Recommeded shops to do R90/6 spline repair?

Thanks to feedback here, I've found a couple trustworthy shops here in the L.A./Orange area of SoCal that consistently do reliable work on classic BMWs. After speaking with them, it's clear they will need to outsource the job of repairing the final drive spines and drum driving dog if they show excessive wear.

Looking through posts here, and googling spline repair for these old bikes, Hansen's in Medford OR comes up a lot. For about 25 years they've had success at welding the splines solid, and then machining new splines. Though both shops I spoke to recognize Hansen's good reputation for the process over the years, they did say they would prefer to see an entirely new spline gear welded onto the ring gear shaft if possible.

I'm guessing that must be a relatively new process, as the only place I've found offering a new final drive spline replacement is Boxer2Valve in Hendersonville, NC. And they're the only shop I've found so far that offers to install a new spine.

Bruno's Machine & Repair in Ontario Canada came up frequently as a shop that did quality spline work. But the most recent information I can find on them is 2 years old, and sadly talk about Bruno being unwell and battling cancer.

Is anyone aware of other shops around the country that can install a new spline on these old ring gear drive shafts?

Matt Parkhouse will tell you Hansen's.....

You might check with Tom Cutter at Rubber Chicken Racing Garage...he has access to good machinists. Also get with Ted Porter at Beemer Garage. They could give you their take on various approaches to to this repair.

ebeeby said:

Matt Parkhouse will tell you Hansen's.....

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A number of people have been recommending Hansens. They have a pretty good track record at spline repair. Is Matt Parkhouse familiar with the process of fitting new splines to the ring gear shaft? The only information I can find on it seems to be from just in the past few years.

20774 said:

You might check with Tom Cutter at Rubber Chicken Racing Garage...he has access to good machinists. Also get with Ted Porter at Beemer Garage. They could give you their take on various approaches to to this repair.

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Both are probably good sources for information about this. Ted Porter is just up the coast in Scotts Valley, and might know if anyone in CA is fitting new splines.

Good suggestions. Thanks folks.

Have settled on a spline repair method if needed.

After a visit to Irv Seaver in Orange today, I'm convinced they're the people to have a look into what's causing this noise. My main focus going down there was to find out which of the 2 processes of spline repair I'd researched they would recommend if they found them the culprit:

Option 1. Sending the ring gear & spline shaft to Hansen's in OR, and having them fill the splines with weld and then machining new splines.

Option 2. Sending the ring & spline shaft to Boxer2Valve in NC to have them machine down the splines, slide new splines over the shaft, and then weld them in place along the seam up against the ring.

But while I was talking to Tom Tohal, their vintage service specialist about the 2 options, a younger 'kid' mechanic there caught wind of our conversation. He pointed out a 3rd option neither of us were aware of (or at least Tom wasn't as versed in). Apparently the R90/6's ring gear can be cut off just inside the teeth, and a whole new unit including the splines, shaft, and inner ring plate welded back in along the large diameter inside the ring.

I'd nixed the Boxer2Valve approach when I read deeper into Hanson's process posted on their website. They point out that a weld around the relatively small diameter of a replacement spline to the body of the ring gear is more susceptible to failure due to torque than their spline weld & machining method. But the process Tom's young co-worker suggested sounds like the way to go. That was Tom's conclusion too.

On my way out, I noticed an elderly gentleman sitting by the desk of one of the executives in the showroom. Turned out that was Evan Bell, the current owner who bought the shop from Seaver back in the late 70s - 80s. I'd hit the jackpot! He was a font of information about spline repair on these old bikes. Before I could describe the 2 methods I'd been looking into, or mention what the kid in back recommended, he said he considered the most reliable repair method was in fact cutting out the outer ring, and welding in this replacement 'inners' that apparently is a relatively easy to locate repair part these days. And this is a method they can do in-shop. I wonder if anyone here has ever seen this before.

Evan was great. I'd mentioned taking my old '60 R60 to Hank Sleger in NJ a few times in the 60s. And he told me stories about some of the best times of his younger years in Germany at BMW training seminars where Hank was the resident interpreter. He took me upstairs and gave me a tour of his vintage bike collection, the crown jewel being an R32 flat-twin boxer from BMW's 1923 1st production year (https://irvseaverclassics.blogspot.com/ scroll down) in a showcase with a Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance trophy beside it.

So it'll be great that Seaver can probably do the entire job 'in house' if necessary, avoiding any additional shipping charges.

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The history behind Irv Seaver Motorcycles. I had no idea the shop dates all the way back to 1911.
https://irvseaverbmw.com/About-Us/Our-Dealership

Evan has done good with me too - he knows what matters, and what keeps people coming back.

I hadn't been down there since the early 2000s when I was looking for a K75S. But it was just to browse. I couldn't be more impressed with the folks I spoke to down there today. Evan, Tom, and the parts & service managers all left me feeling these were the folks with the experience and expertise I'd trust my old classic to for repairs. Thanks for confirming that Paul.

Irv Seavers is my local shop and they also sponsor our Club, let us use the conference room for our BOD meetings, provide lunch and drinks for all at every General Meeting, etc. A true family business with Evan's son and daughter both working there as well (probably the office you found him in). 9 times out of 10 they have the Airhead parts I need on the shelf due to a true love of the bikes. Glad your work is going their way (with no shade thrown at the other great shops referenced earlier). A project my 75/5 will no doubt need sooner or later too so I appreciate you posting it .. they probably would not have been my first thought for a job like this (but should have been I guess).

...And today, Edwina did me a solid with an apparel sale. Thanks!