The original R65LS cost $400 more than the R65 in 1982, at $3995. Used prices depend heavily on location. In San Francisco, a high-priced area where R65LSs are popular, a nice one with low miles will go for over $3000. With medium to high miles, $2500 is typical. R65LSs can sometimes be had for less than $2000 in winter climate areas.
The R65LS was designed by Hans Muth (of Suzuki Katana fame) and has a distinctive, sporty look that garner reactions from "the only BMW I ever liked" to "the weirdest BMW I've ever seen." Its design in many ways is form-over-function, very unlike BMW.
BMW claims the fairing reduces front-end lift by 30%, though anyone who's ridden an R65 will find that puzzling. A solution looking for a problem -- keeping the front wheel of an R65 on the ground is not a difficult task.
The black plastic instrument cover piece is a pain to take off. It has only tiny tabs to hold it down, which are easily broken. That piece is no longer available from BMW. The black plastic inserts on either side of the LS fairing that go around the fork tubes are also no longer available from BMW.
The long tailsection with passenger grabhandles looks nice, but the R65 luggage rack won't fit over it. To put a luggage rack on an R65LS, you can custom-make one. Reynolds reportedly makes one, but you'll have to get their bag mounts also ($180 total). One of the nice things about a BMW is accessory availability, but R65LS owners who want additional carrying capacity will have to scrounge like the rest of the world.
The black pipes rust more easily than the R65 pipes, and since they are LS-unique, used ones are tough to find. New ones cost over $700 to replace from BMW. Aftermarket exhausts are available for less, but are shiny and don't look quite the same.
The low and narrow LS handlebars are sporty, but for smaller riders (who make up a significant segment of R65 owners), they make for a long reach to the bars over the long R65 gas tank. They also reduce max steering lock.
Bar modification:
The dual Brembo front disk brakes are one of the R65LS's best features. However, they require twice as much maintenance as a single disk, and I notice little appreciable increase in braking power over the single-disk R65s. New rotors cost $180 each, and I had to replace both (due to severe grooving) at 53K miles. I've switched from Ferodo pads to stock BMW pads and from now on, cleaning brake pads is a regular maintenance item to prevent early grooving.
There is no such thing as an R65LS heated grip kit. There is one for R65s, but the curved switch only fits into the R65 instrument pod. R65LSs have only rectangular cutouts (don't lose the inserts that fit in there, they're not replaceable!).
To put heated grips on an R65LS, get an R100RS heated grip kit. It has a rectangular 4-way flasher switch that fits into the R65LS dash cutouts. Then you need to separately buy the R65 wiring harness that goes in series with the brakelight switch. The LS bars don't have holes in the handlebars for the heated grips either, you'll need to drill them (luckily for me, my K75C bars already had those holes).
The LS seat is shorter and harder than R65 seats, with a sleeker look. I prefer the R65 seat for long days, and ride with a grotesque-looking but very comfortable seat from a '79 R65.
The LS wheels are a cast alloy and look great, but are unique to LSs and hard to find used. The LS wheels are easier to clean than the R65's snowflake wheels.
If you want an all-purpose R65, the LS model does not support touring features as easily (rack, fairing, heated grips, seat), and leans more toward the sport side of motorcycling, despite its power. Its unique parts and lack of engine performance are the two major gripes of R65LS naysayers. However, most motorcyclists seem to like this oddball beemer. The unique, sporty look of an R65LS has a very real appeal, and for a fun twisties bike, a nice R65LS is a delight.
noemi
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noemi@netcom.com
'83 BMW R65-sort-of-LS (NM)
Sunnyvale, CA