Anyone looking for a winter project
- Thread starter mikeyboy
- Start date
I'm in.....
Me too...
17 Nov 2021
I travelled up to Overland & Classics and wheeled the bike out into the November sunshine.......
You could easily see the paint was not correct (but passable), there was some wiring mods around the headlamp/indicator area and that when the battery was connected and ignition switched on, all was not right.
Also it was missing a starter motor, the forks were pitted, it had a km clock and continental headlamp and....... a lot of other things needed to be done. I had a think.
Fortune favours the brave?
Fear of missing out (FOMO)?
Too many project already on the go?
I travelled up to Overland & Classics and wheeled the bike out into the November sunshine.......
You could easily see the paint was not correct (but passable), there was some wiring mods around the headlamp/indicator area and that when the battery was connected and ignition switched on, all was not right.
Also it was missing a starter motor, the forks were pitted, it had a km clock and continental headlamp and....... a lot of other things needed to be done. I had a think.
Fortune favours the brave?
Fear of missing out (FOMO)?
Too many project already on the go?
Attachments
Inspection
Anyway, a deal was made with Mikeyboy and, with cleaning/rebuilding the carbs included, I arranged for delivery somewhere around 8 Dec 21. Then the fun commenced!
The eagle-eyed will have spotted that there were no exhaust clamps (header-silencer). More of that later. But I started with the oil inspection, all oils drained, sump off, have a look. Also I took the heads off to have a look and check the oil ways were free to the top cylinder studs. The sump was a bit black at the bottom but no debris. I sliced open the oil filter, again, nothing untoward. The gearbox had a bit of 'fluff' on the magnetic plug but not too bad. Bevel drive was clean. I took a look down the intakes and found evidence of some smoothing out, but not drastic (gas-flowing to some). And the first nice surprise, brand new pistons and rebore!
As Mikeyboy said, the brakes worked and the master cylinder didn't leak. I proceeded to get it ready for starting (9-tooth starter off the shelf required) and all put back together with fresh gaskets, oil, filter and the tank off my track bike.
Anyway, a deal was made with Mikeyboy and, with cleaning/rebuilding the carbs included, I arranged for delivery somewhere around 8 Dec 21. Then the fun commenced!
The eagle-eyed will have spotted that there were no exhaust clamps (header-silencer). More of that later. But I started with the oil inspection, all oils drained, sump off, have a look. Also I took the heads off to have a look and check the oil ways were free to the top cylinder studs. The sump was a bit black at the bottom but no debris. I sliced open the oil filter, again, nothing untoward. The gearbox had a bit of 'fluff' on the magnetic plug but not too bad. Bevel drive was clean. I took a look down the intakes and found evidence of some smoothing out, but not drastic (gas-flowing to some). And the first nice surprise, brand new pistons and rebore!
As Mikeyboy said, the brakes worked and the master cylinder didn't leak. I proceeded to get it ready for starting (9-tooth starter off the shelf required) and all put back together with fresh gaskets, oil, filter and the tank off my track bike.
Attachments
I checked the oil flow before replacing the rocker covers; all good. Round about 20 Jan 21 I took her outside for a first start and test run - started well (thanks to clean carbs) and no unusual noises! Awesome, I thought! But on blipping the throttle, I heard a very unusual 'rattley' noise, which I thought might be down to the exhausts...
The headers were fine but the silencers, which looked ok, were an aftermarket variety which didn't fit very well. They had no exhaust brackets because when I tried to fit a pair, they didn't fit very well, and pushed the headers out of the heads (the header didn't go inside the silencer far enough before stopping). So, luckily, I had a decent set of Keihans on the shelf. A swap and repeat.
No joy. If anything, the rattling had got worse. Long story short it was the gearbox. Luckily, I had a spare gearbox on the shelf. This took a bit longer than the silencers to replace....so while I did that I took to some of the other jobs:
- New fork stanchions and fork internals, with vapour blasted sliders and some stainless bolts
- New brake pads (RHS had got leaked on) and replaced the brake oil; callipers inspected ok
- removed black paint off the top yoke, took the yokes off to check the bearings and re-grease
- Replaced the handlebars (were RS) with a standard R90 set that, luckily, I had on the shelf
- Corrected all the wiring at the front end and put a proper BMW cockpit wiring harness that, luckily, I had on the shelf
- Replaced the amateurish-painted handlebar clamps with a restored pair which, luckily, I had on the shelf
- Replaced a faulty light relay and re-introduced a functioning clutch switch
- Repaired some of the handlebar switch wiring
- Got the exhaust nuts vapour blasted (I've got a local garage that does this, which is handy. Trouble is, they are an Aston Martin independent, so I get charged Aston Martin money!!)
- Compression check - brilliant and balanced
- Replaced the oil switch (leaking) on the engine. Luckily, I had a good one on the shelf.
- Replaced the fuel lines with new
- Replaced the choke cables with good spares which, luckily, I had on the shelf
- Fitted a replacement throttle quadrant and grip (luckily.....)
- Replaced the carbs main jets (I had had a bike from South Africa before and, knowing it had been used at some height (6000ft in Johannesburg area) the jets were of a smaller size. The danger is a too lean mixture)
- Removed and refitted the main loom (it had been fitted on a most peculiar way)
- Replaced the holed seat with a better one (luckily....well, no, not really. I bought a new one for my 'own' R90S and fitted its seat to this bike)
- Replaced the battery cage (old one was a bit needy). Luckily....
- Replaced the horn (ghastly thing - see early photos). Luckily...
- fitted a RHD headlamp (had to buy that one!!)
- A new gearbox/swingarm gaiter went on (of course with new bolts).
So it was a fairly busy winter, just as predicted. Some other good news along the way was that the exhaust threads were perfect. I think the valves and guides may have also been recently done.
I also started the hunt for a mph speedo, which, as I discovered, was like the search for the holy grail (more later).
The headers were fine but the silencers, which looked ok, were an aftermarket variety which didn't fit very well. They had no exhaust brackets because when I tried to fit a pair, they didn't fit very well, and pushed the headers out of the heads (the header didn't go inside the silencer far enough before stopping). So, luckily, I had a decent set of Keihans on the shelf. A swap and repeat.
No joy. If anything, the rattling had got worse. Long story short it was the gearbox. Luckily, I had a spare gearbox on the shelf. This took a bit longer than the silencers to replace....so while I did that I took to some of the other jobs:
- New fork stanchions and fork internals, with vapour blasted sliders and some stainless bolts
- New brake pads (RHS had got leaked on) and replaced the brake oil; callipers inspected ok
- removed black paint off the top yoke, took the yokes off to check the bearings and re-grease
- Replaced the handlebars (were RS) with a standard R90 set that, luckily, I had on the shelf
- Corrected all the wiring at the front end and put a proper BMW cockpit wiring harness that, luckily, I had on the shelf
- Replaced the amateurish-painted handlebar clamps with a restored pair which, luckily, I had on the shelf
- Replaced a faulty light relay and re-introduced a functioning clutch switch
- Repaired some of the handlebar switch wiring
- Got the exhaust nuts vapour blasted (I've got a local garage that does this, which is handy. Trouble is, they are an Aston Martin independent, so I get charged Aston Martin money!!)
- Compression check - brilliant and balanced
- Replaced the oil switch (leaking) on the engine. Luckily, I had a good one on the shelf.
- Replaced the fuel lines with new
- Replaced the choke cables with good spares which, luckily, I had on the shelf
- Fitted a replacement throttle quadrant and grip (luckily.....)
- Replaced the carbs main jets (I had had a bike from South Africa before and, knowing it had been used at some height (6000ft in Johannesburg area) the jets were of a smaller size. The danger is a too lean mixture)
- Removed and refitted the main loom (it had been fitted on a most peculiar way)
- Replaced the holed seat with a better one (luckily....well, no, not really. I bought a new one for my 'own' R90S and fitted its seat to this bike)
- Replaced the battery cage (old one was a bit needy). Luckily....
- Replaced the horn (ghastly thing - see early photos). Luckily...
- fitted a RHD headlamp (had to buy that one!!)
- A new gearbox/swingarm gaiter went on (of course with new bolts).
So it was a fairly busy winter, just as predicted. Some other good news along the way was that the exhaust threads were perfect. I think the valves and guides may have also been recently done.
I also started the hunt for a mph speedo, which, as I discovered, was like the search for the holy grail (more later).
redoing the paint ?, black and green ? ( if my memory is correct ) or black and silver.
i really don't like the orange.
i really don't like the orange.
The idea was to get it very roadworthy and half decent with the paintwork that it came with. Then pass it on for someone to take it the way they wanted to go.
And you must be the only one I know of that really doesn't like the orange (Daytona, they call it; the other standard colour they call 'Silver Smoke')
Great stuff!! Can't believe how many spare parts you had in stock,wonder how long you had been collecting them for the shelf!!
Out of interest, what are you going to do with the gearbox,it must be rebuildable I guess.
Loving this thread,thankyou.
Kimbo
Out of interest, what are you going to do with the gearbox,it must be rebuildable I guess.
Loving this thread,thankyou.
Kimbo
Speedometer
The thing with the R90S is that it was produced between 1973 and 1976 during the /6 series production. As such it had white numerals on the instruments and the rev counter was mechanical. The bevel drive, although not unique to the range, was unique for the /6 - only W1.112 would do. Therefore not that many were produced (one per UK/US and other 'miles' nations' models) and the spares availability is consequently sparse.
I searched from November 2021 onwards and thought I had managed to get one from 'BMWSalvage' on ebay, one to be restored. But the photos were a bit 'iffy' and when it turned up it was in green numerals. Humph, a 'home goal', and now only useful for spares (I'll put it on my shelf...).
I was very envious of the German restorers who cold possibly help but could not find one that would bother dealing with UK customers after Brexit, due to paperwork etc, I guess. There's Paulo Alto in USA but proving quite costly even if I had something to restore. I stumbled on Bayer Motorradhandel who had a host of period restored speedos, but all km/h versions. But then, in Apr, one mph one appeared on their website and I jumped, despite it being eye-waveringly expensive. It was fully restored and zeroed.
The hunt had ended, I had a mph speedo.
The thing with the R90S is that it was produced between 1973 and 1976 during the /6 series production. As such it had white numerals on the instruments and the rev counter was mechanical. The bevel drive, although not unique to the range, was unique for the /6 - only W1.112 would do. Therefore not that many were produced (one per UK/US and other 'miles' nations' models) and the spares availability is consequently sparse.
I searched from November 2021 onwards and thought I had managed to get one from 'BMWSalvage' on ebay, one to be restored. But the photos were a bit 'iffy' and when it turned up it was in green numerals. Humph, a 'home goal', and now only useful for spares (I'll put it on my shelf...).
I was very envious of the German restorers who cold possibly help but could not find one that would bother dealing with UK customers after Brexit, due to paperwork etc, I guess. There's Paulo Alto in USA but proving quite costly even if I had something to restore. I stumbled on Bayer Motorradhandel who had a host of period restored speedos, but all km/h versions. But then, in Apr, one mph one appeared on their website and I jumped, despite it being eye-waveringly expensive. It was fully restored and zeroed.
The hunt had ended, I had a mph speedo.
Prior to registration
The bike came with a NOVA and a BMW letter of authenticity but the latter had a mistake in the frame number, so was not worth sending to DVLA. I applied via the BMW Club DVLA Officer to get a correct one. This was received gladly and soon I had a message to say it had been sent. But none arrived. This was frustrating. I applied again, and 'hmm, I've already sent it but I'll send it again' was the message. Still nothing arrived (we're talking 3-4 weeks each wait). We went round this busy another time.
Finally I phoned up the office in Berlin and in my best German I said 'Guten Tag, sprechen-sie English Bitte? Luckily he did and didn't mind conversing as such. 'But I am just going for lunch - can you ring later?"
When I spoke again to him it transpired he had been given the wrong address to send it to, perhaps by the BMW Club DVLA Officer, maybe something got lost in the translation. Anyway, a corrected letter arrived within a week and I didn't have to pay any more.
So all the information was sent off to DVLA. It took 2 goes, and quite a few more weeks; they sent someone round to inspect the bike, but finally the registration document came through, age-related. In the meantime, I had put the bike back together and it was just about ready to hit the road (no fuel yet in the tank as I had been using my spare tank for test-runs).
The photos of the pre-registered stage...
The bike came with a NOVA and a BMW letter of authenticity but the latter had a mistake in the frame number, so was not worth sending to DVLA. I applied via the BMW Club DVLA Officer to get a correct one. This was received gladly and soon I had a message to say it had been sent. But none arrived. This was frustrating. I applied again, and 'hmm, I've already sent it but I'll send it again' was the message. Still nothing arrived (we're talking 3-4 weeks each wait). We went round this busy another time.
Finally I phoned up the office in Berlin and in my best German I said 'Guten Tag, sprechen-sie English Bitte? Luckily he did and didn't mind conversing as such. 'But I am just going for lunch - can you ring later?"
When I spoke again to him it transpired he had been given the wrong address to send it to, perhaps by the BMW Club DVLA Officer, maybe something got lost in the translation. Anyway, a corrected letter arrived within a week and I didn't have to pay any more.
So all the information was sent off to DVLA. It took 2 goes, and quite a few more weeks; they sent someone round to inspect the bike, but finally the registration document came through, age-related. In the meantime, I had put the bike back together and it was just about ready to hit the road (no fuel yet in the tank as I had been using my spare tank for test-runs).
The photos of the pre-registered stage...
Attachments
Plan B
It had been my plan 'A' to sell the bike at this stage and I had a few people interested. It was July 22 and I had started running the bike around 'shaking it down'. I was really enjoying the fact that it had run well straight out of the 'box' (ok, after I had done all the work previously!). One chap arranged a good, long viewing which was actually a fabulous day out. A Saturday trip to Haynes Museum first thing and then back to the MotoCorsa cafe in Gillingham (Dorset) for an heroic late breakfast.
Obviously I wanted everything right on the bike so I dusted off the original tank, put it on and filled her up and ran her around for a few days (I was 'un-busy' at the time). But later in the week I was noticing a petrolly smell each time I opened the garage - well, it always smelt of petrol in there, but it was getting a bit more noticeable. I ran my fingers along the bottom of the tank on the RH side - dry. I repeated on the left side - wet! Oh f**k. Petrol tap? Tank? It didn't really matter.
Petrol had made its way from the tank to the outside and revealed that the paintwork was not petrol-proof! The photo shows the damage after I peeled off a strip of paint that had lifted. This revealed a layer of non-standard primer-filler. Hmm, a complete respray with any repairs was now in order.
However, on the bright side, I let the potential buyer know and he said the day out should go ahead so we had a great time riding around. I put the tank from my track bike on and the rest of the bike was put through its paces. I recommend the cafe in Gillingham - proper breakfasts and still open despite Moto Corsa closing down! I kept the bike below 4000rpm in an effort to complete any running in for the rebore/new pistons. The potential buyer reckoned if the bike went that fast just at up to 4000rpm it was a good performer!
I set about dismantling the bike fully so that the bodywork could be re-done and the frame painted, etc. Plan B had started - a bit more of a fuller restoration.
It had been my plan 'A' to sell the bike at this stage and I had a few people interested. It was July 22 and I had started running the bike around 'shaking it down'. I was really enjoying the fact that it had run well straight out of the 'box' (ok, after I had done all the work previously!). One chap arranged a good, long viewing which was actually a fabulous day out. A Saturday trip to Haynes Museum first thing and then back to the MotoCorsa cafe in Gillingham (Dorset) for an heroic late breakfast.
Obviously I wanted everything right on the bike so I dusted off the original tank, put it on and filled her up and ran her around for a few days (I was 'un-busy' at the time). But later in the week I was noticing a petrolly smell each time I opened the garage - well, it always smelt of petrol in there, but it was getting a bit more noticeable. I ran my fingers along the bottom of the tank on the RH side - dry. I repeated on the left side - wet! Oh f**k. Petrol tap? Tank? It didn't really matter.
Petrol had made its way from the tank to the outside and revealed that the paintwork was not petrol-proof! The photo shows the damage after I peeled off a strip of paint that had lifted. This revealed a layer of non-standard primer-filler. Hmm, a complete respray with any repairs was now in order.
However, on the bright side, I let the potential buyer know and he said the day out should go ahead so we had a great time riding around. I put the tank from my track bike on and the rest of the bike was put through its paces. I recommend the cafe in Gillingham - proper breakfasts and still open despite Moto Corsa closing down! I kept the bike below 4000rpm in an effort to complete any running in for the rebore/new pistons. The potential buyer reckoned if the bike went that fast just at up to 4000rpm it was a good performer!
I set about dismantling the bike fully so that the bodywork could be re-done and the frame painted, etc. Plan B had started - a bit more of a fuller restoration.
Attachments
now you could paint it black/green smoked 
and some new tyres ....when did they last make ME77's ?
and some new tyres ....when did they last make ME77's ?
Turning the corner
The pictures show the parts I took to the powder-coaters, the re-installation of the type-plate and a general shot of the engine/transmission going back in (along with a load of other components). All this was done from Sep 22 to Jan 23.
The pictures show the parts I took to the powder-coaters, the re-installation of the type-plate and a general shot of the engine/transmission going back in (along with a load of other components). All this was done from Sep 22 to Jan 23.
Attachments
now you could paint it black/green smoked
and some new tyres ....when did they last make ME77's ?
Saw one back in the late 70's in Stourbridge , R90S, green /black paint similar to the later r100rt , Lester wheels and a 2 into 1 stainless exhaust. Was told many years later it was a one off from new for a London BMW Dealership, looked the absolute business
Green R90S
Maybe you were thinking of this one? Still about, I talked to the owner at the Colombres Rally 2021. It had been repainted (in its original colours) by the same guy who has done my paintwork. The story has been told many times.
Maybe you were thinking of this one? Still about, I talked to the owner at the Colombres Rally 2021. It had been repainted (in its original colours) by the same guy who has done my paintwork. The story has been told many times.
Attachments
I once saw one in green in Germany and thought it looked amazing sat in the sunshine. It’d be quite unusual these days too as there ain’t many green bikes around apart from Kermit coloured kawasaki’s
There are no green ones as from the factory, only Silver Smoke and Daytona Orange. There are rumours of other colours in the very last few weeks of production - if true (anyone any experience of this from that time?) I think these may have been special order for customers who wanted a different colour. For some (or maybe most), part of the attraction is the original colours. Of course, any owner can paint it the colour they want. Like Cafe Racer/Custom bikes, any custom colour may only appeal to a smaller audience.
The green one I pictured above was part of a trio of bikes painted by Park Lane back in the day; a pink one, a blue one and this green one. I have met the green one (and its owner) and know the owner of the pink one. The owner of the blue one wrote it off.
The green one I pictured above was part of a trio of bikes painted by Park Lane back in the day; a pink one, a blue one and this green one. I have met the green one (and its owner) and know the owner of the pink one. The owner of the blue one wrote it off.
