I’m loving this bike. It is extremely fast off the line. Lots of torque through the gears. It is small and nimble. A dangerously fast toy to rip around on. Everywhere I ride it people ask me about it and want to know if it is brand new, what year, who built it, etc…
Yesterday I had a great comment… Somebody saw the bike and was complementing me about it and they asked if I ever saw the bright blue BMW kinda like it…. Ha ha… that is my other bike!
I’m still sorting out the front suspension with the Gold Valve Emulator. I have it pretty close but i think a different set of springs might be in order.
I got a lighter set of YSS rear springs for the rear shocks and they helped my kidneys out when riding on the horrible Los Angeles freeways.
I’m still experiencing some charging woes and I think I found the culprit.
The aftermarket 3 wire harness we bought from Euro Moto Electrics along with an Enduralast Diode board didn’t make it too far. I started re-grounding wires and scratching my head a lot until I found this hiding behind the diode board. No Good.
I’m charging the battery back up and i’ll do some more testing tonight.
My good friends shot me riding the bike a few weeks back. Here are a few out-takes from Kevin Vu. I’m saving the good ones for publication (hopefully)… and still waiting to see the shots my friend Lauren got.
I was just having a conversation with a buddy 2 days ago about how BMW should ‘remake’ one of their old bikes.
Triumph did it with the Bonneville. Ducati has the Paul Smart bikes (which i love).
Well, here it is. The homage BMW R90S.
The original R90S is a true classic.
While the new bike looks amazing… i fear that it looks too much like a new bike and not enough like a classic.
Of course, i’d still love one in my garage….
We took some riding shots today up in the canyons off PCH. While taking a break, i snapped this cell phone shot. I can’t wait to see the rest… but they lay in the hands of my photog friends…
I have a bunch of build and tech updates I need to write but the bike is done!
I had some charging issues that i had to figure out (alternator).
Carbs couldn’t idle low enough so I got a new-ish set of 32mm Bings from an ’84 GS and they work great.
Suspension is tight which can be painful on these horrible Los Angeles roads. I am playing with spring rates and dampening after each ride.
The biggest trouble right now is keeping it clean! I got about 80 miles on the clock.
Glamor photos to come… But her modeling career has begun!
A day at the races. April 27th, 2013
Learning the rules of the track:
First race:
A friend and fellow BMW /5 rider Jerome Brown on a Honda:
Stacy from the East Side Moto Babes club:
The BMW race representation:
Side Car Races. I wish i got up on the hill to get some photos of them leaning out the sidecars on the turns. Their heads were about 4 inches from the pavement leaning out the side of the sidecar. Crazy. And afterwards I saw that many of the sidecar passengers were women. Rock on ladies!
Anatomy of a BMW sidecar:
I couldn’t agree more:
The people watching was as good as the race watching:
My buddy hanging out at turn #4:
This vintage piece of art was only $250,000:
Swap meet and display bikes:
I’m a sucker for beautiful blue bikes:
This guy has his German priorities straight:
Nice details on this bike:
Finish Line:
Well, the bike runs thanks to the help of a local BMW genius.
But it wasn’t without a bunch more setbacks.
After an hour or so of scratching our heads, we found out that the starter relay was bad. I had a real old ratty one to replace it with and despite all the rust, it worked.
The rear set bracket I made was pinching a bit and made shifting really tight. We had to make a new shift rod. We actually made one out of a R65 pushrod.
The front forks were really stiff which ended up being due to the high weight fork oil. I drained and checked for stiction, then added lighter oil and all is well.
I took it for a break-in ride and it rides and sounds amazing.
After the break in though, the idle was not setting properly. The old /5 carbs were nasty and saw a bit too much action in their day… and i think despite the rebuild, there is nothing you can do with worn parts.
I’ll be replacing the carbs soon so fingers crossed she’ll run a bit smoother. I hope to have it dialed in this weekend.
I still have some finishing touches to do as well. Almost to the finish line. Almost.
Here’s $60 of BMW’s texas tea:
