.

This will either show you where the problem is, or eliminate some of the variables.

It is possible that it could be differential timing, but the symptoms seem a bit extreme for that.

Good luck!

Bruce

Try bringing the gap down on the plugs to .018,or less,this may help.If you have resistor plug caps,ohm them out and make sure one isn't going bad.It may fire under inspection,but not when the plug is under compression if the coil is weak/plug gaps too big/too much resistance in the wire/cap.Good luck,get her running and I can check it out and help you synch the carbs and time it.

I closed the gap on the plugs and removed the carb float cover and voila.
the left carb inlet plunger was stuck in the closed position, left cylinder wasn't getting any fuel. Now both cylinders are running and I had it up to 3rd gear, so far so good. Thanks for all your help.

Hey Thomas let me know when you have mastered the down shift I would be interested in your technique, my upshift is identical and took awhile to perfect but now it's smooth and flawless (98%) of the time. The downshift seems to be that perefect combination of dethrottle and rethrottle, I can managed an 8 out of 10 most times but just haven't go it perfected yet.

Rgds, Peter

Hello Peter,trust me it will be some time before I feel confident enough to give advice in the downshift..I have been trying something different every time,and find the downshifting inconsistent and sometimes with some expensive sounding noises (ie.the slow rattle then "clunk")".I have had best "luck" with letting off the throttle,wait a sec. or 2 as bike decelerates slightly,preloading the shift lever downwards slightly,then just as I pull in the clutch "blip' the throttle and it sometimes clicks in nicely.
I am a relative newcomer to BMW bikes,but am a bonafied tinkerer and some would be put off by the archaic gearbox and shift tecniques,but I find it a challenge..... I hope to get the downshiftsmastered before something nasty happens to the gearbox.
There are some on here with many years/1000's of miles under thier belt,will YOU please share with us your techniques?? 8) Aloha

Wanted to share that I now have 2k miles on her,and she is a 1st-2nd kick bike,and even with the original coil,she is dead reliable........I plane on removeing and painting the cylinders,installing SS pushrod tubes and SS headers that are all sitting on my bench.It is hard for me to take it apart since it is running so perfectly and I know it will be off the road for awhile.......
This will be one of my new years resolutions!

Have driven my newly acquired R60/2 for 1k miles now,and it is a dream.1-2 kick cold,1 kick hot,and seems to run smoother/quieter the more I ride it.
Really enjoying the BMW /2 experience,I am hooked.I plan on pulling the motor and doing the slingers at 20k,so I have 9k more to go.
I have also "mastered" the upshift on this gearbox,and am able to get almost silent shifting,no clonking upshifting.I am still playing with different techniques on the downshift.
We have a /2 guru here,and he said to "let off the gas,count 1-2 then shift" .This technique in addition to slightly pre-loading the shifter has resulted in PERFECT shifting,even I am amazed!
I thought a good upshift was pure luck,but with a concious effort to do the "pre-pload,count 1-2" technique I am "lucky" 95% of the time!!
Looking forward to ripping apart the R69S and starting the resto,in the meantime am very fortunate to be able to enjoy this true,low mileage R60.......life is good. 8)

Wanted to update,I now have 3k miles and runs like a Swiss watch...........Does not burn any oil,level is always full.I am running Valvoline 60 wt Dino oil and she loves it......

60wt Oil? Seems a bit stiff to me...I'd be concerned that you aren't getting the flow you need right after start up. It might be fine when the engine is warm, but I wonder about it's flow characteristics when cold, even 70 degrees.