Gareth Owens
1984 BMW R65 Battery Box Refurbish

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.Â
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.