Watch This Guy Rescue A BMW R65LS And A Norton Electra 400

There’s a special kind of joy that comes from rescuing once-loved objects—especially if they’re motorcycles. I mean, that’s the whole reason that ‘project bikes’ exist as a category, right? The idea that with enough time, attention, parts, and (probably) money, you can get that gorgeous ol’ heap back out on the road.  

If you’re the type of person who feels a certain kind of sadness when you see bikes sitting unridden in barns, garages, or anywhere else for years on end, then you’ll appreciate Curiosity Incorporated. It’s the YouTube channel of a shop by the same name, based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Although the shop deals in all kinds of antiques and collectibles, the guy behind the shop, Alex Archbold, is also particularly into older motorcycles (and cars).  

In this video, he and his ace moto wrenching buddy take a drive over to pick up two old BMWs that have apparently been sitting in a garage, gathering dust, for close to two decades. As Archbold explains, he only wanted one of them—which turns out to be a rather nice-looking 1983 BMW R65 LS. The owner, however, said that he had to take a much newer K 1200 RS if he was going to buy the R65—and since he really wanted that R65, he agreed. 

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The arm-twisting doesn’t appear to have worked out too badly, though. Since both bikes were among a collection that was stored in a garage and obviously climate-controlled, they’re dusty—but really not in bad shape otherwise. Sure enough, the K 1200 RS seems to mostly just need a new battery and some detailing and it’s just about as good as new. Archbold cleaned it up, listed it for sale, and it disappeared home with its new owner quite quickly afterward. 

As previously mentioned, Curiosity Incorporated deals in all kinds of antiques and collectibles—and of course, funnels the money from stuff it sells into purchasing more stuff. That’s how a pile of old toys turns into a half-completed Norton Electra 400 project bike, which also makes an appearance in this video.  

Even though some parts are in boxes (including almost another entire spare engine), this bike is also not in terrible shape, considering. The fuel tank needs new paint, sure—but it’s not rusty, and that’s the main thing. We get to see Archbold prep and paint that tank a nice, shiny black in this video—and it’s pretty satisfying, even secondhand.