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Complete Restoration of BMW R75/5 into Cafe Racer

How come the BMW bikes, older too, are so mild in power...jam1981

It's the 1969 technology...:)

But the newer bikes certainly aren't lacking for power.

...those bikes had problems straight from the factory...myminds0k

I've never heard of this, either.
 
Past vs. Present

My feeling is that if I wanted speed and performance I would have bought modern, I wanted nothing to do with that. There is a very tangible element with these older cars and bikes that cannot be found in a modern car. If I wanted speed with the Porsche I would have bought a 911 Turbo and saved myself some money and if that was my desire with the bike, I would have bought a crotch rocket. Not for me my friends. This was so solidified into my body when I drove my 356 for the first time. There is nothing like it, no computer chips, no air conditioning, no radio for God's sake, it was just me and the car and with this car you feel everything, you feel like you are driving something. My Mother just bought a new Cadillac with 1000 bells and whistles and you drive it and you just feel blah! The technology has taken so much away from the thrill of driving, I would rather take a bus. At least with a bus I can get some sort of feedback in my butt when we hit a bump. It was a different time, a time when cars were cars and nothing more. I have a feeling the BMW will be the same way. Not about speed, it is about character and a history behind the bikes that cannot be matched. When I took my car to Harris Hill Road Race track for our track day, there was a $250,000 race edition Ferrari at the track and many other gorgeous modern cars and when I car pulled up, it was swarmed, nobody was standing by the Ferrari or asking for a ride, they all wanted to know about and sit in the 45 year old Porsche, that kind of history, that kind of heritage cannot be bought and can only be felt from something older, modern cars and bikes for that matter are lost in translation. Besides what is cooler than taking an old car or an old bike and bringing it back from the brink of death and putting it back on the road in glorious fashion, it is why I am doing these projects. I am one lucky SOB.

Thanks for hearing me out,
Shane
 
Early /5s...20774

Thanks for this, Kurt. :thumb

I had a couple of tank slappers with my R100RS, and they were terrifying.

The technology has taken so much away...balkowitsch

And there are also a host of people criticising the newer 911s (not the GTs) for their blah factor, including Porsche expert Chris Harris.

I would have loved to see the look on that Ferrari guy's face. :laugh

I see Excellence has another interesting outlaw in this month's issue, a car that was owned by a real outlaw.
 
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New Ferrari has nothing on 45 Year Old 145HP Porsche

Thanks for this, Kurt. :thumb

I had a couple of tank slappers with my R100RS, and they were terrifying.



And there are also a host of people criticising the newer 911s (not the GTs) for their blah factor, including Porsche expert Chris Harris.

I would have loved to see the look on that Ferrari guy's face. :laugh

I see Excellence has another interesting outlaw in this month's issue, a car that was owned by a real outlaw.

I can tell you exactly what the Ferrari guy was doing, he walked over to my car and asked if he could sit in it. It was just too cool. Even people that do not know what these early Porsche cars are, they can just sense it is something special and I believe that is why they and other vintage and historic cars and bikes are so coveted. I read that article, Jack Walters and I, he is the owner of the Outlaw Porsche in Excellence email each other back and forth. He has been very supportive of my restoration and I was so happy to see his finally done. His Dean Jeffries modified 356 is without a doubt and nobody argues this the first 356 Outlaw ever and the rest of us are just following in that cars place. Very cool car, Jack Walters is a very cool dude, he bought that car when he was 18 years old and kept it all these years, never really knowing how significant it was going to be, that takes balls and class to bring it back and restore it back to former glory and Jack is the man in my book.

I just hope the BMW we are embarking on can be as unique and as rewarding to build and drive, I have every feeling that it will be. Have a great afternoon. My Porsche arrives to Bismarck for the first time since we started 2 years ago, the truck driver Bud just called and it will be here in 6 hours. Many family and friends going to stop by and watch it off the truck for the first time. Everyone has been so supportive and I appreciate everyone in this forum being so supportive with my bike build. You guys are great and we will do our best to make you all proud.

Thanks,
Shane
 
Stripped Down

The bike is as naked as it can get, I will have some pictures shortly. We got our wheels in also this week. Josh also go the German Iron Cross Torsion Bar covers, a set from England, I really like how they turned out on the Porsche so I have given him the challenge of incorporating at least one of the Torsion Bar Covers in the same paint scheme into the bike, he received it and said they were small than he thought which was a good thing, not sure where we will put it, but since this is a sister bike to the car, it would really marry the two vehicles together. Crazy thought, but we will give it a try. I have all the ideas in the world, some are nuts, some do not work, some do work, it is all about thinking outside of the box and doing something different. Have a great weekend everyone. Sorry posting has been lacking, spending time with the kids during summer before they go back to school.

Thanks,
Shane:dance
 
German Iron Cross Torsion Bar Covers

How to incorporate one of them into the bike is the artistic challenge ahead of us, don't want it to look hokey, goofy or overdone, not sure but we are going to give it a try.

Thanks,
Shane

PS: What better for a German Motorcylce. The Iron Cross insignia goes back hundreds of years and had positive origins, long before Hitler tried to ruin it, but we will not let him have that power over this historic symbol.
 

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But, how many people viewing the bike will know this, that the symbol is hundreds of years old. I am not sure that I would use it.

Wayne
 
Iron Cross

But, how many people viewing the bike will know this, that the symbol is hundreds of years old. I am not sure that I would use it.

Wayne

Dear Wayne, thanks for the thought, but like I said if we allow others to ruin a perfectly good symbol of "Heroism", Hitler took enough from the people and the culture of Germany, we need to take things back, this symbol has nothing to do with his regime. The bike is German, the symbol is German, both positive things. Besides I am 50% German and maybe this is where my feels stem from.

Thanks,
Shane

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Cross
 
just my 2 cents, while the symbol doesn't have much of the negativity associated with it nowadays, it has been co-opted many times over by various "underground" subcultures, most of which have obviously become more mainstream and not so "rebellious" anymore. everyone from punk/skinheads to surfers/skateboarders of the 70's and 80's. and obviously the whole chopper/biker thing. having grown up in the whole punk/skate scene and seeing the iron cross of more of a "brand" now emblazoned across wrestling and chopper tshirts all through every wal-mart in the world, the symbol doesn't mean much at all to me anymore. it just looks like every other cornball logo. i understand your point of "bringing it back" and the initial heroism of it and all, but at this point, it already seems like a corporate brand. it still looks badass though, haha. i know alot of people may disagree, and maybe i see it differently being maybe younger or growing up through a different "scene" than most. but just thought i'd share my thoughts for giggles.

looking forward to seeing this bike though!
 
westcoastchopperss2979.jpg



seen almost everywhere
 
To clarify.. ...

The "Iron Cross" is not German, it is Prussian in origin (designed by architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel) and was first presented by King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia in 1813, during the Napoleonic Wars.
In 1871 it was adopted for use by the German Army, and used until 1918. At which time the simpler

"Greek Cross" was adopted by the Bundeswehr.

120px-Greek_cross.svg.png


which morphed into the more recognizable "Balkan Cross" used by the Luftwaffe from 1935-38

240px-Black_Balkan_cross_of_Luftwaffe_1935-1938.svg.png


The cross image that is hundreds of years old is the "Maltese Cross" associated with the Knights Hospitaller (sometimes called the Crusader's Cross) and dates from around 1550, and is still used as the Maritime flag of Malta.

MalteseCrossTattooMeaning.jpg


Much to the chagrin of the Maltese (considering it was under British rule at the time), it was adopted, modified, and presented to German Forces as the Spanish Cross of Honor in 1939, for service in the "Kondor Legion" during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939).
 

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Being "half German" myself, I can think of several interesting, and historic, images of Deutschland without the connotations of WWII or outlaw motorcycle club-ness... .

1949 on
Germany_Flag.jpg
1834-1922
GermanEmpire1871-1918Flag.gif
germany_german_flag.png
german_flag.gif
162052403v3_480x480_Front.jpg



Literally hundreds of City Coats of Arms

Aachen
70px-Stadtwappen_der_kreisfreien_Stadt_Aachen.svg.png
Berlin
70px-Coat_of_arms_of_Berlin.svg.png
Mainbernheim
75px-Wappen_Mainbernheim.png
Bergen
73px-Stadt_Bergen-Wappen.jpg
My family tree goes back to Siegen
65px-Wappen_Siegen.svg.png
Stuttgart
78px-Coat_of_arms_of_Stuttgart.svg.png



Just a personal thing... whenever I think of an "iron cross" on a motorcycle, this is usually what I also think of

2920.jpg
kur_1532_Raptor_Backrest_with_IronCross_taillight.jpg
3910785908_ca3a20d4d1_o.jpg


But hey... . no accountin' for personal taste.

Speaking of which... this is the one really I'm drawn to...

hofbrau-munchen.jpg
:drink :beer
 
Iron Cross and Swastika for that Matter

Yep, the Iron Cross has been used loosely all over the place and really has become a modern pop symbol. I know we are getting a little off track from the build but it is the history behind the bikes and some of these other symbols that really intrigues me.

I did some looking into the Swastika which is a much more controversial image and it too goes way back in time and had very positive meanings, a simple Wikipedia search below give a great historical perspective of this even more controversial mark:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika

My thoughts are the more of these images we can take back and educate ourselves about their meanings and their origins, the more educated we all will become to the history surrounding them and the next time I see an Iron Cross or heavens forbid a Swastika, maybe a more positive thought will come to mind.

As for Hitler and his regime, it is unbelievable to me to this day that he was able to perpetuate his beliefs and justify killing of million of Jews for so long, lets hope we all have learned and do not allow this sort of terrible human tragedy to ever happen again on this Earth.

Thanks for hearing me out, I know history behind the Iron Cross and I am proud to display it not only on my car but on my bike. If someone asks about it, I will educate them at that time. As for Hitler, rest assured he is rotting in hell, Screw Hitler!

Thanks,
Shane
 
Chilocco Indian Agricultural School Basketball Team in 1909

I bet these young basketball players had no idea of Hitler and his ridiculous future motives and turmoil, Hitler was only 20 years old at the time this photograph was taken and there are images of the Swastika that are seen on pottery that go back over 2000 years.

Thanks,
Shane
 

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This has been a good, healthy discussion of symbolism and how it may have touched lives in a variety of ways. Let's keep it that way and not go down the slippery slope of politics, evil people, and how it affected people in devastating ways. I really don't want this to get off the rails...thanks...
 
Agreed

This has been a good, healthy discussion of symbolism and how it may have touched lives in a variety of ways. Let's keep it that way and not go down the slippery slope of politics, evil people, and how it affected people in devastating ways. I really don't want this to get off the rails...thanks...

I agree, thanks!

Shane
 
Post one of two

Here is my suggestion for the logo. Love the stuff. Look at the next post too.
 

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Post two of two

The side panel of my bike with my favorite beer's logo. I also have it on the rear of my car.
 

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