The one on the left is the obsolete P45t based lamp. Putting out 40-45 watts of yellowish light, these were thought of as “pretty good” around 1970. On the right is the modified lamp with an H-4 bulb using the old-style base. It drops right in and needs to be aimed correctly. If the reflector has one, use the lamp cover as well. The best alternative is to fit the bike with a set of R 65 H-4 headlamp parts (usually at a cost of a couple hundred dollars).
closed paths with Alice again, so I hope she got the headlamp issue solved. Those bulbs cost no more than the old original style; it just takes a bit of hunting to get them. When ordering these items, be SURE to stick with the stock power level of 60/65 watts. There are lamps made in this style that run at 80/100watts and “while it gives a lovely light, it will not last the night” (sorry, Edna Vin- cent Millay), and it is also likely to burn up the headlamp wiring as well. Save the extravagant high-powered lamps for beefed up wiring with relays in place! Between Bob’s BMW, eBay and a couple online lamp sellers, I found a number of sources. The key in your computer searching is to use the term “P45t.” Lots of old cars and motorcy- cles used these “back when.” After the fast drive home, I had a week to
finish the Slash 5 in my shop. I had started to work on the rear area of the bike, so install- ing a new rear tire was one of the first tasks. New tubes were needed as well; the rear tube had two patches on it when it came out!
I
prefer the Bridgestone Spitfire tires and had ordered a set for this bike. The mounting and balancing went well. While the wheel was out, I pulled off the swingarm and driveshaft. I had broken the four bolts loose before the wheel came out so I could use the brake to aid that process. The driveshaft boot had a big tear so a new one went in. I hooked up the new battery and added a main fuse in the wire that ran from the posi- tive terminal into the harness. BMWs did not come with fuses until sometime in the 1972 model year run. My R75/5, purchased in April of ’72 (built in October of ’71) came sans fuses. I installed a pair of aircraft circuit breakers I found at our local flea market in the mid-1970s. You just cut the wire and splice in a fuse holder with a 20 or 30 amp fuse (and toss a couple of spares in the tool kit). We did this frequently back when I was working at Doc’s BMW of Colorado Springs in the late 1970s. Dropping the engine oil pan, cleaning it and the interior of the engine and replacing it took up the first days work. Next day saw me draining
and filling the driveline. The oil pan went back on and good oil went into the engine, along with the filter. I removed the cobbled-up bar-back set up. While in that area, I removed the steering top plate and took off the steering tension adjuster. It was the original Slash 5 system that required you to take off the top plate to adjust the valves. I removed the old adjuster and stuck on a used ($28 for a new one?!) castellated nut that can easily be adjusted without disassem- bling the upper fork assembly. New fork springs went in to replace the two inch shorter and much weaker original Slash Five springs. BMW REALLY wanted a soft ride back then! I also undid the fork bottoms. The anti-bottoming rings were on the verge of falling apart into a black mush. The bot- toms were cleaned up, new rubber rings installed, and the inside of the forks was cleaned out. We shouldn’t have to revisit that
area for a long time! After everything was back together, a measured amount of 7.5 weight fork oil went in each side. A set of proper fork caps completed that bit of renewing. The front tire was replaced, with the new one balanced to the wheel. The frayed front brake cable was renewed. As I was doing that bit of maintenance, I cleaned and greased the throttle and clutch hand controls. They looked brand new as I went through them, but they were not greased. The next day was tune-up day and carbu-
retor rebuild day. As this was a 1971, it was the last year for the braided-cable choke (enriching) system. Starting in 1972,
the
bikes with CV carbs had a system using stiff wires. When you engaged the system, the wires positively moved the levers of the enrichening devices that were screwed to the engine-side of the carb body. The 1970 and ‘71s used a braided wire that depended on the internal spring to move the device. As I had a couple of sets of the later type on hand, I offered to swap them onto the bike’s carbs. As I was taking things apart, clean-
This is why we pull the oil pan on long-asleep airheads. While not as bad as some, I was still glad I could get in there and clean things out.
ing jets and passages and renewing O-rings, the job added very little in extra time to the carb job. The end of that session saw the carbs done, the heads torqued, the valves set, the point gap set, and timing spot on. All new fuel lines went in as well. The rock- hard spark plug wire and non-BMW spark plug caps were replaced as new spark plugs went in. I lowered the lift to take a look inside the
October 2015 BMW OWNERS NEWS 49
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