First of many posts and questions to come I'm sure :)

[Darryl.Richman]

Beautiful! Congratulations on a beautiful bike! It really does look nearly completely stock.

Does it come with the original ignition key, which has a plastic knob on the end, so that when it's inserted into the key slot, it looks like a fixed knob on the bike? These are sadly NLA.

The wheels were originally alloy, like the one in back. (With some elbow grease, the wheel, as well as other aluminum parts like the shock covers, can be made to shine.)

Of course, the replacment wheel could mean the bike had been in a front end accident, and you should very carefully check the alignment of the forks for stiction. And look closely at the steering head; there are two gussets welded on there from flat plate steel. If they're buckled at all, the steering head probably isn't straight.

Buchanans is, indeed, the standard place to check. It may be possible to order one from a dealer, BMW has a very deep parts stock. Check out the online "fiche" images at, for example, A&S Cycles. I see that Craig "Vech" Vechorik, a usual source for earlier bikes, has it:

36 31 1 233 321--$284.00--rim spoke type aluminum 19" front for disk brake 1974-80

Of course, then you have to unlace your original and relace the new rim.

[tintin]

Good news is the BMW has 40 spoke rims, same as my old Honda CB550F. I had recently picked up a DID alloy front rim for the Honda at a swap meet for $20. It's a perfect match for the rim on the BMW, at least near as I can see. I aligned the holes for the filler and all the spoke holes seemed drilled on the same angles etc.

So while it may not be a perfect match profile-wise to the rear rim (higher shoulders) is it an alloy rim and has the more dull finish. Will look into having it put on when I have new tires mounted.

I've found a few small problems so far.

Rear running light isn't working - assuming it's the one filament in the bulb burnt out so will replace the bulb to see if that does it.

High beam switch doesn't seem to work which is more troubling. The high beam lights up when I push down on the switch to temporarily flash someone, but not when I push the switch up into the normal hi-beam position. So I know the circuit is good and filament is working. Even the indicator on the dash lights up, but not when I turn it on normally.

This would cause it to fail the pending safety certification, but luckily I have a friend who does these. While I won't ride an unsafe bike, I'm not going to let this one switch keep me off the road.

The headlight is original BOSCH from the 70's.

The tach is a little noisy too - apparantly the cable - will disconnect and lubricate to see if it helps. The trip-odometer reset knob turns but doesn't seem to do anything. Might be looking for a replacement set of gauges.

Also very very little travel in the rear brake. Not sure how this adjusts, or what little travel indicates.

Bottom line is I need to follow my own advice I have offered many a Honda SOHC owner - RTFM. Problem is, where do I get Service Manuals for this thing? I have all sorts of manuals online for my Honda, but have had no such luck finding same for this BMW.

Anyhow - loving the bike. Can't wait to spend more time with it.

Oh and no - no original knob style key. Looks like I have a /7 style key - black plastic with the hinge in the centre of the plastic. Only the one - will be having another made but again, don't know where to begin.

Here is the Honda I sold to buy the BMW:

[schrader7032]

Rear running light - 8 out of 10 times the problem is a poor ground; but a new bulb is also a good thing to check.

High beam switch - might be a relay; I've heard of this kind of problem before.

Trip odometer - probably the numbered wheels inside the speedo aren't meshing anymore. Often times opening it up (carefully) you can see how the mechanism works. See if you can slide the wheels closer together and put some glue/epoxy on the end of the shaft to keep the wheels more together.

Rear brake - I think there should be a wing nut on the end of the long actuator rod...that's what you use to use when the brakes actually make contact. With the rear wheel off the ground, spin the tire in the normal direction while tightening the wing nut. As soon as you hear the shoes begin to make contact, stop tightening, then reverse the wing nut about 3-4 turns. The actuator rod should make a 90 degree angle with the arm that attaches to the rear drive. If it doesn't, then the thickness of the shoes may be very low...something to check out to be sure you've got good brakes.

Manuals - there are aftermarket manuals - Haynes, Clymers - but as you probably know they can be less than helpful sometimes. The dealer may also be able to get you repair manuals, however sometimes they assume you're already a trained mechanic. But sometimes they have good pictures and provide additional info that other manuals don't have. I have 2-3 different manuals and cross reference them to figure things out.

Key - sounds like your key is actually for a later model than a /7...the black folding keys were used for RS/RT models. Check with the dealer for blanks...if you're having issues with not finding any blanks, check back here. There was a recent thread on the Airheads forum about keys.

HTH...Kurt in S.A.

[Darryl.Richman]

That's a beautiful Honda! It's a shame you had to sell it.

The Haynes manual has a pretty good wiring diagram in it, full color too. The normal high beam and the flash-to-pass switch take different routes, so you may have to do a bit of work with a VOM to find it.

As Kurt says, adjust the wingnut on the brake rod to get the travel right. The rear brake should be plenty strong enough to lock it up.

Good luck with it!

[tintin]

So, here's the big update (and I'll fix those pics soon too!)

Turned out there used to be a fairing on the bike and there were a handful of spliced (poorly using those blue splicing clamps) wires inside the bucket. Cleaned it out, connected things properly and still no luck with the headlight.

Ordered a replacement relay from BMW and installed this evening - fixed all the problems. The old relay was marked 10 amps, even though it had the exact same part number etc. on it as the 30 amp version I put in tonight. It likely fried years ago.

Brake light was just the bulb. So now all electrics work 100% including the little parking light bulb in the headlight.

The problem with the brakes was the cam just wouldn't turn. Took the rear wheel off (was tough to get it past the fender etc.) and pulled the brake shoes off. Pulled the cam out and cleaned the 30 year old grease that had turned to gum out. Got both the shaft and the hole nice and clean, greased it up and put it back together. Cleaned everything up and put it back. Works perfectly now.

I don't think the rear wheel has ever been off the bike. It still has what I presume are the original Continental made in Germany tires on it.

The springs don't have the rubber dampener found on more recent models. Might get one and put it on next time I have the wheel off, but not too concerned about it now.

Going to have it safetied tomorrow and registered Monday. Thursday night next week is our weekly local ride - bunch of us in Toronto at www.caferacer.ca

Can't wait to get it out! Got to get lower bars for it though.

[VBMWMO]

Well, I just traded in my 1976 Honda CB550F and 10 years of owning/restoring old Honda SOHC4's for a 1975 R75/6 Couldn't be happier!

I've attached some pics of it. I pick it up in 2 days and am pleased as punch.

But, I already have my first question, and I have looked around for an answer - maybe I'm just not looking in the right places yet.

The rear rim on the bike appears to be alloy - rather dull flat finish on it. The front rim however is no question a DID chromed steel rim. What gives? What sort of rims came on these bikes new? The bike is bone-stock original with 35,000 miles. Nothing has been restored or repainted.

So if anyone can a) tell me what came on the things originally and b) point me to an alloy rim for the front wheel I'd be grateful. I'll check out Buchanan for rims/spokes but assume there are better sources for BMW stuff.