Hi There, new member with new (to me ) R50/2 and R60
Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2021 3:54 am
Hi everyone, my name is Thor from South Africa and i have just joined. (if this is the wrong forum please let me know)
Great site this, i have been looking at the posts for a while now, learning alot and thought i might share my progress and hopefully some of you will chime in with various mistakes I'm bound to make
I have been messing around with old bikes for many years now (CBX1000, Cb750, Goldwing 1000etc)
A few years back i chanced upon a R25/3 which i have pretty much completed, sadly she is not on the road as her paperwork is non existent and getting it sorted requires $$$ so i will pursue getting it on the road at a later stage.
So i completed a old gold wing but never really clicked with it(it was nice but i just found myself never riding it),
So i put it up for sale and the guy who bought it sent his mate to look at it (the buyer was upcountry) and as often happens we got to chatting about old bikes, of which he said he had 2 old beemers, a R50/2 and a R60 (as near as i can ascertain via the engine and frame numbers. A deal was struck and i managed to acquire not just one but 2 motorcycles that have been on my bucket list as long as i can remember
I was very chuffed as i managed to basically swop the two for the wing (excluding the resto costs)
So it was time to get em to the shed and start the tear down
As was to be expected the tear-down yielded a few surprises but i managed to get them apart
Somewhere in the R60's long life the PO had decided to chrome ..Everything , so before sending to the painters that all had to come off and become etch primered
And a couple of telltate rust holes that need welding.
Now i am really not familiar with the BM engines, and was preparing to strip them and get to the slingers (the R50 had very low compression) when i discovered a knowledgeable Vintage BM guy upcountry.
I chatted to him and we agreed on an engine overhaul for the R50, as the R60 has again shoddy paperwork i need to take care of before doing that engine.
He has been doing these bikes for ages and is really helpful with my endless questions.
He is also a fantastic source of local parts(new and old), as here, in South Africa, when ordering from the States or Europe parts can take as long as 6 months to arrive
So the R50 engine went off to him and both frames and bits to the painter.
Of course a few weeks later the engine guy found a few surprises
And of course just to be different i had different bearing and rods...
But he has completed the engine and i am hoping to do a road trip to get it in the coming weeks
In the meantime i have been busy with carbs and wheels and spokes.
I also had a stainless exhaust made up
then to keep me busy over Xmas the painter very kindly finished up the frame for the R 50(bodywork still to come , and I'm getting the R60 sprayed Dover White at the same time )
I would have received the bodywork for the R50 but unfortunately they had mixed it badly and it had a sparkle similar to the Honda blackbird, so he is redoing it. *He sprayed my CBX a candy Red and i was blown away by the quality.
And thats basically where i am currently... Busy with the carbs at the moment which are .... interesting
When the industries start up again alot of stuff will come off again for rechroming, and then the list starts with all that's needed on the R60, which will be again $$$ but paperwork for the R60 needs to be done first
The R50 Has unfortunatly different engine and frame numbers , R50 frame and R50/2 engine.
The R60 has matching numbers, but our version of the DMV has the numbers linked to a mercedes truck and a volvo?
Go figure:(
Well thanks for the forum and for looking , i will update with more pics as i progress and probably alot of questions as well
Cheers
Thor
Great site this, i have been looking at the posts for a while now, learning alot and thought i might share my progress and hopefully some of you will chime in with various mistakes I'm bound to make
I have been messing around with old bikes for many years now (CBX1000, Cb750, Goldwing 1000etc)
A few years back i chanced upon a R25/3 which i have pretty much completed, sadly she is not on the road as her paperwork is non existent and getting it sorted requires $$$ so i will pursue getting it on the road at a later stage.
So i completed a old gold wing but never really clicked with it(it was nice but i just found myself never riding it),
So i put it up for sale and the guy who bought it sent his mate to look at it (the buyer was upcountry) and as often happens we got to chatting about old bikes, of which he said he had 2 old beemers, a R50/2 and a R60 (as near as i can ascertain via the engine and frame numbers. A deal was struck and i managed to acquire not just one but 2 motorcycles that have been on my bucket list as long as i can remember
I was very chuffed as i managed to basically swop the two for the wing (excluding the resto costs)
So it was time to get em to the shed and start the tear down
As was to be expected the tear-down yielded a few surprises but i managed to get them apart
Somewhere in the R60's long life the PO had decided to chrome ..Everything , so before sending to the painters that all had to come off and become etch primered
And a couple of telltate rust holes that need welding.
Now i am really not familiar with the BM engines, and was preparing to strip them and get to the slingers (the R50 had very low compression) when i discovered a knowledgeable Vintage BM guy upcountry.
I chatted to him and we agreed on an engine overhaul for the R50, as the R60 has again shoddy paperwork i need to take care of before doing that engine.
He has been doing these bikes for ages and is really helpful with my endless questions.
He is also a fantastic source of local parts(new and old), as here, in South Africa, when ordering from the States or Europe parts can take as long as 6 months to arrive
So the R50 engine went off to him and both frames and bits to the painter.
Of course a few weeks later the engine guy found a few surprises
And of course just to be different i had different bearing and rods...
But he has completed the engine and i am hoping to do a road trip to get it in the coming weeks
In the meantime i have been busy with carbs and wheels and spokes.
I also had a stainless exhaust made up
then to keep me busy over Xmas the painter very kindly finished up the frame for the R 50(bodywork still to come , and I'm getting the R60 sprayed Dover White at the same time )
I would have received the bodywork for the R50 but unfortunately they had mixed it badly and it had a sparkle similar to the Honda blackbird, so he is redoing it. *He sprayed my CBX a candy Red and i was blown away by the quality.
And thats basically where i am currently... Busy with the carbs at the moment which are .... interesting
When the industries start up again alot of stuff will come off again for rechroming, and then the list starts with all that's needed on the R60, which will be again $$$ but paperwork for the R60 needs to be done first
The R50 Has unfortunatly different engine and frame numbers , R50 frame and R50/2 engine.
The R60 has matching numbers, but our version of the DMV has the numbers linked to a mercedes truck and a volvo?
Go figure:(
Well thanks for the forum and for looking , i will update with more pics as i progress and probably alot of questions as well
Cheers
Thor