vrijdag 29 juli 2016

BMW R60/2 BMW R60


Since a long time I was searching for a BMW R60/2
I really like the classic design of the Boxer engine.
This bike is known as the “Vollschwingen-Fahrwerk” model.
Because of the use of 2 swing arms (front and rear) and this series of motorcycles was made from 1955-1969
The series consisted of the following models:
R50, R50/2, R60, R60/2, R69, R50S and the R69S
The 50 and 60 models had low compression engines and the S models had High compression engines what made them a little more un-reliable.
That is why my choice fell on the R60/2
A Motorcycle that has more torque and horsepower than the R50 models but is very reliable.

I was lucky to buy this motorcycle from Gerrit how is a very enthusiastic motorcyclist with a beautiful website.
He bought this motorcycle in 2010
Click HERE for the Website from Gerrit Speek.






  
Though BMW invented and first used oil-damped telescopic motorcycle front forks in the 1930s, it chose to use Earles forks on these models. The triangular front Earles fork (named after its designer, Englishman Ernest Earles) precluded any front-end dive during heavy front braking, which is common with telescopic front forks. It also worked well in sidecar duty. (Vollschwingen-Fahrwerk) Though heavy and ponderous in turning, the Earles fork gave the old Beemer a steady and reassuring ride.



Really nice…this bike still haves the original tool kit and air pump.




I didn’t quit like the air filter being black and the “white” lead battery.
I painted the air filter aluminium and replaced the battery with a maintenance free Gel Battery 



At some point this BMW probably had a sidecar
It has a wide rear wheel rim 2.75Cx18 instead of the 2.15x18
The Speedometer has a “wegdrehzahl” from 1.44
This goes with a bevel gear ratio of 27/7

This bike now has a bevel gear ratio of 25/8 which is for a solo machine so this doesn’t work properly with the speedometer.
Instead of the 1.44 (Miles) or 0.9 (KM) it should be 1.2 (miles) or 0.75 (KM) 


A couple of years ago BMW Classic remanufactured some parts that where hard to come by.
There are still some of these parts available. Historic Parts Catalogue.pdf  

So I bought a correct speedometer for my bike and since I live in the Netherlands one with a scale in Kilometres.




Now after some 500 miles the bike has a couple of small issues that we are going to fix this winter.
-      One rear shock absorber is leaking
-      Little oil leak between the engine and the gearbox
-      Rubber of the drive shaft  is old and has cracks
-  What about these oil slingers???

What we did this winter (2016/2017)

BMW R50-69S LED Lighting

For now I have got a perfect and very reliable running bike.
Just some cosmetic work to be done.
Paintwork and the wheels need some work.
Perhaps next winter, I really like the “patina” look.

“Underneath” this bike is completely new.



What we did this winter (2016/2017)
New Rims and spokes.
Paintwork fenders and 2 x Fuel tank:
1 Original Tank
1 Schorsch Meier Tank