Rodney,  Welcome !!

We need to be careful when pointing out "faults" and remember that we are looking at these old bikes with 2024/25 eyes. Back in 1976 very few bikes had disc brakes... regardless of where the master cylinder was stowed.

If bike design had gone another direction and under-tank m/cyl ended up as the "norm", would we be bashing Honda today for placing the m/cyl way out on the handlebars? 

I think, while there are minor short comings, BMW was doing it's best and the best proof of this is that they were sold by the thousands and are still being ridden.  

I would agree that good engineering has resulted in so many airheads still being on the road today many with very high mileage. I would not necessarily say "fault" either, just choices and some of them leave you scratching your head.

I am in the process of a restoration on a 79 RT and I will say I have had a couple of "What were they thinking?" moments.  Same with any other BMW bike I have worked on.

Still, I wouldn't and haven't owned anything but airheads.   The bike I ride the most has lasted 40 years and over 200K miles, my old dealer had a R90S with over 500K miles, the bike I am restoring has over 200K miles.   

I don't see many OM bikes that can boast that claim.   My friends and I joke about the design stuff and say "Must have been a two beer lunch day."    Enjoy the ride when you are done. St.

A few of my favorite “endearing” features;

1.   Chunks of radiator hose and hose clamps holding the intake tract together (highest quality hose clamps on the planet!).

2.   Industrial rubber band holding the battery covers in place. 

3.   One little bolt that is the transmission vent, retains the speedometer cable, and grounds the battery … that poor bolt!

And we love ‘em!

Now that I think of it using a Phillips screw for the brake switch attachment on the swingarm of my R65 LS. Needless to say mine is a bit rusty and now stripped. 

I wasn't really trying to dunk on the Airhead, it is my favorite bike.

Rodney, I make the claim to all who will listen or read, a BMW airhead is just about the perfect motorcycle.   I love my RT and other airheads I have owned.   I wouldn't own anything else.

If you are turning wrenches on your airhead, you are allowed to get just as frustrated with some of the questionable issues BMW did over the years.   Now if you were a Harley guy making smart remarks, that would be a problem.

So my latest bit of oh why did they do this, pertains to my front forks on the 79RT I am restoring.  Why in the heck did the last guy who worked on it use so much torque to tighten the nut and Allen bolt at the fork end.  And why did BMW use such a little Allen bolt?

St.

@14724 definitely not a Harley guy, and as I mentioned in my initial post, I am currently rebuilding a R75 /6 and at times been frustrated with certain BMW design decisions. 😀

I too, love my old airhead.  These bikes are the best, and tinkering with mine is a pleasure. Like I said in my previous post, I find the quirky “features” to be endearing, in a way - like the rubber band retaining the side covers - how did that happen?  

So, I thought of another - my ‘78 has the clamshell air box.  The right side of the clamshell is fastened with a washer and nut on the engine stud down in that little space in the corner. You know what I’m talking about. Getting your fingers in there to assemble, then little-bitty turns with a 12mm wrench to tighten. The slot in the clamshell is really generous, so over tightening just bends the washer. All this would be “so-what”, but then there is the fact that this is also one of the four mounting points for the transmission - so, you are like, it needs to be secure!  Does it work?  Yes, it works.  I use a grade 8 flat washer on mine to minimize bending. It’s just a bit humorous. Like the battery ground connection - how many things can we use this one fastener for?

One major plus of the bike, is if there is a giant solar flare (EMP), the Airheads without electronic ignition should still run.