Long trip preparation inquiry

[San Arthur]

Some of you recommended me to take some nuts and bolts.
Which do you recommend I take, what sizes do you think would be more critical or which ones would be very difficult to replace while on the road?

Since this is my first long trip on the R26, m I already over reacting?

ITINERARY
Saturday October 1 / 116 miles
From Vanderpool to Del Rio
Go 337 thru Leakey to Camp wood, south on 55 and turn right on FM334, into Brackettville and then head west on 90 to Del Rio.

Sunday October 2 / 203 miles
Del Rio to Alpine.
Ice cream stop at Judge Roy Bean’s in Langtry, lunch and gas up in Sanderson.

Monday October 3 / 120 miles
Alpine to Balmorhea
Breakfast in Alpine then to Fort Davis and up to the McDonald Observatory for a roll-down, backtrack to Fort Davis for lunch then continue on scenic TX-17 through Wild Rose Pass to Balmorhea.

Tuesday October 4 / 160 miles
Balmorhea to Marfa
Ride scenic TX-17 back to Fort Davis, then ride the Davis Mountain Loop , back to Ft Davis for lunch and continue on to Marfa.

Wednesday October 5 / 110 miles
Marfa to Lajitas
Down through the Shafter ghost town to Presidio for lunch then ride River Road 170 to Lajitas.

Thursday October 6 / 100 miles
Lajitas to The Chisos Basin.
Ride the Big Bend Park and then up to the Basin.

Friday October 7 / 80 miles
Chisos Basin to Marathon.

Saturday October 8 / 300 miles
Marathon to Vanderpool.

[schrader7032]

Your last leg from Marathon to Vanderpool...can you make Marathon to Del Rio for gas or will you have to fill in Sanderson? What's your reasonable range on the tank? I'm not getting very good gas mileage on my R25/2 (only 50 mpg) and can only get around 125 miles between stops. That section in west Texas can be a bit lonely for gas. But you do have a support vehicle, so I guess you have a good backup.

[jeff dean]

I want to make a long trip on my R60/2, perhaps next year. I am thinking around Lake Superior.

[San Arthur]

Yesterday I took Zenaida, that’s the name of my R26, for a test run, with and without the oil type air filter.

(I used a GPS to measure the speed).
It runs a little faster and accelerates easier without the filter. I’m thinking on stuffing a paper filter inside the air box. Do you have any suggestions?

I can barely do 58 mph down hill and with tail wind!
I can cruise at 40 mph with ease, but shouldn’t I get a little more out of her?

Is this the normal speed for a R26?

I checked the final drive ratio, is 4.16 and the stamped number on the gearbox is 25/6.
I haven’t checked the flywheel revolution versus the rotation of the gearbox output flange but as soon as I can convince my wife to help me count in a 99F+ garage I’ll do it; unless you know a way of doing this by myself.

My tires are 3.50s, what if a change both for a set of 3.25? On the internet 3.50 look taller then the low profiles I did installed.
If I change the tires I will true the rims, they wobble a little.


The sparkplug shows a normal mixture, should I make it richer?


Any ideas and suggestions would really be appreciated.

[schrader7032]

That speed seems a bit slow to me. My R25/2 really feels pretty good at about 80kph...I think it would maintain that for a long time. What kind of gas mileage are you getting? As I said, I'm getting a somewhat low 50 mpg when others thing it should be more like 75-80. The spec sheets call for 70ish mpg for the R26.

The specs call for 3.25x18 tires front and rear. If the diameter were bigger on the 3.5 tires, then for any given engine RPM, you would actually be doing a faster ground speed...the engine might have trouble pulling that due to the increased torque. It could be that the larger diameter tires are cutting down on the top end speed. I would run stock tires...I'd also run stock filtration.

[Bruce Frey]

A 6/25 (4.16) rear gear is standard solo and should deliver 128 kph which is just a bit under 80mph. However, with 5/26 (5.26) sidecar rear gears, top speed drops to 90 kph which is right at 56mph.

You can check it yourself by putting it in neutral and counting the driveshaft revolutions when you rotate the rear wheel by hand one revolution. Save your wife points for when you really need help;-). (I spent all day in my Houston garage putting my R12 back together. It was hot!)

Maybe a previous owner put in sidecar gears.

I'll guess your tire rolling diameter is 66cm (measure it x 3.1416) which gives a rolling circumference of about 2.07m. If you have a 6/25 and do 58mph (94kph), you are turning about (94000/60 = 1576m/min / 2.07 = 757 wheel rpm x 4.16 x 1.54 =) 4849 engine rpm. In this case you are definitely down on power.

Your rated horsepower is at 6400 rpm.

If you have sidecar gears, however, your rpm would be 6132. In this case you are right about where you should be.

Check it out.

Bruce

[San Arthur]

Thanks a lot to all of you for your answers, great suggestions and comments!

I'm a little concern about the top speed and will make some research on what I have on the bike. I’ll post the information latter.
I talked to my mechanic, Perry Bushong and he gave me some homework.
We order a new set of Heindenau 3.25- 18 tires, the profile is taller.
I don’t expect to gain a lot but anything counts, especially over a 1,200 mile trip.
I’m going to be counting the revolution with another method and checking the position of the speedo needle at 80 km/h against the GPS.

If I can reach 66 mph I’ll happy.

I would appreciate if any of the local R26 owners could ride with me to compare gears, final drive, etc. If you can, please pm me. I live in North Central San Antonio, Texas.

Since I don’t expect to be the fastest motorcycle around I better go in style.
I have never use my Davida “pudding bowl” helmet and aviator goggles for more than a few hours at a time. I know full face helmets are safer.
If any of you have used them in a long ride I would appreciate the input too.

Thanks

[San Arthur]

After a lot of investigation in the forum and other BMW forums, your great comments, suggestions and PM's I did a cylinder compression test and didn't get more then 80 psi.
To make a long story short tomorrow I'm towing Zenaida to Fort Worth to visit my mechanic.

I’ll let you know.

Thanks

[schrader7032]

What should pressure be? Did you do it correctly? The carb should be off the engine or at least you need to roll the throttle completely open and remove the air cleaner. The bike should ideally be warm to get the best reading. Duane Ausherman has directions on how to kick the engine over to be sure and get the proper situation for taking a reading.

[San Arthur]

Thanks Kurt, we warm the engine, opened the throttle and only got 90 psi.
We took the tank off to adjust the valves but in the process we found a bad wheel bearing and a broken spoke that need to be fix.
I took the carb off, and only got 80psi with a cold engine.

I bought Zenaida in Mexico City almost 21 years ago.
Every time we open or work on a new component we discovered the ingenuity used by previous "mechanics" forced to work without original parts.
Many parts inside Zenaida were machined or transplanted form other motorcycles, not always BMW.
My mechanic says that there is a possibility the the piston belongs to another model. He will measure it against the other R26 he has at the shop.
We couldn't find any signs of a sick engine, everything, but the compression checks.
He suspects the cylinder might be shorter.
Is this possible, what do you think.

Here is Zenaida on her way to Fort Worth

How many Dos Equis you need to take the wheel off??

I hate and love my old bikes!