Boxerworks.com

Hello folks,

I just yanked an R50/5 out of a garage here in Seattle where it has sat for 35 years.



I cleaned it up a little bit today, and I'm looking for some guidance:



Overall, the paint on the fenders is pretty clean. On the gas tank, there are rust pits here and there. The frame and other components have gotten pretty rusty. The bike was dropped at some point, and the headlight housing will need some body work (I think I can braise the ring back into acceptable condition).

Is the general consensus that I should get this into clean/running condition, and otherwise leave it alone? Will I destroy the value of the bike if I get the frame painted?

As far as the budget goes, I can sink $1000-2000 into this project. I have already ordered a new battery, carb rebuild kits, and a new petcock (one is pretty toast), as well as oil filters and an air filter.

What would you guys do?

Looks like you scored! I would do the full tune up as you mentioned, new tires, most likely new shocks and maybe petcocks, and some inspection. Check for water in oil, metal chunks on drain plugs, nests inside the front cover and around starter, wheel bearing and spline lube etc. (and lose those high handlebars...) Live with it for awhile, find any faults and correct them and later you can pull it all apart for repainting the frame.

Sweet, this is about what I had thought.

Do you have any leads on good handlebars? The owner said they weren't stock, and there was this funky bracket that moved them back a few inches.

I think I may have to budget in a big batch of rechroming too...

Both Magura and Flanders make handlebars in the 22mm diameter required. Do you ride mostly at highway speeds? If so, get "Euro" bars. If you mostly putt around town, the "USA" bars they offer have a more upright position. It pays to shop around, and there are deals to be had on ebay. Here are a couple good sources: http://www.maxbmwmotorcycles.com/fiche/PartsFiche.aspx# http://www.bmwhucky.com/

Make that bar decision early. All the control cables should be replaced, and you'll want to know which bars you've chosen before you buy your new cables.

Personally, I hate the high (U.S.) bars unless behind a full fairing or very full coverage windshield.

I have a 2008 Kawasaki 650 that functions as my commuter bike, so I'd imagine I'll put 500-1000 miles on this R50 annually, mostly at less than 55 MPH.

With an eye on resale, I think the Euro bars make more sense.

Audiowize, that's the same bike I picked up. Darn near the same condition. The best price I found on bars was from MotoBins. I too intend to put some miles on it before I make too large of investment. Then I can make a better decision. I pulled the wheels to check brakes and lube bearings. Pulled the transmission to check splines, New throttle cable. It will be ready for Spring. Good luck.

Yeah, the throttle cables seem to be stuck, but on the carb end. I'm hoping I can make them work until I decide on new bars. Thanks for the heads up on MotoBins.

Too bad that the timing was so far off, as I just unloaded a lot of things that you need on eBay.

Oh, just remembered, I am parting out my daily rider and so I have some items that will go away soon.

Main thing is to observe rule #1. Keep your money in your pocket.

Buy good used parts as often as possible. Remember, very few of those were sold due to being so slow. My dealership only sold 2-3 of them. I too got one for almost nothing once. I made it run well and just used it for local chores. I rarely rode it on the freeway.

You got good advice from Major Softie, do the bars and cables first.

I don't recognize your name, so you may be new here. We will answer any question that you may have............ even if we have to make it up.

Start by reading the various websites that relate to your bike. Bookmark the ones that seem useful. Snowbum and my site should be on the list.

Use Google for just about everything that you need to know. For the search phrase, do it this way, "bmw motorcycle clutch" or add in your issue where I put clutch. In this case where you need info about bars, controls and cables, try "bmw motorcycle bars controls cables" and read the various articles. Keep your search phrase short and that one is about as long as I ever use.

Good luck hunting for parts and info.

Yeah, I am indeed new here. I did have a fair amount of warning that this bike was coming my way, so I did read up and collect some manuals so I wasn't completely useless. My boss is also very into restoring motorcycles, so he's up for helping me do things like getting the rust out of the tank and tuning the carbs.

Ugh, looks like Hucky is going to get more money from me :/