The Library

No single book covers an airhead properly. The workshop manuals carry the procedures and the errors; the factory literature carries the specifications and assumes you were trained in Munich; the histories tell you why your bike is the way it is but will not help you at ten at night with the heads off.

Buy across the categories, not within them. What follows is what is actually worth shelf space, with the failings named — a manual you distrust in the right places is worth more than one you trust everywhere.

Every figure on this page resolves to one model and year in the book. Pick your bike and the rows that apply to it come forward, with the rest marked.

Open this chapter in the book

On the bench — workshop manuals

Title	Coverage		Depth	Notes
Clymer M502 — BMW R50/5 through R100GS PD	1970–1996, full airhead range	the default bench manual	procedures, photos	Most widely owned airhead manual and the one most jobs are written against. Known to contain a significant number of errors — Snowbum reviewed the late versions and found many. One version reverses the clamshell-air-cleaner choke instruction outright, telling you to start with the lever horizontal and ride with it full on. Later printings are generally more accurate and more detailed. Keep a pencil in it and annotate as you go.
Haynes — BMW 2-Valve Twins ’70 to ’96	1970–1996	the alternative bench manual	procedures	Same class of reference and the same class of caution — treat its numbers as needing a second source before final assembly. Useful as a cross-check against Clymer rather than a replacement for it.
BMW factory repair manual — reprints by series (/5, /6, /7…)	series-specific	genuine OEM instructions	specifications	Licensed reprints, printed in Germany, sold by Boxer2Valve among others. The place to go for dimensions and torques that cheaper manuals omit. Weaknesses are real: vague in some areas while precise in specs, tiny print and photographs, assumes prior factory training, and known typographical errors. Best used alongside Clymer, not instead of it.

In the armchair — history & model reference

Title	Coverage		Depth	Notes
Ian Falloon — The BMW Boxer Twins Bible	air-cooled 1970–1996	year-by-year model development	history, identification	Veloce Publishing, hardback and later paperback editions. Walks the range from the /5 through the final R80 and R100s of 1996 with a year-by-year synopsis of each model — the best book for settling what your bike actually is and what changed when. Explicitly excludes the R45, R65, G/S and GS. Reviewers are consistent that it is not a substitute for a workshop manual.
Phil West — BMW Airhead Twins: The Complete Story	air-cooled twins	marque history	history	Hardcover narrative history of the air-cooled twins. Companion reading to Falloon rather than a competitor.

Free, and better than most of the paid

SSnowbum — Robert Fleischer, bmwmotorcycletech.info — an encyclopedia of airhead repair, cited across every forum. Awkward to navigate and worth the effort. The single most-referenced independent authority in this book.
PMatt Parkhouse — airhead maintenance articles — described on the BMW MOA forums as the closest thing available to a full factory technician training and service guide. Paired with a factory manual, close to complete.
ADuane Ausherman — general procedures and technique, strongest on the /2 and /5 series.
LAnton Largiader — respected airhead specialist; valve adjustment through paralever analysis.
VBench Mark Works — Craig Vechorik (“Vetch”), benchmarkworks.com — parts, literature and technical help; essential for pre-1970 machines, useful well beyond them.
CAirheads Beemer Club, airheads.org — membership includes the monthly printed Airmail. Note the club and the separate Airheads e-mail list are different things; the list is for immediate technical questions.

A conflict worth knowing before you read either. Snowbum and Vechorik disagree on gear oil — specifically Vechorik’s position against GL5 in airhead final drives and gearboxes. Two respected sources, opposite advice, on a fluid that goes in your drive. See for how this book handles disagreements of that kind: take a position, show the working, verify anything critical against your own manual before assembly.

Club publications & periodicals

Publication	Body		Frequency	Notes
Airmail	Airheads Beemer Club	airhead-only, no new-model coverage	monthly	The ABC is MOA Chartered Club #214, founded 1991 by 52 people, now international. Airmail carries a technical tips section, Airtech, plus tech days, classifieds and event listings. Oak Okleshen’s tech column is the part long-time members rate highest — one MOA member calls it worth the price of admission by itself, and an index of his past articles exists so you can order individual pieces. Membership also brings the Dairectory of members, digital back issues, tech days, and access to a small lending stock of BMW tools. Opinions on value genuinely split; some members judge the dues better spent on oil-change parts.
BMW Owners News	BMW MOA	whole-marque, all model families	monthly	MOA was founded 1972 in Chicago, now based in Greer, South Carolina. Also publishes the annual Anonymous book listing members who will help a touring rider in trouble — the ABC Dairectory is the airhead equivalent and neither requires membership in the other club.
On The Level	BMW Riders Association	third US club	—	bmwra.org. Smaller than MOA; the ABC is a chartered affiliate.

Factory literature — bulletins, schematics, fiche

Source	What it holds		Cost	Notes
CHITECH — BMW Electric School Manual	singles & airhead twins, 1955–end of production	Chicago Region BMW Owners Assoc	paid	Snowbum rates this the best manual for BMW electrics — basics through full technical detail, components, diagrams, some modifications. Grew out of roughly a dozen articles in BMW News in the late 1970s, themselves drawn from the factory Electrics School. Two caveats: the schematics are poorly printed, and it is textbook-style rather than stand-alone — no figures showing where things physically sit, so run it alongside the owner’s manual or a service manual. Snowbum published a critique listing its known errors; read that alongside. US shipping only at present.
CHITECH — Tune-Up Manual	air-cooled twins to 1988	BMWNA adjustment specs as of 1988	paid	More current than the original owner’s manual for most models. Past 1988 the owner’s manual takes precedence. Hole-punched for a binder.
Service bulletins	factory fixes & revisions	airhead247 · w6rec · vintagebmw	free	Airhead 247 keeps a searchable index for 247-series models, openly described as not exhaustive. Ausherman’s archive covers mostly post-1969; Beemer Garage leans pre-1970. Directly relevant to a 1981: Bulletin #2077, post-1980 airhead oil canister depth, published 1983 — in the Vintage BMW club library.
Microfiche & dealer CDs	parts & service	superseded dealer stock	often free	Snowbum’s standing advice: a friendly dealership may simply hand over out-of-date microfiche and service CDs. Worth asking rather than buying.
BMW Group Archive	corporate historical records	bmw-grouparchiv.de	free	Brochures, historical documentation. For parts diagrams use MAX BMW and RealOEM — see the Parts Fiche chapter.

Parts specialists

NJBeemer Boneyard — ships from Blairstown, New Jersey. Used parts and new maintenance stock, money-back guarantee.
EEuro MotoElectrics — charging systems, filtration, airhead-specific tools.
MMotorrad Elektrik — electrical specialists, trading since 1989.
TTed Porter’s BeemerShop — official Siebenrock importer, suspension work, airhead expertise, /5 through R100R.
BBoxer2Valve — parts, rebuilds, licensed factory manual reprints, and the R90/6 tutorial series in .
VBench Mark Works (Craig Vechorik) — parts, literature, technical help; strongest pre-1970 but useful throughout.
CCycle Works (Ed Korn) — parts and special tools. Joe’s Tools for airhead-specific service tooling.
UBob’s BMW (Jessup, MD) · Hucky’s · Capital Cycle · Re-Psycle (CLOSED Dec 2023 — historical only) · Rocky Point Cycle (stainless hardware) · Hammersley Cycles (badges, decals)
DESiebenrock — premier German distributor · Motorrad Stemler (/2 and /5 small parts) · Uli’s Motorräder, Frankfurt

Forums & lists

LThe Airheads List — lists.micapeak.com. Created through Dave Rankine and the ABC, and still the fastest route to an answer — often including hands-on local help. Note it is a separate thing from the Club; you can join either without the other.
MBMW MOA Airheads forum — forums.bmwmoa.org, covering /5 and later air-cooled boxers. Reported by MOA’s own members as the busiest of its model-specific forums.
AABC discussion board — airheads.org/community, Type 247 technical topics. First post is moderator-approved. Historically quiet compared to the mailing list.
OADVrider and Boxerworks — broader boards with airhead corners; more casual traffic, smaller regular crowd.
VVintage BMW Motorcycle Owners Club — vintagebmw.org, vendor directory and a document library including scanned bulletins.

The Library

Chapters