wynk
New member
TL;DR: Best practice and order of steps for a complete teardown to the bare frame, then building it back up again?
Full story: I'm new to the Airhead world (have a few UJM motorcycles so far) and recently picked up my first: a '78 R80/7 with ~100,000 miles on it here in Vancouver, BC. Runs alright, bit of leaking and creaking here and there. Over the winter I'm doing a full tear down and restomod in my garage with help from a professional car mechanic friend, a Hayne's manual, and…you guys? I've spent about 20 hours reading up on the ins and outs of these machines. Lots of great forums and websites, from the Great List on here (https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?50991-Rebuild-Sites-with-Photos) to sites like http://w6rec.com/, http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/, and http://brook.reams.me/bmw-motorcyle-rebuilds/.
So, where to start?
What order of operations (airhead-specific or just general moto best practices) do people recommend to get down to the bare frame?
What needs to be removed first so some other thing can get out?
What are priorities?
So far I've been going by these lists of airhead things to watch out for:
http://www.flatracer.com/bmw-airhead-faq/4533419626
http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/bmw/bmw_r80-7 77.htm
Of note, we'll be:
The bike, untouched (by us) and straight from Craigslist last week.
Full story: I'm new to the Airhead world (have a few UJM motorcycles so far) and recently picked up my first: a '78 R80/7 with ~100,000 miles on it here in Vancouver, BC. Runs alright, bit of leaking and creaking here and there. Over the winter I'm doing a full tear down and restomod in my garage with help from a professional car mechanic friend, a Hayne's manual, and…you guys? I've spent about 20 hours reading up on the ins and outs of these machines. Lots of great forums and websites, from the Great List on here (https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?50991-Rebuild-Sites-with-Photos) to sites like http://w6rec.com/, http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/, and http://brook.reams.me/bmw-motorcyle-rebuilds/.
So, where to start?
What order of operations (airhead-specific or just general moto best practices) do people recommend to get down to the bare frame?
What needs to be removed first so some other thing can get out?
What are priorities?
So far I've been going by these lists of airhead things to watch out for:
http://www.flatracer.com/bmw-airhead-faq/4533419626
http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/bmw/bmw_r80-7 77.htm
Of note, we'll be:
- Repainting the tank
- Powdercoating the frame
- Having the engine inspected / rebuilt by a local pro shop (Shail's for those in Vancouver)
- Upgrading some electrical, lights, dials, li-ion battery (think Motogadget m-unit, etc.)
- Fabricating custom luggage racks
- Maybe a new(er), stiffer front fork
- Getting the seat reupholstered
The bike, untouched (by us) and straight from Craigslist last week.