New guy with m first 1971 R75/5 barn find

[bruced737]

New guy here and I wanted to say ho to all the guys on the forum. I just picked up a 71 R75/5 that I will be putting back on the road this winter. The bike has 33000 miles on it and has been siting for the last 20 years in a dry garage. This bike did come with the first gen Bing carbs so I will be looking for a replacement for those and replacing most of the rubber seals and all fluids. It will get new tires as well. I am going to try and preserve the seat cover, it has one small almost tear in it but I think I can glue it back down. It will need some parts and I have begun purchasing them. I did recently get a nice set of rear and front turn signals. The one thing I cant seem to find is a set of those rear view mirrors you often see on the older BMW's. I am looking for the ones that stick out of the headlight mounting bolts. I think those look great and you have good visibility with them. The ones on the bike are pretty crappy and pitted. The headlight bezel is there it was just installed in that fairing you see in the background and I wont be putting the fairing back on the bike.

Little about myself. I have rebuilt/restored many Japanese bikes and last winter I reconditioned a 85 MW K100Rs that I put 3000 miles on this summer. I currently have 2 projects going on, #1 a 1977 HD sportster 1000 and #2 this airhead. My favorite ride for touring is a 1980 Suzuki GS1000 and I use the K for running around town. I have a spare K100 that I will be doing something with in the future I just have not decided what yet.

Here are a few pictures of the bike as it sits right now. If I can figure out how to get them on here.

[SteveD]

Welcome aboard.

Re pix,
1. load them to a website eg photobucket.
2. cut and paste the pictures url from that website into your post.
They should load.

[Airbear]

Welcome aboard, Bruce.
To post pics you will need to upload to a photo hosting site.
See here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ph ... g_websites
Most hosting sites will have instructions on how to post to forums. Give a shout if you have difficulties.
Well done getting such a young old airhead.

[Rob]

Welcome!
Wisconsin has the nicest people you will find south of the Canadian border!

[grant81rs]

Gidday,

Bruce, congrats on the purchase and the long winter ahead in the shed turning spanners.. Best of Luck!!

[Duane Ausherman]

bruced737, there is a rather simple fix for those carbs that makes them quite tame, but not quite as nice as the later two years are.

Those headlight mirrors are for looks, as they don't really work well at all. They vibrate badly at certain rpm and can't see around anyone that isn't quite skinny. I highly recommend the bar end type, as your had absorbs vibration and you can actually see behind.

You will always get answers here. IF we don't know, we will just make up an answer.

[bruced737]

Ha ha, ok the mirrors are not gonna happen but you have to admit they look cool. At least I think so. I spent a few hours looking through you web site, what a lot of information to absorb. If all the spokes are still tight should I be ok to just replace the tires and tubes and be good to go? Can you mod the SWB to a LWB? I picked this bike up for $1200 and I don't know a lot about airheads so I hope I made a good deal. I also read your tutorial on wheel bearings, would you think all I have to do is re-lube the wheel bearings and I will be good to go?

Trying again, here are some photos of what I just picked up.

[Duane Ausherman]

OH, you found my pile of info, good............ I hope. When you have the wheels off, be sure to perform a complete wheel bearing assessment. Go to http://w6rec.com/duane/bmw/wheel_bearing/

Make sure that you have a way to balance the wheels. Few can do it properly and almost no shops can do it.

I see a back rest in the photo. I am still spending that money that I made on it. Thanks to a former owner.

You made a good deal if for no other reason that you can easily sell it off in parts for far more.

Did you do a string line test of the frame? Always start with knowing about the frame. Check for evidence of crashes. http://w6rec.com/duane/bmw/frame/

If you are going to keep the bike for your riding pleasure, maybe it is a good idea to make it a LWB, but that depends upon your riding style. The SWB is far more fun for solo riding, the LWB is better for two up touring.

Rule #1 for a BMW is; Keep your money in your pocket. Ask here first......... or just send it directly to me.

[bruced737]

I will be keeping this bike to add to the fleet and I have a sentimental attachment to it already. When I was very young, before the thought police made us make sure our kids could touch the passenger pegs. My father and I used to ride all over the place on his early 70's R60. It was the 70's after all, our cars didn't even have seat belts and we all survived. Amazing. He would sit me in front of him and we would just cruise around while I held on to the tank smacking him with my helmet going over bumps. I can still remember the smell and sound of that bike going down the road. So depending on his health he might be getting another BMW in the future. I did not check the frame yet but I did see just a few scrapes of rash on the right valve cover and it was very small area. More like the bike fell over and was moved while it was down. I did read through the bearing article and I will be going back and reading it again. There is a lot of information there so Ill need like 5 read through's.

So you say the back rest is rare and highly coveted eh. I really want to know what that fairing might be worth? I think it is an Avon but I am not sure, I can tell you it will not be finding its way back on the bike. What I would like to get are the correct passenger hand holds and correct looking rear shocks. I think the small luggage rack will be going back on though.

If I do make it a LWB are there any modifications that need to be made in respect to the rear fender wheel clearance? I ride mostly solo and we do have some really nice windy country roads around here.

[daz]

So you say the back rest is rare and highly coveted eh. I really want to know what that fairing might be worth? I think it is an Avon but I am not sure, I can tell you it will not be finding its way back on the bike. What I would like to get are the correct passenger hand holds and correct looking rear shocks. I think the small luggage rack will be going back on though.

This is what I put on my 1971 R50/5 swb:

"New Old Stock shocks for 1970-'72 BMW /5 Models, Short Wheel Base.*
Used for store display.
These shocks come as a PAIR - with polished smooth metal covers and BLACK springs.

This is a final sale item. Returns will not be accepted."

From Bob's BMW.