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1955 R50 Question

Thanks for that. I imagine the hesitancy to do the major tear down is common when all seems well .. I feel it too. the voice in the back of my head says no maintenance documentation and 79k on the odo make it a risky thing to ignore. I’m thinking I want to enjoy a few rides before digging in though ... but keep remembering my advice to my grown children when they were small to not ignore that little voice in your head 😳
 
On both my pre 1970 bikes, I rode them for a year before I started major overhauls. I wanted to get a sense of the bike and see what else might need attention. The R69S had about 27K miles on it...the slingers were getting fairly full. The R25/2 had 15K kilometers on it...likely 115K kilometers. Completely unknown maintenance history. I did discover that the cylinder was first-over so someone had been in there before...it was a police bike in Germany, so probably done by/for the police department. Slingers were fine but I couldn't tell until I got inside.

The slingers will need to be done at some point. Probably do it once on your watch and you'll never have to worry about it again. Peace of mind is a good thing!
 
I wouldn't even try to straighten out the oil pan unless it was a minor dent. You can find one easy enough on fleabay or maybe even Vech has a used one collecting dust. I found the best thing for a leak free seal on the oil pan is to first make sure you flatten out the mating surface (where the gasket goes) and then give the new cork (only use the cork) gasket a good coating of bearing grease, both sides and edges. The bolts should be cleaned thoroughly and apply a little bit of grey Permatex gasket sealer to the threads.

I've tried the gasket sealer on the oil pan gasket with no success and a headache to clean up.

That bike is beautiful.
 
Taking my time to enjoy the process and seem to have a few plates in the air lately, but thought I would update. I did get my order from Vech which included a replacement oil pan and magnet (still uninstalled at this point.) I also ordered US bars and new cables. Ordered some seals, carb gaskets and rubber bits for kick stands, etc as well. Bending the handlebar risers for that install just feels wrong, but went ok. Have a little chrome crackling, but nothing I won’t live with for now. Before installing the new throttle cables I decided I will clean the carbs. A disturbing amount of white crud/corrosion build up in the bottom of the bowl (on the first one still) was pretty stubborn, but I eventually got it removed with repeated soakings in carb cleaner, scraping and runs through my cheapie ultrasonic cleaner from HF.

I have developed a pretty good list of items to address, so I will definitely be back asking for advice. I am honestly not usually so tech challenged, but I took a pic off my iPad vs phone that is smaller in size. While this did allow me to attach it, it appears in the message upside down ... oh well, slow progress I guess.
 

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Very good advice was given: Ride it a season to get to know the Bike and enjoy the ownership. But then again, it’s your bike.

(Then when you sink a lot of money and time into that particular bike you will be the Bikes Custodian to amuse yourself while not being able to ride it.)


Good advice given to me on posting photos: Before adding a photo to a Post, rotate 4 times or so.

Don’t know if that is 4 steps at one 360° rotation or rotate 4 times. I tap the rotate button repeatedly while looking away from the screen to see if the World is still there. That will assure 4 to 10+ rotations. Usually works but not 100% of the time.

Charlie
 
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Update

Well so much for following good advice and just riding this for a year! The Covid "Stay At Home" had some influence on this idea. I started out the isolation period by taking the trans for my '73 75/5 to Irv Seaver's BMW (my local dealership) for a transmission refurb. Evan Bell owns Irv's and has a beautiful collection of bikes. Fortunately for those of us in Orange SoCal, that also means he has talent in the shop to work on the old stuff. Next came replacement of the spline gears in the final drive and rear wheel.

As isolation continued, I turned my attention to the '55. As I may have mentioned, my goal is for a reliable rider I have confidence in. Sure I want it to look good, but am not planning to fund a concourse restoration .. rather, my goal is for a solid refurbishment. To that end I have:
* Rebuilt the carbs (with some help sealing the bodies up by Bing USA)
* New bars and cables
* Repaired numerous cross threads
* Rebuilt Rear shocks
* Replaced various studs, nuts and bolts
* Irv Seavers rebuilt leaking Final Drive
* Relined rear brakes
* Replaced oil pan
* Repacked rear wheel bearings
* Motor is currently with Irv Seaver's BMW for new slingers and bottom end refurb
* Heads are on there way to Randy Long for some love
* Currently working on front end wheel, bearings, shocks, brakes, etc

I am glad to have the time and the projects to occupy that time doing something so enjoyable. Who would have guessed Stay @ Home isolation could be so costly though !
 

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Any leads on finding a wheel hub? Found a loose bearing race in mine ... probably explains the rebuild I just had to have done on my leaking final drive. I have reached out to Vech already FWIW. I have the 1x spoke pattern but am open to the later style if required.
 
Being open to the later hubs may help out a lot although I'd rather make it as original as possible.
On the other hand, since it is an R50 and won't be having too much stress put on the wheel, you might want to look into a Lok-Tite product that will hold the bearing race in place.
My experience with the R50 is that you'll never get the experience of life in the fast lane.
 
Another update

Getting closer ... think I’ll make my target of a nice ride on my birthday the end of this month. All new bearings in wheels, swingarm, steering head, motor and final drive. Frame was tweaked so had Dr Johns straighten it then sent for powdercoat. Rebuilt all shocks, replaced wiring looms, all new rubber bits, rebuilt the carbs, new cables (not back on yet), bars, trans input and output seals, LED tail light. Do rings this week and anticipate heads back from Randy Long next. A lot of elbow grease shined things up nicely.

Has been sooo much fun, I can’t wait to ride it.
 

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Update

I am riding and loving the bike. I got close to my end of Sept goal, but the FD I had a shop rebuild leaked and needed several returns. Probably should have followed Richard @ Benchmarks advice and gone after it myself when the problems started and may have saved myself several installs, leaks found, disassemblies and returns to the shop before reinstalling. The last two times I filled it with gear oil and left it in a pan on paper towels to discover oil bypassing the pinion seal via the grooves on the shaft the first time and to have the issues finally resolved the final (I hope) time. But I digress ... got a fantastic 130 mile loop in yesterday after several 20 miles here, 15 mile there shakedown rides that identified issues like a bad coil, the FD leaks, carb leak at idle jet plug, etc. Yesterday on my 130 mile local canyon ride, the bike handled beautifully, ran flawlessly and looks amazing (to my biased eye). Doing my first oil change and checking the valves again today.

The actual list of repairs were certainly more than I anticipated, but I am building trust that I have exactly what I hoped for, a great riding, nice looking, trustworthy, vintage rider that I can point anywhere I feel like, and not be concerned that the wife be accessible with the truck :) I collected a couple of containers worth of parts as the project progressed that sit on my shelf as a keepsake of a very rewarding project.

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As I mentioned when I started this, I have been riding all my life. I have not missed a season (primarily dirt) or been without a bike since 1968, but this is the very first time I have taken a bike down to every nut and bolt and refurbished it to this condition. I don't know if I will get the chance again, but it has been a great learning experience and I am thankful and appreciative to be this "bikes custodian" (to quote Charlie above.)

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Glad you're getting it down the road! Maybe you should bring those two jars with you in case you need a part or two when away from home? :stick
 
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