1955 R50 Question

[cwroady]

I clearly understand, and although I do have a modern RT, my daily rider is a 1973 75/5 and I have not been without a motorcycle for over 50 years. I know I have a lot to learn about this particular bike and appreciate the dialogue. Just wanted to give you a little of my background also to explain I’m not a rookie when it comes to knowing what is a bike limitation vs something not right.

Edit to update: Vech replied that the block C's and German Heidenau do in fact dance in rain grooves and even went on to say when he had ridden on them out of state, that it was scary (was my reaction as well) .. he mentioned Avons have a different type tread pattern but doesn't know first hand how they react to rain grooves. Bottom line for me is perhaps this simply supports your comment of knowing the limitations and factoring them into my ride. Glad to have some confidence it wasn't due to alignment, shot bearings, etc.

[cwroady]

Update ... I got a nice little 135+ mile loop in yesterday thru a couple of my local canyons called Silverado Canyon and Ortega Hwy and even a little rain grooved freeway that didn't produce as much negative reaction as I experienced on the stretch near my home.

Bike really ran nice and is surprisingly strong for a little, low HP 500. My "needing attention" list is growing though. I had eliminated the obvious oil leaks, but an extended ride identified a few more. Front crank seal is now on the list (maybe a silver lining indicating the slingers are doing their job?) as is the pinion gear seal.

I stopped at a local cafe called Hells Kitchen for a photo. There was only one other person there (closed) who walked up as soon as I dismounted and asked if I was interested in selling my bike hahaha ... man I just bought it ... no!

Since I still can't seem to get any pics posted, perhaps I can get around it with this link to my Instagram account with some pics I took yesterday?

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8N0zaTj...eV6f08BNrJvM0/

[20774]

I had eliminated the obvious oil leaks, but an extended ride identified a few more. Front crank seal is now on the list (maybe a silver lining indicating the slingers are doing their job?) as is the pinion gear seal.

Not quite sure what you're referring to, but the slingers are positioned quite near the main big end bearings at the center of the engine. They separate out any particulates in the oil and then feed the main bearing surfaces. If there's leaking at the front crank, then it's an issue with the seal there. What pinion gear are you describing? Is that at the final drive?

Since I still can't seem to get any pics posted, perhaps I can get around it with this link to my Instagram account with some pics I took yesterday?

Instagram didn't work for me. Not sure why you're having troubles posting pictures. If you need to see some of the steps needed to upload pictures, I can show you that. Usually the problem is with pictures being too big in size. If they are more in the 1Mb range, uploading shouldn't be an issue.

[cwroady]

Not quite sure what you're referring to, but the slingers are positioned quite near the main big end bearings at the center of the engine. They separate out any particulates in the oil and then feed the main bearing surfaces. If there's leaking at the front crank, then it's an issue with the seal there. .

Clearly neither do I 😂. I was just being hopeful that if oil was getting to a bad front crank seal (that I have ordered) that maybe that means the slingers were doing a good job of lubricating the internals. Having never been inside to see them, I guess it is just a case of my rookie-ness showing.

[69zeff65]

The Crank Shaft Oil Slingers do just that, they "sling" oil out and up to the bottom side of the piston and the small end of the connecting rod for cooling and lubrication. The "slingers" are simple pressed sheet metal disc's with a trough / channel that fills with oil while the motor is running and at some point over flows and slings oil out to the bottom side of the piston and the small end of the connecting rod. Over time and after many hours and miles of the motor running the trough / channels on the slingers get filled with "GUNK", "SOLID GUNK" and don't hold oil and even stop slinging oil up the the piston base and small end of the connecting rod. THE SLINGERS DO NOT FILTER THE OIL! THEY COOL AND LUBRICATE THE BOTTOM OF THE PISTON AND THE BRASS BUSHING ON THE SMALL END OF THE CONNECTING ROD.

Servicing (cleaning) the slingers requires some major surgery to the motorcycle but in the long run is well worth the time, money and education if you wish to preserve your investment in BMW history. You must remove the motor and disassemble it just to inspect the "oil slingers" to see if there is an issue with them. Plan on new gaskets and seals along with other shop supplies. Vech at Bench Mark Works has a pretty good explanation of how the slingers work and the importance of at least inspecting and cleaning as needed.

I was hesitant to tackle an inspection and cleaning out of the "oil slingers" on my '55 R 50 but I'm glad I got the tools and followed the directions.

[cwroady]

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 😳

[20774]

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!

[540964]

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.

[cwroady]

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.

[20774]

Chris -

Re: the picture...seems that Apple products produce these kinds of results. Peruse this thread for some ideas:

https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread...to-Orientation

[72r60/7]

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

[cwroady]

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 !

[20774]

Sounds like you have some good people handling the critical pieces!

[cwroady]

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.

[1074]

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.