This is my first BMW. 72' R60/5 the slide carbs were shot but I have a pair of 32mm bings from a slightly newer airhead. Maybe from an R100/7, the side says Bing 64-32-20. Is there a way that does not involve a new head/cam, etc to get these on? or are some updated slides like the Mikuni 26 VCM's the way to go?
I know 1 owner who did the Mikuni install on an R60/6. He is very happy with them.
former Airmarshal, IL.
While I agree that the newer Mikunis would probably be a better carb once tuned, here's the issue....
If the carbs don't run perfectly out of the box, then the BMW dealer is not going to be able to help you. They will say they don't have Mikuni parts. And if you take it to the Yamaha shop, they won't work on it because they don't work on BMWs. So unless you know how to tune carbs yourself, this could easily blow up in your face.
Luckily, about 90% of the Sudco carb kits I've installed on British bikes worked well. But these bikes were absolutely stock. If you don't have the stock exhaust and stock compression, then you could be in for a ride.
Just saying.
Owning an old Airhead is easy.
Keeping an old Airhead running great is the true test.
Rocky Point Cycles, at that time, sold the kit that contained all the parts needed, so you would get new throttle cables and intake boots to go with it. The owner installed them and the bike lit right up. Minimal tweaking required. This was on a 30+ year old bike with only a few hundred miles on it. The Bing Type 53's were hopelessly gummed up.
The downside is that the carburetors are not right/left oriented, so the adjusting screws on one side are inboard to the motor.
former Airmarshal, IL.
I am totally stock and trying to keep it as close to that as possible. That should help me when I start doing a carb adjust.
Thanks for the insights. I'll be back for more.
Rocky Point Cycles, at that time, sold the kit that contained all the parts needed, so you would get new throttle cables and intake boots to go with it.
8053's comment struck another chord..... cables. While finding spare throttle cables on the open road for stock R60 might be fairly tough, finding spares for a non-OEM setup is going to be 10X worse !! You can ease this pain by taking the new cables, pulling the inner cable all the way to one end, and then measuring the distance the inner cable protrudes from the outer sheath. Make that measurement and record it in your owner's manual. Then most any throttle cable from a Yamaha or Suzuki will work in a jam, as long as the exposed distance is similar.
Just an idea.
Owning an old Airhead is easy.
Keeping an old Airhead running great is the true test.
Advertisement
