Back from powder coat.
Back from powder coat.
Clean carbs
I sourced this engine build to a guy who builds Yamaha RD’s and such. Fingers crossed it works.
Painter went all out… all i needed was the rear dome painted. I’m not complaining. It looks amazing. The tank looks killer. Photos of that to come
Upholstery complete.
…I know…. it looks like Charlie Sheen…
When I first got this bike, I had to use all my muscle to rock it off of the center stand. It made me wonder about the R65 model… but then I realized that both tires were still touching the ground while it was on the center stand. I still wasn’t sure if this was correct or not. I thought it could have been on of the R65 quirks until a local mechanic friend told me it was due to the center stand being slightly bent.
1980 BMW R65
So the bike went back up on the lift…
1980 BMW bent center stand tabs where it touches the frame
The bent area was filled in with a weld on both sides
Ground the weld down to be flat again. I could have kept a bit more material in hind sight.
Painted and ready for re-install thanks to my mini garage helper.
The front wheel no longer touches the ground and it is much easier to rock off the center stand. I could have built up even more material so it would sit a bit higher but I was being conservative. I wasn’t really sure how much was too much. But for now, the problem is solved.
1980 BMW R65 red
This thing has been making progress… slowly but surely… Parts take forever to get and it needed a complete tear down.
Bridgestone 175 crank
Bridgestone 175 ready for rebuild
Bridgestone 175 oil pump
Bridgestone 175 engine
1980 Red R65 BMW
Although the directions are fairly clear, I went looking online for some installation help while installing a Boyer Brandsen electronic ignition on a R65 BMW that I am fixing up for a friend.
So… here is my install procedure. I am open to suggestions or tips but this is how my install went.
The carbs were tuned nicely before doing this install. The idle never seemed to get low enough which might indicate ignition problems, or tight valves but the valves were adjusted to spec.
I might suggest you get a spare bean can to perform this on. You end up modifying the original can somewhat and it may be difficult if you ever want to go back to stock.
Boyer Brandsen Micro Digital ignition system.
I purchased this from Moto Bins in the UK and it arrived within a week.
Of course, you want to disconnect your negative cable from your battery before starting the procedure.
Gastank Removal is necessary for the wiring.
And remove the front engine timing cover.
I took the bean can cover off and front bearing before I started shooting photos. I was too eager to peek inside the bean can and see what is in there (It is my first time with a points in a can bike).
I then removed the bean can from the bike.
R65 Timing cover removal and removal of the ignition can.
Removed points in can 1979 – 80 BMW ignition system
The large circlip needs to come out to disassemble the internals of the can.
The points come out easily and then you need to remove the points base plate.
Notice the ‘e’ circlip on the center shaft. Put a rag over the can when you remove that clip just in case it tries to go flying across the garage. The rag might catch it.
Points base plate removed.
Circlip removed from the center shaft. The cam has to come off the shaft and you then need to remove the springs to slide off the contact breaker unit.
After you get the center cam removed, be careful with the very small circlips that hold the bob weights. Those need to come off to get the bob weights off.
Bob weights and center cam removed.
Now it is time for assembly of the electronic ignition!
This was the first hiccup. The magnetic rotor does not fit into the housing properly without bending the spring mounting tabs. They are not easy to bend so it took some work.
Prepping for magnetic rotor install
Note the next photo. The tabs have to align with the notches where the tiny circlips were. The new rotor should sit flat, spin freely and the large clip should secure it to the center shaft.
Magnetic rotor installed
Another small snag. When the stator plate was installed with the cord going out the square hole, and the mounting screws were tightened, the magnetic rotor would not spin freely. It was a head scratcher in which everything was taken apart, put together again a few times. Finally by rotating the stator plate 180 degrees and making sure everything spins freely before securing the mounting screws, it happily went together.
Install of the stator plate
Stator plate with cable going out rubber grommit hole vs square hole.
Now it is time to install the can back on the bike. 
The very large circlip went in and the center bearing plate installed.
I removed the diode board so I could route the wires behind it.
Removed Diode Board for wire routing
Control unit tucked and strapped to the frame components. It seemed like a tidy place to put it between the two coils.
The green wire connects with the existing green wire terminal on the rear ignition coil.
I also connected the ground wire to the coil mount bolt as well.
Not photographed but I made about a 12inch extension wire to connect the black wire from the ignition unit all the way to the other coil to replace the wire on the terminal that was connected to the old points condensor. For some reason, they put shrink tubing on the wiring as if they all connect in the same vicinity. It was either make an extension wire, or cut up the clean tubing so the black wire could reach over to the other coil.
It is all wired up and now time to set the timing.
I am not used to these flywheels so timing it took a bit of back and fourth. There is no ‘F’ mark on the flywheel. But there is the OT and a Z-dot.
Once I got it timed, and I fussed with the idle a bit, it ran great. Really smooth and more responsive then before.
I can’t remember the condition of this final drive when I assembled my 77 R100s back in 2003. When I had my rear tire replaced recently, I noticed how terrible the splines are. The splines on the wheel are better then the final drive but they will need replacing someday too.
I found this drive with the same ratio and cleaned it up and replaced the spline. Now it is time to swap the drives.
While it is apart, I am taking the opportunity to pull the tranny back and lube the clutch splines as well.
Bmw R100S final drive spline replacement
Back to Beemers…
I’m working on a project bike for a friend and had the items powder coated satin black. I’m very excited to see how this bike will turn out.
And yes, I have a very messy garage/workbench at the moment.
I removed the wheel bearings and the races with lots of heat, and the help of a press.
Then went to the powder coat shop and gave them the masking instructions.
Here are some photos of the install.
Not pictured is the process of checking and testing the bearings in the race to make sure they spin smoothly.
If not, clean them, re-test, and clean them again, etc…
Then grease ’em good!
Also not pictured is the process of cleaning the inside of the hub REALLY well. Especially since they were sand blasted.
And.. then there is the process of pre-loading the bearings, freezing them for a day, heating the hub and then ‘plop’, you are done.
Bearings from when I pulled them from the hub.
Clean Hub:
Preloaded bearing stack. I have a piece of steel pipe that I put on the other side of the stack with the axle to help with the preload.
A nice propping set up for when it is all heated. These are damaged cork Yoga blocks that a yoga company couldn’t sell. I happily found a home for them in my garage and they come in handy!
Frozen bearing stack and axle dropped into that toasty hot hub.
