Fender Trimming

Posted on July 26, 2011 by Dirty Fingernails

While i was cutting up the headlight ears, i figured i might as well start trimming and fitting the fenders.

I hope to add some sort of rear fender under the seat to protect all the road grime and pebbles from getting kicked up into the engine area. On one of the donor bikes we acquired, the rear fender had the typical cracks where the mounting points are. But that damage was at the rear mounting points. I’m glad i held onto it because i realized that the two front mounting points have good fiberglass still. I cut the fender down and started fitting it under the seat and with the battery relocation kit.

Typical fiberglass crack on these old fenders.

Nice and whole.

Chop Suey!

It breaks my heart to cut up a brand new fender like this… but i definitely don’t want or need the massive size of the stock fender. So… off goes a few inches. I’ll let the person who preps this for paint do all the clean up and round the edges.

Front Fender custom made for me! Thanks to the guys at Boxercafe.com

Chopped up. The edges still need to be rounded and cleaned up.

Front fender with a test racing stripe

Photos of the rear fender mounted on the bike to come… I still have some trouble shooting to do with the cafe seat…

San Jose Triple Clamp Preparation

Posted on July 25, 2011 by Dirty Fingernails

I received a San Jose billet machined upper Triple Clamp the other day. I also went on e-bay and got some headlight ears without the giant holes in the side for the reflectors commonly seen on the /5 BMWs. I believe these headlight ears are from a mid 70’s /6 bmw.
The solid-sided headlight ears will definitely be a cleaner look.
In order to adapt the much more rigid, and better looking fork brace, about .65 inches need to be trimmed from the top of the headlight ears.

San Jose Upper Triple Clamp - My other one is equally scratched. But looks better/or worse at certain angles. It must be the machining process. I don't think i want to powder coat this. The bare alloy looks nice despite the scratches.

Headlight ears and tripple clamp. The ear on the right shows the trimmed piece. The ear on the left illustrates the line for cutting.

I did a quick silver rattle can spray of the headlight ears and roughly threw together the front end to test fit everything.
Also, most aftermarket handlebars are 7/8 sized bars. BMW bars are 22mm which required shaving out the inside of the handlebar clamps for a better fit. Everything seems to fit nicely. She’s gonna be one fine silver beast.

Test assembly of the forks, triple clamp, headlight ears, and handle bar clamps.

Great little vid on an Inka 2002

Posted on July 17, 2011 by Dirty Fingernails

I wonder if this kid is on the 2002FAQ…
I wonder where in CA he got the car… and how much…
It almost makes me want another one! in Inka!
Regardless, it is a great piece on the BMW 2002.

HBTV: Depth of Speed – The Bond from HBTV on Vimeo.

BMW 2002 Mobile Tradition Restoration Video

Posted on May 4, 2011 by Dirty Fingernails

Talk about a restoration done the right way! It helps if you are the guys who originally designed the car!

Their spare parts warehouse is my version of a candy store.

After parting out one of these last summer, and spending countless hours working on my old 2002, and current 2002, i can say that all the parts look very familiar….

This is about as ‘brand new’ as you can get. I wonder how much they want for it? ha ha…

BMW /5 Rocky Point Key retrofit

Posted on May 3, 2011 by Dirty Fingernails

I can’t take credit for this idea. I saw this on a blog ages ago. I have since tried to locate the blog and haven’t had any luck so i figured i’d share my experience here on beemersandbits.com.

Hopefully this will help those out there trying to do the same key modification to their /5. I think /2 BMW’s use the same ‘beetle’ looking key.

Photo lifted from Rocky Point Cycle. They include detailed instructions on how to install this key mechanism

Original beetle looking BMW motorcycle key for a /5.

First you have to remove the old key mechanism. Quickly you start to realize that this upgrade is valid. the contacts and wiring aren’t the best after 38+ years.
Start by taking a long screwdriver and carefully bend the 4 tabs that hold the original key relay in place.

Removal of old switch mechanism

Not much to it. this is the order in which all these pieces went together.

The next step is to prepare everything. I used some small drill bits and drilled around the old key. After doing enough drilling, i was able to wiggle it loose and remove it from the ‘beetle’.
I then had to file down the head of the new key to fit inside the ‘beetle’.

Old 'key' removed from beetle. New key shaved down to fit.

Next was finding a way to get MacGyver and keep the key in place while the epoxy hardens.

Key in headlight housing in 'off' position

Key in 'run' position

DMV-Done. Eye Candy – Mark’s Bikes

Posted on March 30, 2011 by Dirty Fingernails

I pushed the BMW to the DMV. They inspected it. Took my money. Put the bike into the ‘system’ and told me that i had to take it to the California Highway Patrol for a VIN inspection to verify it wasn’t stolen.
Went to the Torrance CHP a week later and the Officer was really cool to talk to. He had some great stories of people sending frames to Japan, a recent inspection he did on a Kawasaki that turned out to be stolen in 1983 and he is trying to find the original owner to return the bike to, etc…
Imagine getting something stolen 25 years ago and then getting it back?Since i have no photos to update the progress on the BMW, i figured i’d showcase some of Mark’s collection that to my knowledge, is still for sale. Contact me if you are interested in any of the bikes below.

Awesome Jawa. I've been advise to not even try riding it. These things are SUPER dangerous and unintuitive. Apparently you give it gas when you want to brake. it sure looks fun though.