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Hi There, new member with new (to me ) R50/2 and R60

Thunderdome74
Posts: 19
Joined: Sun Dec 26, 2021 2:59 am

Hi There, new member with new (to me ) R50/2 and R60

Post by Thunderdome74 »

Hi everyone, my name is Thor from South Africa and i have just joined. (if this is the wrong forum please let me know)

Great site this, i have been looking at the posts for a while now, learning alot and thought i might share my progress and hopefully some of you will chime in with various mistakes I'm bound to make

I have been messing around with old bikes for many years now (CBX1000, Cb750, Goldwing 1000etc)
A few years back i chanced upon a R25/3 which i have pretty much completed, sadly she is not on the road as her paperwork is non existent and getting it sorted requires $$$ so i will pursue getting it on the road at a later stage.

So i completed a old gold wing but never really clicked with it(it was nice but i just found myself never riding it),

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So i put it up for sale and the guy who bought it sent his mate to look at it (the buyer was upcountry) and as often happens we got to chatting about old bikes, of which he said he had 2 old beemers, a R50/2 and a R60 (as near as i can ascertain via the engine and frame numbers. A deal was struck and i managed to acquire not just one but 2 motorcycles that have been on my bucket list as long as i can remember


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I was very chuffed as i managed to basically swop the two for the wing (excluding the resto costs)
So it was time to get em to the shed and start the tear down

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As was to be expected the tear-down yielded a few surprises but i managed to get them apart

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Somewhere in the R60's long life the PO had decided to chrome ..Everything , so before sending to the painters that all had to come off and become etch primered

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And a couple of telltate rust holes that need welding.

Now i am really not familiar with the BM engines, and was preparing to strip them and get to the slingers (the R50 had very low compression) when i discovered a knowledgeable Vintage BM guy upcountry.

I chatted to him and we agreed on an engine overhaul for the R50, as the R60 has again shoddy paperwork i need to take care of before doing that engine.
He has been doing these bikes for ages and is really helpful with my endless questions.


He is also a fantastic source of local parts(new and old), as here, in South Africa, when ordering from the States or Europe parts can take as long as 6 months to arrive
So the R50 engine went off to him and both frames and bits to the painter.
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Of course a few weeks later the engine guy found a few surprises

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And of course just to be different i had different bearing and rods...
But he has completed the engine and i am hoping to do a road trip to get it in the coming weeks

In the meantime i have been busy with carbs and wheels and spokes.

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I also had a stainless exhaust made up
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then to keep me busy over Xmas the painter very kindly finished up the frame for the R 50(bodywork still to come , and I'm getting the R60 sprayed Dover White at the same time )

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I would have received the bodywork for the R50 but unfortunately they had mixed it badly and it had a sparkle similar to the Honda blackbird, so he is redoing it. *He sprayed my CBX a candy Red and i was blown away by the quality.

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And thats basically where i am currently... Busy with the carbs at the moment which are .... interesting
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When the industries start up again alot of stuff will come off again for rechroming, and then the list starts with all that's needed on the R60, which will be again $$$ but paperwork for the R60 needs to be done first

The R50 Has unfortunatly different engine and frame numbers , R50 frame and R50/2 engine.
The R60 has matching numbers, but our version of the DMV has the numbers linked to a mercedes truck and a volvo?
Go figure:(

Well thanks for the forum and for looking , i will update with more pics as i progress and probably alot of questions as well

Cheers
Thor

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schrader7032
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Re: Hi There, new member with new (to me ) R50/2 and R60

Post by schrader7032 »

Thor -

Welcome to the forum and thanks for the detailed posting! You have been busy, my friend!! Glad you have resources to use there in country. The CB750 and CBX are quite the bikes of the day...they really made statements.

There is an Orphan list, showing engines and frames that have lost their mates. Check under the Knowledge Base.
Kurt in S.A.
'78 R100/7 '69 R69S '52 R25/2
Fast. Neat. Average. Friendly. Good. Good.

FL54
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Re: Hi There, new member with new (to me ) R50/2 and R60

Post by FL54 »

Welcome to the forum and a very interesting thread. Keep it going.
Central Oregon

Thunderdome74
Posts: 19
Joined: Sun Dec 26, 2021 2:59 am

Re: Hi There, new member with new (to me ) R50/2 and R60

Post by Thunderdome74 »

Thanks for that. I looked into the orphan list but no joy.

But will be keeping my eyes open

Thor

Dover Rider
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Re: Hi There, new member with new (to me ) R50/2 and R60

Post by Dover Rider »

Welcome to the group and thanks for the detailed post, love all the pictures. Looking forward to more and the R25/3 story and pics.
Cheers!

Thunderdome74
Posts: 19
Joined: Sun Dec 26, 2021 2:59 am

Re: Hi There, new member with new (to me ) R50/2 and R60

Post by Thunderdome74 »

Ok Got a few small things done, Like the carbs, still have to test for leaks. Used some alubright on them and i rekon they came out ok. Before and after pic
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On this last one you can see i had to use some solderlene (a gas proof paste) to seal it, luckily its quite similar in color to aluminium

And finally did a bit of panel beating on the Bezel which was quite dented and managed t get away without splintering the chrome... finally i can see the beginnings of a bike

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Any advice on where to get some headlight mirrors at a fair price?

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schrader7032
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Re: Hi There, new member with new (to me ) R50/2 and R60

Post by schrader7032 »

Bench Mark Works sells Albert headlight mirrors. Probably will have to check with MaxBMW for that inventory.
Kurt in S.A.
'78 R100/7 '69 R69S '52 R25/2
Fast. Neat. Average. Friendly. Good. Good.

Thunderdome74
Posts: 19
Joined: Sun Dec 26, 2021 2:59 am

Re: Hi There, new member with new (to me ) R50/2 and R60

Post by Thunderdome74 »

OK, so things are strting to come together

I got the engine back from the expert, and am confident its now 100% (which is fantastic as i have nowhere near his expertise)

I mean a lot was done to it, New rings, con rod, crank rebuild, bearings, slinger, honed barrels, replaced cams
(timing gears are in good shape)
Luckily he's been doing this for years and carries a lot of spares
(I managed to get some mirrors(new) from him, which saves trying to import

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Painting for the two is nearly ready (should get in a week or so ), and i am really excited to see it in the flesh

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And i put the engine in today, then spent a good part of the day just looking at it :D
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I gotta say, these have been one of my most sort after bikes for years and i am having an absolute blast doing this build.These bikes are awesome,...

Bimmers4life
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Joined: Wed Nov 17, 2021 8:34 am

Re: Hi There, new member with new (to me ) R50/2 and R60

Post by Bimmers4life »

I have a question about that Alubright solution. Does it work that good after just soaking the parts or is there some scrubbing involved after you remove them. Also, is it safe for all types of aluminum pieces. I have set of value covers I would like to clean up and make them have that bead blast finish too

Thanks,

Herb

Thunderdome74
Posts: 19
Joined: Sun Dec 26, 2021 2:59 am

Re: Hi There, new member with new (to me ) R50/2 and R60

Post by Thunderdome74 »

Hi there, Its my first time using Ulubright (1:3 alubright water mix)
I had it in a tub, applied with a brush and then toko a brass brush and worked it in for 3 minuted is what they reccomend.
Its pretty cool as you can actually see the Ally color changing/becoming brighter

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