Pinstripe dimensions for 1970 R75/5

Hi all

I have checked many, many many sites and there appears to be a degree of flexibility to the correct pinstriping dimensions. What I have found is;
The wide stripe ranges from 3 - 4mm,
The gap from 3 - 5mm and
The thin strip from 1.5 - 2mm

Some even say the dimensions are different on the fenders compared to the tank. Is this true?

Is there a single source of truth that I can go to?

I am in Australia, my bike is Feather white with black stripes, January 1970 R75/5.

Appreciate any help... Cheers Shane

Welcome! I don't think there's any set in stone pattern. Of course, the pin stripes were all done by hand so there's going to be some variation. The '74 R90S I believe had actual tape, not paint. Here's some from Vech at Benchmark Works for what he suggests for the pre 1970 bikes:

http://www.benchmarkworks.com/services/stripe.html

I checked my /7 and the front fender only has one large stripe...the bike is original. I saw your pictures of your /5...it already has pin stripes...are they not original? Could that pattern just be measured and used?

the website link you listed is for 1955-1969 bikes which makes me think it changed after 1969 otherwise why list only those years.

The pin stripes on my bike are not very well done in some places so I am doubting their originality.

Vech only lists those years because that is his bread-and-butter in terms of service and support. I was just providing a data point.

Check out these part numbers which appear to be the brushes used for pin striping: 02030117480 for No 6 and 02030117480 for No 8. I'm not sure what the sizes actually come out to be. I found some of my notes from Tom Cutter who worked with Butler and Smith. He indicated that the fat stripe is a little less than 4mm, the space is around 3mm, and the thin stripe was almost 2mm. He was thinking they were trying to get to a 4-3-2 spacing.

If I read Snowbum's site right, he seems to confirm what Tom Cutter's point. On this page just before half way, he says that BMW's large stripe was 3.8 with 3mm spacing and the other stripe was 2mm.

https://bmwmotorcycletech.info/pcodes.htm

BMW Motor Cycycles from 1969 to 1985; Boxer from /5 (Vol 1) by Andy Schwietzer

Chapter 9 Colouring Games; All colours and codes for airheads with twin shocks, Page 132:

"Lining was standardized as well: The outer line was 4 millimetres wide, followed by a thinner, 2 millimetres line set in a distance of 4 millimetres. The minimum distance between the inner line and the tank badge had to be 50 millimetres. For the larger 24 litres sports tank of the R 90 S, 60 millimetres of distances was considered to be spot on. The thin double lines as found on early R 100 RT or R 100 RS models are generally 2 millimetres in width and distance from each other."

On page 134 he says that the code for your 1970 R 75/5 would be:
"federweiss mit schwarzer Linie (086/590)"

For what it is worth, I recently had the paint and striping on my '84 RS redone, and the description in this book was spot on to the original paint. More info on the book here.

Would be interesting to learn Kent Holt's approach. Formerly Holt BMW, now Holt Design Organization.

The pinstriping he did on our '84 RT looked exactly like the factory stripes on my '84 RS save for one mistake ... he connected the sides on the front fender across the front middle. They were supposed to stop, with the middle not striped.

http://www.holtdesignorganisation.com/