paint stripping, aluminum parts

This may not look like much but this took some work to get this far. I (wisely) decided to start stripping paint from parts that are supposed to be bare aluminum and not painted at all so that I would not have to deal with priming bare steel. This is as far as I got. I have the front electrics cover that I am finishing up and I think that the top part of the triple tree is supposed to be chrome; every thing else is going to be paint. Don't argue with me. I am keeping the engine/transmission black and I am adding black parts from the eighties air cleaner and starter cover. That is all done. Which leaves miscellaneous frame parts to be stripped and painted. I will not do that now until the weather is warmer so that I can deal with that out side of the basement.

So, the next step will be to begin categorizing repairs to be done and making parts lists. If things go well I will be finishing that up by Friday (I have another Friday off!)

Engine out

Don't lift the engine out, lower the frame! This was a lot easier than what I was anticipating.


Frame parts to be painted. I need to take the driveshaft out of the swing arm and then find someone to prep and paint this. I don't have the patience or resources to do this myself.


It's all there. There are a bunch of little projects hiding on these shelves. Bearings, seals, cables, brakes, carb rebuilds ...

I need to get some miscellaneous parts on eBay and raise some cash. The one "cosmetic" item that I need yet is a seat; I refuse to put the R65 seat back on and I doubt if it would fit with a /6 tank anyway. Luke wants to get this one http://www.corbin.com/bmw/bmw6g.shtml for $350. I would probably shop for a used /6 seat for less.

eBay instead of paint

I was researching painting the tank and fenders but instead of that I found some deals on eBay that are much more satisfactory and at less cost. Sometimes it works out that way. I initially bought a better rear fender that was solid black. Soon after that I found a pair of fenders, front and rear, from the same seller, I won them both at a really good price. Much less than painting and pinstriping. Black with white stripe in good condition. Then, to top it all off, I ran accross this tank that the seller said has been repainted but for as far as I can see it looks like a factory paint job to me! His story was that he had it repainted and then set it on the shelf on never installed it on his bike. Fine with me!! This takes care of the most critical components to paint; that is all done. I need to find side covers and a seat, paint the frame and misc. components and that would take care of all the cosmetic issues.

Oh, and Luke found this plastic quarter fairing that he is thinking of using. Remember, this is not a restoration, it is a rebuild. What will develop in the long run is a mild cafe bike. I am happy with the black with white pinstripes but the engine is painted black, I believe it is powder coat, and it is done so well that I am not going to try to take the black paint off. Leave it alone. It came without air cleaner assembly and I have gotten a black top engine cover and black air cleaner box from an '80's bike that makes this black /6 look so sharp. Make the best of it.

OK, this gets me all caught up to today. It is winter and I have been working out of state for the last months but that should change soon. I have my Modine Hot Dawg propane garage heater installed and tested. Soon this project will begin in earnest and as it does it is only gonna get so much more exciting!! Here we go!

Back to business, Luke's disassy.

Here ya go, just some samples to show how Luke started documenting how things came apart, where wires go and the condition of things at disassembly. Remember that if you click on these pictures you can get the full size picture with a lot more detail.
There is no official list yet but the assumptions are that the frame and misc needs to be blasted and painted so that no more Barney is visible, something needs to be done about the tank, fenders and seat (more on that in the next blog), new bearings in wheels, steering stem, etc., all new cables, ... that is just the start.

I confess that I stole the peanut head rocker box covers from this bike and put them on Gilera. Hence the Black /7 head covers here.

Worn, but acceptable.

Sept. 28, 2007 (Luke tears it up, Paul ships out)

We had a day when Paul was supposed to be packing up and leaving for AZ but he was spending his time putting the Atlas back together instead. Luke was out there with him and he got a lot done on the disassembly. I was pleased to see him making good use of the digital camera to document things as they came apart, especially wiring for color codes and stuff like that.

Somewhere along the line I found another under $2000 BMW. This one came from the owners of Beemer Hill. It is a little R60 that I kept for just a short while; long enough to realize that I was overextended. I made some very small repairs and adjustments to it; essentially spent nothing on it and sold it for $200 more than I paid for it. I never had an R60 before. The experience taught/reminded me of 2 things:

1. A pushrod 600cc engine in 1974 didn't have a lot of horses and a few of those horses died since.



2. oops, that pinging noise is because you are not burning leaded high-octane in this poor engine.

None the less, having this Duetsch, the German bike, provided us with a couple of historic moments. One was when Paul and I rode Gilera and Duetsch to Morrie's Place in Richmond IL to get some Norton parts. The other was when Luke on Duetsch, Paul on Gilera and myself on Sharona went out to breakfast and took a very short putt around. My first rides with my grown up boys!!

Duetsch, the "German bike" 1974 R60/6 600cc

Norton guy dancing at Morrie's Place.

R60/6 and R100 at Dog n Suds.

Sept. 11, 2007 (disassembly begins)

After I finished up Gilera's repairs (wheel bearings, steering stem bearings, shaft drive spring, final drive rebuild, new tires, brakes, etc. etc. etc.) she gave up the lift for this project to begin. I have since purchased a motorcycle jack, I will prolly never afford a lift unless I build one my self, so for the time being this rigging from the rafters worked better than lying on the concrete. Hey, it works so just shut up yer laughing.

Paul was busy with finishing up his Norton Atlas project and preparing to move to AZ but Luke showed some interest in getting in on this. We talked about a wait and see, let's see how this goes, cooperation on this project. He has since put some hours in on disassembly and some eBay parts and we figure that towards the end of this project we will have some options for me to buy him out, him to buy me out or develop a joint ownership.

Family picture

Now here is the proper use for a "one car" Model A garage built into the side of a hill. Starting from the foreground:

• Sharona, my 1988 R100RT
• Paul's (son) Honda CM450C (since sold)
• 1974 R75/6, the subject of this blog.
• Paul's Norton Atlas, not assembled yet but you can see the pretty new red paint.
• Hanging from the rafters is Gilera, my 1980 BMW R100, getting some pretty big repairs done. That could be a whole nother blog.