Main seal?

[San Arthur]

The front wheel hub bearings, fork, and suspension are all ready to go in. Before final assembly, I’ll fill the forks with oil to check for any leaks. Once confirmed, I’ll store everything properly until it’s time for installation. I replaced tube seals not more than 50 miles ago.

[San Arthur]

I’ve been using chemical strippers to remove the paint from the frame of my 1976 BMW R90S. While the top black enamel coat comes off easily, the green primer underneath is much tougher to remove. It seems to be a factory-applied zinc phosphate or chromate-based coating for rust protection. Since the stripper isn’t fully cutting through it, I may need to use abrasive methods like sanding or media blasting to get the frame completely clean.

[San Arthur]

I packed up the front mud cover, rear wheel cover, battery covers, cockpit, bench frame, and tank and sent them all to Mexico City for painting.





One issue I ran into: I couldn’t remove the BMW logos from the tank and seat without risking damage. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to remove them safely? Any tips would be greatly appreciated!



A friend of mine who owns a shop in Querétaro agreed to take on the job.





Next time I’m in Mexico City, I’ll drive to Querétaro to personally deliver the parts and share more details in future posts as the restoration progresses!

[schrader7032]

Try some fishing line or dental floss to saw underneath the badges.

[San Arthur]

Thanks Kurt, will try. It looks like the glue is petrified.

[Jim D 5112]

Warm up the badges with a hair dryer or heat gun to soften the adhesive before you use the dental floss or fishing line to remove them.

[San Arthur]

Warm up the badges with a hair dryer or heat gun to soften the adhesive before you use the dental floss or fishing line to remove them.

Thanks Jim, I'm trying but the adhesive is rock solid!

[srankin]

I have no new advice to add to the issue about the emblems. Hot air and patience has worked for me in the past.

Just wanted to say the project is looking good. As for mine, it is four steps forward three back lately. I am finding more and more previous owner's disease in the bike. St.

[San Arthur]

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions, I really appreciate the help! But I gave up—those emblems are rock solid and won’t budge no matter what I try.

I’m almost sure the back of the emblems isn’t flat and that there must be pins or some sort of alignment feature holding them in place. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any pictures showing the back of the original emblems to confirm.

I also don’t want to risk damaging the parts by trying to pry them off, so for now, I’ll leave them as they are.

Does anyone have a photo of the backside of the BMW R90S seat frame and tank emblems? I’d love to know if they really have pins or if it’s just the glue making them impossible to remove.

@Srankin – Thanks for the kind words! I totally get the “four steps forward, three back” feeling. These bikes always come with a few surprises from previous owners!

[schrader7032]

I don't think there are any pins on the badge other than the screws. This image shows the badge on the tank, although not definitive:

https://realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showparts? ... Id=16_0233

Max BMW mentions this for part number 16 11 1 232 908: "No holes for mounting."