MOT passed today

[derek1922]

Inspection was passed today without a problem,I am enjoying riding the R65,never ridden a boxer before,it's a bit disconcerting when you rev the throttle and the bike rocks to the right.
I had read that it was a bit underpowered but i belted up the bypass at a fair old lick and it appears fast enough to me and I've had a Triumph 1200 sprint so i know what goes fast.
Thanks to all the advice i received on this site,it help a great deal.

[derek1922]

Sorry,I had a Triumph Trophy 1200,My brother had the Sprint 900 (still has it).

[Rev Light]

Congrats. They are an underated bike, even by some that should know better.

I recall that the bike journo, Dave Minton, thought that the R65 was one of the best commutor/sport (medium weight) bike he had ever ridden. He own a Krauser as well as some Laverda's

Rev. Light

[montmil]

The shorter stroke R65 just loves to rev. Properly tuned, wind it to the red in 3rd through 4th prior to shifting into 5th and the bike will probably hit The Ton. At least both my R65s will do so.

I'm always amazed at how intense the MOT test is. Good show.

[derek1922]

At last some good riding weather today,took the bike out for a real good spin,no real problems other than a gearbox whine,quite clunky when changing gear but I like it that way to be honest,hit 70mph no problem on the bypass (thruway) but it was quite buzzy at that speed,may add a pair of bar end weights to try and counter act the buzz,as has been said before the bike likes to rev and found that winding up the revs does help in getting up to speed quickly.
It did a bit of head shaking when I was taking a roundabout at speed but I never felt the bike would lose control.
All in all a nice little bike that I'm enjoying riding at the moment.
BTW should I be concerned about the gearbox whine?

[SteveD]

...
BTW should I be concerned about the gearbox whine?

Whining trannie.viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5759&hilit=whine

[R100RTMark]

.....BTW should I be concerned about the gearbox whine?

Depends (always does), and difficult to diagnose via a forum. Mileage also needs to be considered, as does how much maintenance/standing the bike has had over the years.

They all whine to some extent, and all will rattle at idle (pulling in the clutch lever reduces idle noise).

I think your R65 is a 1983 model which puts the gearbox in the "good" category.

The same transmission is used on all airheads of the period, so it gets light duty in the lighter/less stressed R65 than the larger bikes.

Perhaps the biggest threat to longevity is water, either through condensation or ingress. I would drop the oil, particularly if this has not been done recently, and look for signs of water or any larger "filings" and go from there.

The drive shaft and final drive are also potential suspects as sources of noise, whether normal or excessive. Same oil is used in these as the gearbox. Dropping and inspecting all the oils might make sense.

Between gearbox, drive shaft and final drive it is only 1.3 liters of gear oil and a few crush washers. Changing/checking oil is a good cheap baseline.

[derek1922]

When i tipped the gearbox up during the restoration there appeared to be quite a bit of water in it,I got as much as possible out and refilled with new oil,maybe I'll drop the oil and refill with fresh stuff again.
Thanks for your thoughts.

[Garnet]

When i tipped the gearbox up during the restoration there appeared to be quite a bit of water in it,I got as much as possible out and refilled with new oil,maybe I'll drop the oil and refill with fresh stuff again.
Thanks for your thoughts.

Good plan, not a good place for H2O.

As far as buzzing of the bars, spend some more time balancing carbs. The best part of an airhead is how smooth it is on the highway.

[montmil]

Water can easily enter the gearbox if the rubber speedo boot is cracked, aged and split. Hey... That sounds like a description of my ex-wife. Thank God and Greyhound she's gone...

Anyway, you can pack the new boot with grease to help prevent water ingress.

Some high rev vibes at speed can be tuned out and/or eliminated by synching the carb cables with the engine running at approx 3K rpm. Big fan blowing on the engine in mandatory. Use of a $4.00 DIY vacuum stick is key.

The R65s do seem to have a natural buzz around 4K rpm. I either slow down or speed up as road condition and traffic warrant.