1984 BMW R65 Battery Box Refurbish

Alisa getting stuck into the first part of her R65 project

Our first priority is to get the R65 up and running. This means that a little bit of maintenance and a certain amount of make-do-and-mend is required. 

While the petrol tank is soaking in vinegar (see previous post) we set to work cleaning up a battery box that we bought on eBay. We need to install this as a secure battery is necessary for the MOT. This is one item that we will replace later as we plan to fit a smaller battery which will be mounted somewhere else (as yet undecided).

The battery box was in a little bit of a state, so a quick clean up was in order to make it serviceable. First we removed the mounting rubbers and then blasted of the rust and old paint with a wire brush mounted on a drill.

Next we sprayed on a couple of coats of rattle can primer and then a couple of coats of matt black. The item is still a little pitted, but it won't be used for long before another smaller one is fabricated for a new battery. However, if we do decide to keep it, it can be sent off for media blasting and powder-coating with the frame and sundries as part of the rebuild.