Well, here it is………didn’t think I would dig this far into the old beemer, but, the engine was out, the old frame paint was showing lots of wear in spots, so, no time like the present. Strip it and paint it.
Earls fork out……..note the tapered bearing on the steering tube……..the conversion from ball bearings to tapered rollers had already been completed…….another small victory for me……….I had a huge dark blue quilt on the floor of the shop ready to rescue the flying ball bearings when I dropped the fork out……..this was a nice surprise.
Using Jonathans bulkhead jig as a parts hanger for the freshly primed R60
One primed /2 ready for the booth.
With the bulk of the bike in the paint booth it’s time to mess with the smaller jobs………fire up the polishing wheel. These are the front shock top mounts.
Before and after. The results are great, but the work is VERY tedious.
Front shock lower sleaves…..same treatment.
Next job is to cut the hubs out of the wheels and send them off to Woodys Wheel Works;
http://www.woodyswheelworks.com/
Woodys is going to build the wheels up with stainless spokes and shouldered aluminum rims. This will save a bit of unsprung weight and I really like the look of the shouldered alloys.
I had to smile when you first got this bike and suggested you’d not be stripping it down for a full refurb….
…I know what you are like from your other projects and I see you’ve done it again.
That is odd, when posting the comment it seems to have truncated the text. There was an extra paragraph at the end stating how much I enjoy your projects and I’m following this one with fascination too. Lovely work on the polishing too.
Thanks Ian, not sure what happened with the shortened comment. I have taken some grief over the “I’m not going to touch this one” comment…..I guess I can’t help myself. The original owner was a maintenance nut, but not much for cleaning and polishing. The bike came apart unbelievably easy for a 48 year old, a testament to the owners care and feeding of the machine. Once apart it was obvious (at least to me) that the bike needed attention in the paint and plating department……lots of bumps, bruises, and scrapes……..so in the interest of hopefully giving the old beemer another 48 years of life, it’s getting the full treatment!
Hi
I’m wondering if you have an advice on restoring the actual vin tag…I’m doing a 67 R60/2 and have the original vin tage, but the paint is almost all gone…all thats left are the serial number stamp?…kind regards and thanks for any help
Hi Tom,
I don’t know of anyone restoring the VIN tags for bikes. I would suggest giving Barrington Motor Works a call t see if they have a source.
Colby