It is said that problems come in threes, and this rule has certainly proved true in my transportation tribulations since the start of this year.   No sooner had I posted my last piece here about the car problems that we have suffered since New Year ’s Eve, than my Suzuki decided to join in too! I paid a visit to my brother’s house on my way home from work at the end of last week, but when I returned to my bike to go home, the starter solenoid just clicked, and the engine would not turn over.   There had been absolutely no warning signs for this.   Since the lights and other electrical components still worked, the battery did appear to be charging.   The clicking starter solenoid, but inactive starter motor meant the problem had to be in this part of the bikes electrics. I found a wire in this circuit where the previous owner had used a crimped connector.   It fell apart when I touched it!   Unfortunately this very crudely crimped joint is not the ...

There are advantages to running an old bike that was in production for over 25 years, especially ones as popular as the BMW Airheads.   For example, parts supply is good, and many parts were updated or improved over the years.   Often these can be retro fitted to older models either directly, or with a little ingenuity.   As an early example of the breed, my 1974 R75 thus has scope for improvement in a number of areas. Take starting.   On cold mornings, pressing the starter button would produce only a lazy response from the engine.   The reason for this lies in the technology of the time as well as in the bikes design.   The original starter motor in my bike (made by Bosch), used electro magnets.   This meant that to get the bike to go the starter motors coils had to charge up whilst still leaving enough current in the system to produce a decent spark at the plugs.   The compromise here is that to leave enough juice in the battery for t...