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re-animation after 15 years


Missouri Bob

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One of my buddies just called to tell me that his dad is giving his 1973 R75/5 to my buddy. It has been parked in a garage for 15 years without running. The plan is to ride it back to Colorado from the East Coast.

 

Help me put together a list of things that will need attention before it goes on the road.

 

1) Replace tires and tubes.

2) Replace battery.

3) Change crankcase oil. (2 qts 20w50)

4) Change transmission oil, shaft oil, fd oil. (quantity? 90w)

5) Check air cleaner for rodents.

6) Check carburetor diaphragms.

7) Check gas tank for rust, and clean if needed.

8) Check floats and float valves.

9) Check for leaking rear main seal.

10) Change fork oil. (quantity? type?)

11) Check all lights.

 

What else have I forgotten?

 

My R60/6 had some unusual fuses. Are those still available?

 

Thanks.

 

Bob

 

Edited by Bob_Sheehan
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It will simply need new carb diaphragms.

 

Need for extensive gas tank repair is likely ... including petcocks.

 

It will need new ignition points.

 

You'll need a tool and method to balance carbs

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New brake lines. They're probably pretty well dried out after 15 years. Not a failure you can afford.

 

Being a /5, it has drum brakes.

 

Bob

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  • 2 weeks later...

Maybe pull of the valve covers and check to make sure the piston isn't attached to the cylinder head. I'm not sure exactly how to check this, but I was able to start and run my R26 after many years of sitting even though part of the piston was stuck to the cylinder. My bike seemed to turn over OK before I tried starting it. :eek:

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  • 3 weeks later...

Bob,

My take would be to trailer/truck or ship it to CO and do a proper going thru then. Fairly cheap to ship. Marty has shipped his bike from east to west and return many times. About $600.

 

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What Dougie says makes sense. Better to have it home where you can fix the one thing that was missed than find it out on the road. Riding across the country is fun for the first 20+ times, after that shipping and flying seems to be a very good idea!

 

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Missouri Bob

Doug & Marty:

 

I can't say that I disagree with that approach. My buddy, however, is determined to ride the R75/5 back to Colorado. Fortunately, he's a better than average mechanic.

 

Bob

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  • 2 months later...
Dennis Andress

Change all the oils. BMW's specs for those forks was Dexron ATF. 10 wt fork oil is a better choice. Make sure there is no dirt or corrosion on the part of the fork tube which will slide through the seals.

 

The old steal gas tanks had sealant on the inside. It'll need two new petcocks (rebuilding them would be marginal.) Get rebuild kits for the carbs, including diaphragms.

 

Points, plugs, plug wires, tires, and it should be ready to go. The brakes are going to suck.

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  • 2 months later...
Doug & Marty:

 

I can't say that I disagree with that approach. My buddy, however, is determined to ride the R75/5 back to Colorado. Fortunately, he's a better than average mechanic.

 

Bob

 

Bob,

 

Waiting the hear "the rest of the story" about how the trip back home from Colorado went on that bike that hadn't run for 15 years. Was it an "Adventure"?

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  • 2 weeks later...
Missouri Bob

My buddy will ride (or attempt to ride) it from Connecticut to Colorado next month.

 

I'll let you know how it turns out.

 

Bob

Edited by Bob_Sheehan
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John Ranalletta

Anything rubber in the fuel system, including inside the tank has probably turned to goo. Don't ask. Tried to revive a friend's k750.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The only thing I would add is that I would recommend putting a few hundred miles on it locally after replacing things and before starting off cross country. It is better to have a problem 10 miles from his dad's garage than in the middle of Kansas.

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I heard from my buddy this morning, in Colorado. Aside from a flat tire, he didn’t have any problems. Parts replaced: battery, tires, tubes, fluids. I neglected to ask about the plugs and points.

 

No gas tank repair was needed. The carburetor diaphragms were still good. By his account, the petcocks will need attention, eventually. He put a few miles on the R75 before leaving Connecticut, enough to convince him that the bike was sound.

 

Oh, and I was wrong when I stated that the bike had been stored for 15 years. The license plate was from 1984, 32 years ago.

 

Bob

 

Edited by Bob_Sheehan
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  • 4 weeks later...

In 1980 I was given a 1973 Olds 98. It had been sitting in a driveway with the heads off. The motor was filled with rain water and stuck. I rebuilt that motor in the driveway, started the car, drove to the corner gas station where I filled the tank and rented a U Haul trailer. I returned home packed some stuff and the next morning drove that car from Las Vegas to Minneapolis where it sat till February when I drove it back to LV.

 

Ah to be ten foot tall and bullet proof again. Three years of A&P school and a box of tools didn't hurt either.

 

My dad who was born in 1910 didn't think a thing about heading out across the country in what ever.

He had started doing it in Model A's. My brother jokes about Dad stopping the car in the middle of nowhere and replacing the fuel line from the tank to the carb. No big deal.

 

Fixing and riding that old beemer cross country like that is way cool but why has it become so unusual these days? Have we lost our stones?

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Dennis Andress
In 1980 I was given a 1973 Olds 98. It had been sitting in a driveway with the heads off. The motor was filled with rain water and stuck. I rebuilt that motor in the driveway, started the car, drove to the corner gas station where I filled the tank and rented a U Haul trailer. I returned home packed some stuff and the next morning drove that car from Las Vegas to Minneapolis where it sat till February when I drove it back to LV.

 

Ah to be ten foot tall and bullet proof again. Three years of A&P school and a box of tools didn't hurt either.

 

My dad who was born in 1910 didn't think a thing about heading out across the country in what ever.

He had started doing it in Model A's. My brother jokes about Dad stopping the car in the middle of nowhere and replacing the fuel line from the tank to the carb. No big deal.

 

Fixing and riding that old beemer cross country like that is way cool but why has it become so unusual these days? Have we lost our stones?

 

Still have mine, still 10 foot tall too. But, I now know I'm not bullet proof, and failure has so many more consequences these days...

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