1984 R65; Digging In

[Deleted User 62]

Had some time to tear into the R65 this weekend. The air cleaner was the worst thing I found. It had disintegrated and left a mess in the box. Everything under the valve covers was clean though, the valves are even properly adjusted! Likewise under the front cover, pretty much what I expected to see, but no dead animals or nests. Even the carbs were clean inside; the bowls dry with no residue and the slides moving freely. It appears someone took the time to at least partially prepare this bike for storage. I put a battery in it and got lights on the dash and it turned over with compression. Even the tank, which does not appear to be original to this bike, was relatively clean inside. Questions: both the front cover and snowflakes appear to have paint peeling off of them, along with plenty oxide. Where the snowflake wheels and cover originally painted silver from the factory? What's the best way to clean this off? I gave it a bath and my mufflers are no longer green! Tomorrow I'll add gas and see if it will fire up...

[Deleted User 287]

Nothing was painted silver that I know of. It might have been previous owner modification.

[ME 109]

I think snowflakes had some sort of coating, not necessarily a coloured coating.
Soda blasting or bead blasting will remove all crud. What is left in the way of pitting after years of oxidation is to be discovered.
Maybe lots of good parts Tim. Depends on what you want to spend to bring it back. The frame looks a bit ordinary tho' might be an inspection pass issue.

Corrosion punk?

[Deleted User 287]

Corrosion punk?

Rat-a-tat-tat!

[Deleted User 62]

I'm just trying to get it running so I can evaluate the gauges and transmission etc. It's still going to be torn down for parts to sell. I don't need another bike, back registration fees would cost a small fortune... and I need the money. Just got a call from a guy in Hilo who has two R90/6 and a Luftmeister equipped R100RS that I owned back in the 1980s that he wants to sell. All in far worse condition than this one. Sadly, I think they are all too far gone to make an offer, but we'll see. Here's a crappy photo of the R100RS back when I owned it:

[melville]

I'm just trying to get it running so I can evaluate the gauges and transmission etc. It's still going to be torn down for parts to sell. I don't need another bike, back registration fees would cost a small fortune... and I need the money. Just got a call from a guy in Hilo who has two R90/6 and a Luftmeister equipped R100RS that I owned back in the 1980s that he wants to sell. All in far worse condition than this one. Sadly, I think they are all too far gone to make an offer, but we'll see. Here's a crappy photo of the R100RS back when I owned it:

You're going to hear it run, you're going to ride it a bit, and it's going to be just like when my wife took us to see a litter of retrievers, saying, "We're just going to look...."



I don't know the Big Island R65 market, but I'd think there might be some flip potential, maybe enough to justify the back fees. There are more people who might take that on as a running (even if not well) cosmetic refurb project than there are people who would take it as a non-runner. In fact, you may be the only one on the island.......

[enigmaT120]

Registration back fees? Man I hope Oregon never comes up with that idea. I've had vehicles off the road for years at a time, until I got back around to them.

[Deleted User 62]

It's not a problem if the plate is stored with the DMV, but the one on this bike wasn't since the year 2000. So, at around $80/year for 13 years... The law changed here in just the last few months. Used to have to pay for only the last three years. I'm sure it's just the states way to squeeze more money out of us, but the downside is so many vehicles that could have been brought back, now will not be.

[Deleted User 62]

There are more people who might take that on as a running (even if not well) cosmetic refurb project than there are people who would take it as a non-runner. In fact, you may be the only one on the island.......

Nope, I'm not the only one. This past year I helped one guy revive a real basket case R90/6 and get it back on the road (yes, actual baskets were involved) and another guy who is reviving his Dad's old bike which hadn't run in over ten years...

[Deleted User 62]

Cleaned the debris out of the gas tank, mounted a new petcock, new carb bowl gaskets, put in some gas and she started right up! I revved it a couple times, no knocks, no stumble, no smoke out the tailpipe at all and it settled down to a nice idle...! At first it wouldn't shift out of neutral, so I shut it off and rocked it while pushing down on the shifter and started it in first. I drove it up and down our long driveway and around my yard for 15 minutes, and now it shifts fine. Dumped all the drive line oil; rear drive was clean with smooth fuzz on the drain plug, drive shaft was empty and the drain plug's stripped. Trans oil came out cloudy, with a few gritty bits on the plug... bummer. Tach works, speedo don't... such is life!