Oh Knowledgeable Ones,

I would like your thoughts on converting a 1973 R75/5 into a more enduro based adventure bike.

Thoughts on getting the bike a little higher off the ground, pipes up higher and getting the air intake higher, heavier suspension, bigger bore, etc.

OK - you may be thinking why? Is this guy an idiot (maybe)? There are newer better simpler bikes that already designed for this (1200 Adventure / F650 Dakar).

Here's the reason and purpose I seek the Holy Grail.

In 2006 I broke the TransAmericas World Record (Prudhoe Bay, USA to Usuaia, Argentina (see 34 for 40 - Benefitting the Pat Tillman Foundation)) on a fantastic BMW F650 Dakar. As much as l love that Dakar, I had a few Gremlins in the electronics.

My next journey is not going to be a race. It is going to be an adventure between me, my bike, and the (on and off) road. I want a bike that I personally rebuild over the next 12 months, with few electronics, very dependable, lighter weight than a GS 1200, road serviceable and worldwide parts friendly.

This has led me to the 1973 R75/5. I am told it is loyal, sturdy, and easier to work on than the Dakar. It also is close to the same HP and just a little heavier. However, a huge safety and environmental advantage of the Dakar was its tall seat and height.

I know there are old BMW experts on this forum. And I am also sure that BMW's of this age had to be modified by some of you over the years.

I seek those gurus who are willing to share their stories on such things as how they swapped the front end out of one of these bikes and made it an off road racer or equipped it with gear to make it a deep water crosser, or converted it to accept matching tire sizes on front and back.

Seeking your advice / opening myself up to ridicule,


Dave
nineosixdave
(my name)@34for40.com

Dave,

I think I speak for many of us in saying that I admire your gumption. Sometimes the bike IS the adventure, or becomes it through planning (as in your case) or lack of planning (as in it broke down and now I've got to fix it with a rock!).

This is a huge question with unlimited answers and possibilities based on how far you want or need to go. The R75/5 is certainly capable of getting you there, even in totally stock condition. I owned one of these as my introduction to BMW's. I loved many things about it (smooth, tractable, fixable, timeless) and hated others (the brakes, the front forks, the brakes, the antiquated electrics, the brakes). I know a lot more about Airheads now, but am still a neophyte by most standards.

Unless I missed something, you didn't really state why you thought of the 75/5 other then you have heard that it is reliable and light. In my opinion the /6 or (better) /7 version make far more sense in basically the same package. The early short wheel base /5's didn't handle that well, the drum brake was pathetic, and the 4 speed tranny limiting. The 1995 R100PD was essentially the same bike with years of development and refining. Sure they dropped the ball on a few issues over the years (build quality went down, I've heard) but most changes were improvements. I'm pointing this out because the later bikes are a far better starting point, so IMHO you need a reason to go back in time. I'm not saying there isn't one, but it is important to state the goal. Certainly the easiest method is to send $10,000 (plus base bike) to HPN and specify what you want done. 18 months later, you will undoubtedly have the most fit Airhead on the Trans American hwy.

The early Enduro bikes that eventually became the first R80G/S were modified /5,6,7's. These bikes are pretty modular and parts from different years and models can be swapped around. Many people think that the 750cc engine was the best of the lot. I like the fact that you can easily change the rear drive to get a different final gear ratio.

I spent quite a bit of time rebuilding and modifying my r80 G/S. In some ways, if I was to do it again I'd consider starting with an ST or an older /7 or early 80's road bike. By the time you've upgraded the front forks, rim, rear shock, and brakes you've got a GS anyway!

If you haven't already, I recommend joining Mica peaks Airhead and GS mailing lists - many of the Airhead 'gurus' hang out there, and it is invaluable for accurate and quick information. Lots of good info here as well - search the Hubb for R100 GS or R80 G/S and lots of excellent discussions will come up.

Good luck and hope we can all be of service to you.

$10000.00 won't even get you started at HPN. If you strip the bike down yourself and send them the frame to be modified you can make it with only a modified frame, WP front forks ready to fit standard front wheel, Rear Shock and the 100mm lengthened cardan shaft.
But to be honest if the rest of the bike is in good shape you don't need more than this.
It will be nice to add the 1043cc Mahle converted motor but you can add another $10000.00 for this if you go the full hog with dual spark heads, sport crank, rally clutch, oil cooler & thermostat, larger sump, different cam to increase torque plus the labour to put this whole lot together.
Improving the brakes and adding tougher wheels and large 43l tank and rally fairing are all nice to haves and surely will make life easier in some instances.
The question is though do you want a bike a do you want to travel.
Few of us can afford both.
TransAfrica - Route
I agree though that a GS will make the best platform to start your modifications for off road use.
If you want to get more info look at my website Welcome to GS Workshop
There is also a link to HPN's site.

How did it go ?
What did you build ?
What you are kind of referring to is the BMW ST model, but using "nippon" forks; i.e. the first versions of the /7 GS models.
Cool idea - feasable at a fair cost. HPN conversions is a whole different ball-game, and not a /5 and /6 project but a /7 development.

The simplicity of the beemer is -!
Realized that I have a bearing failiure in min 32/10 final drive today... 2h later I have my old 37/11 bolted on, adjusted and ready to go -

__________________
Drive Safely,
Albert

Hello Dave, there is an article in issue 2 of BMW Motorcycle Magazine of a guy in Texas who has pretty much done what you intend to do using a /7 frame. Welded frame, RM forks WP shocks etc. Try BMW Motorcycle Magazine .

__________________
rust & dust

Hi Brian,

BMW Motorcycle Owners of America published an article on that BMW-dirtbike contraption some years back. Very clever design! Not for Dave to fully use, but some of the ideas presented in the dirtbike conversion should he really nick! -
Simple, durable, service friendly - and affordable!

__________________
Drive Safely,
Albert

Get a 21" rim laced onto the front hub, put some Metzler tyres on. It will give you a slightly chopper look but by the time you load the bike it will ok. You'll need a new front guard as well, even if you stick with a standard rim you need to increase the tyre to mudguard clearance as it will clog up with mud and bring you to a halt sooner or later.

Get a large capacity tank - 35 litres.

Have some pot racks made to carry some weight down low above each cylinder.

Maybe a bash plate for the sump.

Air cleaner is hard to relocate, the 75/5 just had holes in the metal shroud to let the air in. Maybe the R65 air cleaner can be made to fit with the intakes up above the engine, they are easy to close off as well if you have to wade the bike at sometime.

Get a Krauser pannier set and then make up a well braced carrier rack, then use a strap to go over the seat to take a bit of weight off the carrier.

DONT fart about trying to get increased ground clearance, it just wont work without almost starting again from scratch - by putting longer forks on the front you need to raise the back end. You cant raise the back end without building a new swingarm which has to be longer. You also have to tilt the engine/gearbox so that the universal at the back of the gearbox is not constantly being driven at its limit. You can only tilt the engine back by a few degrees because of the top tube - so you notch the top tube and need to brace it with additional welding. Then you need to muck around with the sump because the oil pickup will be suspect........it just goes on and on.

The standard road going BMWs used to go everywhere anyway, and it was only the introduction of the GS which saw the "must be an enduro" bike to go anywhere without bitumen that BMW have so successfully marketed.

Make it definatly a sump gard - 3mm thick al is good.

The G/S sump aids ground clearence .. you losse 2 litres of oil... and you'll need another dip stick ..

There are many /5s that have toured on many dirt roads .. all the modifications do is alow you to go faster .. fine if you are racing .. but if you are touring? .. add the sump plate .. tyres, fuel, luggage and go.

__________________
---
Regards Frank Warner
motorcycles BMW R80 G/S 1981, BMW K11LT 1993, BMW K75 G/S

You might need a new pick-up for the sump.

Oh, err, that too.

__________________
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Regards Frank Warner
motorcycles BMW R80 G/S 1981, BMW K11LT 1993, BMW K75 G/S

Hi I would like to ask an r75 question to the keepers of wisdom. I have a niggling desire to ride my r75 from sydney to london. I ride a hp2 enduro which is super reliable and would do the trip easy, however my need to ride an r75 is to just take things a lot slower. I would like to hear of any bike preparations to to get me there.
I have limited mechanical skills.
I was looking at a brand new wiring harness, new updated bing carries, new cables, the best fuel filters, practice changing flat tires. That's me so far. Thanks for any suggestions.

A lot depends on the mileage and overall condition of the bike, there is no reason an R75 should not be perfectly good for the trip, enough have already done it but if it is a high miler which has not had regular maintainance it could be a problem. If you are renewing the wiring I presume you are checking the charging system over, check and regrease swinging arm, steering head and wheel bearings.
Assuming all is well with the bike the only modifications I would do are a sump guard, slightly knobbly tyres, something like Avon Trailriders and if it has narrow handlebars a pair of R80G/S bars or similar and you should be good to go.

Have you signed up to the Airheads List? Details here - Mailing List Archives

The list allows you to ask lots of questions specific to your bike and there is encyclopaedic knowledge there. Detail what you want to do and there will be advice a plenty - probably best to ask questions in bite sizes as occasionally the thread gos off topic (as if that could happen!)

Also have a look at “Snowbum’s” website - https://bmwmotorcycletech.info/index.html - again there is huge amounts of information there - the biggest issue with this site is that it is a hard read.

A combination of both sources is excellent and Snowbum is on the Airhead list for clarification if required.

As Mark says there's no reason why an R75 in good condition shouldn't be able to make that trip. Back when these bikes were current people were using them for similar journeys and in some ways their relative simplicity is an advantage if you have to work on them en route.

When it comes to suggested prep work I would strongly suggest you don't farm this out though. Your best chance of the trip going smoothly will be not only if the bike is well prepared but that you have a good knowledge of its mechanical systems. Being stuck at the side of the road unable to fix a reasonably simple problem because you've had always had someone else work on the bike is not what you need on a trip like this. You need to prep yourself as well. Get to know the bike.

I'm in a similar situation at the moment in that I'm prepping an old bike for a long trip later this year. Nothing like as long as what you're doing (mine's around 4-5000 miles) but the bike's even older and less suitable. To try and practice what I've just preached above I've stripped the whole thing down to its component parts and I'm rebuilding it from scratch. It's just as well I have as there was significant wear in some engine parts that would have been a trip ender if not fixed ahead of time. As a byproduct though I'll know the bike literally inside and out by the time it's finished. I'm not suggesting you need to do the same but the more knowledge and ability you have the easier issues will be to deal with.

This is the state of my prep work at the moment -

Will you keep the R75 (5-6? which is it?) original, or will you opt to up-date things ?
What are your main worries?

__________________
Drive Safely,
Albert