60/6 Cafe project, Or, be glad you didn't find this on YOUR project

[bpeckm]

It all started innocently enough, talking with a friend after I had ridden his 75/5, and he had ridden my 50/2.... Both of them gorgeous bikes that we had taken up to Vech's place in MS in late April for his Vintage BMW Rally.

My 16 year old son had just gotten his endorsement, and it would be fun to have two bikes that we could ride together, and .... wouldn't it be fun to do a cafe....

Didn't want to "ruin" a beautiful and original bike, and since I have a mostly original /2 with some personal touches, we wanted to find a bike that would not offend the purists of the world. And so began the look for something in the '70s, preferably.........My friend told one of his friends, who had heard of an old bike, and did I want to take a look at it with him? He called the next day, said it invovled way over what he wanted to tackle, but the price was right... (mid 3 figures).... could we see it in an hour and by the way he would bring his pickup and we could throw it in the back and take it home.

This is me and Randy on the Natchez Trace on that fateful day

[bpeckm]

Of course, the bike had no battery, we had no tools, but the seller pulled the plugs. We put it in gear and turned the rear wheel: engine turns over: check. Slop the rear wheel: some play, seems OK: check. Pulled the shift up and down to feel the tranny and spin the wheel in gear a few times: seems OK: check. Does the bike jack come with it? Yes?: check. Off the centerstand, front end seemed squishy, but what the hey........

So, check was made out, TITLE (!!) was handed over, we wrestled the ole girl into the pickup (both tires held air, and still have their air in them , but that's about all the good I can say about the tires.) Got home, wrestled it out of the truck, and parked it.

Oh s*%$, how am I going to tell my wife....that I bought THIS:

[bpeckm]

So we got the bike home, I have to get back to work, and figure out a way to tell the fam damly that I will probably be rarely seen in the evening for some time in the future

I am thinking to myself that I have this wonderful /2 that is gorgeous, runs perfectly, I can take a nice ride anytime I want, and, I will just take this nice and slow....... The home addition is finished (or at least finished enough that we can live in it and it doesn't glare at me anymore). So let's take a look at the scorecard......



+ + + + + + + + (plus signs)

1. It's a BMW.
2. Most parts seem to be there.
3. Tires hold air.











Hmmm.... guess that's about it........





- - - - - - - - - - (minus signs)

1. Bike has had no visible maintenance.
2. Bike has sat for some time, haven't a clue how long
3. Haven't a clue whether it will run
4. Everything that can leak oil, leaks oil
5. Some things that shouldn't leak oil, leak oil
6. Everything that is rubber is rotten
......a. Tires
......b. Fork boots
......c. Cable ends
7. Everything that is paint is sunburned
......a. Tank top is down to green primer just from sun
......b. Front fender top and sides
......c. Rear fender sides
8. Everything that is (was) chrome is rusted and pitted
......a. Handlebars look like crap
......b. Tank fill cap has chrome blisters, worse than crap!
......c. Turn signal stalks, seat trim, fender trim, etc.
......d. Exhaust system is a nice rust color, every single piece
9. Seat pan is rusted
10. Instrument pod
.......a. Missing tach needle
.......b. Both glass covers falling-off loose
.......c. Who knows if it works!
Etc etc etc etc etc

You get the picture... lots of work, but first have to find out if there is anything there to work with.........

Plan of attack is to find a battery so that I can turn it over to see if compression is OK. Need something more than this:

[datchew]

Sounds like a good candidate for a sandblast-it rat bike cafe.

[bpeckm]

Originally Posted by datchew

Sounds like a good candidate for a sandblast-it rat bike cafe.

Yeah, does! But, I must say, as we got into it more and more, it started looking better and better, and the bar keeps moving...

Anyway, one more post before I punch out from my busy workday. So, I bought a battery after doing extensive research at WalMart: got the biggest AGM that would fit in the box. Yessir, no waiting for a battery for this guy with lots of time and going to take it easy.......

Took the battery home, hooked it up that evening, and

amazingly enough

some lights on the dash came on. I had a neutral light (switch=OK!), a gen light, and a very bright turn signal light that stayed on.... No oil pressure light. High and low beams work, in spite of the broken lens, and is amazingly bright. Horn works! Bump the starter

turns over !!

Get out the compression gauge, hook it up, hmmm. Good compression left side, even better (?) on the right. Look up values in book: right side must have some carbon buildup or something, higher than range should be.

Cool! No time to do anything else that day, but at least we have GO condition for the bike, right. Next step: see if it will start....

The next step made for a way-too-BIG surprise, and required a fire extinguisher used in a full adrenaline rush. (more than a little embarrassing)

PS I am trying to post a photo with each post, so here is a photo of the novel way in which the rear shocks were attached. Yes, that IS a nut driver, and the right side had a 1/4" socket extension, both valuable additions to the tool chest.......

[Justinmarque]

That driver in the shock mounting bolt hole is priceless!

Can't wait to see this thing come together.

[Ge-Mini-gun]

Originally Posted by bpeckm

... Yes, that IS a nut driver, and the right side had a 1/4" socket extension, both valuable additions to the tool chest.......

I would try to find a way to keep that on there...talk about a conversation started.