crazydrummerdude
advrider.com
Well, it’s cold, dark, and a little snowy outside right now, so I figured it was time for a write-up of my 1974 R75/6 and my introduction to the BMW motorcycle world.
Fall 2004
As mentioned on my R90 thread, I didn’t even know BMW made motorcycles until my friends parents became my new lawncare customer(s), and they had two old, broken motorcycles in their garage under boxes and behind “junk.”
One of us informed the other that a deal could be made.. and after a small wait, the deal was struck.
December 2, 2004
I drove my Blazer to my grandmas to pick up my Silverado/trailer and go pick up my new motorcycle. The Silverado was parked in the field behind the shed because the shed was full of other crap (we'll get to this). I started up the Silverado and drove in a big half-circle before I got completely stuck in the mud.
So, I:
went into the shed to retrieve the other trailer inside.
had to pick up and move about 30 sheets of 4'x8 and 4'x12' drywall that was sitting in the middle of the shed for a different project.
had to unload approximately 50 computers off of the other trailer.
had to carry the trailer out to my Blazer.
This trailer had a single axle, no gate, a license plate that was several years expired, no chains, a questionable wiring harness, and those dinky 12”(?) wheels/tires. Whereas, the stuck-in-the-mud trailer had 2 axles, a gate, clear plates, chains, good wiring, full size wheels/tires.
I drove out to the customers house. Their son and I determined the motorcycle was too heavy for the both of us to lift. The "ramp" we rigged was a thin piece of plywood, but didn’t work because the R75’s tires were flat. So, we called our friend Jim and his girlfriend to come help. The three of us males were finally able to get it on the trailer, and strap it down.
I took it by my dads work so that he could admire it (25 years prior, he had a similar year R75/5 toaster tank BMW), and by my jealous friends work for a little bragging. Haha.
It was getting a little late, and I dropped it off at my grandmas shed and went home to do research. I remember describing the engine to my brother on the phone as looking like a briefcase with cylinders sticking out the sides.
Winter 2004 / Spring 2005
I removed the fairing, changed out all the fluids, replaced the battery, coated the tank (with Kreem, yeah, I know), replaced the petcocks, rebuilt the carbs, and cleaned the bike a little bit in the mean time. I also titled it.
May 16, 2005
I was hanging out at my grandmas with my brother when his friend Mark stopped by and after some prodding, he convinced me to drive home and get the gas tank that I had waxed. I brought it back, and after a very small amount of effort, I had it running for the first time. This machine sat for 20some years with gas still in the tank, and it's able to start up with very little actual mechanical work. I put 12.8 miles on it riding it around the neighborhoods near my grandmas.
The following year
I rebuilt the master cylinder. I bought the appropriate headlight parts and turn signals along with a few special tools. I sold my fairing. I did general work on cleaning and maintaining the bike.
August 26, 2006
As I was pulling into my driveway, the motorcycle died. I attempted to restart it, but the only thing that happened was the blinker blinked once, and quickly dimmed out.
Afterwords,
• there was no response from the starter button,
• the neutral light did not work,
• the blinkers wouldn’t do anything more than flash once,
I did the following to troubleshoot the problem;
• I replaced the starter relay with a brand new one, but nothing changed, so I re-installed the old relay.
• I replaced the fuses with new ones, but nothing changed, so I re-installed the old fuses.
• I tried to charge the dead battery with a charger that was supposedly “too powerful,” and may have “fried” the battery.
Of course the day that happened, both my mom and my grandma asked "Oh, you got the motorcycle running?"
It sat in this condition for a little too long before I was fed up with troubleshooting, and decided to take it to a shop. In this time I finally got a digital camera. Here is a picture of how it was as of about the beginning of August 2006.
This is about 50x better than it was when I recieved it. Yet, notice:
the Vetter Windjammer wiring harness just hanging out of the bottom of the headlight.
the semi-bent posts where turn signals should be.
the shredded fork gaitors.
the rust all over and the dirt.
the rusty/green spokes.
the tires:
November 9, 2006
Iit passed inspection.
November 13, 2006
Icensed it.
Mid-December, 2006
About 1000 miles accumulated.
May 4, 2007
I'd ridden it about 2000 miles. I changed the oil and filter in 'er.. a little premature, but I wanted to examine if there were any metal shavings in the oil. None.
July 14, 2007
First several-hundred mile road trip. Stopped at my family farm for fireworks.
September 2007
Installed new carb floats and removed dried/cracked fuel filters.
Early October 2007
Attended the Falling Leaf rally in Potosi, MO.
October 20, 2007
Rebuilt the speedometer.
October 21, 2007
Speedometer cable broke, so I replaced it. I swear it had nothing to do with my rebuild! Haha.
October 28, 2007
It wouldn't freaking start that morning. So, I adjusted the R75 valves with my new metric feeler gagues and set the clearances as per the Clymer. As they were, one intake was probably 1.5+mm, the other was slightly less, and neither exhaust valves actually closed. Ridiculous. Surprising it even ran. I also noticed the carbs were a bit cockeyed, so I made them more vertical, and made sure all the connections were tight. The ride home was like a whole new bike. Amazing difference in performance.
December 4, 2007
It happens to everyone. I dropped it. At least this was in my front yard. Left a funny valve cover dent in the ground.
Fall 2004
As mentioned on my R90 thread, I didn’t even know BMW made motorcycles until my friends parents became my new lawncare customer(s), and they had two old, broken motorcycles in their garage under boxes and behind “junk.”
One of us informed the other that a deal could be made.. and after a small wait, the deal was struck.
December 2, 2004
I drove my Blazer to my grandmas to pick up my Silverado/trailer and go pick up my new motorcycle. The Silverado was parked in the field behind the shed because the shed was full of other crap (we'll get to this). I started up the Silverado and drove in a big half-circle before I got completely stuck in the mud.
So, I:
went into the shed to retrieve the other trailer inside.
had to pick up and move about 30 sheets of 4'x8 and 4'x12' drywall that was sitting in the middle of the shed for a different project.
had to unload approximately 50 computers off of the other trailer.
had to carry the trailer out to my Blazer.
This trailer had a single axle, no gate, a license plate that was several years expired, no chains, a questionable wiring harness, and those dinky 12”(?) wheels/tires. Whereas, the stuck-in-the-mud trailer had 2 axles, a gate, clear plates, chains, good wiring, full size wheels/tires.
I drove out to the customers house. Their son and I determined the motorcycle was too heavy for the both of us to lift. The "ramp" we rigged was a thin piece of plywood, but didn’t work because the R75’s tires were flat. So, we called our friend Jim and his girlfriend to come help. The three of us males were finally able to get it on the trailer, and strap it down.
I took it by my dads work so that he could admire it (25 years prior, he had a similar year R75/5 toaster tank BMW), and by my jealous friends work for a little bragging. Haha.
It was getting a little late, and I dropped it off at my grandmas shed and went home to do research. I remember describing the engine to my brother on the phone as looking like a briefcase with cylinders sticking out the sides.
Winter 2004 / Spring 2005
I removed the fairing, changed out all the fluids, replaced the battery, coated the tank (with Kreem, yeah, I know), replaced the petcocks, rebuilt the carbs, and cleaned the bike a little bit in the mean time. I also titled it.
May 16, 2005
I was hanging out at my grandmas with my brother when his friend Mark stopped by and after some prodding, he convinced me to drive home and get the gas tank that I had waxed. I brought it back, and after a very small amount of effort, I had it running for the first time. This machine sat for 20some years with gas still in the tank, and it's able to start up with very little actual mechanical work. I put 12.8 miles on it riding it around the neighborhoods near my grandmas.
The following year
I rebuilt the master cylinder. I bought the appropriate headlight parts and turn signals along with a few special tools. I sold my fairing. I did general work on cleaning and maintaining the bike.
August 26, 2006
As I was pulling into my driveway, the motorcycle died. I attempted to restart it, but the only thing that happened was the blinker blinked once, and quickly dimmed out.
Afterwords,
• there was no response from the starter button,
• the neutral light did not work,
• the blinkers wouldn’t do anything more than flash once,
I did the following to troubleshoot the problem;
• I replaced the starter relay with a brand new one, but nothing changed, so I re-installed the old relay.
• I replaced the fuses with new ones, but nothing changed, so I re-installed the old fuses.
• I tried to charge the dead battery with a charger that was supposedly “too powerful,” and may have “fried” the battery.
Of course the day that happened, both my mom and my grandma asked "Oh, you got the motorcycle running?"
It sat in this condition for a little too long before I was fed up with troubleshooting, and decided to take it to a shop. In this time I finally got a digital camera. Here is a picture of how it was as of about the beginning of August 2006.
This is about 50x better than it was when I recieved it. Yet, notice:
the Vetter Windjammer wiring harness just hanging out of the bottom of the headlight.
the semi-bent posts where turn signals should be.
the shredded fork gaitors.
the rust all over and the dirt.
the rusty/green spokes.
the tires:
November 9, 2006
Iit passed inspection.
November 13, 2006
Icensed it.
Mid-December, 2006
About 1000 miles accumulated.
May 4, 2007
I'd ridden it about 2000 miles. I changed the oil and filter in 'er.. a little premature, but I wanted to examine if there were any metal shavings in the oil. None.
July 14, 2007
First several-hundred mile road trip. Stopped at my family farm for fireworks.
September 2007
Installed new carb floats and removed dried/cracked fuel filters.
Early October 2007
Attended the Falling Leaf rally in Potosi, MO.
October 20, 2007
Rebuilt the speedometer.
October 21, 2007
Speedometer cable broke, so I replaced it. I swear it had nothing to do with my rebuild! Haha.
October 28, 2007
It wouldn't freaking start that morning. So, I adjusted the R75 valves with my new metric feeler gagues and set the clearances as per the Clymer. As they were, one intake was probably 1.5+mm, the other was slightly less, and neither exhaust valves actually closed. Ridiculous. Surprising it even ran. I also noticed the carbs were a bit cockeyed, so I made them more vertical, and made sure all the connections were tight. The ride home was like a whole new bike. Amazing difference in performance.
December 4, 2007
It happens to everyone. I dropped it. At least this was in my front yard. Left a funny valve cover dent in the ground.