Model & Year Crossreference

[mbellantone]

Hey guys, can anyone point me in the right direction for finding out what models and what years shared parts will fit my bike?

I'm interested in knowing what years and parts of different models would fit my 1984 R80RT or how many years before and after my year RT do they share the same parts RT parts, if any.

The end result here is knowing which range of years and models i can look for parts from other models that i know will fit my frame/engine without compromising the ability to go back to absolute original.

If this doesn't make sense, know that I've been staring at my monitor for the past 20 minutes trying to make this sound somewhat coherent!

Thanks guys!

M

[toooldtocare]

This will get you started. http://www.maxbmwmotorcycles.com/fiche/fiche.aspx But, even this is not perfect. There are still parts that are interchangeable between some of those model years that are represented by different series of the same bike. You need to check the part number for each item to be sure. Examples, exhausts.

[20774]

RealOEM has a feature to find other bikes that a particular part is listed for:

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/select.do

Enter the part number at the top of the page.

[mbellantone]

Thanks guys, I'll be plowing through this tonight...

Still open to any anecdotal information that anyone may have at the front of their brain!

Thanks,

Michael

[JIMWJARMOUR]

I would guess it all depends on which parts you require at this time, most parts from 1981 onwards will fit frame and cycle parts change from1985 hope this assists; jimmy

[mbellantone]

Mostly for front end. Trying to assess my options for cables, electrical connections, signal stalks and everything else involved with removing the RT fairing and making it an unfaired bike; perhaps an "ST" or "R80/7"

[535IS]

Thanks guys, I'll be plowing through this tonight...

Still open to any anecdotal information that anyone may have at the front of their brain!

Thanks,

Michael

The anecdotal information that will help you the most is to realize that BMW changed different things at different times. The might revise the gearbox one year and the airbox the next - and relocate and redesign the brake master cylinder the year after that.* They didn't necessarily make all changes on a model year basis, either. Sometimes, they kept producing bikes with older design parts until they ran out before starting with a new design part. They did this with their cars as well, so don't feel ill-used. It's just a fact.

While there are some parts that fit virtually all Airheads (like, say, valve covers), other parts saw several revisions over the years. The most reliable way to ferret out interchanges is to use that RealOEM function along with your serial number. When you enter the serial number of your bike to search parts, it comes up with what would have been on YOUR BIKE. Then, you can click on a part, get its part number, and run the model cross-reference to see what others it came on. You may even get references to car parts because, f'rinstance, BMW used the same oil pressure switch (You know; the ones that always fail and/or leak?) on both. My '78 R100RS is running a switch I pulled out of an '87 535is I have.


* They did all of those things - not necessarily in that order.

[AnnapolisAirhead]

Hey guys, can anyone point me in the right direction for finding out what models and what years shared parts will fit my bike?
...

As other have said, BMW changed different things at different times (beyond the huge changes, like swingarm to mon-shock, 1985, etc.). Depending on the parts, some components from previous models were used up on the next model, even though they had stopp manufacturing the older model. For example, some 1974 R90S bikes had /5 switch controls, etc.

I'd say the best source is right here. Post the parts you are referring to and see if the Forum doesn't have the answer. That and plug into the local (meaning < 200 miles) Airheads group. Have you joined airheads.org? Good info there too.

[mbellantone]

Thanks C.R. and Annapolis, I've been an airhead member for a couple of years but i find the search capabilities much harder to navigate and information a lot harder to ferret out then on here. RealOem seems the way to go with this as the searching parameters seem to be very versatile.

Thanks again guys, this was a big help...

Have my Enduralast coming next week! (I hope)

M