Vintage BMW Motorcycle Owners

I've done this with a couple different buckets. I've never broken off a tab, but there's always a first time. I've used a small pair of needlenose pliers. The tabs are pretty stiff. I only bend them enough to free the board.

You'll want to keep some pressure on the board as you release the last two tabs because the key arrangement is made up of a number of small parts and a STRONG SPRING. You will find hours of entertainment and learn many new words when you go to reinstall.

Take the opportunity to paint the inside of the bucket white. You can't believe how much easier this makes working on things in there, it's not quite such a black hole.

Darryl,

Thanks for your caution, without your comment I would have been unhappily surprised by the spring and cascade of small parts.

Cheers,

Tandy

My R27 came with all of the original terminal board and external switch parts in a yogurt container. After doing an inventory and figuring out the sequence for re-assembly, I used a pistol-type clamp to hold it all in place while I bent the tabs. This is the type of clamp that slowly tightens as you squeeze the handle. They come in various sizes. The one I used had rubber faces on the clamping surfaces so it was gentle on the terminal and external pieces. Once the assembly was held properly in place, I used a small wooden dowel and a small rubber headed hammer to gently tap the tabs and bend them back. The whole process was quite simple once I got turned on to the pistol clamp. I don't know how many more bends are in those tabs but I hope never to have to go near them again.

I need to bend the tabs and remove the terminal board in the head lamp bucket of my 1966 R69S. I know the tabs must be treated very carefully. Anyone have advice/experience/tips with what tool to use to bend the tabs and not bugger up the board, or break off the tabs?

Also need to rehab the ignition switch and replace the black plastic slider where the key is inserted. Any cautions/advice here.

Thanks

Tandy Bozeman