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1938 R66
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- Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2022 11:23 pm
1938 R66
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Re: 1938 R66
Can't see from the pics you posted but do you have sheet metal (tank, fenders, etc.), and, if so, what kind of condition is it in? If it's decent, I'd be tempted to put the bike back back together restored mechanically but with the the original finishes on all the parts. If nothing else, you can ride it a bit and sort out the "bugs", then take it down for a cosmetic restoration. I have both complete restorations and original bikes in my collection, and, honestly, I enjoy riding the originals more. Just one guy's thoughts.....
I've attached a couple of pics of my 1936 R5. It's pretty much become my daily "rider".
Chuck S
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Re: 1938 R66
Here are some more pics. Ran into my 1st problem. Check out the triple tree lower - is there another model that has the same lower triple tree? Thanks.
- caker
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- Location: Haddonfield, NJ, USA
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Re: 1938 R66
Your lower fork triple is an original EARLY prewar type which was replaced with a re-designed version used all the way from late prewar through 1955 on the plunger bikes. I'm guessing it was redesigned to improve strength or eliminate failures in the early design...
Yours looks to have failed and then has obvious signs of repairs made.
Here's an example of an unmodified early original one like yours was:
-Chris
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Re: 1938 R66
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- Posts: 6
- Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2022 11:23 pm
Re: 1938 R66
- caker
- Posts: 201
- Joined: Sat Nov 12, 2011 10:49 pm
- Location: Haddonfield, NJ, USA
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Re: 1938 R66
For prewar plunger bikes, your best bets are:
Mark Huggett out of Switzerland. He is the source for MANY parts for all BMW bikes, and is affiliated with BMW Classic:
- https://www.bmwbike.com/
Second to that, Bench Mark Works which is now Max BMW, offers many of Hugget's parts here in the US
- http://www.benchmarkworks.com/ (you can still order from this website, it goes to Max BMW now)
Oldtimer Garage:
- https://oldtimergarage.eu/gb/45-r51-r61-r66-r71
RRC-Tuning has R61/R66/R71 rear main bearing carrier, which has inevitably spun and needs replacement:
- https://rrc-tuning.com/?cat=c159_BMW-R5 ... 6-r71.html
There's a fair amount of overlap with postwar plunger bikes, so things like fork parts and so on will work. I really like Vintage Beemer Parts on his website and on ebay:
- https://vintagebeemerparts.com/
- https://www.ebay.com/str/klassiccyclestuff
There are others, but it may depend on what you're looking for...
Cheers,
-Chris
Re: 1938 R66
Not too difficult to find and much cheaper than original pre-war BMW.