Vintage BMW Motorcycle Owners

I am looking for vendors in the greater Boston area for the following fro my 1965 R69s

Powder coat the frame,swingarm and Earls Fork parts
Painter for the 6 1/2 gallon tank, fenders tail/headlight housing
A vendor for walnut shell or some other non abrasive media blast


Thanks
Paul

Paul, the following are my comments and what i would suggest.

1) I would reach out to Ande Kahora at Barrington and see if he is willing to share his painters with you. That would be the best bet. He might let you drop your parts off and then outsource them himself, but not sure if he would do either of those things. Call him.

2) The frame - I typically powder coat the frame and heavy components and any powder coater should be able to do it. The issue is letting the powder get too thick. A good powder person can keep it thin. It takes more time but they can do it. Mine on Long Island is fabulous!!!! He keeps it thin and it is rock hard. I would visit several powder coaters and look at their work. If it’s thin and nice go for it.

3) Painters for the tins (fenders, tank, etc) has its own issues. Any body shop can do it but they typically don’t like to do it because they make more money on cars and turning them around quickly. Motorcycle parts take up space, need to be hung, etc etc and they do not like to do it. Find a good painter near you and if they are willing to paint the tins it should be fine.

4) Pinstriping is the biggest issue. You need to use someone who knows what the heck they are doing and has done BMW’s before. I have a person on Long Island that has done quite a lot of BMW work, but it’s not the closest to you. This is an important part to get right and one I would think about. There is also one in Connecticut that did one of my bikes but I would need to ask around to find his name as it was done before I purchased the motorcycle.

I hope this helps.

This is closer to Worcester than Boston but this place did great paint and body work restoring my sidecar. https://countrysidecustomsinc.com. the owner is Ben Mayo.

Sorry, that's Ben Maio, not Mayo. He's not in the deli business!

Hi Paul-
I use a pinstriper in Amesbury, MA, named Bruce DeVoe.
Don't know if you consider Amesbury "greater Boston," but I sure consider him in greater Boston.
Just a ton of experience with the /2 bikes, and a great guy. (he's also been striping many other things over the years)
We have stripers here in western CT, but I prefer making the trek to him, even at 3 hours each way.
He stripes tanks/fenders that are shipped to him as well, if folks prefer that. (requires some very careful packing)
Best-
George

Here's a picture of DeVoe's stripes on an R69S that underwent a total restoration of drivetrain/chassis/bodywork that bike specialist Rick Bell, of Salisbury CT, did for a client a while back.

It is Bruce Deveau in Amesbury. I have used him as well and he did a superb job and is extremely knowledgeable about small details with BMW paint stripes. His number is 978 314-1354. He is great to deal with and is very reasonable price wise. You will be pleased.

Does Bruce only do pinstriping or does he also paint the tins?

Hi James-
Striping only, as far as I know; he's set up to do the work at home in his cellar, at least when I've gone there.
Best-
George

Same as my observation.