Topic: BMW R65 advice

[laser145]

I've got this crazy urge to buy an old airhead for a touring bike. The fact that my wife thinks they are "so cute" makes it a lot easier to justify the purchase!

I've found what seems to be a nice 1980 R65 (650CC) near me... has fairing, luggage, low miles, etc...

My question, having never ridden the BMW, is will I be happy with the power of the 650? I know that's a subjective question, but I would like some opinions. Since I'm interested in the bike for some pretty long trips I'm concerned I'll regret not finding a R75, R90, or R100...

Any help from you Beemer owners would be appreciated!

Cheers

[Jordan]

All depends on what you are used to riding power wise. I am biased, so with a grain of salt, I say all BMW motorcycles are wonderful machines that will go all day long at highway speeds full dressed or nekid. Beemers are solid bikes, have typical Teutonic over engineering and when properly maintained will last many years and miles. There are some good sites and books out there for information on most models including restoration, repair and their quirks, like starting rituals, gear change clunk and earls fork braking behavior. The R65 may be a bit underpowered for 2 up full dress touring though.

[simon#42]

i love my old r100 ,  they are a bit of an acquired taste though , try an borrow one for a test ride [ make it a long test ride , the more you ride one the more sense they make ]  wouldn't bother with a 65 though you would be better off with an 80 or 100  they are all basically the same bike . the 65 has a shorter throw crank , the 80 and 100 have the same crank different bore

[laser145]

Thanks for the advice... I ended up not buying a bike b/c my friend gave me his BMW for free!

Here's the link in case you haven't seen...
http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=80747.0

Cheers