This is my first post and I'm brand new to BMW motorcycles. I am familiar with boxer engines, having rebuilt my 36hp VW. I consider this design a true pleasure to maintain, and even a pleasure to repair whenever good German parts are in hand, and when the job can be done in a clean garage, rather than the side of the road.
I'm considering purchasing a 72 R60/5 from a first-time motorcycle owner who found the bike 3 years ago with the transmission bound (on a broken kick-starter?). He had the transmission rebuilt and the clutch replaced, by a respected local airhead mechanic.
I wrote down some notes after a 45 minute test drive and was hoping to get some perspective on them from you seasoned veterans!
The bike shakes or wobbles at idle, a quarter inch or so, and even with a rider. I wouldn't have described the idle as rough at all if it weren't for the visible shaking. The idle sounded low (600? 800?). The bike doesn't stall, accelerates smoothly and assuredly, and downshifts without backfiring. The generator light flickers at idle. The shake goes away as RPMs pick up above 1k.
The neutral light was always on when in neutral, but occasionally it lit in first as well! I can't say for sure whether the symptom occurred only when going from neutral to first, or also when going into first from another gear.
The RPM gauge bounces around about 30% above and below the actual rate. The horn didn't operate when I pressed it. All other indicators seemed operational.
The suspension seems to me to be remarkably soft, working up and down like a big slow rocking horse as I accelerated and decelerated. I was told the steering dampener was all the way out or near it, but wasn't sure how that was relavent.
The peg on the center stand was broken off but it looked pretty clean and weldable, and it seemed to hold firm with no play with the bike up or down.
The throttle operated with a good deal of friction and returned to idle reluctantly. The owner's explanation was that the the cable was good but that he'd gauged the replacement BMW brand handlebars and those grooves were causing it to bind with the throttle mechanism. He suggests he or I remove and sand them to resolve the issue.
The passenger toaster panel has a small dent and some paint is missing from several areas of the frame, all of which amounts to patina more than degradation to my inexperienced eye.
There was evidence of minor leaks, as I detected a faint but familiar smell of cooked oil, rather than from any visible drips or spots. The bike did not look like it had recently had extensive engine cleaning, and the origin of the weeping wasn't clear to me, aside from at least one being over something pretty hot.
The owner is a neighbor, encouraged me to talk to the well-known mechanic who did the work for a professional perspective, and without prompting, brought up that I might spend a longer period of time with the bike to help me understand that the bike was right for me.
Your thoughts? Thanks for reading!
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/m ... 37251.html
