Putting a R60/6 to work

PK · #1 14 Jul 2003

I am about to buy a well-looked-after 1974 R60/6. I plan to tour on it, mostly solo but also with my wife.
The seller has a a set of Marzocchi rear shocks (which he bought for a Guzzi) but I am keen to take them. What benefit - if any - will I get from fitting Marzocchis?
Secondly, is there any point in fitting bigger pistons and 750cc barrels to a 60/6? Will I gain any low-end grunt?
I'm not a speed merchant but I know from experience that two-up touring can be a pain when the bike doesn't have any ooomph.
Thanks for any advice.
PK

**Timo** · #2 14 Jul 2003

I am not sure about the specifics of the shocks in question, but in general the stock shocks were not great, and most after market brands offer an improvement. In any case, the shock stocks are likely bagged from either usage or sitting (corrosion). The real question might be more to the point of which shocks are best, and how much the owner wants for the ones he has. If they are new, and he is asking a reasonable amount for them, I'd be inclined to take them with the bike, as finding suitable replacements for a bike that old can be a bit of a search, and will likely not be cheap, off the shelf items but a custom order. Phone around. Works Performance will likely make a set for your bike, WP might as well.

As to the larger pistons, I would recommend it for 2 up riding. While it is certainly possible to tour on an R60, any amount of gear or a passenger will make it very much a 'smell the flowers' pace. Passing at hwy speeds will be a challenge - think VW bettle. I did some touring on an R65 with my wife and found it adiquate for backroads, but lacking for serious hwy miles. Conversely, the R75 I had was fine, although not massively powerfull either. In either case, I recommend queries to the Airhead beemer club for anything concerning old R bikes:
http://www.airheads.org/

PK · #3 15 Jul 2003

Timo,
Thanks for the advice, much appreciated. I'll persuade the seller to throw the shocks in with the bike but as he's a Roll Royce-trained mechanic, I'm unlikely to get them cheap.
I'll certainly add the bigger pots. In fact much of my touring is back-roads stuff - nice twisty country roads and quite a lot of dirt.
The two-up trip we're planning takes us from South Africa, via Zimbabwe (oh, yeah, better have a LOOOOOONG-range tank) to Mozambique and Malawi. The quickest route goes right up the middle of Zim.
It's not a highway (a lot of it's even two lane) but it is a truck route. Having been caught out after dark on my knackered XT on the same road once, I have no wish to repeat the experience of trucks being faster than me. Ever.
Although it would be nice - should one be idiotic enough to ride an African truck route after dark - to stick behind a nice fat lorry and let it deal with the aimless cows and donkeys. But I digress.
Thanks for the help.
cheers
PK