In my search for headlight parts I discovered beemerbits.com in Tuscon, AZ which lead to a long and pleasant conversation with ownder JD Stang. JD really seems to know his stuff when it comes to airheads. I learned a lot.
First, I knew that there had been a recall on the snowflake wheels, as they’re called, but hadn’t yet taken the time to determine if I had the newer wheels. JD pointed out the webbing on my wheel and confirmed that they were. According to him, the only people who had problems with the original wheels were cops who tended to run over curbs more than the rest of us. There are some great pictures of new vs old and broken wheels and the original recall notice here. I have to say that in those pictures, the new wheels seem to have more substantial webbing than on my bike. So, just to be sure, I checked the casting date (5/84); this is a good wheel.
The second thing I learned from JD is that my Bing carbs aren’t the most desirable. In his words, nobody swaps out their carbs for what I have on my bike. He called them flat-tops and said they were only used a couple of years. He suggested that if I ever have problems with them that I might want to swap out with carbs from either earlier, or later models. I think as long as I can keep these working, as they have for almost 40 years, I’m inclined to keep them on the bike to keep it as original as possible. It might be kind of hard to find other carbs that look as clean as these. It seems that full rebuild kits are still available, so I may have to order a set for backup, or to install if I discover that the bike could run better.
JD saw the picture of the oil pan damage and said he could sell me one that wasn’t damaged for $20. That was a no-brainer, so I added that to my order for a used headlight bucket and mounting ears. He told me that when I install the pan, in addition to putting sealant around each bolt hole, that I should also add sealant to the bolts to prevent oil leaks. Something about bolts running through oil passages. I’ll have to research that some more.