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How much of the restoration will you do or did

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Discogodfather
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Re: How much of the restoration will you do or did

Post by Discogodfather »

malmac wrote:
Mon Sep 13, 2021 3:45 pm
Discogodfather wrote:
Sun Sep 12, 2021 6:16 pm
Did almost everything myself 10 years ago including paint, took everything down to the screw. Did the wiring, rebuilt everything. I sent the crank/rods to be checked and outfitted with new bearings. Built the wheels. Had the tires put on because I don't have a machine. Took the rear diff down to the casing and rebuilt that.

Ironically after that taking about 3 years of full weekends of work my only regret is only putting 3k miles on it. Low mileage more than anything makes the bike stale. Had to go through it again last year to make a few sitting issues right like redo the carbs, new tires, some electric stuff (apparently coils that just sit develop some bad problems) and get new tires again because the 10 year old ones with no mileage were as hard as a rock.
Well that is very impressive. I am trying to do as much as possible, but there are times when I think, maybe I could just contract this or that out and be out riding.
Rolled the 1200GS out last week end and took my wife out for a ride, just to keep her roadworthy. But really I wanted to be on the 69s that sits in pieces still.

So did you do the pin striping yourself as well?

Mal
Yes I actually learned to pinstripe on the R60/2, it was my first attempt. Came out ok, it is holding up. Nothing near what a really good professional can do, but I am just proud to have done it myself.

Image
1969 r60/2, 1972 r75/5, 1973 Norton Commando, 1974 Ducati 750 GT, 1966 Honda 450 Black Bomber, 1965 Honda Superhawk, 1971 Honda CB 750

San Francisco, CA

cwf
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Re: How much of the restoration will you do or did

Post by cwf »

I bought a 50/2 from the US last year (I'm in the UK). All I was told was that it kicked over. The photos looked reasonable and I took the risk. When it arrived, I found the forks and handlebar were bent and that it had been roughly bolted together. There were a few signs of use, dents, scratches, stickers etc. but surprisingly few signs of nuts or bolts being touched.

When I hung the swingarm up to repaint, two things fell out. One was a driveshaft to gearbox bolt, the other was, well, difficult to tell but I think it used to be the same, except it had had all the threads worn off and probably had been caught between the moving shaft and the housing. This may have locked the wheel, causing a crash which bent forks and handlebar. It seems the bike was then in a garage, slowly being dismantled until the owner died, the bike was roughly reassembled and bought by the dealer as deceased estate.

I felt the indicated mileage of 25,000 was probably correct, so I overhauled the rest, just changing filter and oils, checking timing, valves etc and not taking the engine/gearbox apart. 3000 miles later and it works just fine.

I'm a rider not a polisher. I feel that taking a bike (or old car, I have a 1939 Hillman Minx, drophead coupe, similar original condition) back to showroom or better condition is becoming an orthodoxy. There's room for all sorts, of course but the primary purpose of a vehicle is to move and, preferably, to put a smile on your face. There's nothing wrong with doing just enough maintenance to keep your bike moving safely.

Charlie.
75/7+ offroad sidecar; 50/2; R 35; XR125V; XR200A; Solex; 1939 Hillman Minx DHC.

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CWRoady
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Re: How much of the restoration will you do or did

Post by CWRoady »

I like your doc. Think I will print it out and put it in my rebuild binder for a quick reference. A man needs to know his limitations and I do not have the knowledge I have seen on display here for deeper work. On my '55 R50 I did all the disassembly, carb rebuilds, wiring loom replacement, brake and suspension restores, wheel and frame bearings, top end, all reassembly, etc. Farmed out the valves to Randy Long, Slingers to Irv Seavers, Final Drive to my brother in Law (after 3 attempts by Seavers that leaked every time), frame straightening, powder coating ...

Was about a 7-8 month timeline. I thoroughly enjoyed the process and am pleased with the end result.
B69B8CE1-31B9-466F-969D-DCD2E219FA47_1_201_a.jpeg
Chris
1955 R50 / 1973 R75/5 / 1974 R90/6 Hack / 2015 RT
Yard Art 1968 +/- Hodaka & SACHS

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jwonder
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Re: How much of the restoration will you do or did

Post by jwonder »

I do everything myself except:

- Paint of bodywork and frame, including pinstripes. I have a great painter and striper who knows vintage BMWs. I do small paint work myself though.
- Crankshaft rebuilding. Currently I do not do this but I am setting up to do it myself. Will let you know truly how hard it is after I set up and rebuild a few of mine.
- Head rebuilding. I do not do this. There are some experts out there. If others were not doing it I would figure it out but you do need a lathe, milling machine and valve grinding tools all of which I have.
- Cylinder boring/honing. As above.
- Chrome and Cadmium plating. I have the experts handle this.
- Anything that involves caustic chemicals. I will let others who do it for a living handle those!!
- Lacing wheels. Just too time consuming and I have a friend who has done it for years.
- Mounting tires. I can do it and have done it, but it’s too hard on the old body. Again the same friend who laces wheels does this for me.

Everything else I do!!!

Since I am lucky enough to own a small machine shop (for our vintage race cars) I have made all the BMW tools myself and in the process of making a crank jig now. Will let you all know how that turns out!!
James Wonder
Vice President, Vintage BMW Motorcycle Owners
2022 BMW Friend Of the Marque
Long Island, New York

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malmac
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Re: How much of the restoration will you do or did

Post by malmac »

San Arthur wrote:
Mon Sep 13, 2021 11:31 pm
I have a telegraphist pulse, no pint striping for me.
I used tape and modify the design, hahahaha.

Mal you do fabricate tools, you are far out. Something I don’t do is chrome plating I’ve blackened metals, but that is it.
I guess the underlying driver in me posting this thread was to get a feel for what amount of home restoration of a classic bike is the norm.
Yes I like to make tools, but to some extent that is what the task involves at present.
and to be fair, by the time one has restored the engine, gearbox and final drive, a fair slab of the work is done.

However I have yet to pull the frame, rebush various points and check frame straightness. Painting well that is out there as well.

So lots still to go.


Mal
mal - R69s
Toowoomba- Australia

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malmac
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Re: How much of the restoration will you do or did

Post by malmac »

cwf wrote:
Tue Sep 14, 2021 10:43 am
I bought a 50/2 from the US last year (I'm in the UK). All I was told was that it kicked over. The photos looked reasonable and I took the risk. When it arrived, I found the forks and handlebar were bent and that it had been roughly bolted together. There were a few signs of use, dents, scratches, stickers etc. but surprisingly few signs of nuts or bolts being touched.

When I hung the swingarm up to repaint, two things fell out. One was a driveshaft to gearbox bolt, the other was, well, difficult to tell but I think it used to be the same, except it had had all the threads worn off and probably had been caught between the moving shaft and the housing. This may have locked the wheel, causing a crash which bent forks and handlebar. It seems the bike was then in a garage, slowly being dismantled until the owner died, the bike was roughly reassembled and bought by the dealer as deceased estate.

I felt the indicated mileage of 25,000 was probably correct, so I overhauled the rest, just changing filter and oils, checking timing, valves etc and not taking the engine/gearbox apart. 3000 miles later and it works just fine.

I'm a rider not a polisher. I feel that taking a bike (or old car, I have a 1939 Hillman Minx, drophead coupe, similar original condition) back to showroom or better condition is becoming an orthodoxy. There's room for all sorts, of course but the primary purpose of a vehicle is to move and, preferably, to put a smile on your face. There's nothing wrong with doing just enough maintenance to keep your bike moving safely.

Charlie.
Charlie, I seem to be a tinkerer, rather than a rider or a polisher.
Glad to hear the risk you took has paid off.

Cheers


Mal
Australia
mal - R69s
Toowoomba- Australia

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malmac
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Re: How much of the restoration will you do or did

Post by malmac »

jwonder wrote:
Tue Sep 14, 2021 5:01 pm
I do everything myself except:

- Paint of bodywork and frame, including pinstripes. I have a great painter and striper who knows vintage BMWs. I do small paint work myself though.
- Crankshaft rebuilding. Currently I do not do this but I am setting up to do it myself. Will let you know truly how hard it is after I set up and rebuild a few of mine.
- Head rebuilding. I do not do this. There are some experts out there. If others were not doing it I would figure it out but you do need a lathe, milling machine and valve grinding tools all of which I have.
- Cylinder boring/honing. As above.
- Chrome and Cadmium plating. I have the experts handle this.
- Anything that involves caustic chemicals. I will let others who do it for a living handle those!!
- Lacing wheels. Just too time consuming and I have a friend who has done it for years.
- Mounting tires. I can do it and have done it, but it’s too hard on the old body. Again the same friend who laces wheels does this for me.

Everything else I do!!!

Since I am lucky enough to own a small machine shop (for our vintage race cars) I have made all the BMW tools myself and in the process of making a crank jig now. Will let you all know how that turns out!!
James

Thanks for the update.
Perhaps we can start a thread on the crankshaft rebuild.
While there are many things I will not be attempting, like chrome plating and also rebuilding the worn journals on the crank.
I have already started on the press tools for disassembly, so I am following along behind you.
We could incorporate the crankshaft trueing stand as part of that thread.

Regards Mal
mal - R69s
Toowoomba- Australia

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malmac
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Re: How much of the restoration will you do or did

Post by malmac »

CWRoady wrote:
Tue Sep 14, 2021 10:57 am
I like your doc. Think I will print it out and put it in my rebuild binder for a quick reference. A man needs to know his limitations and I do not have the knowledge I have seen on display here for deeper work. On my '55 R50 I did all the disassembly, carb rebuilds, wiring loom replacement, brake and suspension restores, wheel and frame bearings, top end, all reassembly, etc. Farmed out the valves to Randy Long, Slingers to Irv Seavers, Final Drive to my brother in Law (after 3 attempts by Seavers that leaked every time), frame straightening, powder coating ...

Was about a 7-8 month timeline. I thoroughly enjoyed the process and am pleased with the end result.

B69B8CE1-31B9-466F-969D-DCD2E219FA47_1_201_a.jpeg
Chris

You bike looks great and I am sure it runs just as well.
But can we see the 1968 Yardart --- now that sounds interesting.


Mal
mal - R69s
Toowoomba- Australia

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malmac
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Re: How much of the restoration will you do or did

Post by malmac »

Discogodfather wrote:
Tue Sep 14, 2021 1:41 am
malmac wrote:
Mon Sep 13, 2021 3:45 pm
Discogodfather wrote:
Sun Sep 12, 2021 6:16 pm
Did almost everything myself 10 years ago including paint, took everything down to the screw. Did the wiring, rebuilt everything. I sent the crank/rods to be checked and outfitted with new bearings. Built the wheels. Had the tires put on because I don't have a machine. Took the rear diff down to the casing and rebuilt that.

Ironically after that taking about 3 years of full weekends of work my only regret is only putting 3k miles on it. Low mileage more than anything makes the bike stale. Had to go through it again last year to make a few sitting issues right like redo the carbs, new tires, some electric stuff (apparently coils that just sit develop some bad problems) and get new tires again because the 10 year old ones with no mileage were as hard as a rock.
Well that is very impressive. I am trying to do as much as possible, but there are times when I think, maybe I could just contract this or that out and be out riding.
Rolled the 1200GS out last week end and took my wife out for a ride, just to keep her roadworthy. But really I wanted to be on the 69s that sits in pieces still.

So did you do the pin striping yourself as well?

Mal
Yes I actually learned to pinstripe on the R60/2, it was my first attempt. Came out ok, it is holding up. Nothing near what a really good professional can do, but I am just proud to have done it myself.

Image
The bike looks fantastic.

Mal
mal - R69s
Toowoomba- Australia

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CWRoady
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Re: How much of the restoration will you do or did

Post by CWRoady »

malmac wrote:
Wed Sep 15, 2021 4:21 pm

You bike looks great and I am sure it runs just as well.
But can we see the 1968 Yardart --- now that sounds interesting.


Mal
Happy to show them as best I can .. an avacado tree is well on its way to owning them. I get a twisted pleasure I can't logically explain just knowing they are there. They are both examples of bikes I owned and spent countless joyful hours on riding in the high deserts of Southern California as a teenager with my my parents and siblings. I originally went to check out the Sachs from an add and found it well beyond anything I would restore, but the seller made me an offer I couldn't refuse if I would take the old Hodaka as well.
IMG_0183 2.JPG
IMG_0182 2.JPG
Chris
1955 R50 / 1973 R75/5 / 1974 R90/6 Hack / 2015 RT
Yard Art 1968 +/- Hodaka & SACHS

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