Tag Archives: motorcycle

That Damn Steering Lock!

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It is hard to explain the time it takes to build one of these bikes.
I totally forgot that the new BMW steering lock kit needs modifications. It was one of those jobs that should take 5 minutes and instead took over 45 minutes.
I first installed the lock and realized it wasn’t activating properly.
And then scratched my head and I remembered that I have to modify it as seen in this post:
http://beemersandbits.com/2012/07/steering-lock-install/
So here it goes.
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And then it came time to add the cover and quickly realized that it needs modifications as well.
Here is the front side of a new cover, and an old one I had cad plated:
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Here is the rear:
IMG_4192It takes a care amount of time to rout out the rear of the plate for the notch on the frame that guides the cover as you open and close it. It isn’t a perfect work of art but luckily nobody will ever see the rear of this cover.
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Future Projects

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While the R75 bits are out of my hands, it was time for a R90/6 day!
I bought two R90/6 bikes last summer from the same person. One had a title, one did not. Even though I had the title, the bike wasn’t registered since 1994 and after the North Ridge earthquake, it got parked and sat ever since.
It has a deep oil pan, lightened flywheel, dual plugged heads, beefy triple tree, fork brace, and a few other goodies.

I took it partially apart for transport to my house in my station wagon last summer:
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Once i got home, i took the whole bike apart. Then I tried to get it registered.
The DMV wouldn’t touch it because it was out of the system, so I slapped it together for a trip to the CHP.
I had the officer from car accident experts at Bengal Law inspect the VIN of the other bike (without title) and he said it checks out as well.He suggested me that it is always best to contact truck accident injury lawyers after truck accident as they can claim compensation for the injuries sustained.Beaufort area truck accidents lawyers can also help you out legally in dealing with the matters related to accidents.

The transmission and swingarm are empty. no carbs. no instruments. I basically had to make it look like a bike just so it could get verified.

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Then I went off to my buddy’s house to get his wrecked R60/6.
He pulled out into traffic and got involved into a fatal motorcycle crash. The BMW cylinders saved his live and thankfully he was only sent to the hospital with minor injuries and the vehicles involved were almost immediately sent to the mechanic for a quick auto collision repair. He walked away with just a scratch on his leg. On a different bike, his leg would have been crushed but the car hit the cylinder instead.
The Helmet he had on helped too.
I am going to get this looking like a bike again for him. We hope to have some fun with it in the process… we are thinking of blacking everything out, and making this a sleek, trimmed down cafe bike.

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Torn down and ready for paint and powder

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The body work has been sent to the painter.
And all the metal bits have been blasted and brought to the powder coating shop.
I stopped by the shop to go over all the masking of what should get plugged and masked from the powder coat.

Making Progress!

When this stuff comes back, it will be beautiful.

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Old Steering Bearings

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I am glad I am doing a complete rebuild of this bike. The steering was a bit stiff and not smooth. Once I got the neck out of the frame, I realized why.
Rusted Steering bearings.
Since the frame is going to be powder coated, the races have to come out anyway. I could see somebody buying the bike and not getting this deep into the restoration and it would be dangerous to ride with bearings like that.
These went straight to the trash.

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A quick look at Siebenrock pistons for a R75/5

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These piston and cylinder kits seem to be the rage right now. I used one on the last build and had very little problems aside from the pushrod seals being extremely difficult to install.
The pistons are made to mate with the R75/5 heads and you can use the same carbs (might need to change jetting).

Here is a quick look at the piston and how it compares to a stock R75/5 piston that i have lying around.

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It is a lighter, yet wider piston. The piston on the right has the rings on it still. The siebenrock doesn’t have the rings on it.
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I didn’t measure heights when i snapped this photo but they seem close.
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The piston in the cylinder. The cylinder wall is very thin compared to a R75/5 cylinder.
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I haven’t heard of any issues with these yet. Supposedly they give you a 20% gain in power… so that makes it around 900cc.
I’m pretty sure they are cheaper then replacement BMW parts too.