| During the late '70s and early '80s both Luftmeister and San Jose BMW marketed these nifty 70mm (2-3/4") enamel Motorsport tank badges (pictured above). They were popular aftermarket items manufactured under license. Many Airhead enthusiasts still covet these emblems, and they have been known to fetch significant prices on the Internet and elsewhere. Luftmeister is now defunct, but I am pleased to report that Motorsport tank badges are still available from SJBMW -- at only $19.95 each! Don't pay more. You can e-mail their Parts Department for more information and ordering. Ask for part #16111232. |  |
| Gorgeous color-matched teardrop-shaped Wixom hard saddlebags and similarly styled luggage pieces by Fulmer and Bates grace many Airheads of the /5 Series. Zippered Cordura™ nylon bag liners with sturdy carrying handles, a very popular modern aftermarket touring accessory for later-model Beemers, are currently manufactured by several well-known vendors to fit a variety of hard bag styles, but owners of the oddly-shaped Wixoms have been left out. When I got my R60/5, which came with Wixoms, I started looking for liners; after a few weeks of fruitless searching, I happened upon a Utah outfit called Motobags.com who manufactured a full line of BMW and Ducati custom-fit bags. Through correspondence, I learned that they had made one set of Wixom-style liners on special order more than a year previously. When I asked if they could make a set for me, they decided to add the teardrop bag liners to their regular product line. Motobags Saddlebag Liners for Wixom and Bates Saddlebags are $110.00 per set. |   |
| The front-mounted round chrome-grille horn made by Bosch in the early '70s is the perfect finishing touch on many /5 or /6 restorations. (After all, a Toaster can always use one last little bit of chrome, right?) These 12-volt horns are stylish, functional, and surprisingly loud in city and highway traffic. Finding the real-deal original units by Bosch can be a chore, and better-condition working units often fetch upwards of $70 on eBay. Eurotech Motorsports offers a very faithful reproduction for this horn, the /5 Chrome Horn (#61 10 100), for under $50, and Cycle Re-Cycle markets its good-looking, budget-minded Vintage-Style Chrome Horn (#HORN-CHRV01) for only $15. Both repro horns have have a nice tone, even if neither is quite as impressive as the original German unit There are also OEM black-grille models of the Bosch horn floating around the used parts marketplace; they sound the same as their flashier counterparts and have the same sound quality and reliability. Make sure you locate a 12-volt unit for your Airhead, as nearly identical 6V models were also made by Bosch. |   |
| Airhead sidecar drivers in particular may be interested to find a quality exhaust system for their /5, /6, or /7 bikes that exits to the left of the motorcycle, away from the sidecar and its passenger. BSM Exhausts manufactures such an item, the #6003 Classic 2-into-1, which allows you to keep your stock centerstand. It is available from BSM or at a discount from David Silver Spares in England. |  |
