In over my head.. and loving it.

$1500 for a piece of paper? If that's the case, I'll just take the plate off my R90 and put it on the sidecar rig.

So, anyone here actually title a vehicle purchased without a title? Specifically, in Missouri?[/QUOTE]

In Alabama no vehicle registered in 1974 or earlier had a title. All we need here to register an antique bike is a bill of sale. I had a 61 BSA that I bought in Iowa and even though it had a title they didn't want to see it as it was built before 74. I can't imagine why it's such a hassle. Just tell them it came from a state with no title required.

jdubick said:

$1500 for a piece of paper? If that's the case, I'll just take the plate off my R90 and put it on the sidecar rig.

So, anyone here actually title a vehicle purchased without a title? Specifically, in Missouri?

Click to expand...

In Alabama no vehicle registered in 1974 or earlier had a title. All we need here to register an antique bike is a bill of sale. I had a 61 BSA that I bought in Iowa and even though it had a title they didn't want to see it as it was built before 74. I can't imagine why it's such a hassle. Just tell them it came from a state with no title required.

Click to expand...

Do they then issue you a title?

If so, do you want to be my new best friend and buy 2 vintage bikes and sell them to me for the cost of your troubles?

I think I'll keep updates on the sidecar rig to this thread, and start a thread about the conversion bike later. The sidecar rig is my primary focus. I'll request to keep it in vintage because I will be working on the bike primarily, as the sidecar itself is sound.

Today, all my homework's turned in and nothing pertinent lingers. Well, a test on Tuesday.. but anyway. I decided to do some exploratory scotchbrite/WD40-ing.

It's a shame the ol' girl's got so much surface rust. The metal seems solid everywhere.

Ok, I got it to go back down today, but it still won't come out.




Inside the tank toolbox, there's even good paint. (Sorry for any blurry pics, they looked better on my camera.)



The inside of the tank looks damn near perfect.



The seat, too.



I'm surprised this doesn't say "R60/2," but then again, I know nothing about these.



I guess a fuel line goes across these to equalize reserve?



Gotta love cool little details.



I got the air-cleaner choke(?) piece free'd up. Additionally, someone used sealant on the gasket.



Is this a special side-stand? Looks kinda cheesy.



This is kind-of a bummer. At least it's mostly the valve cover, but.. it looks fresh. Neither the position on my trailer, or the trailer of the guy I bought it from, would have caused it. Hmm. Anyone got a spare /2 valve cover they don't want?



Metal probably shouldn't be green.



Pleased to hear solid thuds everywhere I tapped on the sidecar bottom. Someone brushed on a tar bedliner-like stuff. Thanks, whoever you are!



Ball-joints. (What's it about tear-drop shaped cooling fins? I can't remember.)



"Yeah, it's safe.."



Can't wait to hook these back up.



I was pleased to see they're lights on the fender, not just reflectors.



What's this? It has a spring loaded flip cap, and a wire coming out.

I tried to polish a BMW logo, in case the badges all fell off. I got my angle wrong.



Well, expect crappy, infrequent updates like this until I get a break from school.

Speaking of which; I never thought I'd see the day where I turn in an application for graduation. I did so today.

Nathan -

More to keep you busy...

Steering name plate -- I don't think they said "R60/2", etc. Just the R60...

Fuel line -- yeah, there's a fuel line that needs to connect across. You get to take a "gas bath" whenever you need to remove the tank. I've gotten pretty good at pulling the line and capping the end with some rubber plugs, but I still smell like gas for a while.

Sidestand -- looks like it's a Flanders; I never really like the looks of these things. The stock sidestands on the /2s were not that good anyway...I just use my centerstand all the time.

http://w6rec.com/duane/bmw/flanders/index.htm

Cylinder fins -- I'm pretty sure that if the cylinder fins come to a point in front and behind, that's an R50 or R50/2. Rounded is everything else.

crazydrummerdude said:

What's this? It has a spring loaded flip cap, and a wire coming out.

Click to expand...

Sidecar power. A powerlet style socket that is only powered when your lights are turned on. Some folks change it to be a direct-to-battery connection so they can use it to hook up their 6v charger.

Thanks!

The pointed fins mean that it's a 600 -- R67, R67/2, R67/3, R60 or R60/2 -- but not the sport models (R68, R69, R69S).

Almost surely that "Neverbest" petcock will leak gas around the spindle, you should be ready for that.

The sidestand is a Flanders. They are not pretty, but useful when you want a sidestand. The only real problem with them is if you try to kickstart the bike on the sidestand: there's a pin that rests against a frame member to keep the stand from rotating, and the force of kicking the bike will dent the frame tube.

(Don't kickstart the bike on the stock stand either, you'll eventually break off the welded-on pin.)

crazydrummerdude said:

Speaking of which; I never thought I'd see the day where I turn in an application for graduation. I did so today.

Click to expand...

Congratulations Nathan. The light is at the end of the tunnel. Way to go.

Bill Burke said:

Congratulations Nathan. The light is at the end of the tunnel. Way to go.

Click to expand...

Thanks. It's been a long time comin'.

...

In reference to this thread, I suppose I need to get a battery to get this thing sparkin'. I finally drank the cool-aid and got a WestCo for my R90/6, but what is the go-to battery for a /2 (6-volt system)?

...

Also, in response to:



..an advrider inmate sent me:





I'll have a good set of valve covers after all.

crazydrummerdude said:

T
In reference to this thread, I suppose I need to get a battery to get this thing sparkin'. I finally drank the cool-aid and got a WestCo for my R90/6, but what is the go-to battery for a /2 (6-volt system)?

Click to expand...

Thats for a single. The twins of that era are magneto ignition and will run fine without a battery unless you insist on lights when the bike is idling.

When you do decide to replace the battery the Yuasa B38-6A is still popular. Since the battery has such light use they last 8 ~ 12 years. If you don't want a wet battery you can use something like this:



although it is smaller that stock and doesn't fit the battery tray just right. I hollowed out the case of an old Yuasa, painted it black (it was an ugly greenish color) and then put the AGM battery inside. Looks much better that way.

Thanks for the tips.

I hope once winter break starts (1.5 weeks), this thread will bring a bit more life into the Vintage subforum. I'll be throwing in a ton of pics and saying the usual dumb things, like all my other threads!

Well, then.

I was looking over the bikes today in preparation for getting titles.

I checked the VIN plate on the sidecar rig with my bill of sale. Same number. Checked it on this website. Yup, an R60/2 between 1966 and 1969. This one's supposedly a '69.

Then, I checked the VIN plate on the VW rig. Ohh.. that would explain the R69S gage. It says "R69S." On the bill of sale, the previous owner wrote "1957 R60" and wrote a different VIN. So, I guess this ain't no "1957 R60" According to the aforementioned site, it's a 19__ R69S. How should I fill in the blanks? Additionally, how do I verify that my sidecar rig is a 1969? Both bikes have a lower-end VIN for the given model, so I don't know whether to believe the year he wrote, either.

Realoem keeps telling me I have a 1979 528i (car). I think that's wrong, but I don't know what to believe any more..

Isn't there someone at BMW that gets these kinds of letters all day long? What's his name/email again?

The plate comes off in a few seconds and can be swapped around. Don't believe it unless the S/N matches the one on the frame. The email address I have for checking out build info is 10 years old. On the off chance it is still good: Historisches.Archiv@bmw.de.

The last time I got info on my R25/2, I sent an email to:

Andreas dot Harz at partner dot bmwgroup dot com

If he has the info, he can tell you the build dates and when they might have been shipped to dealers.

And RealOEM is not going to work for anything prior to 1970. It's only set to work on 7-digit VINs. BMW never published the actual build dates for anything in the /2 era and before.

marchyman said:

The plate comes off in a few seconds and can be swapped around. Don't believe it unless the S/N matches the one on the frame.

Click to expand...

..and where on the frame is a /2 VIN?

20774 said:

The last time I got info on my R25/2, I sent an email to:

Andreas dot Harz at partner dot bmwgroup dot com

If he has the info, he can tell you the build dates and when they might have been shipped to dealers.

And RealOEM is not going to work for anything prior to 1970. It's only set to work on 7-digit VINs. BMW never published the actual build dates for anything in the /2 era and before.

Click to expand...

Yup, that looks like the right email.

Hey, my sidecar rig has a 7-digit vin. 1812...

crazydrummerdude said:

..and where on the frame is a /2 VIN?

Hey, my sidecar rig has a 7-digit vin. 1812...

Click to expand...

The VIN is stamped into the headstock on the right side.

Ooops...forgot about the situation on the R60/2 and US bikes when they "ran out of" VINs...

Winter Fun

Rare Vintage People -

My first visit to the Vintage forum, but not the last. Obviously, only a strange and wonderful DNA drives some toward the madness of reversing massive oxidation. The true meaning of Blood and Iron.

Well done, CDD!

The seat on the rig looks to be in excellent shape, and I'd highly recommend two products: Obenauf's Heavy Duty LP (leather preservative), which is made only from bee's wax and propolis - good for the hands, too. Best stuff I've ever used for bringing back and preserving leather goods of all kinds. Also, 303 Aerospace Protectant - another "green" product that will make you throw away your Armor All (please!), won't make seats slick, and blocks a ton of UV rays. Works on everything - leather, vinyl, plastic, maybe even skin.

My main wrenching (heh-heh) experience is with restorations on old Hondas, and the 'Wing guru of all time, Randakk, swears by Marvel Mystery Oil in the tanks of old bikes every so often to keep interior rubber parts nice and flexy -- especially in bikes that sit for long periods. Randakk puts his Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval on very few products, and then only on ones that he's tested, so I tend to listen.

The interior of the tank is in pretty amazing shape - anybody know if that's Red Kote, or was that interior coating stock???? One of my main-most recent jobs was de-rusting a tank, and it wasn't much fun.

I'm currently reading a great book, The Vincent in the Barn, by Tom Cotter, and I gotta say that the excellent tale being told on this thread could be a chapter from that book - print worthy, for sure. I mean, finding a great old hack AND a hybrid engineering feat all in one place???

Vicarious thrills lie ahead, and thank you, CDD. If you're new to hack-driving, read up on the how-to's -- there's nothing quite equal to throwing one of these old rigs into a tight, bumpy, off camber lefty curve, hung off the bike like #46, and -- well, you'll just have to try it for yourself, but I guarantee that you're going to like it.

And, uh, I wouldn't worry too much about that side-stand, at least not when the rig is bolted on! It all comes easy once you remember not to put your left foot down at stop signs. This is considered bad form.

Sorry if I'm repeating a lot of "product info" that everybody here already knows! Not a paid shill, but I like to find good products that actually, you know, work.

Regards to all you terrific people.

Walking Eagle

'94 R1100RS - MoonBeamer (the love of my life)
'80 Naked Wing w/ Watsonian Monaco hack/Unit forks - Old Son, mostly restored after eight long years in the barn and six months of rewarding fun.

mrharve@tularosa.net said:

It all comes easy once you remember not to put your left foot down at stop signs.

Click to expand...

I guarantee you I am going to forget.. multiple times.

Thanks for the tips.

..

I moved 'em around Friday for the trip from my garage to my shop.

If we all didn't know any better, we could pretend I parked them here after a long ride.



Oh, and I double-checked the VIN on the conversion frame versus the tag. Different numbers.. the number on the frame matched the bill of sale, though.

Oh, and there's a Hoske in the mail coming my way..

Hoske tank?

Oh my. Pictures, please!