Welcome Aboard !

1) I highly suggest you replace both floats AND both float needles for starters. There is no way of knowing if you have the updated ethanol compliant parts, and that would be the best first step.

2) It's very common for points to form a non-conductive coating during storage. Clean them and try again. Also make sure the points are gapped correctly, that it to say that they are actually opening and closing as they should. If the ignition cam is dry, the rubbing block will wear rapidly... to the position that the points will fail to open on the high portion of the ignition cam.

Thanks for the reply Wobbly. That is just what I was thinking, replacing the floats and needles . What's good place to source the parts? Is there someone who specializes in older BMW parts?

There is no kill switch on a /5 or 1974, /6. Your left side handle bar switch is high/low beam and flash to pass for the headlight and push down for the horn.
With no spark at the plugs, I would pull the tank and check for battery voltage at the coil connections. The signal chain, with the ignition on, is voltage thru the coils down to the points which ground the coil primary circuit with the condenser in the chain to calm the sparking at the points. If the wire from the condenser to the points gets pinched by the front cover, that can disrupt the spark as well. Make sure all the connections are clean and intact.

Thanks, I was starting to think along those lines, I just wanted make sure I wasn't missing something simple.

Thanks for the reply Wobbly. That is just what I was thinking, replacing the floats and needles . What's good place to source the parts? Is there someone who specializes in older BMW parts?

First point, please support the dealers who support us by advertising in the AirMail newsletter.

Secondly, Airhead parts have not been discontinued by the maker, and BMW still supports the sales of stock parts. That means you can walk into your local BMW dealer and order parts.

Several dealers now have the complete parts fiche on-line. I like to pick my own parts, instead of trying to describe the "duma-flachi next to the whatcha-macallit" to someone on the phone. Parts may not always appear in the grouping you imagine, but pretty soon you'll get good at thinking like a German and know where to find your favorites. MaxBMW is a good example of on-line lookup and ordering. https://shop.maxbmw.com/fiche/partsfiche.aspx

Another personal favorite on the east coast is Bob's BMW. https://www.bobsbmw.com/

BMW parts can be expensive. Sometimes you might want a discount on 6 oil filters, or you might want a third party rectifier or regulator as an upgrade (something better than stock). In those case you can call Rick James at Motorrad Eliktrik. http://motoelekt.com/

Hope this helps.

Thanks Wobbly.I would like to support any dealers who support this Forum. I'm in PA so Max's or Bob's would be about the same distance for shipping .

I've found that Max is a bigger operation and more likely to ship a part immediately.

While Bob's is much more oriented toward personal service. You'll be able to talk to and email the same parts guy every time.

Thanks again Wobbly. I ordered 2 floats, 2 needles, a new air filter and a new diode/rectifier board from Bob's . I found a receipt in my Clymer manual where the bike had been serviced at Bob's a couple times.

• On some models, the Rectifier Assy is mounted on 4 rubber isolation mounts. It is best policy to replace the rubber pieces with 4 aluminum standoffs of the same length. Kits are offered for this.

• And then because the Rectifier Assy is mounted to the front cam chain case, and not the body of the motor proper, run a wire from the metal housing of the rectifier (at 1 of the 4 stud mounting positions) to a location on the motor inside the starter cover. The idea is to provide a better Return path to insure good battery charging.

Hope this helps.

12 volts at coils, points and condenser. Still no spark at points or plugs.
New floats and float needles and gas still leaking out of carbs. Float height or something else?

This Airhead is new to you, correct? Not knowing much about the recent history of the bike presents plenty of opportunities for detective work.
1) I have seen trouble with fuel leaking on bikes that have been idle for a few years. What can happen is that water in the fuel can accumulate in the bottom of the float bowl, freeze, and rupture the little brass overflow tube.

2 ) With respect to no spark, the coils generate a spark to the plug when the continuity of the primary winding is interrupted. A magnetic field generated by the primary winding in the coil collapses creating a high voltage surge in the secondary winding and manifests as a spark across the gap of the spark plug. That is what happens when the point cam bumps the points open. It is necessary to make sure the point gap is correctly adjusted to ensure a proper break of the primary circuit. Another possibility would be that the primary circuit is finding a path to ground other than thru the contact points. That happened to me with a 650 BSA I used to own. The plastic washer that insulated the wire connection side of the point set wore thru and the point set for 1 cylinder was grounding out internally. That has never happened on a BMW that I owned, but it is possible that an alternative path to ground is preventing the points from doing their job of disrupting the primary circuit. Here is another clue. If the primary ignition circuit is intact but grounding somewhere other than thru the points, there should be a spark generated at the plugs when you pull the key out and shut down the ignition circuit. This would also be the case if the points are closed when you cut the ignition circuit.

Checked all connections, cleaned and replaced one Sta-Kon. Found a new set of points in the spares I got with the bike. I now have spark and she started right up. Still leaking gas out of the right carb. I shut off the right petcock, let the left one open an it's ok now...not sure what to think about that.

The petcock behavior and the leaking carb may be related. Ethanol attacks the older fuel tubing. It causes the tubing to crack on the inside send small pieces floating through the fuel system. Replace all your existing fuel tubing with fuel hose marked SAE J30. This is the latest Ethanol-proof tubing.

Before connecting the new tubing to the carb body, use compressed air to blow from the float needle towards the fuel hose coupling on the exterior. (In other words... reversed flow.) There may be a small piece of hose rubber wedged in there keeping the float needle from seating.

The ethanol probably caused the cross-over tubing to also collapse.

Hope this helps.

Just an update. Replaced fuel lines and cleaned carbs,no more leak carbs.

Quick question unrelated, In 1971 were the 75/5's imported with mph speedometers or km's? My '71 is in Kilometers and also has this decal on the headlight ear. Just wondering if the bike was European spec and brought over by its former owner.