Since Sunday’s weather will be much nicer than Saturday, I was looking for somewhere to enjoy lunch between Tulsa and OKC. Suggestions would be welcome. 

There seem to be several active Airhead riders in Tulsa, including a new rider and Airhead club member to our state, Karen Mahaffey. Karen owns a 1973 BMW 75/5 with a sidecar, a 1995 R100RT, and an H-D trike. Welcome to Oklahoma; there is some great riding around the Tulsa area. 

I recently did the Mikuni conversion on my 83 RT, and if anyone is of the mind to do this, I would be very open to having a Tech Day at my house shop this spring. This is a cost-saving upgrade considering the cost of Bing parts these days. 

If no one from Tulsa wants to travel on Sunday, I would be open to meeting with any of the southern Oklahoma members. Medicine park outside of Lawton is an excellent place to meet for lunch? 

Please let me know if you are up for a ride; otherwise, I will start my bike on Sunday and randomly explore somewhere. 

regards. 

John Marshall

Airmarshal in Oklahoma

915 S. Macomb 

El Reno, Oklahoma 73036

john@motorheadjohn.com

4052746621

As our old BMWs get older, we spend more time keeping them in tiptop condition. I have explored several upgrades that have proven to me, that some components on our old machines have just reached the end of their life due to wear and design.

I have explored several upgrades that have made sense to me, including; Seibenrock Cylinder upgrade and the Wedgetail ignition replacement. Next will be a Mikuni carburetor upgrade.

The Seibenrock upgrade and the Wedgetail ignition are unique upgrades that have made my old 83 R100 RT run better than a new one.

After fighting with my 40 mm carbs, I have decided they are just worn out. I will be replacing them with a Mikuni carb kit from Rocky Point Cycle. The box annoyingly sits on my dining room table as I work on some problems with my old pickup truck.

I installed a dual cylinder head temperature gauge on my RT. That is what convinced me that the 40 mm carbs need to be replaced. They are a flawed design, in my opinion. I see the other smaller Bing carbs that perform well, but the 40mm don't work well when they are perfect. Even though the bike runs as well as it ever did, I found the CV design too large to work consistently.

My 77 R100 RS is sitting protected in my garage, and my 77 R80 has found a new home in my son Christopher's garage in Lockhart, Texas. I recently had to strip the wiring harness apart and replace much of it due to an electrical fire caused by the switch being left on.

If the motor stops in the wrong position, the coils will overheat and, this time caught fire and burned much of the wiring harness. I have developed a solution putting fuses on the coils and the main power supply from the battery. It's is a hazard for many of the older bikes with points.

In a nutshell, that has been the story in my shop over the last six months.

If you would like to upgrade your Airhead, I would love to have a TechDay event to share what I have learned.

Regards,

John Marshall
Airmarshal in Oklahoma
915 S. Macomb
El Reno, Oklahoma 73036
john@motorheadjohn.com
4052746621