Stripping her down for some pushing

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Title time. I gotta get this baby to DMV to get the VIN inspected and into the ‘system’ so i can get a title.  There is a DMV  1.4 miles from my house (according to google maps). Hopefully they will issue a title there but i have a feeling a second inspection by the Highway Patrol is necessary.  I went through something similar when i put a different engine in my last build.

Unfortunately I’m gonna have to push it that 1.4 miles.  Luckily it is flat.
I took everything off that i possibly could while maintaining the appearance of a motorcycle.  No transmission, no fenders, no seat, no tank.  She’s actually pretty light after all that stuff is off.
And thankfully the tires still hold air.

Stripped down R75/5

Stripped down R75/5

The Clock

Off to get bike #2

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The Palm Desert. The only thing growing out here is wind farms.

Heading out to Mark’s garage in the Palm Desert is like going to a giant candy store. SOooo many bikes…
He has a crazy palette jack that lowers the bikes from the racks.  He brought down BMW #2.  She looks fully complete.  Bummer about the dent in the tank. And bummer,  no title.

BMW up on a shelf. Ummm, yes, i’ll take THAT one.

Brought down from the rafters. A new home awaits! Cool palette system huh?

My buddy Matt Grayson secured a van for us to transport this bike back home.  He had his eye on the Honda CL200 (as did I).  He ended up taking it home for a mere $350.  If he didn’t buy it i was going to.

Honda CL 200

And out of all the bikes out there, i couldn’t get my eyes off of this rinky dink Harley Davidson.  I had to have it just because it is the complete Anti-Harley.  I can’t wait to get this used harleys cleaned up and running then to pull up to a Harley gang at a stop light and see the look on their faces.

’68 Harley Davidson Aermacchi M-65

I see myself headed back there for another bike… eventually.  There are sooo many gems sitting there that i want to get running and ride. Hopefully i can find a home for one of the Triumphs…

One Bike Naked, one to go get

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Space it a bit limited in my garage.  I made a promise to myself that i would tear apart one motorcycle and organize all the parts before i acquire another one.  So, on a sunny sunday, i had this poor gal torn down in about two hours.

BMW Donor Bike #1. She's in sad shape. This is how it looked in the rear of my car.

BMW bits ready for Boxing

Engine (other side has a broken rod), wheel, some goofy home made center stand

Naked frame. Just gotta remove the triple tree, steering bearings and swingarm bearings

I finally decided to get one of Ed Korn’s bearing / race pullers.  I love having a new tool in the arsenal (ha ha, i said tool). I look forward to pulling the races out of the frame…. but i’ll save that for another day. Time to pack all this stuff up and stash it under my stack of surboards in my garage.  And, the best part… time to get bike #2!

Found one! No wait, found two?

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i started to keep my eyes peeled for a donor bike and sure enough, one turned up on a BMW online classifieds site for $600. It was the right model, but in sad sad shape. No biggy, the whole thing will get torn apart and rebuilt anyway.  The seller is about 5 hours away but was visiting his mom who is 2 hours away.  I agreed to go meet him and pick the bike up, take it apart and cram it into my station wagon.

As i meet the seller at a gas station in the Palm Desert, somebody else pulls up and asks me if that is a R75 BMW and would i like to buy another one.

Thinking he is a joker or is going to want LOTS of money for it, i tell him yes but it depends on cost and condition. His name is Mark, dressed in business attire and he offers to help out with us taking apart a motorcycle and cram it into my wagon.

 

parking lot bike disassembly

BMW transaction #1 into my VW Diesel wagon

After i settle up with the seller, Mark asks me to follow him to his work.  A few minutes later, we wash our hands of all the grime and we talk about motorcycles in his office. He’s an interesting guy with an sad yet interesting story. It turns out he has another bike, the exact same model, fully complete and wants only $400 for it. We go for a ride to take a look and holy crap. I entered the holy grail of motorcycle garages.  JAWAs, Bultacos, Triumps, Harleys, tons of Yamahas, a sweet Honda CL 200, etc…   I tell him i’ll take the second bike and i’ll be back in a few weeks to pick it up.  The other bikes are for sale too and i can’t help but drooool over some of them… but the garage was so overwhelming, i could barely take it all in.

my dream garage. The BMW is up there among the others.