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Hello! New R50 owner here
- Kidasters
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- Location: Houston, Tx
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Hello! New R50 owner here
Just wanted to say Hi. I'm the new owner of a 1957 BMW R50. I've named her Ruth - the Patina Machina. It's missing a lot of small parts, and I am trying to get it sorted. I've always wanted a BMW of this vintage, so I'm very excited.
Looking forward to the journey with this one.
Ken
What do you mean "next" project?
--My wife
- skyler.robbins
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- Kidasters
- Posts: 129
- Joined: Sun Feb 17, 2013 5:22 pm
- Location: Houston, Tx
- Has thanked: 35 times
- Been thanked: 5 times
Re: Hello! New R50 owner here
However, I'm not removing the high bars for now. The bike also came with a fairing, and that definitely had to go. In the near term, I just want to get it running. Longer term - we'll see.
What do you mean "next" project?
--My wife
- Kidasters
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Re: Hello! New R50 owner here
I bought this from a woman in her 80's that has owned it since 1973. She bought it from a man named Dan Cooley, who was the head BMW mechanic from Brattin Motors in San Diego. If I'm really owner #3, I think it's earned the right to stay looking like it has for the last 68 or so years.
A bunch of parts that were missing are still arriving in the mail. I'm hoping after a week or two, I'll have it breathing fire.
We'll see.
What do you mean "next" project?
--My wife
- skyler.robbins
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- Kidasters
- Posts: 129
- Joined: Sun Feb 17, 2013 5:22 pm
- Location: Houston, Tx
- Has thanked: 35 times
- Been thanked: 5 times
Re: Hello! New R50 owner here
What do you mean "next" project?
--My wife
- Flx48
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Re: Hello! New R50 owner here
You didn't mention if you're new to dealing with the Earles fork bikes or not; that'll make a difference in the kind of opinions and recommendations that come your way.
Definitely a wonderful patina candidate, as it looks like its been stored dry and dark.
Have you run the serial number to find the build date yet?
Best-
George
- Kidasters
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Re: Hello! New R50 owner here
I'm brand new to the Earls fork bikes. I've had 2 R100/7's, an R90/6 and an R75/5.
I almost scared myself out of buying this bike because I read some threads on slinger cleaning. That was quite a rabbit hole to go down.
I'm pretty sure it's a 1957 build date. I've sent an e-mail to the BMW Archivist. I know I've seen mulitple websites that detail build numbers by month, but my google-fu is weak today.
EDIT: They will give me a "Birth Certificate" if I pay them 150 Euro. That seems a bit much. Might pass on that right now. Also - my wife's google-fu is better than mine, and we're guessing build date September 1956.
I'm looking forward to learning more about this for sure.
Ken
What do you mean "next" project?
--My wife
- skyler.robbins
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Re: Hello! New R50 owner here
Cool.. I’d make sure you measure the length of course. Should be a fun project!