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R69S restoration
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Today,2/17/11 was a great
I got very lucky with the tail light bezel screw,since I did a last electrical check I noticed there was no screw holding the tail light
bezel to the fender,and was going to ride the bike for the first time today and it would have been a bummer to have the whole tail light assembly falling off at speed!!
After dodging a small bullet I was ready to ride it for the first time! I had started it and let it run for a few minutes while checking things,and this was repeated a few times,never letting it run more than
3-5 minutes at a time. This allowed it to heat cycle enough to re-torque the heads and adjust the valves. The exhaust tighened up a .001" or so,the intake was the same .006",and with a quick idle adjustment I was ready,the time had come........
After running a pre-flight check,I fired it up and this bike always starts up very well so far,and within 1-2 kicks she popped into life,with a mechanical symphony which was music to my ears,which was now real,instead of all of the imaginary visions I have been daydreaming about since I started on this journey. I had been dreaming of this day for over a year,and here it was,about to happen,it is a anxious,as well as joyous time,since it could be a very good day,a small personal triumph,or a day of wondering "what that knocking/grinding noise could be",and tearing it all back apart again.........
I roll it out of my garage,click it into gear,and the neutral light turns off,so far,so good,and let out the clutch and it is quite a rush to be riding this bike for the first time,and it is utter joy.
The bike has a very noticable power advantage over my R 60/2,and drove very tight & straight,and the transmission,final drive,engine are all doing thier thing with no oil leaks,and and no unusual noises ............THANK YOU,MOTORCYCLE GODS!
It was quite a relief to have everything working well,however into a 10 minute ride I would let off the gas and it would die out.
I put this down to carb adjustment and turned the idle screws up,and adjusted the mixture. It seemed Ok,althought the bottom end started feeling soft,and it would still die out intermittently. When I get back to the garage I proceed to adjust the carbs and it would keep dying out. I pulled a plug and they were black-ish. I then opened the gas cap and it made a "phoosh" sound when it was relieving pressure,which never happened on my other bike.
I put the cap on,thinking nothing of it and ran it again and it did the same thing,and when I opened the gas cap,it had the same pressure release sound,and realised that the gas tank was building pressure and forcing its way to the carb jets thereby flooding out my bike!
This was a repro gas cap from S.Meyer,Germany and had the little ripples under the cap for venting,however I had to drill a small 1mm hole and now the idle is rock solid and not as much fuel leaks out of teh floats after turning off the bike as well as no more fuel pressure in the tank!
You woud think a gas tank would make vacuum from fuel draining out into the carbs,however the "sloshing" of gas makes it expand,and actually was causing a pressure buildup due to no tank vent.
The only way I could prove this is to tell you to shake a small gas can lightly,then open it up and it will have pressure inside!
Aloha!
R69S - R60/2 - R67/2 - R51/3 - R69
- schrader7032
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What an experience that must
As to the gas tank pressure, when I was first reading your post, I said how could it be building pressure...it should be building a vacuum as you suggest. Of course, the fuel decrease is really pretty gradual when you think about it and with just about any venting or small air leaks, that vacuum would be offset by air seeping back in. But your situation still sounds unusual. I don't recall reading anyone mention that their tank built pressure. I could see that heat could do that, especially in a situation where there was a lot of trapped heat like behind a fully enclosed fairing or maybe due to extreme outside temperatures...hmmm, you do live in in Hawaii But if you have the cause and effect figured out without a solution, there's only one thing to do...ride!!
'78 R100/7 '69 R69S '52 R25/2
Fast. Neat. Average. Friendly. Good. Good.
- R60 Sweden
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Congrats!!!
But I'll have it running this year.
Interesting little story about the gastank...
BMW R60 1959
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Congrats Thomas!!
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Kurt,I agree with you,it is
R60 Sweden,I know something your wife will TRULY appreciate and you can also get some work done on the bike.
Simply move the bike into the kitchen or living room,OR bedroom if your wife is really nice.
If she protests,simply tell her,"this is how bikers work on their bikes,if it is good enough for the Hells Angels,it's good enough for us honey." Wives fall for it all the time.
You can thank me later.......
Loftus, I am glad you can understand the excitement of bringing something back to life and hearing it run for the first time,it really is like "mechanical birth",very cool to see a machine doing what it was designed to do (ride),vs. sitting in a dilapidated state waiting for rescue.......or the scrap heap......
I have this funny thought about the Karma of the machines that "come our way",and think "wow,how lucky is this machine?,to come into the hands of a thoughtful owner,instead of someone that would destroy it,like many others have been." Someone could have sold this bike for parts,or,who knows?
It is a great feeling to have rescued this mechanical work of art known as the "BMW R69s,the worlds finest motorcycle"
and a even better feeling when I ride it.
Hope this is some inspiration for some,finish those projects,summer will be here before you know it! Aloha
R69S - R60/2 - R67/2 - R51/3 - R69
Great job on the build 808 !
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Good luck with the completion
R69S - R60/2 - R67/2 - R51/3 - R69
- R60 Sweden
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Great, thanks for the tip!
BMW R60 1959
- Darryl.Richman
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A surprise, indeed!
=)) =)) =)) ) )
I hope your wife has the same kind of sense of humor you seem to have!
(BTW, it's possible to do this job with a propane torch in the garage.)
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Update.......135 miles on
However a couple of times afterward I got a NO START,I mean,kicking it 20+ times and nothing..... I went for a 20 ile ride and 2.5 miles from home she dide out at a traffic light and would not start.I had to wait for 1.5 hours ad then like magic,she started!!
I blamed this on the original coil that appeared in perfect condition,and worked fine at first.......
I installed my "Emerald Isle"/Benchmarkworks repro coil and she now has a smoother idle and faster startup,so I am hoping this will cure my hot start issues!! Wish me luck!
R69S - R60/2 - R67/2 - R51/3 - R69