Post by felkman on Jul 8, 2011 21:44:25 GMT -4
I have had a couple people ask about my bmw so here is something I wrote back when I rebuilt it. This is not a new project!
My 1968 R60/2 BMW Project
Before (well, after some cleaning and assembly)
After
This is my 1968 BMW R60/2 that I found advertised in a newspaper while spending the weekend with my in-laws. The ad said "1968 BMW motorcycle project $1600". I called the guy and he still had it. Sweet, I thought. I raced over to Crown Point to take a look at it. I arrived to see a complete earls fork model sitting there (well boxes of a complete bike). I thought what an ugly air brush paint job, and brush painted engine! The guy said the bike had been sitting in his garage for 12 years, as he had planned on restoring it but never found the time to do it. The bike looked complete and had some nice extra parts to go with it that needed installed (new tires, New old stock rear fender and other small parts) The guy said he had several calls on the bike and he wouldn't go any less than $1600. I can't pass this up (Dad bought the 64 R69s that I was going to buy before this one came along). I purchased the bike and now it is time to start another project, since I just sold the 67 Guzzi.
After cleaning many of the rusted parts with oxalic acid, I put the bike together enough that it looked like a semi complete motorcycle. Now I can do some work to get it running. I adjusted the valves, timing, changed the oil, rebuilt the carbs and holy cow.....She fired right up. This was not going to be a complete restoration project as I am planning on riding it but the bike will soon get a new paint job, the new tires and tons of cleaning along with some new parts...........
I have a NOS rear fender so I may as well sell the nos fender and just repair the one I have. The fender is sold on Ebay with an ending bid of $507. That will pay for my body work, paint, pinstripes and some parts. Now with the sale of the fender, I only have $1100 invested in the bike before restoration begins.
After painting the fenders and tank, the parts went to Taylor's house of color in Louisville KY for hand striped pinstripes. After 2 days the parts were back and the quality of striping is better than I could imagine. Now things are looking better. I ordered low bars, all new cables, Denfeld seats, all new rubber, grips, pegs, gel battery, nice used pipes $ mufflers and many other parts from blue moon cycle and Bob's BMW, now she is looking good.The bike is done and I started her up for the first time in about a year. A couple of kicks..... The motor fires up and she is off and running. I have to say she rides as good as she looks. 186 miles and still running strong...I love It.
While riding the bike around for several hundred miles I started getting scared of slingers. These early BMW engines use roller bearings and a low pressure oil system to lubricate the bearings. There are oil slingers that by centrifugal force drips oil on the bearings through little holes. What happens is, after time, the slingers get clogged with crud until the holes are completely closed since there is no oil filter. I am sure you know what happens next, The bearings are not getting oil and now you need a new engine. The only way to check the slingers is to completely tear down the engine and clean them out. Good time to replace bearings and check everything while it is apart. Since I don't know anything about the history of engine other than the 130,000 miles on the odometer and from the looks of the oil that was in it, I better be on the safe side and get this done. While the engine is out, I will repaint or powder anything that wasn't painted the first time (frame, swing arm, earles fork) and replace all the bearings on the bike.
I have Guenther Wuest of Wuma inc do the engine work. While the engine is away, I strip down the bike to get it ready for bead blasting and powder coating. I removed the front wheel, fender, front fork, wiring, headlight shell, seat and almost anything else that was on the bike. The frame is ready for bead blasting as soon as I get the fork bearing seals out, and it looks like I need to find a welder, since mine was stolen (damn east side thieves), to get the bearing races out.
Indy powder coating did the powder coating and all I can say is wow. It almost looks like glass, it is so shiny. Time to put this thing back together. Everything just fell into place and I had no problems. All new bearings (headset, swing arms), wiring, and anything else I didn't replace the last time. The wiring of the headlight bucket took some time but it all went smoothly. After assembly, She started on the second kick and starts on the first or second kick almost every time since the rebuild.
7 or 8 years later she is still on the road, waiting to go for another ride. Other than many oil changes, a few spark plugs, a couple sets of tires, 2 kick startes, and a few sets of generator brushes, she has been a trouble free bike.
Here is the finished bike. I have now logged over 37,000 miles on the bike and have rode through the following states (Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, Wisconsin Minnesota, Michigan, Missouri, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania). I would trust this bike on a ride across the U.S. if I just had the extra time and money!
My 1968 R60/2 BMW Project
Before (well, after some cleaning and assembly)
After
This is my 1968 BMW R60/2 that I found advertised in a newspaper while spending the weekend with my in-laws. The ad said "1968 BMW motorcycle project $1600". I called the guy and he still had it. Sweet, I thought. I raced over to Crown Point to take a look at it. I arrived to see a complete earls fork model sitting there (well boxes of a complete bike). I thought what an ugly air brush paint job, and brush painted engine! The guy said the bike had been sitting in his garage for 12 years, as he had planned on restoring it but never found the time to do it. The bike looked complete and had some nice extra parts to go with it that needed installed (new tires, New old stock rear fender and other small parts) The guy said he had several calls on the bike and he wouldn't go any less than $1600. I can't pass this up (Dad bought the 64 R69s that I was going to buy before this one came along). I purchased the bike and now it is time to start another project, since I just sold the 67 Guzzi.
After cleaning many of the rusted parts with oxalic acid, I put the bike together enough that it looked like a semi complete motorcycle. Now I can do some work to get it running. I adjusted the valves, timing, changed the oil, rebuilt the carbs and holy cow.....She fired right up. This was not going to be a complete restoration project as I am planning on riding it but the bike will soon get a new paint job, the new tires and tons of cleaning along with some new parts...........
I have a NOS rear fender so I may as well sell the nos fender and just repair the one I have. The fender is sold on Ebay with an ending bid of $507. That will pay for my body work, paint, pinstripes and some parts. Now with the sale of the fender, I only have $1100 invested in the bike before restoration begins.
After painting the fenders and tank, the parts went to Taylor's house of color in Louisville KY for hand striped pinstripes. After 2 days the parts were back and the quality of striping is better than I could imagine. Now things are looking better. I ordered low bars, all new cables, Denfeld seats, all new rubber, grips, pegs, gel battery, nice used pipes $ mufflers and many other parts from blue moon cycle and Bob's BMW, now she is looking good.The bike is done and I started her up for the first time in about a year. A couple of kicks..... The motor fires up and she is off and running. I have to say she rides as good as she looks. 186 miles and still running strong...I love It.
While riding the bike around for several hundred miles I started getting scared of slingers. These early BMW engines use roller bearings and a low pressure oil system to lubricate the bearings. There are oil slingers that by centrifugal force drips oil on the bearings through little holes. What happens is, after time, the slingers get clogged with crud until the holes are completely closed since there is no oil filter. I am sure you know what happens next, The bearings are not getting oil and now you need a new engine. The only way to check the slingers is to completely tear down the engine and clean them out. Good time to replace bearings and check everything while it is apart. Since I don't know anything about the history of engine other than the 130,000 miles on the odometer and from the looks of the oil that was in it, I better be on the safe side and get this done. While the engine is out, I will repaint or powder anything that wasn't painted the first time (frame, swing arm, earles fork) and replace all the bearings on the bike.
I have Guenther Wuest of Wuma inc do the engine work. While the engine is away, I strip down the bike to get it ready for bead blasting and powder coating. I removed the front wheel, fender, front fork, wiring, headlight shell, seat and almost anything else that was on the bike. The frame is ready for bead blasting as soon as I get the fork bearing seals out, and it looks like I need to find a welder, since mine was stolen (damn east side thieves), to get the bearing races out.
Indy powder coating did the powder coating and all I can say is wow. It almost looks like glass, it is so shiny. Time to put this thing back together. Everything just fell into place and I had no problems. All new bearings (headset, swing arms), wiring, and anything else I didn't replace the last time. The wiring of the headlight bucket took some time but it all went smoothly. After assembly, She started on the second kick and starts on the first or second kick almost every time since the rebuild.
7 or 8 years later she is still on the road, waiting to go for another ride. Other than many oil changes, a few spark plugs, a couple sets of tires, 2 kick startes, and a few sets of generator brushes, she has been a trouble free bike.
Here is the finished bike. I have now logged over 37,000 miles on the bike and have rode through the following states (Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, Wisconsin Minnesota, Michigan, Missouri, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania). I would trust this bike on a ride across the U.S. if I just had the extra time and money!
