Hello new to airheads.

[Mod5v]

Hello all I’m new to these bikes. Neighbor moved and couldn’t take his bikes. I got a good deal on 3 bikes a 1974—r60/7. A 1978–r80/7 and a 1999 -rt1100
So the RT1100 I gave to my son in law but I have the 60 and 80 still. I have had both of these bikes running and the 60 will start up and run no problem. The 80 I had running but after I washed it it has a very weak spark and won’t start. It has a Accel ignition intensifier box on it that I am not familiar with. I want to sell the 60 and keep the 80 but I need help getting the 80 to run.

[Seth]

I'm assuming the bike still has points inside the "bean can" under the front cover.
The cover has vent holes on the bottom. You may have gotten water inside.
If you want to remove the cover, make sure you disconnect the battery, as it's easy for the cover to touch the diode board and destroy it.

[SteveD]

Welcommen. That's a nice herd to acquire.

What part of this world are you in?

The 74 R60...should be a /6 as /7 started in 9/76. There'll be some differences but not too much.
The 80/7 is often considered one of the better models and there weren't too many of them built.

I'd disconnect the battery at the battery, not at the trans as that trans vent bolt can be too easily over torqued and damage those weak threads.

edit: oh yeah...pictures. We like pictures.

[Kurt in S.A.]

No "bean can" on the /7...just points/advance unit out in the open in the cavity at the bottom of the cover. If water got in there, could be the seal around the opening is damaged.

Not sure what the Accel product is...Dyna makes a points booster which is designed to prolong the life of the point.

Kurt in S.A.

[Mod5v]

I will post some pic soon. I don’t have a lot of spare time so this may go slowly. Thanks for the replies so far.

[Mod5v]

Here are the bikes. I also got about 5 boxes of parts that I have to go through.

[Gibson]

Nice! Good luck with them. If you have points, clean gap and set timing. Also change condenser. They go bad.

[Beemerboff]

So do plug caps DAHIK!
Similar vintage Datsun L series motors incl Zs had a larger capacity Hitachi condenser which worked extra well on my R75/7 , before the points mechanism wore out and I fitted a Boyer.

[Wobbly]

► On all Airheads of unknown service history, it is always best to start with a valve adjustment. This is to insure you don't have a tight valve mimicking other issues. Airhead valves tend to tighten over time due to unleaded fuels.

► Replace the plugs with new NGK BP7ES, new 5K Ohm NGK plug caps, and new metal core plug wires. These 3 OEM items always seem to always be at the heart of every nagging tuning issue. Since the total cost to replace all 3 is under $20, it makes no sense to spend 6 months "beating your head against the wall" trying to figure it out.

► The late 70's were a time of experimentation with ignition systems. Electronic ignitions hadn't quite made it off the drawing board due to the size of the electronics, so manufacturers were playing with devices that cut the current across the points to make them last longer. Some of these units also "amplified" the spark. Hot spark was all the rage back then.

If this 3rd party unit gives you any trouble, then my advice is to remove it. The stock BMW points ignition is a very nice unit and will give you years of service. After the bike is running really good, if you want a true ignition upgrade, then buy an aftermarket electronic ignition. Those are impervious to water and have an advance curve that works better with modern fuels. I've fitted a Boyer to my 1979 model without issue.

Hope this helps.