Vintage BMW Motorcycle Owners

Hey Guys,

I figured I would start a new thread. Here are the pics of the 1965 R60/2 I bought yesterday in Utah. The bike is from the estate of Jerry Holcome I bought it from his daughter Val. Here is the story I got from her:

Jerry was a BMW and aircraft mechanic in the Salt Lake area he had a collection of 28 bikes most of which were sold when he passed in 2018. This one had been purchased by him in February 1966 and rode for 33k miles. In 1978 the gas was drained and it got fresh oil. It was put up in a garage under a cover until two weeks ago. It was towed to a mechanic in Salt Lake to get new plugs, a carb clean, intake gaskets and was started for the first time in 33 years.

The bike fires right up and shifts really good. Seems to be very original except for the exhaust. The rear fender has the dealer sticker on it and the tank is signed. I think the paint is all original aside from some pinstripe touch up. All the lights, speedo, and odometer work. The tires have a date code of 40 7. I am assuming they are from 1977. They still have some nubs left on them and are not dryrotted. I have to get the brakes working and get new tires. Also the keys don't fit the steering lock and tank box. I need to find a good locksmith here in Denver. Then I am going to ride it a bit to see if there is any leaking etc.. Today I am going to start by changing the 33 year old oil.

I have a registration cards from 1976 and 1978 but no service records showing the mileage because Jerry was a skilled mechanic. I have to assume the mileage is correct but can't prove it with paperwork. His daughter is going to send me all the information she has on the bike including old pictures ect..

Can anyone tell me what type of exhaust that is?

Does anyone know how to do more research on the bike? like records from the state ect...

What a find! If it went into storage in 1978, that's 43 years, not 33.

Bill Husted

I don't know the name of those mufflers, but I bought a set in 79 and ran them until around 2012 when I went Keihan stainless.
All I remember is they were less than half the price of bmw mufflers. I still have them up in the rafters.

Don

My guess is they are some version of Mac mufflers. Given the near pristine pad area on the rear brake lever, I'd say the bike doesn't have that many miles on it.

We've recently had discussions about emailing the Classic Group at BMW and given them the VIN and see if they have any records on when built and where it was shipped.

The mufflers look to me like MCM. That was a popular after market choice because they were less than half the cost of original mufflers. They look and sounded fine at the time. Very nice bike, I'm glad you got it.

Very nice find!!! Congratulations!!

Nice score. Have fun with it.

Thank you, I appreciate the support.

I lubed the brake cable yesterday and changed the oil. The front brake adjustment is almost maxed out so it will be brake time when I get new tires.

I have a theory on the mufflers: There is a little damage on the bottom of the right side valve cover. When that happened the mufflers were scratched and they were replaced.

Today I set the timing. I think I am the first person to do it. There was some sort of coating or anti seize on the points plate screws. It its nice to work on a bike that hasn't been messed with.

I was not able to rotate the magneto rotor enough to line up the marks. I set it as far counter clockwise as I could and left it at that. It is still a bit off but I didn't want to remove the magneto right now. The points gap was perfect and the differential timing checked out perfect as well.

I have the Bench Mark Works book and downloaded the Doug Rinckes electrical guide. For the next guy, here is how I did it. I found it easier to remove the advancer to loosen the points plate screws, set the flywheel to the correct S mark and reattached the advancer. With the plate loose, the multi meter hooked up, and the flywheel in the right spot you can turn the plate till there is no continuity. I modified a little angled flat blade screw driver to snug the top screw with the advancer on. With the timing set, I took the advancer off, set the plate screws, put the advancer back on, tested for correct timing and differential timing, and torqued the advancer bolt. I was able to do the adjustment in one shot. Its the same principle but takes the guess work out of it and you don't need to take the advancer on and off after every adjustment.

Not sure how much more I am going to do till I get plates, tires, and brakes. There is a leak on the right front pushrod tube seal and there was some oil behind the front cover. Must be the cam shaft seal (for lack of a better word). This bike sat so long I am going to have to tear it down or have it torn down for a re seal and slinger job.

Thanks again for the help,

Here is a picture of the untouched screw. The top one had the goop on it as well.

Bill

Update!!!

After the tune up I put on new brake shoes, tires, final drive seals, serviced the wheel bearings, got all the lights working, cleaned the carbs, flushed the tank, and put all new fluids in. I rode it around this spring. It was leaking pretty bad at the push rod tubes so I stopped riding it until I could reseal the engine and trans.

My plan is to tear the engine down, remove the flywheel and clutch, and send the bottom end out to have the slingers inspected. I had Bee Mer Merx in Tucson rebuild the transmission on my old r50/2 and they did a good job. I am thinking about using them again for the bottom end.

Does anyone have a shop they recommend for the bottom end rebuild?

Is there a tool loaner program on the this site?

Should I have the flywheel lightened?

Bill

That is a beautiful bike. Congratulations !!! What a great find.