Family bike

[achermside]

Hello. I became the custodian of the family bike last year, an R67 with a 1950 Steib S350 sidecar. My dad worked in motorcycle shops in Oregon and northern California during the 50’s and early 60’s, mostly on Brit bikes, but he loved BMWs. He bought this bike in the late 50’s. He rode it hard: his friends told me he would loosen the bolt so that the rear fender could flip up and not be damaged when he would jump it on dirt paths in Golden Gate Park and he would take it to the salt flats and race it. Some of my earliest memories are of riding in the sidecar. He joined the club here in 1975 (member 682) and was a lifelong lover of BMWs. It ran until the mid-1980’s when he broke the drive shaft. It then sat for 20 years until he retired when it was going to be his retirement project. He passed before he could do much on it and my uncle inherited it in 2006. My dad taught him to ride on this bike in the 60’s and he lovingly restored it over the next couple of years and then he rode it almost every day. Last year he decided that at 75 he could no longer do the maintenance it requires and so I acquired it. The sidecar is operational but unrestored, that will be my project to complete. I've been taking my boys on the bike and in the sidecar, hopefully one of them will want the bike in 20 years when I am getting too old.

After a brake shoe replacement, I rode it for several months before an electrical problem developed (that will be another post) and love how it drives. I’ve read enough posts here to know everyone wants the juicy pictures so I thought I’d share that first before I start asking for help. I am handy and learned basic car maintenance from my dad, but I am not an experienced mechanic and I am sure I will need lots of help as I learn about the bike. I've included pre and post restoration pics and also how it looks today.