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New member, new airhead owner…

The place to discuss the R 90 S as well as the R90S Worldnet archives!
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Workinman
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New member, new airhead owner…

Post by Workinman »

Greetings! This is my THIRD attempt to post something here. I keep hitting the wrong button just as I’m finishing it up and I lose everything. What an idiot!
Anyway, just wanted to say hello and introduce myself a little. As a hobby, I do what I feel are high end restorations on Vintage Japanese bikes. I recently finished a 77 GoldWing and a 74 Honda XR75. A couple of weeks ago I purchased a 71 CT70H (four speed model) that I will be restoring soon. If anybody is interested in those things, I have photos. I’ve done several other bikes over the years also, but won’t get into all that as it’s irrelevant here. Just wanted to “mention” what I do for fun.
Moving on, a week after I acquired the CT70 a 1974 R90S became available to me that I have been waiting a couple of years for. This bike has been sitting for I believe 20 years or more. On the plus side, it was pickled very nicely, stored in a nice dry garage with a cover over it. On the minus side, the man who owned it is in his 80’s and has dementia. Therefore, he doesn’t remember when it was last run, he doesn’t remember what he did with the battery covers, and he doesn’t know what he did with all the paperwork. Oh well, I’ll just have to deal with all of that.
The bike appears to be mostly original with the addition of a set of crash bars and dual Fiamm horns. I’ll post a couple of pictures and would love to know what you guys think of it’s condition and what may or may not be original on it. I’m not sure of the paint as the silver on the tank doesn’t match the silver on everything else. The paint is in nice shape, and I won’t be painting it, but I’m curious. I’m also wondering about the battery covers. I’ve gotten a set of reproduction covers from the Bay and I’m wondering about the color. Are the original covers painted black or do they match the dark green/brown color on the rest of the bike? When I look at other bikes pictures they appear to just be black, but it’s hard to tell in pictures.
So… I’m happy to add this R90S to the stable, (I already have an R1150R and an R1200RT) and as this will be my first airhead, I’m sure I will have a few questions for you experts. I won’t be restoring this bike, I’ll be “preserving” it and riding it. Thanks in advance for your help putting this old girl back on the road.
Chris
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schrader7032
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Re: New member, new airhead owner…

Post by schrader7032 »

Welcome to the forum! I hate when you've worked hard on a post and then get fumble fingers. :x Thanks for hanging in there.

I agree the silver parts of the paint look a little different, but maybe that's the lighting. In Ian Falloon's book on Boxers, I also see in his pictures and visual difference in the tank and the bikini fairing, so maybe yours is correct. Ian's pictures don't show the rubber gaiters like you have but rather the black caps on top of the sliders. Some add those in order to protect the forward edge of the fork tubes which helps with the life of the fork seals.

As far as the side covers, Ian says they were the same as the R90/6. His pictures shows red/orange "900" outlined in what appears to be a yellow or gold, along with small "cc" letters in yellow/gold maybe outlined in red/orange. No specific pictures of the side covers here, but you can see what they generally look like:

http://www.bmbikes.co.uk/photopages/photosr90s.htm
Kurt in S.A.
'78 R100/7 '69 R69S '52 R25/2
Fast. Neat. Average. Friendly. Good. Good.

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srankin
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Re: New member, new airhead owner…

Post by srankin »

Welcome to the VMO.

The good points, you have the kickstart which was only on the 74 year (optional for 75 and 76). The front discs are solid which is the standard only 74 thing, in 75 and 75, they were drilled. So congrats, you have a real 74 R90S.

I see the difference in the photo of the paint color on the fairing, gas tank and seat cowling. I hate to say it but I would guess the fairing has been repainted the gas tank and seat cowling are original. Who knows, I have had my fairings repainted more than a few times due to stone chips mainly. The 90S bikes are notoriously hard as heck to repaint and to match. Those guys or gals that painted them at the factory knew what they were dining and were artists. Not many shops can recreate that art when repairs are needed.

The instruments should be white numbers and letters and perhaps a silver band around the speedo and tach. Switches would be the round style common to the early /6 bikes.

Oh it is a beauty, as to side covers, they are one color, a good painter/paint shop should be able to get a match for you to paint despite the fact that paint then is not the same as it is now.

Last thing to ramble about, the twin horns. The single stock horn was a simple wire to switch to horn with NO relay as the beep beep horn didn't draw a lot of amperage. I would suggest checking out the current horn wiring and adding a relay into the circuit if one is not there. It will save you wear and tear on the horn button which is not really up to the extra amperage load of two bigger horns.

Nice bike, have fun riding it and again welcome. St.
Owner of a 84, R80RT and 78, R100RS

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srankin
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Re: New member, new airhead owner…

Post by srankin »

Forgive me for rambling again. I was just looking at a 74 R90S for sale with original paint and I do see a difference in the fairing and the gas tank', cowling paint. St.

http://marketplace.bmwmoa.org/classifie ... 27553.aspx
Owner of a 84, R80RT and 78, R100RS

Workinman
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Re: New member, new airhead owner…

Post by Workinman »

Thanks, guys! I noticed the fork gaiters and wondered about that, as most literature of the time says it didn’t have them. They’re in nice shape, good and pliable, so I guess I’ll leave them on there.
The gauges do indeed have the rings around the inside, and there is a Fiamm horn relay mounted right where the original horn was. And those horns will WAKE THE DEAD! Lord have mercy.
So the crash bars were an add on thing? I’ve seen quite a few of the R bikes with what appear to be the same bars, so maybe they were a dealer thing? I usually like to leave my bikes ALL original, down to the factory nuts and bolts, but if these items were something of a dealer add on, I will probably leave them. I’ve wanted an R90S since about 1976 when I got my drivers license and saw my first one. I was working at a Honda dealership in Laurel, MD and one of the top mechanics had one. Man, that thing was EXOTIC! We sold brand new GoldWings at that time for $2800. The R90S was considerably more expensive if I remember correctly.
I will be painting the battery covers myself, so I’ve got to figure out someone who can match the paint that is on the rest of the bike. I know some places have “cameras” they can use to find the color. I was hoping that they were just plain old BLACK. That would be easy. Are the 900cc decals under the clear or over top of the clear like the pinstripe?
Thanks again for your help, and thanks for welcoming me. I already have a few questions, but I’ll wait a day or so to bombard you guys with stupid questions.
Cheers,
Chris

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srankin
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Re: New member, new airhead owner…

Post by srankin »

LOL, I forgot about the fork gaiters, they were not stock on the R90S. A lot of owners converted from the bare forks to gaiters because we hate changing fork seals every couple of years. For stock R90S there was a cap on the top of the fork sliders and the tubes were exposed.

The engine guard bars most likely are BMW OM stock but as you guessed were not stock on the bike at sale rather added on.

The hard panniers would have been a dealer add on as well. BMW did a nice job sourcing the panniers and racks so they looked graceful and pretty on the bike, not like a forced add on. There have been at least two versions of the backs down the years. The period correct ones for a 74 would have the earliest latching system. This would be the latch to mount the bag to the rack. The early latch looked like the end of a seat belt. Newer versions are kind of a wrap around style. The seat belt style were fair but you have to be sure they are locked as they have the tendency to depart the bike from time to time, don't ask me how I know this, LOL. A lot of guys would add a strap around the bag and rack to prevent this from happening.

Yeah they cost more than a Gold wing but how many Gold wings of those years do you still see on the road and fetching the prices the R90S does. Not that the Wing was a bad bike, just a bit portly in my eyes where the S was sexy. St.
Owner of a 84, R80RT and 78, R100RS

Workinman
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Re: New member, new airhead owner…

Post by Workinman »

You are absolutely right. The R90S is definitely more sexy. But I must say that I absolutely LOVE my Wing! They were beautiful bikes back in the day. I couldn’t afford one back then, but now I am able to. I’ve got hundreds of hours in this restoration, and thousands of dollars, but I’m enjoying every minute of the work and every dollar I sank in to it. I don’t know why this photo is laying on its side, but it appears that if you click on it it straightens out. Go figure.

Oh… and yes, I have the panniers that click on like a seat belt. I know what you mean about them falling off, as one fell off when I was putting the bike on the trailer when I purchased it. PO’s family didn’t have it on good.
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srankin
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Re: New member, new airhead owner…

Post by srankin »

I have to admit, I rather like that era Goldwing. Yours is very nice looking, you have a right to be proud of it.

Now you have two out of a catalog of the world's finest motorcycles. St.
Owner of a 84, R80RT and 78, R100RS

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