What headlight bucket is this?

[Pjed]

Hi, my name is Paul and I just picked up a 1962 R27 that's been sitting since 1985. I've rebuilt several sport bikes and 70's CBs but this is completely new territory for me. Motor has oil, spins freely so hoping it won't be too hard to fire up. I started to do research and am stumped regarding the headlight bucket and ignition switch on this bike. It doesn't appear to be an OEM R27 set up and I'm not sure it's even BMW. The closest I could find online were buckets/switches from a 60's Zundapp. I asked the PO about it (he bought it originally in 71/72 in Costa Rica and brought it to the U.S.) and he said that he purchased it that way. Anyone have any idea what set up this is? Thanks

[niall4473]

It looks very alike to the headlamp shell of an IZH Planeta that my late brother-in-law had many years ago, this was a 350cc single cylinder twin-port two-stroke sidecar puller, but the charging/neutral indicators were separate round lamps on that, not built in to the ignition switch, which was chrome there but otherwise similar. I am not sure what year it was, it was UK registered in 1980, but looked much older, as Russian bikes often did.
Your lamp may be off an newer one of those, or the similar Jupiter twin perhaps.

[Slash2]

Pull the cover at the gearbox to swingarm (its a couple 5mm or 6mm allen bolts) and inspect the "hardy-disc" that connects the output to the driveshaft. They notoriously dry out / wear out and yours almost certainly is. You won't want to run the bike with a worn disc. If yours looks okay, it will still very likely disintegrate in the first few miles. The R27 also has a rubber mounted engine and all of those mounts should be replaced as well. Doing so requires a special 22mm box wrench that has been ground thin to slide between the frame and the mount. Installing these is somewhat fussy as you can "twist" the rubber during installation and greatly reduce their life. Other than those issues, fresh fluids and a tune up should get you riding again without much issue.

Good Luck!

[sorbo1]

Hi
The headlight switch is Zundapp Super Sabre . I have a Zundapp 250S with an identical switch .The actual headlight bucket may still be the original unit but somebody has added the Zundapp switch in the centre and another one on the left hand side.
Hope this helps . .

[Pjed]

Thanks for the responses...I thought I was on to something. I would like to go back to original but for now I hope this set up works. Also, thanks Slash2 for the advice on what to do before trying to ride it. This is exactly the type of info I need and why I joined the site.

I got 6 boxes of parts with the bike but only took a peek at a couple so far. There are misc original BMW parts still in plastic, a couple jugs, a cylinder head, a transmission, clutches, etc. Really need to go through it all before buying anything. Maybe there'll be an original headlight bucket and ignition . Also got a stack of magazines: BMW Owners News, Vintage BMW bulletins, a Reparaturanleitung and a BMW Motorcycle Buyer's Guide by Knittel and Slabon. The PO was dedicated.