1938 R66

[Mark E. Turner]

Hi - I'm a new member who was lucky enough to acquire a 1938 R66 from a friend. I'll be getting the bike in pieces and will be building it but I'm not knowledgeable in early BMWs. I'm hoping I can ask the group for help in answering my questions. I'll be posting photos as I go so if anyone notices something I am doing wrong, or if there is something wrong with a part, please let me know. More pics to come.

[R68]

Good for you! A very desirable BMW...take your time and do the good restoration it deserves?

[sherman980]

Mark,
Can't see from the pics you posted but do you have sheet metal (tank, fenders, etc.), and, if so, what kind of condition is it in? If it's decent, I'd be tempted to put the bike back back together restored mechanically but with the the original finishes on all the parts. If nothing else, you can ride it a bit and sort out the "bugs", then take it down for a cosmetic restoration. I have both complete restorations and original bikes in my collection, and, honestly, I enjoy riding the originals more. Just one guy's thoughts.....

I've attached a couple of pics of my 1936 R5. It's pretty much become my daily "rider".

[Mark E. Turner]

Thanks for the comments.

Here are some more pics. Ran into my 1st problem. Check out the triple tree lower - is there another model that has the same lower triple tree? Thanks.

[caker]

Hi,

Your lower fork triple is an original EARLY prewar type which was replaced with a re-designed version used all the way from late prewar through 1955 on the plunger bikes. I'm guessing it was redesigned to improve strength or eliminate failures in the early design...

Yours looks to have failed and then has obvious signs of repairs made.

Here's an example of an unmodified early original one like yours was:

-Chris

[R68]

I think you may be able to substitute a triple tree from an R50/2 or 1951-52 R51/3, both of which use the desirable metal fork gaiters as your's...