Jupiters Travels w/BMW

3rd. Times a charm?

2012-01-29T09:35:00.003-07:00

Put a few miles on the bike after the 2nd. transmission removal with the hope that the rear seal might "seat" and quit leaking...no such chance.

Local bombing range in my back yard.

So I pulled the bike apart for the third time to replace the new rear seal with a replacement seal. The new seal material looked "healthier" than the one I installed previously. I also obtained a stock flywheel to replace the lightened flywheel which was on the bike. I removed the oil pump o-ring again to check it and it looked fine. I replaced it with a new one.

The newest seal:

The old oil pump o-ring and the first "new" seal.
Here is the lightened flywheel which I swapped out. Someone spent a lot of hours machining this fellow years back. I've never seen one taken this far.
The bike seems to idle steadier with the stock flywheel in place. I ran it a few miles yesterday after re-assembly and so far so good...no leaks.
I started the tear down at around 1:00 PM and had the bike back together and running at around 5:30. Flywheel removal is getting to be routine. Hopefully I won't have to do it for a while.....don't need any more practice at this point.

Sidecar Road Test

2012-01-07T09:34:00.003-07:00

Sidehack rig back in one piece....for the time being anyway.....

Ran a short run up the freeway yesterday to road test the hack. The K-Block tires definately change the handling characteristics of the bike. There's now a lot more contact with the pavement. The ride is better with a passenger and / or load in the hack.

After a 25 mile run at freeway speed I stopped to look things over and see oil seepage from the transmission area. So either the rear main seal is still leaking or the oil pump seal is leaking. I'm leaning towards the rear main seal......I've read that new rear main seals can weep a bit initially when replaced so we'll see. I'll change the oil next week and add some seal conditioner and hopefully the seepage will stop. I don't cherish the thought of pulling the whole damn bike apart again....

I was going to start tearing down the R75/5 to part it out on EBay. Decided to list it as a running project bike to see what might happen. I'll be damned but my $1k. reserve was met and the bike will sell as is. I hated to tear apart a running bike anyway. Someone will have a good foundation to build a Cafe bike or ride it as a Rat bike. The bike is fun to ride as is.

I have a few other misc. used BMW parts listed too. Appears that the "after Christmas" BMW parts market is alive and well.

K-Block Sidecar Tires for BMW

2012-01-04T08:52:00.009-07:00

On the road again.

Ran about 10 miles around the neighborhood today and all appears a-ok....no oil leaks and the new k-block tires are a instant handling improvement.

We've been busy, busy, busy since mid December. Including a couple weeks in Montana, then a 3 day camping trip with the Airheads BMW Club for New Years at Agua Caliente in the CA. desert.

I tore down the BMW and needed a couple of weeks to get all the parts together.
Finally acquired all the needed clutch parts. I had made plans to swap with another BMW guy to change the "lightened" flywheel for a stock flywheel but he didn't follow through with sending the flywheel. Not wanting to wait another week for a flywheel I decided to re-install the "lightened" unit.
I installed all new parts and found the old rear main seal loose in the housing and was able to remove it with no tools. The new rear main seal went in without a hitch. The crankshaft MUST be blocked from moving forward when the flywheel is removed. The oil pump cover o-ring was changed also. I couldn't really tell which seal the oil was leaking from.
Considering the fit of the old rear main seal, it likely was leaking from there.

The engine / clutch went together in one day and yesterday I spent swapping tires around.

I cleaned up the exhaust system / installed and refitted the sidecar mounting sub frame, airboxes, battery box, etc.

I had a pair of Michelin "K-Block" 18" sidecar tires and then acquired a 19" Avon sidecar tire for the front. I was able to modify my sidecar axle configuration to accept the 18" Sputnick wheel I had, but did not attempt to install the brake assembly. I purchased the Sputnick wheel / hub a few years ago and the near new K-Block tires were part of the deal. They appear to be nearly new and the rubber was still supple and not hard. I didn't want to run the K-Blocks until I had a set of three. Until recently I never saw that Avon offered a 19" K-block tire, they are frightfully expensive compared to the cheap tires I've been running.

The front k-block tire was a tight fit to the fender and I had to change out a couple of fender mounting bolts and remove the rear rubber cushion spacers for the fender mount to gain minimal clearance.

The tires went on easily with no problems and then I installed the battery to run the engine up. The motor fired up with the touch of the switch and ran great. No oil leaks evident after 15 - 20 minutes of run time. The bike is not ridable solo due to the tires and front end Earls fork....I guess a person could ride it but I didn't think it would be advisable.

The 18" Sputnick wheel is much heavier built with larger spokes and brand new bearings. It also has a Alloy hub cover to keep dust out of the bearing area.

Many sidecar riders use K-Block tires but many say that they aren't necessary. I wanted to see if I can gain more mileage from them in the wear department. I typically wear out a rear tire before 3000 miles and a front tire about 3000 miles. The K-Block tires cost about double the conventional tires so they need to gain a lot more wear miles to be ahead of the game.

The big square tires will definately put more rubber on the road and might effect my fuel mileage negatively, we'll see....

Today I'll mount the sidecar back up and should have the old girl ready for a test run.

So we'll have new "shoes", a complete new clutch assembly and a refreshed engine top end.

I also had found a pair of "Marzzochi" rear shocks for dirt cheap a while back. I was going to use them on my now "defunct" /5 project so decided to install them on the hack. They are an air assist shock, in Italian Red, lol.

I want to run a few hundred shake down miles to be sure the sidecar axle will perform properly and will need to re-torque the cylinder heads after a hundred miles or so.

"WW2 BMW" .....NOT

2011-12-08T21:16:00.004-07:00

Our trip into the mountains of CA didn't end up too sucessful in this latest quest.
What was described as a WW2 BMW side car rig ended up being an old Russian bike.

I'm not sure of the year as I'm no expert on these bikes. It was obviously old and had a dismembered flathead side valve engine.

The side car frame was probably the most valuable part of the find.

The side car tire:

Pretty husky old frame with leaf springs.

The remains of the rusty old drive train.

Someone had written "BMW" on a Russian piston.

She had the manual "nuetral finder" lever...maybe had a reverse too?

Poor old thing.....the frame is remarkably like my old Zundapp KS601 I sold this summer.

So, I'm back on the hunt for my next great "find".

BMW R100S Clutch and top end assembly

2011-12-08T17:33:00.006-07:00

I retreived the newly rebuilt cylinder heads in San Diego yesterday so decided to assemble the engine top end this morning. When I originally pulled the R100S engine apart, years ago, it had cylinder base metal gaskets installed. Unfortunately I tossed them thinking that new ones would be used. I then found out that the base gaskets were not used on these engines. The later engines had an "o-ring" groove on the cylinders for sealing. This engine had no o-ring grooves so sealant was necessary to seal the cylinder to the engine.
I want to reduce the engine compression a bit so I purchased a pair of earlier base gaskets and then trimmed down the interior diameter to fit over the engine cyliders. All I have is a small Dremel type tool so I spent probably an hour on each gasket, trimming down the interior diameter to fit over the cylinder base.
Hopefully the base gasket will not reduce the compression too much. I saw signs of detonation on one piston so reducing the compression should hopefully make the engine run a little cooler and get rid of any "pinging".

The base gasket in place prior to cylinder head installation.

I cleaned up the pistons / ring grooves well before installing them in the cylinders. There are also a couple of o-rings on two of the cylinder studs. I made sure they were properly in place before installing the heads. I previously had pinched one of the o-rings causing a minor cylinder base leak.

Brand new Black Diamond Valves, Valve Seats and o-ring valve guides.

I actually spent more time modifying the base gaskets than it took me to assemble the engine top end.

I then turned my attention to the clutch assembly. I ordered a set of special bolts needed to back off the pressure plate assembly. Once the clutch came out I was in awe that it even worked. Two big chuncks were missing from each side. The pressure ring / pressure plate are grooved and worn down. This unfortunate developement will require replacing everything in the clutch assembly....to the tune of $500.00 or so.....

Suprisingly the fly wheel has been lightened and balanced.

Dream on.....?

2011-12-05T21:12:00.004-07:00

So...we'll be digging through old dirty shipping containers tomorrow to unearth an old WW2 motorcycle and sidecar...anyway that is according to the present owner.

I have no idea what we will find....or even if it actually is a WW2 German motorcycle.

Apparantly this bike / sidecar was sitting in an old semi trailer for eons, where the previous owner stashed it. The semi trailer was an on old 40's "art deco" looking rounded affair that someone wanted so bad that they purchased a shipping container and hauled it to the property to replace the old "deco" semi trailer.

At some point the sidecar was removed from the bike so it would fit in its' storage space.

I talked with the owner this morning and he said we might have to do a little digging in the storage containers to find everything.

Sounds like fun to me!

Maybe it is an old Zundapp KS800?

Or maybe a old BMW R12?

Ooohhhh...or maybe an R75?

Or maybe an old Zundapp KS750?

Tomorrow will tell.......I'll have my camera and notebook handy to record serial numbers....or maybe I'll need my Chinese / Russian Dictionary.....

Update coming in a day or two...

Cheers

WW2 BMW ?

2011-11-29T09:05:00.003-07:00

I've finally had phone contact with the landowner who claims to have a WW2 BMW sidecar rig.
The gentileman contacted me through a Craigslist "wanted" ad.

The currant owner purchased a large section of property which the old owner had spent years filling full of junk. The new owner has spent the past year or so clearing all the junk out.
An old semi trailer there held a bunch of old Harley Davidson parts / bikes which the guy sold.
Also in the trailer was this (supposedly) old WW2 BMW motorcycle and sidecar.
It is possible the bike could be an old Russian bike or possibly an old Chinese bike but you never know. The owner had a friend do a little research but never did pin down exactly what it is.
We have made arrangements to meet the land owner there next Tuesday to look things over.
The sidecar is separated from the bike and hopefully things aren't scattered too far and wide.

These kind of finds don't come along but once in a life time, if it is in fact, a WW2 Military sidecar rig. I'll definately take my camera but not the trailer on this trip.
The place is only about 2.5 hours from my house so I can always make a trip over with a proper trailer if the bike is a legitimate military bike and if we can come to a price agreement....a lot of "IFS"....
I'll update the story as things develope.

The Rat Tug under the knife

2011-11-23T16:54:00.006-07:00

I finally decided to address the oil leaks which have sprung up on the R100S engine. I've had a cylinder base leak for quite some time and recently the engine started losing oil from behind the transmission. Probably the rear main seal.(?) Started the "dissection" at around 10:00 AM and spent an hour or so just removing body pieces. The side car comes off pretty quickly due to the "pinned" connections. Fuel tank , seat, windscreen, saddle bags, exhaust system came off next.

I've removed parts from this bike enough times to have it down to a pretty quick scenario.

The transmission came off to reveal quite a clean area showing where the oil has been flowing out. On our last road trip the clutch slipped while pulling a long grade. A sure sign of oil on the clutch plate.

I ordered a set of bolts which facilitate the removal of the clutch assembly. The diaphragm spring must be released in stages to avoid warping things and also getting a face full of parts when it comes "springing" off.

I also wanted to address a cylinder base leak so pulled the top end off after removing the transmission. I found a "squished" head bolt o-ring which I botched when I assembled the engine a couple years ago. I will install a pair of metal base gaskets upon re assembly which will slightly reduce the compression ratio and assure cylinder base sealing.

My next surprise was finding a recessed exhaust valve on the right cylinder. This answers the problem I had with valve adjustment issues which were required too regularly.

The cylinders still look good but there is quite a bit of carbon build up on the pistons and cylinder heads.

I made a call to Mesa AZ. to an Airhead friendly repair shop. The heads will be shipped over to them for reworking. hopefully the rebuild won't break the bank.

I also placed an order for all the seals / gaskets needed and a new clutch plate since mine is likely oil soaked.

Todays progress took about 4 hours to completely tear the bike down. I'll likely remove the engine from the frame to allow easier acess to the clutch assembly. I'm fairly certain the engine will need a new timing chain but I'll address the oil leaks / clutch first.

The crankshaft must be blocked into place whill working on the clutch assembly. This requires blocking the crankshaft behind the timing/front engine cover to keep it from moving forward, which can allow a bearing to fall off it's locating pins which open a huge can of worms.

Any timing chain issues will be addressed after the rear engine seal issues are taken care of.

I've had some correspondance with a land owner an hour or so away who claims to have a WW2 German Sidecar rig which he may be willing to sell.

The story goes:

He bought this ranch property years back and there was some old Harley stuff and an old WW2 German sidecar rig in an out building. He sold the Harley parts to some Harley guys and they offered him $2000.00 for the sidecar rig at that time. He decided to keep the sidecar rig for a possible future project. He never got around to the project so it still sits.

I'm hoping to make arrangements to get over to the place in the next week or so to see what he has. He has never tried to sell the bike and has never researched it.

Maybe it will be an ultimate barn find? Who knows.....

Title Woes

2011-11-11T09:01:00.004-07:00

When I acquired this old R75/5 BMW in Nebraska the owner claimed to have a Title and all the missing parts....RE: Fenders, tail light, rear signals, Toaster Tank Panels, etc.
After hounding him for weeks the guy never came up with anything he said he had.
I spent a day and got the old bike running so at least I know the engine is apparently sound.
I've spent a few hundred dollars on parts but decided I'd better address the title situation before spending more on a bike I might not ever be able to license for the road.
I found the old registration taped under the seat but the registration was for a 1973 BMW and the V.I.N. numbers did not match the frame.(?)
I ran the serial numbers through a BMW data base and the bike started life as a 1971 R75/5.

I hounded the seller for a couple of months for the Title but after thinking it over, his Title was worthless anyway if the numbers didn't match. If I ever went to sell the bike and the numbers were wrong, I'd end up with a nightmare legal situation.
I went to the MT. DMV and picked up the paperwork to acquire a new Title. Then the bike went to the Montana Highway Patrol for an inspection and an NCIC V.I.N. check to make sure nothing came up as stolen. Luckily everything came out clean....the next step was contacting an Insurance Company to acquire a Bond to guarantee the title. ($100.00).
So the bond will be here today. Then I take the MT. State Police paperwork, the Bond and the Bill of Sale to the MT. DMV and they will issue a new Title and license plates. Total cost will be a $100.00 plus DMV fees. Not that bad of a hassle. I always read of folks having impossible title problems but MT. has a system that is pretty easy to work.

I'm looking forward to getting the old thing in running order, but first priority is to get the R100S sidecar rig repaired. It will likely need a new rear main seal, cylinder base reseal and probably a new timing chain.(?)
I'll be digging into that as soon as we get settled in Yuma, AZ.

Parts found a little at a time....

2011-10-16T11:27:00.005-06:00

I've been scouring the internet / ebay for needed cheapo parts. Since this is a "Rat Bike" project I won't go over board with high dollar new parts, except in the mechanical department. Function will take presidence over asthetics. Found the light assembly below for $39.00. I will use the signals and the tail light lens. The Front signals on the bike are original 1971 alloy units with the yellow side marker reflectors. The proper rear signals would be similar with red side marker reflectors. Original units are pretty tough to find as they were a 1971 model year only signal. When found they bring big bucks. I might install black plastic units in the front and sell the alloy units.

These well worn BMW "roundels" came up on ebay for $45.00 so I sprung for them for the Toaster Tank. New reproductions would have run around $140.00 for everything. The seller of the R60 said he might have the Toaster Panels but so far he hasn't produced anything for me.

Since the R60 might be delegated for side car hauling for a short time I thought I'd better find a friction damper assembly since it was missing. $23.00 bought this one.

The lower keeper clip was missing but I had one laying around.

I removed the Krauser saddle bags and rack from the R65 to see if they'd fit....and they do. They sit a little further back than original bags would but that's OK. I mounted them on the bike while sitting on the trailer so I'll need to readjust them when the bike is sitting on the ground. I think the angle is off a little.(?)

I'll need to be acquiring tires for the bike at some point, and my R100S tug is about ready for tires also. I see some Toaster Panels selling on EBay but am not sure how serious I want to get about them. They'll likely go for around $200.00.

When we get to Yuma AZ. I'll get really serious about getting the bike in running order.

I have found a very low mile 1978 R60/7 locally which has been disassembled. $800.00 will bring it home so I might take that one on too. It is a Euro. Spec. machine with only 7000 Kilometers on the clock. Appears to be pretty good. I'm waiting for some better photos so I'll post some when I get them.

R60 comes to life.

2011-10-04T21:21:00.003-06:00

The other night I was snooping around on EBay and saw this seat at $.99 with a few seconds to go....like a fool I bid $1.04. Low and behold I won the seat for that amount....without noticing that the shipping was $50.00. Crap! Darn impulse buying! More on the seat later....

Weekend before last I took some time to sort out the R60 a little bit. Removed the fuel tank and seat and decided to give a shot at starting it up. I knew the the wiring had been modified to fit the "Puch" headlamp so opened it up to check it out. The 1971 BMW's don't have any fuses in the electrical system so burning up wiring is common. I temporarily tapped in a 30 amp fuse to the main power source. I have no key so I figured out how to simply "hot wire" the ignition switch. I had an old weak battery so charged it up while I checked for open wires which were unconnected. Wanted to make sure nothing would short out upon bringing the electrical system back to life.

I looked things over and taped up a couple of unconnected light wires. Under the fuel tank , the dual coil system lives to power the dual plugged heads. This is a pretty expensive upgrade which a previous owner spent quite a few bucks on.

I hooked up the old battery I had which had charged to 80%....enough for this point. I made sure the crankcase was full of oil and rigged up a temporary fuel supply, in this case a large syringe body. I energized the electrical system and had no apparent shorts anywhere....I touched the electric start button and the engine turned. I pulled the carb tops and lubed the throttle slides and made sure they were free. So I went ahead and filled the syringe with a few CC's of gasoline and fully expected the carbs to leak but to my amazement, no leaks.

So here we go.....set the choke, hit the starter and the engine started up after a few seconds. She belched out a bunch of smoke from the oil I had squirted in the cylinders a few days earlier. After a few seconds I opened the chokes and the engine turned to a nice smooth idle. The throttle response was a little slow but it was running and sounded real good.

I ran it a few minutes and filled the syringe again to run it a few more. The engine sounds strong so I am happy that the thing will run!

A fellow rider on a motorcycle web site had offered me a free rear fender so I gladly accepted. I also had found a reasonably priced front fender on EBay about the same time so had fenders coming my way. They showed up today so I went after the installation when I got home from work. I had the proper mounting plates and bolts from other bikes I had parted out in the past so the installation went without a hitch. By chance both fenders are black so that is good.

The old girl is starting to look like a bike again. Neither fender is perfect but they look pretty good when mounted.

The seat was missing the hinges and luckily the $51.04 , $1.04 seat had both hinges in place. The allen screws were stripped so I had to drill out all of them, luckily I had old saved replacement screws in my bolt stash. New hinges run about $48.00 each so with the salvaged hinges I don't feel so bad about the crappy seat miss-purchase. I removed the backrest and after looking the seat over, discarded it in the dumpster. I placed the seat on the bike and the riding position was terrible due to the forward position....way to close to the fuel tank. I don't have room to haul around a seat I'll never use so good riddance.

Now I need to hunt down a tail light lense and a pair of rear turn signals. I'll be changing all fluids and filter, flushing the fuel tank and mounting some tires before she is ready for the road. I think it will be a nice low budget rider when it is done. Don't have any "toaster" panels or BMW roundels for the tank but maybe I'll hunt some down at some point. "Toaster" panels are terribly expensive so maybe someone will come along and swap me a touring tank for the bare toaster tank.

Another "barn" find....1971 Rat Bike.

2011-09-11T20:26:00.005-06:00

We arranged to meet a prospective seller in a small town about 40 minutes from us this AM. We met as planned and drove 5 miles out to his relatives farm. He had pulled the old bike out earlier this AM.
Arggggg...no treasure found this time.
We talked about the old bike for quite a while. I could tell it was an early 70's short wheel base frame. A 1971 I figured. The fuel tank was a 1972 or 1973 "Toaster" tank, missing the side panels and BMW roundels. The engine had a kick starter so I figured it was a 1974 model.
He had new tires on it with less than a 1000 miles on them.....10 years ago. The battery was "new" too.....10 years ago. The owner has over $1000.00 invested in the bike but I could not give him anywhere near that amount. The engine turned over with good compression and it was "dual plugged" years back. I kept asking him for a price but he just couldn't come up with one. I through him a reasonable offer since I have no idea of the engines / drive trains condition. He said he has the fenders, tail light and turn signals somewhere and maybe the "Toaster" tank panels....also has a clear title so the deal was struck and we loaded it up on our trailer.

I made a $2.00 investment and took it to a car wash to remove a few years worth of dust and grime.

The after market mufflers looked odd. After looking closer I see that they are mounted on the wrong sides and upside down.

The original headlamp has been replaced by a vintage "Puch" head light nacelle with a Puch speedometer. Puch is an Austrian made motorcycle. The large over sized headlight began to grow on me right away.

The wash job removed some grime but there's more to go at a later time. Over all the main components of the bike look good. I pulled the carb bowls off and they are clean. The throttle slides are free. The tank interior looks a little crusty.

The Puch speedometer is in pretty good condition.

I spent a little time cleaning some alloy parts and they cleaned up well.

So now what to do with this? I think it will possibly be a runner so I'll take some time to get it running. I think I have everything needed to get it fired up. The wiring is pretty shaky so I'll need to sort out some things before hooking a battery to it.

I checked the engine serial numbers and the frame serial numbers and my guesses were correct; a 1971 frame, `1974 engine and a 1972 or 1973 fuel tank. It sports some high BMW handlebars of unknown origin.

So maybe I'll make a rat rod out of it or a cafe style bike or?????

Might be fun to get the fenders on and just get it running to ride as is.

No more bikes for a while as I am out of room now.

Airhead Fishing in NE.

2011-09-06T15:28:00.003-06:00

Whenever my work takes me to an area for a few weeks I always run some Craigslist Ads in search of old motorcycles.
Fishing for BMW's is a favorite pastime for me.
I have a couple of bites here in NE.
I found a guy who has a bunch of old bikes, one a nice old Norton Commando, a couple of years worth of dust on it but very straight. But that is over the top for me. I want old crap that is cheap.
The Norton owners Brother in Law has an old R100 that I want to take a look at. Sounds like it is partially apart so that is good for me.
I also just had an inquiry from a guy with a 600 BMW.....no more info than that so I'll be checking out both those potential catches.
update:
The 600 BMW seller gave me a call and it appears he has a "rat bike" that he built years ago based on a 1972 BMW R60/5 chassis. He had a rebuilt later model 600cc engine (dual plugged) and has a later model 5 speed behind it.
Basically he built 3 bikes into one. Not sure of the overall condition of it as it has sat for over 5 years in a garage about 35 miles from here. Unfortunately he left it with a tank of gas which is too bad.....Hopefully it will be a good score if I can get it cheap. I have made arrangements to take a look at it this Sunday morning.

Scottsbluff to Denver and back on the R100S Hack

2011-09-05T19:21:00.008-06:00

We had a 3 1/2 day weekend so decided to get one final sidecar trip under our belts while we had the time. I have a Brother in Denver that I haven't seen for quite some time so Denver was our goal. Only 200 or so miles so this was an easy run. We left Friday afternoon with the intent to get at least a hundred miles or so.

We took all the back roads heading down and had very little traffic on the rural highways.

We saw a lot of old abandoned farm houses along the way. That reminded me of the Texas Panhandle country, with old abandoned buildings at every turn.

While still in Nebraska there are lots of sandstone formations along the way. Upon entering Colorado the country turns to open country with hills here and there amongst the farm land. Sunflowers appear to be a popular crop these days. We saw miles and miles of sunflower fields.

Getting close to Denver we finally got a view of the mountain ranges to the West. My Brother has a beautiful unobstructed view of the mountains from his patio. Don't got no mountains in Nebraska.

The ride was uneventful except for a "clutch slip" about 50 miles from Scottsbluff. Pulling a long uphill grade the engine gained revs, so I down shifted and again the engine revved up.

I pulled over, thinking I likely have oil getting into the clutch area and slicking up the clutch plate. I saw no major oil leaks, (other than the small one from the right cylinder base) so decided to proceed. The thought crossed my mind to head the 50 miles back home but what the hell....mechanical mishaps are part of the adventure so onward we go......

Never had any more clutch slippage so who knows....?

My rear tire was down to the end of its' life so I threw on my spare K-Block tire thats been sitting. Just bungied it to the rear rack, not very pretty but it didn't mind hanging off the hack.

We got home just fine on the bald rear tire. Tireswear quickly on my tug and I usually only get 3000 miles or so. I'll mount the square profile K-Block tire next to see how long it will last.

We rode back to Scottsbluff via Cheyenne Wyo. and took a "new to us" route home. Sunday was a great day for a ride with a little cross wind for part of the day and we arrived home by 4:00 PM.

Today I spent working on the R65. I ran it from Scottsbluff to Billings a couple of weeks ago and had a problem upon arriving in Billings.....like something was dragging in the rear.

I drained the final drive and transmission oil looking for metal debris. The oil drained clear and clean so no major failures there.

I removed the final drive to find the nut that holds the input gear loose. It had walked nearly off the pinion stud. I don't know how this could have made the friction I was feeling when I coasted but it was the only thing I could find wrong.

Then I found I had no spare gaskets for the final drive so went ahead and used some silicone gasket material when I reassembled the unit.

I gave the rear wheel bearings a shot of grease and put everything back together with fresh gear oil. I took the old girl for a few mile ride and things appear to be fine.

I also had a drip leak underneath, upon checking the oil pan bolts I found they were barely finger tight. Hopefully tightening them will solve the leak underneath.

I also had a small leak appear at the rear wheel at the final drive seal, which also can lube up the rear brake shoes...not a good deal...... I cleaned up everything and did find a small piece of debris in the seal area. I added some additive to the gear oil that is supposed to swell the seal a bit to help with minor seepage so we'll see if that will work. I took some sandpaper to the brake linings to remove the oil which had seeped onto them.

I have never taken the time to look this bike over, other than checking the fluid levels and tire pressures so this little R65 maintenance day was overdue.

I layed some clean cardboard under the bike so we'll see if any oil leaks reappear.

1953 Zundapp KS601 Sport

2011-04-21T21:23:00.007-06:00

I've started a "Zundapp Blog" and here are a few photos of the KS601 with the proper fenders and parts in place. These rare bikes were designed as side car tugs and have the side car mounts in place from the factory.

Just back from her first bath in over 30 years. Still has around 10 years of grime left on it.
The center stand has a ratchet type device which does not require a high deployment. It is missing two springs so I'll find some that will work.

She has a lot of rust. I hope to get her in running condition as is....then I'll give her some paint here and there. No total restoration in the immediate future....unless I hit the lottery or something....but I don't buy lottery tickets....

There is just something about this old bike that grabs me...not sure why.

I have located a few missing parts and pulled the cylinder heads to see cylinder conditions. She's "stuck" at the present from sitting for the past + 30 years. The right side has a little rust. I cleaned it up as best I could. No cylinder pitting evident yet. The left side was clear. I completely reassembled the top end and filled both cylinders with Marvel Mystery Oil. Now she'll soak for a while to free things up. I've resurrected far rustier engines with this technique.

Update 11-13-11 - I decided to list the bike on EBay with a reserve which would make a few bucks and cover sellers fees. Low and behold the bike met the reserve, which I doubted it would. So the Zundapp has gone to a new owner with deeper pockets and the place / time to restore the machine.

BMW's going and coming

2011-03-19T10:05:00.003-06:00

The old R75/5 was delivered to the new care taker in Phoenix yesterday. Was kind of sad to see it got but it was time. He'll have fun with it. I think it has good to someone who will appreciate it.
I rode a few miles on the R65 last night and everything checks out good. It has a minor (hopefully) electrical gremlin as it blew a fuse for the turn signals. All the turn signals are loose on the mounting stalks so I'll look into that. All electrical systems were working fine when I test rode the bike in Phoenix.

It is a nice looking bike. The bike is mostly clean and with a little detailing it will look even better. The paint is good other than a few spots on the front fender. I'll begin sorting things out on it as time allows. I'll change all fluids, check out the electrical systems, and give it a general cleaning up. The Metzler tires are in pretty fair shape so won't have to buy any tires ...for now anyway. It also has a brand new "Brown" sidestand installed but no center stand. I was glad to see the complete, original tool set was also present, a nice plus. The Krauser bags and mounts are in great shape and function properly. Won't need bungie straps to hold them on like the R75/5.

I'll go over the systems with minimal cash output and then decide if it will hang around for a while. Have never been a R65 fan but we'll see how things develope. It will eventually make a good entry level bike for a new BMW owner.

Zundapp KS601 Sport / R65 BMW

2011-03-17T09:57:00.005-06:00

This KS 601 / Steib rig sold for $15000.00 at the las Vegas M.C. Auction in January. I'll venture the seller had a lot more than that invested.
This solo KS 601 recently sold for $17500.00

So a deal has been struck and my old R75/5 will be delivered tomorrow to its' new caretaker in Phoenix AZ. Below is the trade in BMW I'm taking in. The owner has sent me a list of maintenance and purchases he has done in the past year. He has quite a bit invested in the bike. I'll likely keep it around for a while and ride it. Who knows, my wife loves "blue" so maybe she'll take up riding again.(?)

The bike appears to have a few "bumps and bruises" but I think it is in over all good condition. Riding a little R65 might be fun.(?) Definitely different than all my past bikes. This is a 1982 model so will be the newest motorcycle I've ever owned.

I'm quite excited to pick up my "new" 1954 Zundapp. I've found that it is a "Sport" model which is a more desirable model. More horse power and compression. Not as many of these were built. I've been pouring over the Internet seeking information on these bikes and have found a sort of "Zundapp Underground" exists around the planet. Many parts are available and many reproduction parts are offered. The prices are somewhat extreme though. The cost to perform a full blown restoration on this bike would definitely eclipse its' actual resale value. I won't go into this project without keeping this thought in the forefront.

I love my hobby but one must keep the financial overview realistic.

There is no such thing as "one stop shopping" for Zundapp parts. I've dug up a number of sources but it took a lot of "Internet Digging" to bring them to the surface. I'm very surprised to see the prices these old bikes demand. The prices vary, but a pristine example I saw recently sold for $17.5k from one seller....another nice one with a Steib sidecar sold for $15k at the Las Vegas M.C. Auction in January. I've found another mostly complete unrestored non running one in Norway for around $14.5k. A Harley Dealer has a non running one in his personal "Museum" and he estimates the value at around $10k. Prices jump all over so it comes down to how bad the buyer wants one.

I'm thinking that original is good. These bikes are only original once so I'm going forward with that theory in mind. Unfortunately this bike has had the fenders replaced with some 60's era alloy English ones. A pair of originals are with the bike but are an ugly maroon....maybe some original paint is still living under the maroon?

I will spend my initial hours just cleaning up the bike in a careful manner to see what patina I can expose. Don't want to damage any original finish during that process, so it is a fine line. I may never get any further than just cleaning it....who knows. I just know that I want to possess it for a while....and maybe make a nice profit from selling it down the line. Someone with deeper pockets than mine may want to restore it completely.

I've found that these bikes utilize a center shock absorber between the fork tubes. My bike is missing that shock unit. I found a new one but the price is $300.00 and I'd have to bury it in the back yard for a year so it would match the bike. The same seller has an original used one for $50.00. I'll likely go that route.

I found a complete 1950's shop manual for the bike on line. The rebuild procedures are completely old school and quite interesting. Actually kind of scary....using "tin foil' for connecting rod shims.....filing down the connecting rod ends to "adjust" the connecting rods to fit the bearings. Quite interesting but spooky.

I think there is a nice original "patina" living under all the dust!

R75/5 sold?

2011-03-13T11:47:00.003-06:00

I spent a few hours with a potential buyer yesterday....he had little riding experience and was completely intimidated by the R75/5. I took him for a ride on the pillion seat and he was somewhat shocked by the size of the bike. Way too big for him. I did not let him drive the bike as he would have likely crashed it. I dissuaded him from the deal and I told him he should buy a smaller bike and get his riding skills up to par before buying a vintage BMW.
I had another offer for the bike which included a BMW trade. The buyer has offered a fair amount of cash and a 1982 BMW R65. The R65 photo is a little poor but the bikes owner has said he has taken care of it. All repairs being performed at a BMW Dealer. Appears to be a nice little bike with a low seat height.

So this will work well for me. I will not have the total purchase price for the Zundapp but can handle the difference....and will still have a solo bike to ride. The R65 would actually be a good bike for my wife to ride if she wants to.

. We'll see if this deal comes together.....

1954 Zundapp KS 601

2011-03-12T14:29:00.009-07:00

1953 Zundapp KS 601....this bike appears to have an after market fender light and tail light guard installed. Other than that it is the same model as the 1954 I will be bringing home.
Another fine specimen -1953 Zundapp KS 601 - Only 5000 of these bikes were manufactured in Germany between 1950 and 1957. They are a fairly rare motorcycle.

A few years ago I happened upon this old forlorn 1954 Zundapp sitting in an acquaintance's barn. He had purchased it from a relative years ago and just never got around to doing anything with it. The asking price was quite high so I never gave it any more thought.

A previous owner had swapped fenders and installed some smaller alloy fenders. Someone saw this photo and thought they were an after market English fender set. The currant owner hunted down a pair of original fenders, a toolbox and a pair of nice carb intake tubes. Not sure what other items he scrounged up.

My old BMW R75/5 has been just sitting and I fire it up now and then for a short ride. I did ride it around 1600 miles last summer, riding through Glacier Park and then down to the Spring Solstice Party in Roberts MT. The old /5 has always ran great but I came to the conclusion that I would like to take on a new project. The /5 BMW will need to be sold to finance and make room for the new project.

I contacted the owner of the 1954 Zundapp and by chance he had dropped his price by a substantial amount. I did a lot of Internet research and contacted a Zundapp Guru in Texas. He has restored numerous Zundapps and sells parts on the side. Parts are available but some are quite expensive and some parts are very tough to find. Luckily the 54 I am looking at is mostly complete. missing a few minor items like the original tail light. I found photos of the original tail lights and by chance they are exactly like the one I mounted on my sidecar. I have found others available on the Internet for less than $50.00. I also found a complete engine gasket set for $40.00 so have ordered that.

The bike engine is currently not free. Likely some moisture has formed in the cylinder and caused rust to form. Quite common on bikes that sit. My last project BMW had sat out for over 20 years in the snow, rain, etc and suffered a similar fate. With patience and care I was able to free the engine with no damage and repair it with no problems. I hope the Zundapp will be as simple a fix. At least it has never sat outside since it was taken off the road.

The cost to completely restore one of these bikes would likely cost more than the final product is worth. I hope to go through any mechanical issues found and get it in running order, leaving the patina as found...other than a careful, serious clean up that will need to be performed.

The Texas Zundapp "expert" Told me that my purchase price is reasonable and that I shouldn't get hurt on the deal. If my plans for getting the bike running do not work out I would hope to at least get my investment back on a resale.

I will miss my old 1973 R75/5 which I have proudly owned since the early 90's. It has been a great , reliable bike for us and has served us well. The bike has never let me down in nearly 50000 miles of riding. I have spent a lot of money on the bike over the years, but that comes with owning these old vintage motorcycles. I have a couple of potential buyers coming to look at the BMW. I ran it on EBay but the price never got near what I am asking. There are always others out there looking to get into an old Airhead so it will eventually sell, to a good owner I hope.

Hopefully the Zundapp Project will not bankrupt me! I am looking forward to getting possession of the bike and begin my "Archaeological" process.

Telegraph Pass B-17 Crash Site

2011-02-23T18:46:00.005-07:00

Telegraph Pass, AZ Bomber Training Flight Crash, June 1944

FIVE KILLED AS B-17 HITS MOUNTAIN PEAK SOUTH OF TELEGRAPH PASS.
Gila Mountains, Ariz. -- Five men were killed early yesterday when a B-17 plane, returning to the Yuma army air field from a routine training flight, hit a peak in the Gila mountains 10 miles east of the field, it was announced at the field last night after a searching party returned with the bodies.Time of the accident was placed by officers at 1:52 a.m. The plane was blown to bits by an explosion which followed the crash, believed to have been caused by igniting of the plane's gasoline supply.A searching party from the field left soon after the accident was reported but required some hours to reach the scene in the rugged mountain terrain in which no vehicle could be operated. The crash occurred two miles south of Telegraph Pass.The Dead:2nd Lt. WILLIAM A. RICHELL, 22, pilot. Wife, Mrs. Nora A. Richell, Tonawanda, N.Y.2nd Lt. SHERIDAN B. MAREK, 20, co-pilot. Mother, Mrs. Martha M. Marek, Rt. 4, Temple, Texas.2nd Lt. ANGUS W. MacARTHUR, 21, co-pilot. Wife, Mrs.Patricia K. MacArthur, 106 S. Madison ave., Pasadena, Calif.Sgt. MANTEN P. JONES, 23, crew chief. Father, Charles P. Jones, 5069 Raphael, Los Angeles.Corp. MERLE G. ICE, 23, aerial engineer. Wife, Mrs. Louise F. Ice, 1013 N. Branson st., Marion, Indiana.
The Yuma Daily Sun Arizona 1944-06-29

I had heard about the B-17 Bomber crash site back in the 90's. After some searching and some inquiries I finally pin pointed the proper mountain valley where the plane crashed. I climbed solo all the way through the debris field to the top of the mountain where the impact occurred in the late 90's but had no camera with me. A recent acquaintance showed interest in seeing the site so we went off today in search of the site again.
John has a Russian built Ural sidecar rig which is suited for off road use. This was our conveyance to the base of the mountain to get into range of the climb.

Some of the approaches to the Gila Mountains are now posted as private property so the access in is limited. We found an open entrance to the land below the mountains and headed in. There are numerous roads in the area and finding the most direct route in was difficult. After a few miles of wandering we got into the general area where I remembered the site to be.

The trail below is where we parked the Ural and began the hike. The terrain is rough and trails come and go...it is easy to lose them in the boulder fields.

Looking up the canyon I thought we were in the right area but wasn't sure. It has been so many years since I was last here. As you approach the mountains the perspective changes and doubt loomed about the correct route...The highest peak in the center of the photo was the impact site. The B-17 came into the mountains from the left, hitting the rock face of the peak about 30 feet from the top.

The approach to the valley. The going was pretty rough and great care is needed to avoid a twisted ankle or worse.

As we were about to give up the quest, a reflection up the gorge caught our eyes. Sure enough it was a large piece of aluminum from the aircraft frame. Below the small piece of wreckage was a large white cross, white washed onto the rocks. I had read that someone had marked the locations of where the airman's bodies were found. This was the first of the five markers.

As we climbed a little further more aircraft parts were about. Most pieces are damaged beyond recognition....not surprising considering the violence of the crash and the distance the parts rolled down the mountain.

A fairly large section of aircraft aluminum skin.

An engine super charger. Three of them were in the general vicinity.

Remains of a Radial Engine. Some of the cylinders were missing, attesting to the violent trip down the mountain and the initial impact.

Another large section of aluminum skin:

More Aluminum:

And more:

One of the aircraft's landing gear assemblies.

The wheel assembly and cylinder was large...the wheel appeared to be made from very thick magnesium. A fuel bladder sits in the foreground.

Landing gear strut.

A piece of the wing, where the landing gear attaches.

We spent a 1/2 hour or so at the lower end of the debris field. There is a huge debris field scattered all the way up the gorge. The upper reaches are VERY steep and treacherous. At the top of the peak, where the impact site is, there is a steel plaque with the lost airman's names inscribed. We decided not to go up any further.

In the 90's I remember a lot of smaller parts and pieces down lower where we were. Scavengers have likely taken out some souvenir's over the years. We chose to leave things as is, in respect to the site. Coming down was sure a lot easier than going up.

Brass Monkey Sidecar Rally

2011-02-22T10:30:00.011-07:00

We left Yuma on Thursday morning with all intentions of getting to Death Valley CA. for the annual Airheads Death Valley Rendezvous. We were then planning a trip over into AZ. to visit friends and tour around AZ. after leaving Death Valley. The weather forecasts were not looking too good though....I was just getting over a bought with the flu but felt well enough to make the trip...I thought...
We arrived in Quartzsite around 10:00 AM Thursday and while shaking off the chill a guy on a Ural sidecar pulled up and told us of the planned weekend sidecar rally.
After a discussion we decided to hang around Quartzsite for the rally. The weather forecast for this area was "rain" but the Death Valley forecast looked even worse...
Thursday night was beautiful and warm. Not a cloud to be seen. Friday night came a deluge of thunder, lightening and heavy rain....

A Ural from out in the desert...a young guy has been boon docking all winter out in the desert...I passed an "honorary airhead sticker" over to him...

This is "Johns" Ural...he was giving a ride to a motorcycle gal from Switzerland. John also has a Russian Machine Gun which is usually mounted on the nose.

Another Ural in German Military color scheme...our campsite in the back ground...

Saturday morning we awoke to a soaked tent and everything was wet. The rain poured down all night and the cheepo tent leaked like a sieve.......the tents' "lake" in the morning....Darian took all the soaked items to the campground laundry and I proceeded to reserve a motel room at the Super 8 for our final night. The campground folks let us leave our tent up to dry and we packed it up on Sunday AM.

This is a "Watsonian" side car. A wide body with seating for 4 small folks....has a front and rear seating area. All enclosed with removable roof covers. A very neat sidecar but it sure is big.

Another nice little rig with a BMW K bike tug. He came through a snow storm to get there...

This /2 Conversion was owned by one of the Rally organizers. A very well done rig with a /5 engine. It also had one of the rare "Hella spotlight / mirrors I have been searching for....very nice Steib chair attached. This rig sat low to the ground.

A BMW with a "Texas" sidecar. A nice rig...real nice couple on board...

A Big Blue Harley Rig;

Another Watsonian Double rig just like the white one....pretty odd to see 2 of these rare cars in the same place. This one was for sale for $9k or so. The owner insisted that I take it for a spin but I passed. The mountings were not very rigid on the front lower attachments but he said it drove just fine....

A Triumph Scrambler with a Velorex Rig....I loved the "Union Jack" paint.

A trick BMW with a Ural chair. This rig was set up very well with smaller / wider wheels.

Another Velorex chair.....these are different and narrow.

Not sure who makes this one:

I think this is another Velorex.(?)

Nice rig here:

A nice Honda with a giant air horn mounted on the chair:

The locals held a classic car / bike show Saturday night...another Harley Rig:

Ural

2 Wheel Drive Ural:

BMW Oilhead Cruiser with a Ural chair:

On the road home Sunday morning....the old Hag was running fine down the road but I was having an idle / cold starting problem. Had a hell of a time getting her going in the AM....luckily my battery held out and got her running.

We arrived home and I'll need to investigate the tuning of the bike....will likely need to adjust points / valves / timing again...maybe take a look a the carbs to see why she doesn't want to idle....

I really looked over the Ural 2 wheel drive rigs. The "off-road" option could be a lot of fun. Maybe some day....
We were pretty sad to miss the Death Vally Airhead gathering. When it rains there the entire area turns into muddy bog. We camped there one year and a 2 hour down pour turned the place into a gooie morass....The desert rain is on mostly sandy ground so mud is non-existant.

I ended up running a fever 2 nights while we camped so was glad to be close to home...

Agua Caliente / Palm Springs Via BMW sidehack

2011-01-24T09:04:00.007-07:00

Time for another sidecar trip...we decided to do a "Hot Springs" Tour beginning with Agua Caliente in the Anza Borrego State Park. We returned from a business trip Thursday night so packed up early Friday morning and hit the road. I had received a "Heel Shifter" for the R100S transmission so I installed that prior to leaving. The heel shifter simplifies shifting a lot and I had been looking for one for a couple of years. Finally found one on EBay.
Loaded and ready....

We decided to run the interstate all the way to the Park so made pretty good time. Stopped in El Centro CA. for lunch. Upon leaving the restaurant I see a small oil pool on the parking lot. Damned shifter seal is now leaking after installing the "new" shifter. We found an auto parts store and picked up a quart of gear lube in case the transmission gets too low.

Got to Agua Caliente county Park and set up our new "condo" tent. After New Years I decided I wanted a little more room. Our new sleeping pads are pretty large and our Eureka Tent just is too crowded for both of us plus all our gear. The new tent is great and we can stand up in the center section. Plenty of room for both of us, our gear and chairs too!

The tent is a cheapo Chinese tent but for the price, we like it. Don't think it would fair too well in a downpour but we try to avoid camping in the rain anyway. We had a few drinks and took a nice long soak in the Hot Springs.

At about 9:00 PM a group of Boy Scouts came into the campground, right across from us and made a hell of a racket until all hours. The Park Ranger finally shut them up by 11:00 PM.

We really like the new tent!

We arose by 7:00 AM for coffee. Tore the site down and were on the road by 9:00 AM. Decided to head over the mountains to the Palm Springs area. About 30 minutes out we met a pair of Jeeps going the opposite direction. One of the Jeeps kicked up a small rock and it hit me in the face, breaking my glasses. The rock somehow missed my windshield, my partially closed face shield and got me.

The old stage route passes through the valley.

Perfectly beautiful day for a sidecar trip!

Historical Marker for the old stage route:

My broken glasses....I looked them over and decided to continue wearing them...did not see any loose glass. A big mistake as about 1/2 hour later something went into my left eye. A small particle of glass? I don't know but it make the rest of the trip a bit miserable for me with something in my eye.

The Shelter Valley Area was nice and green.

Stopped for a minute...couldn't find any gas as the power company was doing some sort of maintenance and all the small towns were without power...therefore no gas available...Tank was running a little low but we were just fine. The bike gets around 25 mpg with the sidecar so range is limited to around 175-200 miles.

Fantastic views and roads. Quite a bit of weekend traffic though.

Stopped for a lunch break and this Ferrari pulled in...pretty nice!

up over the mountains to Desert Hot Springs. Windy road and a lot of traffic.

Desert is always beautiful. Neat rock formations.

Stopped at a vista point on top of the mountain...a little snow in the back ground. Darian tried to call a friend of ours in Palm Springs but had no luck hooking up.

Bike was still oozing some gear lube from the transmission but not enough to be concerned.

With the condition of something in my eye my excitement about camping another night kind of waned...we were heading to Bashfords Hot Springs on the east side of the Salton Sea. I was pretty miserable trying to drive with one eye bothering me.

The trip home was only a 150 miles so I decided to forgo another night of camping and head home.

Date Grove on the west side of the Salton Sea.

The great Salton Sea:

We raced the sun back to Yuma...arriving home before dark.

A beautiful sunset to complete the day.

Niche Cycle Supply BMW R75/5 Cigar mufflers ...New Condo

2011-01-10T16:38:00.004-07:00

Purchased a pair of BMW R75/5 Cigar Style mufflers from Niche Cycle Supply and mounted them last week. They are a near perfect replica of the stock Zeuna mufflers. They appear to be a slightly smaller outside diameter on the main body than the Zeuna's. The sound is a bit louder than the Zeuna mufflers.

Similar stainless steel mufflers are pushing over $500.00 a pair so I think these are a good alternative to the wallet busting Staintune mufflers. They are made by Emgo, which markets a lot of lower end motorcycle aftermarket items. For the price of $148.00 I think they are a pretty good value. We'll see how long before they start rusting. I don't frequent wet environments very often so I think they'll last quite a while for my use.

After attending our last camping rally we decided we wanted to buy a larger tent. The Therma Rest Neo-air sleeping pads I bought take up much more room than our old pads. We decided to go the "cheap" route so I ordered a Cheepo Chinese made 6- man tent. We set it up upon arrival today and it looks like it will work for what we need. Probably not very good for high wind conditions or pouring rain but hopefully it will suffice. We set it up during a pretty good wind and it stayed put just fine. I'll definitely replace the useless wire stakes with some real ones.

Tent is a pretty odd shape...kind of a star shape. The small extensions each have doorways so there are 3 entrances if you want to use them. Has 2 window/doors and 2 large rear windows, plus the main door. All openings are screened. Pretty light fabric and I have my doubts about heavy rain not entering. Center height is around 6' so it's high enough to stand in the main area.
My experience with these types of cheap tents hasn't been very good but if we can get a few seasons out of it I'll be happy. I was considering a 6 man Eureka! dome tent but the reviews I read were pretty poor. We'll use this one up while I investigate a higher quality tent for the future.

I removed the Zeuna stock BMW/6 mufflers and replaced them with the stock Zeuna /5 Cigar mufflers I removed from the /5. They are very quiet. They have some minor rust underneath, a few dings but still have a lot of miles left on them. I had to reverse the Bates Saddle Bag mounts as the /5 Zeuna mufflers are a little shorter than the /6 mufflers. I'll keep the /6 stock mufflers for backups.

Airhead Beemers Club Last Chance Rondezvous 2010

2011-01-02T18:51:00.008-07:00

I believe this years camp out in the desert was the 15th. year it has been held. We missed the first year and last year but have attended every other year. The Rally is held every New Year at San Diego's County Park at Agua Caliente Springs. Indoor/ outdoor hot spring pools are in the park.

We planned on heading out by noon Friday but a battery issue gave us a late start. I recently charged the sidecar battery but it suddenly konked out on the sidecar rig so had to swap it out with a battery from my other bike.

The County has upgraded areas of the park since the last time we were here in 2008. A new pavilion , fire pit and seat walls have been added in the group area.

This years gathering was not for the faint of heart as the night time temperatures were down to 28 degrees with highs in the lower 50's. Luckily the days were sunny and an abundance of firewood was brought in. Our hosts, Kelly Pixton and Kevin Kempton (with help from all the Kempton Family and others) kept us all well fed throughout the weekend with more food than anyone could eat.

Darian seated with our friends Murray & Denise. Murray is a Wyoming native. Growing up a couple hundred miles from my old stomping grounds.

Nice view of the new pavilion, fire pit and mountains. I attended the annual Moonlight Trail Hike which is a night time 2+ mile hike around the mountain in the back ground. 13 of us braved the cold & darkness to do the night time hike on Friday night. Others prefer to do it in the day light when it is a bit safer. No guts no glory?

Our humble camping site. A number of the attendees drive hundreds of miles here so some decided to arrive in 4 wheeled machines rather than 2 wheeled machines. We elected to drive over with the side car rig. Warm camping gear was a must. We kept nice and warm despite the 20 degree temperatures. The sidecar allows us to bring a lot of gear. (whether we needed it or not)

This KTM astounded me with it's wonderful starting / electrical system. The owner must have cranked on it for 45 minutes before he finally gave up trying to get it started. The battery still seemed to have a lot of juice.

This custom modified Uni-Go trailer was great. Aircraft quality construction and made a great table too. I watched the build on a Blog and saw it in person for the first time. This bike had a lot of great / trick modifications done to it. The trailer had a heavy duty damper to keep things in check. much more functional than a stock Uni-Go Trailer.

A stock Uni-Go trailer.....

This stock 1973 long wheel base R75/5 showed up. That is how my other bike started life.

A shot just as the sun dropped behind the mountains at 4:00 pm or so...this years camp out was a great success. Got to see quite a few old friends and made some new friends too. People came and went throughout the weekend. Some came in Thursday and left before we arrived late Friday. Appeared to be around 50 people in attendance this year. Some years have brought in 80 - 100 people. I'm sure the cold weather definitely kept some folks closer to home.

We're already looking forward to next year! Hopefully it will be a little warmer. We had one or two years with a bit of rain, a couple of years with a lot of wind and this year was probably the coldest in my memory. Thankfully we had no wind to speak of this year. That would have really been cold.

Stebel Nautilus Air Horn for BMW

2010-12-29T20:01:00.007-07:00

Worked all afternoon getting the air horn wired up. mounted the unit on the sidecar frame in the front. Pre wired the unit to the stock horn switch and ...nothing. disassembled the switch, cleaned the contacts and spent 45 minutes reassembling the thing. A tiny little circlip is easy to remove but a bugger to reset. Damned thing still didn't work. Time for a new switch assembly it appears. I went over to Radio shack and purchased a pair of push button switches for $4.00. Decided to jury rig in a switch until I acquire a new BMW switch.
Fabricated a switch mount out of old junk I had laying around. Somewhat of a "hokey" mount but it functions and will do for now.
Horn is LOUD. 139 Decibels according to the paperwork. Uses a relay system and was pretty easy to mount. My non working switch added a couple hours to the installation.

I didn't have a spare key for the R100S ignition so ordered a key blank from Hucky's BMW Parts. Then I couldn't find a lock / key place that would cut it for me. I've seen some lock smiths who weren't exactly rocket scientists so how hard could it be? I gathered up a couple different small files and made an impression of my good key in a piece of epoxy. Then just slowly / carefully started filing on the key as close as I could to the original....and low and behold I had a working spare key.

Last Chance Rondezvous / BMW Service / Stebel Air Horn

2010-12-28T22:06:00.003-07:00

We took a quick trip up to Montana for a family visit and an early Christmas. Flew up and drove my wife's car back down.
Yesterday was a day of Motor home maintenance and the rest of the week is designated for motorcycle maintenance and repairs.
Today I changed the oil & filter. Also changed out all the gear lubes. Transmission , final drive, and drive shaft reservoir. Pulled the valve covers and checked the valve clearances. Found both exhaust valves just a little tight.

Also reset the points as they were a little tight. The cam rubbing block has worn a bit since I replaced the points a few months ago. Tomorrow I'll re-sync the carbs with the Twin - Max Synchronizer. I purchased a Stebel Air Horn a few days back and it arrived today. The stock BMW horn is feeble at best. The Stebel cranks our over 100 decibels so it should grab attention when needed.

I fabricated a mount out of old BMW clamps I had laying around. Am mounting it to the sidecar frame up in the front. Got it mounted today and tomorrow I'll need to wire things up. I'll post a photo of the finished product when it is done. I ordered a pair of after market /5 cigar mufflers tonight. Under $150.00...the high end stainless ones go for around $500.00. I'm not sure which bike they'll go on, but might mount them on the sidehack tug.(?) They are very quiet mufflers. I have an original pair of them on the /5 now and sure like the low sound they emit.

We are attending the BMW Airheads Club Annual Last Chance Rendezvous this weekend. Starts on Friday for New Years Eve and continues until Sunday. Weather forecasts are for clear, but cold weather. Lows at 29 - 32 degrees. Highs in the upper 40's and low 50's. We'll take plenty of warm clothes for camping out for sure! Purchased a pair of (too costly) Therma Rest air mattresses and tried them out at Bashfords a couple of weeks ago. I think they'll help a lot in the warmth / comfort department.
I'll post photos and description of the Last Chance gathering next week.

HAPPY NEW YEAR !

Niland California via Sidehack

2010-12-12T16:58:00.005-07:00

We decided to make a quick overnight camping trip over to Niland CA. and Bashfords Mineral Spa. Packed up the hack and left Yuma around 11:00 AM Sat. I had purchased an expensive pair of sleeping pads (Thermarest-NeoAir) and was dying to try them out in the rocks of the famous Bashfords "Outback". We pulled out of home at a pleasant 78 degrees and headed out over the Colorado River into Ca.

The pyramid below is known to be "The Center of the Earth" is these parts. Not sure what it is all about but it is a cool building.

Some of the Mountains along Ogilby Road near Black Rock CA. an old mining town.

We always stop for a break at Glamis CA. and always see some bad ass sand rigs. This is an old school rig with a killer 1920 Model T Air Horn.

That brass air horn would look good on a sidecar.

The sand is plentiful here. lots of folks playing about in the dunes.

A great ride through here

Great contrast where the dunes end and the bleak desert begins.

We pulled into Bahfords Spa to find the office now a vacant lot. Found that the office/residence burned down last summer.
Our camping spot in the Outback. Had a great sunset.

The new NeoAir sleeping pads were awesome! Even in the rocky ass camping area.

Sunday morning dawned at 70 degrees and not a breath of wind.

Decided to make a run over to Slab City to check it out as Darian had never seen the place.

Here we have one of the concrete bunker guard houses. There are a couple of them still about.

The stage and party spot for Slab City. Complete with old aircraft seats.

Lots of "collectors" around these parts.

The derelict train station in Niland: Cool architecture

We made a straight run to home from Niland, with a stop for breakfast and a stop at Glamis.

Yuma AZ /. BMW / Housekeeping

2010-11-29T12:56:00.003-07:00

Finally got settled here in Yuma. Got here for one night , then headed to Texas to complete a job. Back to Yuma before Thanksgiving. Just in time as Montana is getting clobbered with snow storms.

Pulled weeds for 1/2 a day around the lot. Then dove into a "housekeeping" mission. I have way more BMW Parts than I have room for so decided to clear things out. The 1974 R75/6 below was nearly stripped of small parts. I pulled the transmission & final drive to keep as spares.

Dug into my boxes / bins and piled up everything I didn't want to mess with. A lot of these parts are good EBay items but most are large and a hassle to box / ship. Had a spare engine, a couple of final drives, Old Bates Saddle Bags & mounts, fairing etc. etc. Put the whole works on Craigslist last night and had it all sold by 9:00AM this morning for $400.00. A good deal for both of us. The new owner will be here tomorrow AM to load up the works.

Removed the filter pods from the R100S as I decided to refit the stock intake assembly. Ordered a new pair of intake tubes but could not make them fit...too long. Had a couple pairs of old ones and one set was usable without a lot of hassle fitting up. The crankcase vent was vented externally so had to re plumb the vent into the right carb. Ended up using some tubing / 90's to plumb things together.

Back together:

The /6 choke cable actuator wasn't compatible with the R100CS carbs on the bike so I chose to make up some individual choke controls for each carb. Used bicycle spokes and other assorted parts to make it all work. No more binding , etc. now. Pulled the choke assemblies apart and replaced the choke shaft o-rings.

Drug out the /5 and have been running it here and there for transportation. Bike runs nice after synching the carbs with the Twin Max Synchronizer.

Got this all back together and have started it at cool temperatures the last couple days. Hopefully have the "cold start" problem fixed now.(?)

Square Butte Loop

2010-10-18T17:23:00.003-06:00

A few weeks ago I had some free time so took a little loop up around Square Butte to Geraldine.
A beautiful day for a ride. Just below where the photo below was taken the paved road turns to gravel for a short distance. Known as "Arrow Creek Hill" this area has numerous land slides. The night before an elderly gentleman lost control of his car and hit a big bus full of High School students head on. There was a fatality in the car. The bus passengers faired better. in fact the bus was behind me a few hundred yards when I took this photo. Looks like they drove the bus there.

Went over to Geraldine then over to Fort Benton. took a little break along the Missouri River.

Rather than destroy this bridge they turned it into a foot bridge.

"Sheps" master died and was hauled away on a train. Shep spent many years waiting at the depot for his return. He finally got clobbered by a train, ending his vigil.

Approaching Highwood area. Little Belt Mountains in the distance.

Jupiter Sidecar Carpeting / Interior Panels

2010-10-11T13:15:00.006-06:00

I ordered some automotive gray trunk type carpeting for the sidecar and it finally arrived last week. The weather was great yesterday so decided to proceed with the carpet installation in the hack. I carefully measured out the sections and was able to fit the entire front (exposed) area of the hack with only 3 pieces. Under the seat I simply ran a 3' x 18" piece on the floor area, back to the rear of the "trunk".
I used a 3M spray adhesive to glue the carpet in. This automotive carpet is real light and conformed well to the radius's in the hack.

When I had the sidecar interior done I had some storage pockets made into the flaps which hang down below the arm rests. These are mainly used for map storage although my wife often stores her currant book there too. The hood slider rods often fouled into the upholstered pockets when closing the hood. I purchased some light weight black fiber board material at a craft shop and built a panel which isolates the rods from getting hung up on anything. The panels give the interior a much better finished appearance. The panels will not wear a long time as they are a backed Styrofoam type material. At only $4.99 each that is not an issue. One $4.99 panel was enough for two interior panels.

When all was done I had enough carpet left over to completely redo the sidecar floor and enough fiber board to make two more interior panels. The carpet is quite light so I only expect it to last a couple of years.
The carpet should dry quickly when wet as it is such a light weight material. (J.C. Whitney $29.99 for a 54" X 10' piece)

I'm bidding on a /2 steel front fender on EBay. I would like to replace the fiberglass /6 fender now in use. I'm not sure how the fender would fit since I'm running a 19" front tire and the Earls front was originally set up for an 18" tire. If I can pick it up for under $90.00 I'll try to install it. I have a /2 US fender on the R75/5 which also was intended for a 18" tire....My 19" tire has sufficient clearance, although not much

R100S/6 ....more progress

2010-09-19T09:59:00.003-06:00

Did a bit of scrounging at the local motorcycle salvage yard and found an "as-new" heavy duty shock absorber ($25.00) for the side car. The one in place was shot and acting like a pogo stick. I intended to install a motorcycle air shock but the salvage yard ones available all looked like leakers....plus they were pretty large and would not clear the tight mounting areas. Also picked up an old Hodaka tool tin and some new in line fuel filters.
The shock fit well after a little modification of the lower mount. The spring is under minor compression with the chair unloaded so took some effort to install. Took it for a spin yesterday and she rides much better.

I had one Henry's floor board mounted on the left but the side car mounting sub frame would not allow conventional mounting on the right side. Finally came up with a pair of BMW clamps in my parts bins which fit perfectly on the side car frame. I was going to weld a bracket on the frame but the clamps worked great.

The temperature was in the low 40's yesterday and the bike still started miserably....not sure where the problem lies. She just doesn't like cold starts! Must be a choke circuit issue some where.

Mounted the small Hodaka vintage tool bin right behind the luggage rack. I'll store some additional parts / tools there. I don't really like the chrome though....might have to spray paint it black....

I remounted the Heinrich tank & black QSL seat. This time I made some rubber cushions and fitted them around the ignition coils under the tank. The right coil was rubbing against the inside of the tank. The tank seems to clear the brake master cylinder just fine. The fuel consumption with the 1000 cc engine makes the bigger tank a must. I swapped out some BMW OEM hand grips and installed some side reflectors which I hadn't got around to installing.

Some Fine Tuning for the R100S / Sidecar

2010-09-06T10:30:00.008-06:00

Over the past few trips I was able to calibrate the Acewell Computer. Finally got the MPH setting real close by watching mile post markers for a few hundred miles. The initial setting is based on wheel / tire diameter but I found it was reading slow. By getting the odometer set properly that will in turn set the speedometer where it should be.
Really like all the multiple functions / options of this unit.

Spent some time the past couple days working out problems with the R100S tug.

Received an over size 90/120-18 tire with a Lester Wheel I had purchased. Mounted it up on the rear but had to grind off a small amount of rubber on the ridge to clear the swing arm. It was rubbing there as mounted. The Lester Wheels were money well spent.

Both valve covers had seemingly unstoppable leaks. They both must be warped. Finally ended up using two gaskets on each head which stopped the leaks in their tracks.

I had rebuild kits for the 40MM Bing Carbs so tore them down and replaced all gaskets, seals, diaphragms, etc. Found two bad choke assembly gaskets and the diaphragms were paper thin but not punctured. I saved the old ones for spares.
The headlamp interior was dirty and dusty from its' life sitting in the desert. I pulled the assembly apart and cleaned everything up. Much brighter now.

The bike was experiencing a low speed wobble again so I pulled the triple tree top off and found the steering head bearing lock nut had loosened itself up. Retightened and then dug into the friction damper I had installed. Found that the rubbing area for the friction damper sat right on a weld so had minimal contact area. Added in a large washer which changes the contact area to a larger surface and avoids any contact with the welds. This should take care of the issue.

I installed this MAC large oil pan a few weeks ago. Double checked the bolts...have a small leak at the drain plug for some reason.

I dug out the "Twin Max" carb synchronizer I purchased two years ago and finally figured out how to use it. After some trial and error I got both BMW's carbs synchronized. The Twin Max is very sensitive and I was surprised how fine the tuning scenario is on the Bings. Both bikes are now running as they should.

I found that the ignition points were mis-aligned. I changed out with a new set, replaced the spark plugs with new, set at a proper gap. Rigged up my timing light and set timing as specified.

I've had to reset the valve clearance multiple times on the right cylinder for some reason. Don't know if the machine shop screwed it up or what. I'll have to moniter that as we run up some more miles.

Hughsville Ghost Town....Stuck

2010-09-06T09:18:00.008-06:00

We'd been planning a drive over to Hughsville, which was an old mining town. Hughsville was developed during the late 1800's, dying off and coming back to life during WW2. Shortly there after the area shut down. There are still some residents there today.

The hay crop this year is huge. The Little Belt Mountains in the back ground.

Square Butte to the north.

An old homestead

A big rattlesnake...someone finished him off with a 9mm and removed his rattles.

This place was large in its' time.

The "road" towards Hughsville from the North is signed as "unimproved'. This turned out to be an understatement. Climbing higher and higher the road became very narrow and boulder strewn. Some spots in the trees were so narrow I had to pull in the truck mirrors. The road started to switch back up and eventually was about 8' wide and was only a notch cut in the mountainside. Darian, riding as a passenger was on the outside edge. The right tires had only a few inches to the edge. The last steep section was loose rock and about a 1000' drop into the canyon. My adrenalin was going for a while.

Finally made it to the top and commented that I would not want to be here in the rain.

Over the top of the mountain and we headed down. approaching a washout I mis-judged my route and we slid into a very big hole, high centering the truck.

The weight of the truck was on the running board and the frame. Not going anywhere....
Luckily I had purchased some chains and two come-a-longs yesterday for work. I shoveled around under the running board and then the rain came...

It poured rain for nearly an hour with sleet and a lot of lightning. The lightning was very close so we sat in the truck hoping the storm would pass. Came to the conclusion that we might be spending the night in the truck.

An hour later the storm subsided and I started rigging chains up to the closest tree...about 75' away. Using the two come-a -longs we drug the truck back 10 - 12 feet, at 1/2" at a time. Took both of us to pull the winch handle with the white behemouth on the other end....

The right rear tire was nearly off the ground.

Luckily that tree was right where it needed to be....and I had enough chain.

Took us about 1 1/2 hours to drag the truck out of the hole...then we had to carefully plan on how to get around it...no way were we going back the way we came in after the pouring rain. Road down the mountain would have been too dangerous.

Finally figured a way around the 'Pit' and gassed it through...the aftermath below....

A mile or so down the mountain we entered Hughsville...

A lot of structures ready to fall in on themselves...

Quite the operation here...ore was hauled by a small gauge railway over to Monarch MT.

Collapsed building atop a tailing's pile.

A number of old cabins about.

Remaining foundations

An old steam boiler

We finally made it to the highway...took us three hours to travel 30 miles....below is a view of the "Sluice Box" area....made it home safe and sound!

I won't be going back over that mountain again anytime soon.

Airheads Beemer Club "Tech Day in Paradise"

2010-08-29T19:03:00.011-06:00

I finished up work duties by 2:30 pm on Friday so we headed out on the bike towards Paradise MT. and a scheduled "Airhead Beemers Club Tech Day". We hoped to at least get part way there before dark. We made it to Missoula Mt. at about 7:00 pm and decided to stay at a cheap motel, rather than camp. (starting to be a trend?) I was given possession of the Montana State Airhead Flag at the Beartooth Beemer Rally last weekend and decided to deliver it personally to the Mt. Air Marshall, John Werre.

At the tech day...with the MT. Airheads Flag in its' rightful place.

The ride to Missoula was very windy and a struggle at some points. When the wind hits from the left, along with a sloping road it takes a certain amount of effort to keep the rig going in a straight course.
Below: A plains view before the mountains....west of Simms MT.

We made a quick pit stop in Lincoln for fuel. Ran the rig with the smaller touring tank this trip so gas stops were no more than 100 miles apart.

Some great river road riding between Lincoln and Missoula

Pulling into Missoula....the driver with a stupid look on his face.

Navigator self portrait

Leaving Missoula Saturday morning we headed north towards Kalispell, then west towards Paradise.

This is an animal overpass to keep the critters off the road.

Traveling along the Flathead River

We arrived at the "Tech Day" location at about 11:00am. Quite a few attendees. Numerous small repair / maintenance projects were in progress. Below is MT. Air Marshal John Werre's BMW and Jupiter sidecar. John's rig is pretty much original condition. My old rig has had the frame modified and was missing original lighting, badges and wind screen hardware.

Our rig in the background. Don't often see Jupiter sidecars...much less two in one place....Johns' is the first one I've ever seen , other than mine...

A lot of observers during repair sessions

I had a couple of "Airheads" Stickers with me so offered one to Terry from Washington. He was riding a very nice Plum colored BMW GS.

The weather forecast was for rain on Sat. night and Sunday so we planned on heading towards home Saturday. Upon starting my bike preparing to depart some serious back firing issues were apparant. I decided to take a few minutes and perform a quick valve adjustment...elapsed time about 15 minutes plus or minus...

Airhead Phil and Air Marshall John cheered me on...

We see Airhead Phil at the Last Chance Rendevous each year. He winters in Quartsite form Idaho each winter.

The sidecar makes right side engine work a bit more of a challange.

We pulled out at 2:30 pm and were in the rain immediately...didn't last long.

Just outside Bonner MT. sign read ; "watch for Big Horn Sheep"...sure enough there were three watching for us....the third one was closer and out of the photo.

The BMW still didn't run as it should coming home.

I pulled apart the Bing 40mm carbs today, disassembled and replaced all gaskets, o-rings, etc. Found each carb had a bad choke housing gasket. It has been a miserably cold starting bike....this repair should definately help. I had two over haul kits and never got around to rebuilding the carbs. One of the old rubber carb diaphrams was thin and like a "blob'...I am surprised it hadn't failed.

The engine has a couple of oil leaks so will probably attend to them. Also want to revisit the ignition system and look for problems there. I should install the original air filter system also. The original intake pulls air through the top of the engine...that additional air draw might help cool the engine more.(?) To install the original intake system I need to restore the crankcase vent plumbing to original form. The previous owner had replumbed the system and vented it to the atmosphere, rather than into the intake system.

The right side valves have required more adjustments than normal. The heads were re-done in Texas so I hope they didn't screw something up.

So maybe I'll bite the bullet and remove the sidecar to perform all these adjustments.

BELOW: A short video along the Flathead River...

"New" BMW Lester Aluminum Wheels

2010-08-25T11:18:00.008-06:00

Before and After...I used the Heinrich tank last weekend for my statewide road trip. The Cop tank now on the R100.

Received the "new" Lester Wheels I ordered late yesterday so the late afternoon / evening was spent swapping tires and wheels around. I had a new sidecar tire so decided it was time to renew that also. The old one might have made another 500 miles but no sense in risking it. The rear tire I mounted was a used 120/90 that I had from my spare Lester Wheel. I still have a near new 18" for the tug when needed.
Tire changing is not one of my favorite tasks but all went well with no pinched tubes, at least I don't have any flat tires this morning.

Pretty easy installation. Removed the discs, etc. from my old wire rims and everything bolted right over.

Used a wheel bearing greasing tool to regrease all the bearings. The wheels were in very nice condition with minimal scrapes and scratches from tire changes. Seller said they came from a 10k mile bike and had been in storage.
I also changed out the R100S engine oil pan for a MAC 2 quart pan. This brings total oil capacity to just under 4 quarts. Good thing I pulled the oil pickup sump as the mounting bolts were nearly loose...likely would have fell out in a short period of time. I used some "Blue Locktite" on all the bolts this time.

Beartooth Beemers Rally

2010-08-24T20:39:00.005-06:00

Had to attend a meeting at Fort Harrison on Friday morning so decided to ride the solo R75 over to Helena. From there I headed to Red Lodge MT. and this years Beartooth Beemers Rally. My wife and I attended this rally the first two years but haven't made it back. I think this was the 12th or 13th year. I ran the Interstate over to Columbus MT. and then took a short cut over to Joliet Mt. Had a couple of miles of one lane dirt road from construction. It was dry and dusty....that road section would have been a nightmare in the rain.
I arrived at 6:00 PM just in time for Dinner. My yellow tent in the background.

"Dr. Bob" trailered his nice old 1971 R75/5. His father bought the bike new and Bob rode pillion when he was young.

Bob from "Bobs' Motorwerks" in Red....talking with Rex, "The BMW Dog"...Bob and his wife Anne are the Rally organizers,

A friend in Billings just picked this side hack rig up over in Ca. It is an "EML" and is a total EML setup including the main frame...based on an R80 so might be a tad underpowered.(?) Sure is pretty....

Camp site was at the Lions Club Camp....great kitchen , showers, location, etc. The food was plentiful and very good! As was the beer.

I awoke Sat. AM and had a good breakfast. Packed up some essentials and headed over the Beartooth Pass to Cooke City Mt....our old stomping grounds...

The Mt. Airhead Flag was hung...I brought the flag home with me as we plan on attending the Airhead "Tech Day" in Paradise Mt. this weekend.

Glacier Lake, barely seen from the Beartooth Summit....we used to winter camp up at the lake.

The "Bears Tooth"

Pilot and Index Peaks. Cooke City sits on the opposite side of these two peaks.

This home was built by our family in the late 70's and was our summer / winter hideout for 25 years. Now in the possession of a new owner...

Downtown Cooke City

Old hotel on main street.

Rode over to Silver Gate Mt. (entrance to Yellowstone park) then back tracked towards Red Lodge. Decided to take the Sunlight Basin road for a change of scenery.

A few Sunlight Basin photos...

Switchbacks up "Dead Indian Hill"

Vista Point near the summit.

Once I made it down the mountain I was greeted by much higher temperatures...felt like 100 but I was told it was only 92...This fire was near Columbus MT. and ended up burning 10000 acres.

Australia...a few miles from home...

Saturday evening was beautiful...another great meal and I was awarded for "The Oldest Bike Ridden to the Rally". I hit the hay by 9:00 pm and was up early on Sunday AM....had to get to Billings to see family, and then back to the Great Falls area...

I liked this old R65....it had a lot of character!

I dodged some huge thunderstorms heading home...only got a few drops on me while my wife, who was a few minutes behind me in her car, got nailed by some big down pours...guess I was living right!

I received my "new" pair of Lester Wheels so worked this evening installing them. Had to swap out tires, then also installed the over sized "MAC" oil pan. I'll put up some photos later....

BMW "Lester" Wheels / Upgraded oil pan

2010-08-17T22:48:00.004-06:00

I've come to the conclusion that Alloy wheels need to be a priority for the Mongrel...my current front spoked rim had a couple of bent spokes, which I straightened and then tightened all the spokes. I realized during the last trip that the wheel is not completely true.

Pulling corners at speed puts a huge lateral force on the wheels.

I recently purchased this rear "Lester" wheel via EBay a while back...it arrived with a nice tire mounted but the wheel spacers/collars were missing. The bearings look real good but the spacers need to be set up properly to account for bearing preload, etc. Proper set up is crucial for these wheels and set up improperly the bearings can fail, from either excess preload or insufficient preload...I do not feel confident to tackle this myself so this wheel assembly will be set aside for now...

I saw this pair on EBay but didn't really want white wheels on the bike...plus they were priced pretty high...

So I finally settled on this pair...also on EBay...bought them today so I'll get them in a week or so and get them mounted. I called the bike shop selling them and was assured that they are complete. true, and damage free....

During the last road trip I experience slightly high oil temps in a couple of situations. I can't mount a conventional oil cooler as the sidecar lower subframe interferes with any cooler plumbing at the oil filter location....looked for a "Brielle" (?) oil cooler which is a pan extension with cooling tubes running through it. Had no luck finding that particular part. Ended up going with an aftermarket MAC pan which is what I mounted on the /5 engine. This will raise the oil capacity to 4 quarts and allow more cooling surface area / volume. This technique worked to cool down the /5 so hopefully this method will suffice for the R100S engine.

Hang on..... Video Clips, BMW / Sidecar in Glacier National Park

2010-08-10T21:38:00.005-06:00

BMW Sidehack - "Going to the Sun"

2010-08-10T21:05:00.008-06:00

I was able to pull an extra day last weekend so what better thing to do than take a sidehack trip! Finished the left piston/valve spring / valve replacement last week so the bike was ready to give it another try...We pulled out on Thursday noon and headed up over the Little Belt Mountains towards White Sulphur Springs. Stopped at an interpretive site I built years ago...met some Canadian bike riders and they took our photo....

Beautiful day and a long straight stretch of road.

Nice old rural church.

We crossed the little Belts...stopped at white Sulphur Springs and said hi to an old school buddy, then off over the Big Belt Mountains to Canyon Ferry Reservoir.

Ran into a few miles of new road construction outside of Helena MT....of course I get right behind the water truck. We planned on camping. Stopped at a campground we stayed at years back and found it to be in a state of disrepair...bad enough that I would not set up a tent and leave anything unattended. A lot of questionable folks about. Since there were no other camping options nearby we ended up in an old 1930's "Motor Hotel", which had great old renovated cabins. $60.00 / night which is a deal these days. The place was nice and I'd stay there again. At about 8:00 pm a huge thunderstorm blew in so we were glad not to be tenting it...

We hit the road Friday AM and stopped at the top of McDonald Pass for this photo.

Cut upwards towards Lincoln MT. turning over towards Seely Lake...big cows around there...

A lake south of Seely Lake

We made it to Kalispell MT...again huge thunderstorms around so decided to Motel it again...glad we did as the Columbia Falls area which we were going to camp in had golf ball sized hail and massive winds...We headed towards Glacier Park at 8:00 AM..

River outside Columbia Falls

Entered Glacier Park in a big waiting line...took a few minutes to get through the gate...$12.00 per person for MC riders....

A nice view of lake McDonald...kind of hazy

Darian working her camera...

The ride into the park was great...many miles of brand new pavement as smooth as glass...

The smooth road came to an abrupt end and we were bouncing through terrible sections for quite a few miles. Some bumps were so bad I had the front end wobble a couple times, even with the hydraulic steering damper.

Up towards Logan Pass we go...

Traffic up the mountain wasn't too bad...some road construction had things down to one lane.

A wonderful place.

The "Triple Arch Bridge"

Road work.

Logan Pass looking back down the grade.

A few nice views

Some more miles of gravel...would not like to be here in the rain...

Heading out towards the plains...old fire area.

Stopped in Browning for a lunch break...bike started up rough and back fired a few times...decided to just hit the road and head home for the final 150 miles...bike got us home just fine but will need some valve adjustment attention before another ride...

BMW R100S back in action

2010-07-30T20:21:00.005-06:00

Finally got all parts & pieces together and re-assembled the left top end, spent about 2 hours to put everything together......replaced left piston, exhaust valve and required gaskets....Took it for a quick 5 mile ride...all seems well.....

This weeks fun & games at work.....

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BMW Repairs...Yamaha DT250 Enduro

2010-07-28T21:33:00.005-06:00

Finally have acquired all the parts needed to repair the R100S engine. I pulled the engine top end apart and found a bent exhaust valve and beat up piston. A new piston runs about $400.00 with shipping from Germany. Decided not to go that route....ran a couple of Internet ads and received offers from $250.00 down to $75.00. The $75.00 offer was the exact match and arrived in good order. Purchased valve springs, keepers, gaskets and a few other spares from BMW Huckys Spare Parts. The cylinder head went in to a machine shop to have the new valve mated up and new parts installed. Hope to have it back to running order some time next week when time allows...

Watching Craigslist, as usual, and ran across a great deal on a 1978 Yamaha DT250E dual sport bike. Drove out to look at the bike and found it to be in very good condition. Only has 2400 miles and has never been abused. The original tool set appears to never have been removed from its' storage space. Only flaw is some paint loss on the rear fender / sidecover. The fuel tank has a real small ding in it which I never saw until I got it home.

I spent a few dollars washing the 30 + years of grime from it. Bike was owned by a rancher who never rode it or washed it apparently. The bike cleaned up well but still needs some detail cleaning. She runs like new....didn't really need a dirt bike but since it is also streetable I'll definitely get some use from it out here in the boondocks of Montana...

Isle Of Man Sidecar Racing

2010-07-22T00:18:00.004-06:00

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BMW R75/5 ....Glacier National Park

2010-07-17T23:34:00.011-06:00

Since the R100s sidecar rig was out of commission I pulled the BMW "Hag" out of the trailer. I hadn't ridden her since last November, although I had started her and warmed the engine up on occasion. My wife was running to Billings to see the grand kids so I decided to plan a little road trip. Glacier National Park is fairly close so decided on that route. Checked over the bike and besides airing the tires nothing was really needed. I packed pretty light with camping gear but no cooking gear this time. Ran up MT. Highway 89 and stopped in Choteau MT. for a roll and a cup of coffee.

Next stop was Browning MT. I arrived there just in time for the "Indian Days" parade. Fueled and sat at the gas station for 1/2 hour or so. The tiny little town was jammed to the gills with people. Took me another 1/2 hour to get out of town.

Highway 89 leads to St. Mary and the East entrance to Glacier Park. I made another fuel stop there before heading into the park. Below is one of the many views seen approaching St. Mary.

Burned section of pines made for an interesting view.

View of St. Mary Lake.

Photo ops are at every bend. I stopped at one pull out and a young So. Cal. couple pulled in. I offered to take their photo and in return they took mine....

Further up the "Going To The Sun" highway the road turns to Gravel due to road construction. I laughed to myself as I met a lot of guys on custom Harleys who were likely in tears riding their high dollar shiny machines in the dust & gravel. A couple sections were running water making for a nice slimy "stew" to ride through. I'll bet a lot of toothbrushes were busy the next day...

Below: Approaching Logan Pass and the visitor center. I was into making some time so passed on pulling into the parking lot which was seething with Harley Davidsons.

Over Logan Pass and you can see the switchback highway descending to the west.

Had to showcase Rex's "BMW DOG" Sticker.

Water Falls everywhere this time of year.

Made it to Missoula Mt. by 7:00 pm. Decided to hit the local KOA and got the last tent site. Met three guys from New Jersey who were returning from Alaska. The Harley / Trailer Rig also made the trip. We sat up til way too late drinking & talking...

Another camping neighbor on a 650 single BMW....hauling this trailer load of gear and his Grand son...

Had a quick breakfast at the KOA...saw one of the New Jersey guys at breakfast...he was green around the gills and sort of Zombie like.....thanks to Jim Beam? I packed up and hit the road by 8:00. Left Missoula and headed to Lincoln MT. Rogers Pass sports the sign below...BRRRRRRR.

Leaving Lincoln I was on the home stretch. Still was pretty early so decided to cut over on Highway 287 to Wolf Creek and follow the Missouri River back to Great Falls. The scenery was great and the old BMW never missed a beat so far.

Staying off of the Interstate brings you along the "River Road" and a lot more scenic views.

Made it to Belt MT. only 25 miles from home but was really tired. Pulled into a small city park in Belt and took a quick nap before running the final few miles....a great uneventful trip.

I've now pulled the R100S engine top end apart and found a damaged piston and bent valve. Am working on finding all the parts needed. A new piston is nearly $400.00! Found a (hopefully) good used one for $75.00. I'll get to work on parts acquisition and hopefully have the sidecar back on the road in a couple of weeks.

BMW R100S/6 Maiden Voyage ?

2010-07-06T20:30:00.007-06:00

We had planned a sidecar / camping trip for the 4th of July weekend. Saturday came in with rain and winds so decided to pull out on Sunday, ride over the Little Belt Mountains and end up over near Helena MT. to camp for the night. Changed out the rear tire Saturday night and changed all the gear lubes. Sunday morning we packed our gear and I re-torqued the heads and adjusted all valves. Finally good to go around 9:00 AM.

PACKED AND READY FOR THE ROAD

The morning was beautiful and the ride was nice. Very green with all the rain we've been having lately.

Neihart Montana was a mining area for many years. Lots of old derelict mine sites.

We stopped in Neihart to visit the local tavern for a burger. We worked here 7 or 8 years ago so went to visit the local tavern / motel / grill owner.

Dropping down the mountain towards White Sulpher Springs.

About 30 miles from Neihart the bike was running great and all of a sudden the left cylinder stopped firing...thought I ran out a fuel but that wasn't possible...maybe an ignition problem?

Pulled the left spark plug and saw the exhaust valve looking a little too far open through the spark plug hole...pulled the valve cover and ....shit! Exhaust valve in two pieces.

Immediately a car stopped to check on us and they gave Darian a ride back to Neihart and the nearest land line phone...no cell service up here. She called on AAA for rescue and waited at the bar...I made myself at home for the long wait.

I always carry a few old Airmails so at least had something to read. Good thing about a sidecar was that I had a comfortable seat to recline in. So here I sat for three hours and change...

Pretty place to be stranded. Must have been at least 50 motorcycle drive by...and at least four times that many vehicles....not one person stopped.....

My neighbor.....maybe he was the last guy to break down here....

Started getting bored and took a lot of photos of nothing....

Finally after 3 1/2 hours my wife returns with our rescue vehicle...so much for the camping trip...Over 30 years of riding and this was the first time I was stuck and unable to repair a bike on the road shoulder....

Looks like the hack tug will be down for a while...I'm planning a solo trip next weekend so I'll get the old /5 out and ready to go....

Spring Solstice BMW Style - 2010

2010-06-23T23:07:00.003-06:00

I attended the annual "Bobs' Motorwerks Solstice Gathering" last weekend. I have attended a few years and camped last time I was there. Had to drive to Great Falls MT. the following day so did not camp this year.

Bob had quite a line up of vintage airheads in the shop.
Quite a few older bikes rode in as the day progressed.

Rex, the "BMW Dog" rode his sidecar rig up. The sidecar used to belong to my brother.

This old Vincent came rolling in off the gravel rode. A very nice original bike.

I installed my Heinrich tank on the Rat Rig. Also installed the /2 rear rack. The Lester wheel I purchased showed up missing some parts so I'll have to order some spacers and seals for it before installation.

The Yellowstone River is nearly out of its' banks.

We are currently in Great Falls MT. and will be in the area for the summer. We attended a "Concert in the Park" tonight with my Mother in Law and her brother this evening. I met a young man at the concert who is interested in motorcycles and has only ridden on one once when he was younger. He expressed interest in taking a sidecar ride so we'll see what we can do....

BMW Accessories

2010-06-06T23:52:00.002-06:00

Purchased an after market /2 luggage rack from a fellow over in Turkey. My parts supplier has some similar racks but his were over two times the cost of this one. I think this "Turkish" rack will likely be a poor quality but we'll see....The one I ordered is actually black. I did not want a chrome one. The rack arrived in Montana a couple of days ago. I'll pick it next time through town.
Have wanted to find a pair of "Lester" wheels for the sidecar rig but they normally run over $200.00 apiece + shipping. This one showed up on EBay this morning for $120.00 with a near new tire and free shipping. I bought it as I don't think it would be there for very long at that price. The Lester alloy wheels are a lot better fitted for sidecar usage. I'll hopefully find a matching front one eventually.

BMW Airheads on Memorial Day

2010-05-31T19:07:00.005-06:00

Memorial Day 2010. Had a huge load of spare BMW parts...and a spare BMW hulk to drop off in Yuma AZ. I had packed all my spare parts with me while I was building the R100S/6 so wanted to lighten my load a bit. Stuffed about 5 big boxes of spare BMW parts in the shed in Yuma. Also dropped the small trailer and R75/5 chassis in the lot. I have buyers for quite a few of the spare parts but just don't want to mess around with the task right now. The parts sales will have to be a winter project...Since Yuma is only 2 1/2 hours from San Diego we decided to run over to Escondido CA. to visit our niece Julie and her husband. Also hooked up with a bunch of our Airhead BMW Club friends...

Some shuffle board games were taken on during the day...man ...shuffle board...is that a sign of age? Darian shown here with a serious looking shot...

Our friends, Kevin & Scott acquired a huge stainless steel "Burn Patient Tub" a few years ago and turned it into a Koy Pond. The toilet tank contains charcoal filtering and the water circulates through the bowl...the fish definitely look healthy.
Left to right: Steve, Niece Julie, Debbie...

Debbie's Husband Kelly...he is the master chef extraordinaire...we will meet up with them next weekend in Las Vegas.

Bill.... Retired So. Cal. Airmarshall

.
Sitting at the BBQ / Bar...Great food was on the grill all day long...

Catching up...haven't seen any of these folks for a year and a half...

New Surroundings........Nevada Desert

2010-05-18T21:00:00.006-06:00

Lake Mohave at Cottonwood Cove...our new location for the next few weeks......

After nearly a year in the Texas Panhandle we are very pleased to have a new view. I will not miss the Texas unpredictable weather, constant wind and the infamous tornado alley......
Desert views from my window......

Our RV site is outside town on the deserts edge. We are the only inhabitants of the RV Park right now...got the prime end spot with pine trees on our patio side.

Sunsets are nice every night....

Arrived here on Sunday. Got settled in right away and took a 40 mile motorcycle ride down to the lake. Temperature was in the high 90's. The road down to lame mohave drops about 2500 feet in 14 miles. Temperature is usually 10-15 degrees warmer than Searchlight.

Pulled the bike out tonight and went for a quick 30 minute ride down the Joshua Tree highway. Bike is working good but believe I'll need to add an oil cooler of some sort. Engine oil temp was pretty high when we ran up from the lake at 97 degrees....

Have nearly everything done...might add a small /2 luggage rack to the rear fender. Still need to fine tune the sidecar toe-in settings.

BMW R100S/6 Break-in Time....Hydraulic Steering Damper....1000 mile solo seat

2010-05-09T20:12:00.007-06:00

Ran the bike 50 or so miles this weekend just tooling around the area. Not ready to venture too far from home yet. So far the engine sounds real good and everything is working as it should. I'm seeing a little oil weepage at the right cylinder base. The R100S engine is very powerful and 75 mph is easy to attain. The oil temperature runs a little higher than the /5. Might end up installing a 4 quart oil pan as I did on the /5.

Swapped the seats from the /5 to the R100S/6. The dual 1000 mile solo seats went back onto the /5, along with the large luggage rack. Also installed some smaller bar-end mirrors as I wanted the larger pair on the sidecar rig.

Completed the brake component rebuilds last weekend. Rebuilt the master cylinder and both the brake calipers. The disc brake front is much better than the old /5's drum brake set up.

. The newly covered black seat looks like it belongs there.....

Removed the large luggage rack which aslo doubled as a grab point for dragging the hack in "Reverse".....by chance I had a /5 front fork brace which lined right up with the holes in my saddle bag mounting frame.....the loop at the back of the bike is the new "reverse" grab.

I received a Volkswagon hydraulic steering damping cylinder a week or so ago...was able to put together a mounting assembly with spare stuff I had laying around. The cylinder sits at an angle but works just fine. The Heim joint joint does not bottom out so I can't see any issues with this mounting. The lower mounting point rotates as the forks turn. Steering is much more effortless than the previous /5 set up. I run the friction damper snug and with the hydraulic damper cylinder I should never see a low speed wobble again......

Have not yet fine tuned in the sidecar to the bike...I'm feeling a little "yaw", especially with a passenger. Think it needs to be toed-in a bit more. I'll need to find a level chunk on pavement to finalize the set up.....now if i could just find the damned horn I so carefully put away.....

Next Stop........

2010-05-02T07:57:00.003-06:00

Received my "new" Tokico Suzuki brake calipers and found them as stuck as the ones they are to replace.....went on line and found seal kits to rebuild them. First step was to free the stuck caliper pistons......Proceeded to give them a shot of WD 40 on a daily basis. This went on for 10 days. Researched techniques for freeing up the pistons...air pressure, grease injection, or using the master cylinder to pump them out......decided on the latter.....

Proceeded to rebuild the master cylinder upon receipt of the rebuild kit. Everything looked pretty good in the old cylinder bore....some rust which was carefully removed with crocus cloth....completed the master cylinder rebuild and installed it. Spent hours attempting to get the cylinder to pump oil...no luck...took a nap instead.
Finally used a syringe to force fluid through the cylinder pistons. That removed the air lock in the cylinder. Once that was achieved the caliper pistons pumped right out. Cleaned up the pistons and bores and reassembled. Rebled the system and now we have brakes!...Finally!

Today I take another shake down run and figure out how to mount the new hydraulic steering damper cylinder.

R100S/6 Dual Disc Hydraulic Brakes / side car hydraulic steering damper

2010-04-23T18:54:00.005-06:00

Worked on the R100s engine problem the other night...checked out coils, connections and had no luck. Decided to swap out the ignition condenser and sure enough that was the problem. engine fired right up and ran as it should.
Decided to dig into the front hydraulic brake system next. Tore down the master cylinder and disassembled it. did not look too bad...no significant internal rust. A new unit is available but at $400.00 I decided to rebuild mine...ordered a rebuild kit.
Had not been able to identify the manufacturer of the front disc brake calipers. Knew they were from an Asian bike cause they are "Tokico" units. Finally after looking at dozens of different calipers on EBay I found they are from a 1981 Suzuki GS750LX. Took mine apart and found that the pistons are rusted solid in the bores...not good. Attempted to find NOS calipers but none to be found...price lists showed them at nearly $200.00 each if they were available.

Went back to EBay and found a couple pairs for sale....ended up buying the set below for $55.00. Talked to the seller via phone and was assured they were rust free and usable as is...went ahead and ordered seal kits ($45.00) for them from another NOS parts supplier. I'll rebuild them upon receipt.

Been snooping around looking for a hydraulic steering damper. Found that many "sidecarists" use Mercedes Benz Bilstien units...and some use Volkswagen units. Looked over some photos of a Volkswagen unit on a sidecar and decided to go that route. Plus it was only $35.00 + shipping. Will need to fabricate a bracket of some sort but that won't be too difficult. So things are looking up and maybe we'll have a drivable sidecar soon.

Sold a pile of spare parts on EBay over the past 10 days....paid for all these new parts and have a couple hundred to spare.

BMW R100S/6 maintenance.......

2010-04-18T20:10:00.005-06:00

Finally quit raining. The lake here has receded. Rolled out the bike today......replaced the late model valve covers with a straight, earlier design, pair I salvaged from the R75/6. Had them bead blasted at a shop in Amarillo on Friday.

Replaced one left side rocker arm assembly with a replacement I found last fall....one of the original rocker assemblies had suffered from some rust corrosion. Also replaced one rocker arm nut on the right side.

Re torqued the head bolts and reset the valves. Fired the bike up but wasn't running right. Messed with the points and reset the time via the static timing route. Battery was run down so pulled it out and set it on the charger.

Spent some time and reset the upper side car mountings. Rotated the front one over.....moved the rear one forward to decrease the angle from the bike to the hack.

Wanted to run the bike a couple of miles but battery level was too low to start the engine. I will need to sort out the "poorly running" problem at a later date.....When I initially fired the bike up in MT. it didn't run quite right until it warmed up. When I shut it down from my last ride it was running badly....I figured it was the valve adjustments....but am not sure now....I'll get it sorted out....

Swim anyone?

2010-04-16T16:16:00.002-06:00

All settled in Texas again. My lovely wife arrived here last night from MT. She had been on a trip over to Seattle WA. with our daughters to attend a "Black Eyed Peas" concert. That also gave her a chance to see a brother , nieces and friends there. I had my own vacation last weekend and rode my old /5 over to Pampa the Panhandle TX. what a wonderful vacation it was! LOL.....nice day for a short 100 mile or so ride...forgot my camera so no photos......

I always dreamed of a Lake Front Home......my dream has come true here in Texas....

On the bike project front I haven't got much done recently.....had to run to Amarillo today for business so dropped off a pair of old style BMW Valve covers to be sand blasted. They were very weathered from sitting out in the Oregon weather for 15 years or so. They came out looking presentable. They will go on the R100S/6 when I retorque the heads...maybe this weekend?

Have bought / rigged up a new cargo trailer which is 6 feet longer and 1.5 feet wider than my old one. Now actually have room for all my motorcycle crap and whatever else we need. The sidehack rig can now be loaded without removing the chair.
I now need to purchase some front brake parts and rig up a hydraulic front steering damper....these tasks must be done before the old hack goes anywhere....hope to get it together soon! Good riding weather is getting near.....as long as we don't drown between now and then.

Running a few parts on E-Bay this week. RE: pair of Bing Carbs, Full set of BMW Alloy turn signals, pair of valve covers, /6 gauge set, BMW handlebar grips, /6 steering damper assembly and a couple other parts......

Texas blur

2010-03-30T19:43:00.002-06:00

The last weeks have been a blur. Mom passed away. I've traveled 1000's of miles around the western US for work...been living out of a suitcase for the past month.... Luckily my wife has joined me for a week or so
and we will travel back to MT. late this week. We'll regroup and I'll bring our RV back to Texas , motorcycles in tow, and get back into my normal routine. When the weekends arrive I am stuck staring at the motel TV, the computer. Not a hell of a lot to do around here. Having the RV here with the bike projects will make me feel normal again....I traded in my old 14' cargo trailer on a new 20' wide body trailer. No more sidehack removal every time I move. We installed 2 rows of shelves and have the new trailer pretty well set up. Actually have some room to spare. Nice after using the 14' trailer completely crammed with "stuff" for the past number of years. We bought the trailer, set it up in two days and then stored it away.

BMW 1966 R60/1150RT

2010-03-24T16:47:00.006-06:00

Someone finally did a different BMW "Conversion".

I'll bet you this one is a hand full.......pretty wild!

Texas 1973 1/2 BMW R75/5

2010-03-09T18:43:00.005-07:00

I'm always on the lookout for old BMW's. Ran across this 1973 1/2 long Wheel Base R75/5 today. The asking price is more than what it is worth but I had to take a look. I was hoping that some rare accessories or something might come with it. It ended up just being an old driver which needs a little TLC. Mostly original.....looked like a /6 tank and side covers. The headlight and ring were rough. After market mufflers.

Beneath all the dirt I think it would clean up pretty good. Needs a tune up and a general going over. Push rod tube seals were leaking. It likely hasn't had much normal maintenance being in the country most its' life.......

The owner/seller dropped his price to $1600.00 right away but it looks like an $800.00 bike to me....It fired up after some coaxing and the engine sounded OK although needs a tune up / carb synch pretty bad. Not for me @ $1600.00 anyway, but a possible good runner for someone......

Shake Down Cruise

2010-03-06T22:19:00.006-07:00

The weather hit the low 50 degree mark the past two days so it was time to fire up the r100S/6 and take some shake down runs. Ran about 10 miles around the neighborhood yesterday and another 50 miles further into town today. Stopped often to check things over. Added a bit of transmission and engine oil. Tightened a few bolts and basically felt things over. Had to rethink and rebuild a lower mount for the Friction Damper yesterday. My design was crap and things were tweeking within 10 miles. Had a nasty low speed wobble after hitting a bump this afternoon. Tightened the damper more....might need to look into a hydraulic damper also. Already have the mount for one on the forks....Have not yet repaired the front brakes so call me brave....or stupid.......

Pardon the "Cell Phone Camera" quality photos

Bike was a little cold blooded but once warmed up she ran well....a LOT of power and highway speeds were quick to attain...just so I didn't need to stop in a hurry......
I took care in riding and know the limits of riding with just a rear brake...but that didn't keep me from running up to 60+ MPH on the Airport Road. Like I said...brave or stupid....

My last few miles coming home were a struggle as the valves tightened up and were out of adjustment....expected with a new top end. Will need to retorque the heads and reset the valves next. Also have done some inquiries concerning the Tokico Disc Brakes and will attempt to find rebuild kits for the calipers and a rebuild kit for the dual master cylinder...if it is salvagable.....things will now sit for a while as I need to travel for work for a few weeks.
Purchased a new 20' widebody cargo trailer this week. Spent a couple days setting it up with shelves etc. I'll now be able to ride the sidehack rig into the trailer without pulling off the hack. The old narrower trailer went as a trade in....

Scary Movie

2010-02-28T21:16:00.001-07:00

I was a novice trials bike rider in my younger years.....went into some scary places....nothing like this!

The Hearth

2010-02-18T22:21:00.013-07:00

This relic spoke to me.......Its' story ;

My origins came from fire, ice and inland seas. I lay entombed for millennia until the ravages of wind and water brought me forth to see blue skies.
Creatures, now long extinct, tread upon me. I lay dormant for eons until this animal of man carved me from my earthly bindings.
My fragments were hauled great distances by wagon and beasts to this windswept, desolate place. These men laid their skilled hands upon me and transformed me into this present state. They proudly carved their sign upon me.

I witnessed the building of a rough-hewn structure around me. Fire once again raged within me, warming souls which gathered to escape the endless winter. Many great tales were told in my presence;
Tales of men who witnessed “The Great Wars” and the sacrifices of fallen comrades who lay still in foreign lands.
And the grieving for loved ones lost never to be seen again.
Dreams were sown for the future, sorrow was expressed for the past.
Ecstasy, happiness, grief, anger and the wonders of new life I have been witness to.
Until again fire surrounded me and left me to this solitary existence.
Again destined to return to the earth.

Going...going.....gone

2010-02-14T17:45:00.005-07:00

Spent today disassembling this R75/6....a lot of stuff going into the dumpster....exhaust pipes, mufflers, seat, fairing & mount and a lot of stuff. Bike had a set of Maserati airhorns, relays and compressor...looked beyond hope so it went into the round file too. Was hoping that the original tool set would be under the seat but to no avail....just a bunch of rusty junk living there.....I drained the transmission and final drive oil to check for water and metal debris. The oil looked pretty good and no water was present. No metal on the magnetic drain plugs either. Looks like I'll take it down to the frame and peddle off a few of the smaller pieces......The transmission appears to be a keeper and we'll join my stash of spares. The valve covers are nearly perfect...one little dink that can hardly be seen from the outside...a little deformity on the inside......they'll take a lot to clean up but will go on the R100S/6....Just got "walking papers" for Texas so looks like "life" will be on hold for a while......

BMW R75/6 "Barn Find"

2010-02-06T09:51:00.005-07:00

A mere 60k miles on the clock...poor bike never lived even a partial life......bike is in pieces but is complete and PO says everything is there.......Harley handle bar risers?

Parts bucket.......weathered.........

The latest addition to the butchers block.......appears to have a lot of usable parts.........

Someone removed the spark plugs then let it sit out in the Oregon weather.....engine guts are rusted.....

Tank is undented.....saddle bag condition is rough........carbs look OK.........valve covers appear to be undamaged......I'll use them on the R100S engine.......

Has the alloy turn signals.......a monster period back rest.......apparently has some "other brand" handle bar risers......

All in all I'm paying more than it is worth but it will be delivered to my door and the salvage parts sales should cover the cost of the thing......

BMW Barn Find "Fishing"

2010-02-03T20:20:00.006-07:00

Did a little BMW fishing and may have caught a dead one.....From the photos it looks like a 1974 model R75/6.......I see alloy turn signals on the dis embodied fairing so if they are original it should be a 1974 model. Also appears to have the older style control switches. Has some bazaar looking handlebar risers, but can't really tell from the photo....Sitting out in the snow with the engine apart isn't good. Looks like its' been laying there for quite some time. I wouldn't mind a spare small fuel tank and I could make it black. Hopefully the gear box is in usable condition. If it is a 1974 model it should have a kick start transmission. Might be some decent parts still aboard? Kind of wanted to experiment with using an 18" rear rim on the front of my /5.(?) I was told if the spline hub was removed the rear wheel could go up front. That would fit the /2 US fender better.

Appears to have an old Vetter fairing which aren't worth anything but it does have a pair of alloy signals on it. The owner is in Co. so we'll connect up in the near future. Don't have a price yet....it will have to be pretty cheap......

Poor old thing.......kind of a shame.........
Was hoping to find a pre 1974 model but if it's cheap I'll haul it home just to give it a decent burial.....

Acewell Speedometer Installed....mostly....and more money poured into the "pit".

2010-01-19T18:42:00.007-07:00

Received this Acewell Computer / Speedo assembly on Friday and worked this weekend to get it installed. I really like the looks of it and the installation was easy with the help of a thread on the "ADV Site"....under "Olds Cool". An ADV'er did the installation on his /7 (?) and documented everything as he went....even posted his wiring diagrams etc.....really helped me out on my installation. The Acewell unit won't facilitate the BMW generator light system so I simply found the smallest LED light I could, drilled (gasp) the headlight bucket and mounted it there...(below photo arrow) I think it looks pretty good......

Mounted the Acewell using the existing BMW gauge mount.....cut off the ears....bent it a little lower to gain the angle I needed, then made up some spacers to gain the correct height to clear the /5 steering damper......I have not tackled the magnetic speedometer/sender installation to the front wheel yet........I'll get on that task next.....

Gauge looks clean and simple.......

The wad of wiring hanging off the handlebars was a temporary "generator light" I hooked up to make sure it was working after hacking up the BMW wiring harness for the installation............

The Acewell has individual (left & right) turn signal indicators rather than the stock BMW single indicator......this required coming off the "board panel" in the head light to wire in....Gauge has ; low pressure oil light, neutral light, high beam indicator, individual L&R turn indicators, clock, resettable riding time hour meter, aggregate riding time hour meter, odometer, two resettable trip odometers, bar graph tachometer, digital tachometer, speedometer....you can also get a fuel gauge and hazard warning light on different models.....What, No Thermometer? lol.........

I order a couple of special brackets yesterday.....I need to affix the tie-down for the /5 steering friction damper to a cross member under the tank.....don't want to weld to the frame so found some generic brackets at Graingers.....Also will use a similar bracket to attach the right side "Henrys" floorboard to the sidecar frame.....the lower sub frame I used won't allow the right floorboard to mount to the bike........I'll mount the floorboard reversed to the sidecar frame to achieve the same end.....I really like the extra foot places/spaces when on long rides to keep comfortable.....I'll post that when its' done.......I took the bike for its' maiden voyage on Sunday. Ran it 100' up the street and back...(on a low, square front tire, no front brakes and no tags....)

Purchased a pair of tires for the sidecar tug tonight.....was buying Dunlops for years but they doubled in price in the past two years.......last set (last summer) were Bridgestone S11's, great soft tires (great for solo use).....nearly wore them off on the /5 tug in 5000 miles or so..... this time I went with a pair of Shinko tires for the "new" tug. For the sidecar tug use I eat them up so fast that I thought I'd try a cheaper, likely harder tire......Shinkos are likely some Chinese brand.....but I guess about everything is Chinese these days......we'll see how fast they wear out.....With the sidehack attached the softer "grippier" tires aren't quite so necessary.....I put some cheapo hard tires on a solo Yamaha 850 years ago and they were terrible, slippery and harder than a rock...no good for solo use and they scared the crap out of me more once.....

also bought an Odyssey dry cell battery via EBay. Never tried a Dry Cell battery before but I've read that the Odyssey is a good one....we'll see.

Had some Pay Pal play money sitting so figured I'd better use it for things needed, rather than for things not really needed.....

R100s slowly coming to life.....

2010-01-11T21:53:00.006-07:00

Installed the new throttle cables and choke cables....ends up that these carbs are later carbs which use a different type choke cable...was able to rig the stock cables with some spacers and the new clamp bolts I got from Huckys. Unfortunately they bind up a bit and don't want to fully open when lever is pulled up...not too big a deal.........

Last weekend I pulled the sidecar wiring harness from the /5 and installed it to the R100...also wired in the saddle bag lights. They are dual element so will now have a total of 4 tail lights and 4 brake lights.......missing one flat three pin connector for one saddle bag light so had to order that. Next I'll have to finally wire in the right front blinker mounted to the sidecar fender.....and the new Acewell unit....
Still need to : Change out the front tire
: Lube the front and rear wheel bearings
: Fill / bleed out the front brakes (hope not to rebuild but will likely have to)
: Adjust the front fender.....(now that the hack is mounted the shocks rub in the fender detent area)
: Purchase a larger battery....using the/5 battery now
: figure out a mount for the right floor board
: figure out a frame mount for the /5 steering friction steering damper
: complete engine tuning , timing. etc, etc, etc................

Ordered this Acewell Speedo unit tonight for the R100s....it has a lot of features....speedometer, tachometer, odometer, 2 trip odometers, accumulative ride time hour meter, resettable hour meter, clock, plus idiot lites for neutral, high beam, oil pressure, turn signals. I'll need to rig a separate generator light. The speedometer is calibrated from the actual diameter of the front tire so should be accurate. Price was $119.00 + shipping.......

Decided to sell a few a few left overs on EBay last week.....a pair of pretty decent R90/6 side covers......

The old 1978 R100S gauge assembly which was in pretty fair condition......

A pair of new Krauser saddle bag latches...I spent $15.00 a piece for them a while back.....lost a couple of bucks on that one.....

An early style BMW saddle bag mount and luggage rack...........poor chrome in a couple of spots.....

Also sold a pair of R100S handle bar perches, levers and switches..........All told these items brought in $223.00.....not too bad for left overs............

Back on three wheels..........

2010-01-03T18:31:00.006-07:00

Today was spent installing the sidecar sub frame and then spent a few hours attaching the hack......had to reposition both lower mounts to fit the sub frame......everything came together pretty good....still need to fine tune toe in and lean out but things look pretty close.

I removed the Califia Fairing as I still need better access to the chassis. Looks like the upper front sidecar mount will be a tough fit with the fairing mounted...we'll have to wait and see.....I want to get any "gremlins" that may arise before wiring in a fairing and making access harder than it already is.........

This sub frame will be much more stable than the mounting system I used on the R75. The down side is that the I-beam sub frame crowds the oil filter access....may have to pull things apart to change out the oil filter....Upon removing the upper rear mount from the R75, I saw where the mount wore into the frame a millimeter or two....looks like it would have eventually ate through the frame.....obviously had some movement going on there but it was not noticable.

The old R75/5 will now get a rest and likely retire to solo use after 15k rough sidecar tug miles....she served me well......

R100S Sidecar Tug Progression

2010-01-01T10:23:00.008-07:00

We are settled in Montana for a time so now have a garage to work in. Installed clutch, throttle cables and went about double checking wiring and connections....could not get oil pressure dummy light to function so rigged a separate oil pressure light.

Rigged a small old syringe for a fuel feed as I wanted access to the electrics while running the bike up. Tried to kick start the bike but compression is such that kick starting proved difficult. Plus it is 14 degrees outside and around 50 in the garage. The electric start was not working so jumped the starter relay to turn over...engine fired although was not hitting full time on left cylinder. Ran it up a few times and engine sounded good...have good compression and spark so carbs will need a little tweeking. Swapped out the starter relay for another I had on hand and starter worked just fine......got the stock oil pressure light working too......

Received some vintage Bates Saddle Bag mounts via EBay so fit them to the bike.....
These "old school" mounts utilize the muffler for support the lower mount.....
never thought I'd find these mounts in a million years....EBay find for $9.99.....I had bought another set of mounting frames for $9.99 but they were damaged and did not fit....
Lower mounts in place.....Bags are solid....had to make up some spacers for the sub frame to center the bags to the frame...........

Had old early 70's period Califia Fairing in storage so went ahead to check for fitment with the earls fork....fairing fit just fine and hopefully the sidecar mounting lugs will clear the fairing mounts.....
There is a gap in the fairing mount which appears to be large enough for the upper front sidecar mounting lug......

The protection of this fairing is great and also has a lot of storage in it...it was originally on my /5 Toaster but I removed to access the headlight electrics and never reinstalled it....I was going to sell it for $50.00 but shipping was a hassle so kept it.......glad I did now....

I love the old school look of this fairing...I have never seen another one although I'm sure they are out there......The stock gauge assembly will eventually be replaced by a modular electronic gauge which contains all functions in one unit......The fairing will need to be removed for the remaining electric work necessary........

I installed the "new"muffler / header shields...took me a while to hunt down the 9mm Euro hose clamps needed.....also won a front / rear set of "Henrys" floorboards for $80.00 on EBay....... Still have a lot of small issues to sort out but will continue with one issue at a time......might be on the road this spring.(?)

Was able to get all "dummy lights" functioning on the instrument panel so now I know wiring is ok. I will likely order the "Acewell" gauge soon.......

Spent some time setting timing and discovered that the spark plugs in use were bad....swapped out plugs and engine purred......Installed some fuel pet cocks on cop tank & mounted. Added a bit of fuel for tweeking things while running.

"The Earth without People"

2009-12-12T08:18:00.005-07:00

We made a mad rush from Texas over to Yuma AZ. in the past two days. A lot of things have happened in the past two weeks and we are "reeling". My Mom, at 88, recently fell and broke her hip and has been in a nursing home for the past few weeks. We made the commitment to move in with them in a house and help take care of Mom. This decision brought forth a huge number of logistics to deal with in a short time. We found a house close to other family members and the house has been purchased. Dad will move in on the 18th and we will be moving in at the same time. I had to make arrangements with my employer and also deal with the storage of our motor home & trailers. The over all situation is going to work out fine. Plus I'll have a garage to work on my motorcycles! Once things settle in I'll concentrate on getting the R100S running. I picked up another crate of misc. BMW parts I had in Yuma and hopefully have most of the parts I need.

Arriving in Yuma we were greeted with a vision of a forest of weeds......When Dad lived here he would clean up the lot and spray it each year before we arrived so we never saw it in its' "natural" state. I have a landscaping company coming out tomorrow to clean it up and spray....just don't have the time to do it myself.
I'll need to winterize the motor home tomorrow before we head north...looks like we will be heading into some cold ass weather........

Weeds................

and more weeds.................

BMW Odds & Ends....Wheels & Deals......

2009-12-07T19:17:00.004-07:00

Been trying to figure out what to do about the gauge situation for the project R100S. The R100S engine utilizes an electronic tachometer and the R90/6 used a mechanical tachometer. Both sets of instruments I possess are in pretty rough shape......after a little snooping around I found the speedometer / tachometer below.....

This one is all electronic and also has the signal indicators / oil pressure light / neutral indicator / high beam indicator / odometer / clock and two riding hour timers. Also has two resettable trip odometers, I think it will be used to replace the existing set up. Retails for $119.00 plus $10.00 for the electronic speed pickup which is calibrated from the front tire circumference. Wiring should be pretty straight forward from the existing gauge set.

This thing here is kind of crazy...this WW2 German Military Leather Motorcycle Sidecar Gunners Helmet came up on EBay on an auction. I ended up winning it for $40.00. I see other ones now coming up for a "Buy it Now" price of $500.00 to $650.00. So far the dealer has listed about 5 of these. They are very rare. The European Antique Dealer selling them came across an old warehouse full of captured WW2 German Military Equipment which has been untouched since 1945. These and hundreds of other items(many medical equipment / surgical items) are being auctioned. The vast majority of captured German Equipment was destroyed at the end of the war. This warehouse was uncovered in Eastern Europe and the seller is in Bulgaria.

Not really sure what the hell I will do with this thing....guess maybe I'll try to wear it in cold weather! I don't foresee any sidecar "gunnery" practice in the near future.....

This odd assortment of "junk" I found on EBay for $12.00......Those big clamps are old Bates Saddlebag lower mounts....they actually clamp around the mufflers to form the lower bag support. Never thought I'd find a set of these in a million years......and I needed them.

I'm currently bidding on this front & rear floor board set on EBay......doubt if I will win them but you never know. (?) I may end up extending the R100S motor mount bolts since the new sidecar subframe also bolts there....this may not leave room for the floor boards mounts.....

Song Writer Kostas Lazarides

2009-11-25T21:10:00.009-07:00

Kostas at his Montana Antique Store .....I can see a lot of wonderful treasures peering through the window.........

(Taken from Kostas My Space Page)

About Kostas
Kostas and his family immigrated to Montana from Greece when he was seven years old. He now has homes in Montana and Nashville, and aside from songwriting and performing, he enjoys hunting, fishing and raising vintage guitars on his "guitar ranch." Kostas received his first No. 1 Country hit with his first single release. The single entitled, "Timber I'm Falling In Love," was recorded by Patty Loveless. He also penned the songs "The Lonely Side Of Love," and "On Down The Line" for her follow-up albums which also reached Top 10. Kostas went on to write many more Top 10 singles including: "Heart Full Of Love," by Holly Dunn, "Turn It On, Turn It Up, Turn Me Loose," and "Nothing's Changed Here," by Dwight Yoakam, "Lord Have Mercy On The Working Man," by Travis Tritt, "Going Out Of My Mind" and "Love On The Loose, Heart On The Run,” by McBride and The Ride and "Life ..9" by Martina McBride. He also scored two more No. 1 country hits with Dwight Yoakam's "Ain't That Lonely Yet" and Patty Loveless' first Epic release, "Blame It On Your Heart," which was BMI's most performed country song of 1994. His songs have been recorded by Wynonna, Trisha Yearwood, Allison Krauss, Brooks and Dunn, Etta James, Vince Gill, George Strait, The Dixie Chicks, Jo Dee Messina, Marty Stuart, Conway Twitty, Emmylou Harris, The Bellamy Brothers, Sammy Kershaw, Tracy Byrd, The Mavericks, John Berry, Neal McCoy, Rick Trevino, Freddy Fender, Marie Osmond, Kelly Willis, Joy White, Buck Owens, Great Plains and Prairie Oyster

An odd series of coincidences brought forth my acquaintance with Kostas.....One of my Brothers was a musician and had known Kostas for many years. I believe my older Brother also knew him.
Back in the late 70's I was dating a gal who was associated with Kostas through her musician ex-husband. Kostas invited us over to Jackson Hole Wyoming where he was playing a gig at the "Mangy Moose Saloon". We spent some time with him and his (then) girl friend. After visiting with him I found that his step Dad was a co-worker of mine in Billings MT. We both worked for the same construction company. His Step Dad, "Max" was very proud of him. Max was a great guy , him and I were always friends.....

In 1981 I met my wife-to-be and during one of my first visits to her house she just had to have me listen to a new album she had purchased and just loved.....Hearing the first cut on the record I immediately recognized that it was Kostas. I asked my wife if she wanted to meet this guy and she was amazed that I could know a recording artist......"Thanks Kostas , you really helped me impress my soon to be wife" We made sure and went to all his gigs around Billings and on one New Years Eve Gig he allowed me to set up some recording equipment and record the nights' music...I still have the reel to reel tape we did that night but the back ground noise from all (us) the drunks was atrocious and drowned out a lot of the music...bummer....I really enjoyed the nights we were entranced by his wonderful guitar playing and singing.....Of course all these things happened before Kostas became a world known recording artist and song writer.
I have not seen Kostas since the mid to late 80's but I don't imagine he has changed much....other than a bit more gray hair, like me.....
Kostas was ,and I am sure, still is, a very down to earth guy who never let the "fame" thing affect who he is. I hope to run into him one of these days just to say hello and thank him for his (unknown to him) role in impressing my now wife of 28 years......

BMW R75/5 "Cigar" Mufflers

2009-11-07T14:15:00.003-07:00

A beautiful 80 degrees here today so I pulled out the BMW "Hag" minus the sidecar and installed to "New to me" stock /5 cigar style mufflers. These are an original pair from a 1972 BMW R75/5. The 1970 thru 1973 BMW "R" bikes used this style of muffler. They were very prone to rust so there aren't too many original survivors left in the world. The BMW replacements were the later style mufflers. There are a couple of manufacturers selling this style muffler in stainless steel but the are quite expensive and tend to turn to a gold color from the heat since they are stainless steel.

The mufflers have some chrome loss where the attach to the header pipe but the muffler shields I installed hides that problem...the left side muffler has a ding but it is down low and not very visible....I took the bike for a 30 mile run and the mufflers are very quiet. As I age I now appreciate quieter exhaust systems. I should get a lot of years out of these....they have a couple of surface rust spots underneath at the seams but it doesn't appear to be very deep.
I hadn't run the bike without the sidecar for quite a while and was surprised at the amount of power with the 900cc engine running solo. With the 37:11 final drive it winds up quickly off the line and actually hauls ass. I found that the engine oil temperature was running the same with or without the side car attached.

Uncovered the R100S / R90/6 to wipe it down as it has been covered up for 3 weeks and has weathered a few rainstorms.....below is a photo of the 1973 R75/5 Long Wheel Base sub frame after installation.
I temporarily mounted the Bates Bags...they will go on some different mounts and eventually go to the R75/5...the stock BMW suitcase style bags & mounts will go to the R100S.

The QSL Solo seat is just sitting on the bike. It will sit higher on the frame when the mounting assembly is in place.....I loaned the stock QSL seat mount to a friend so he could have one fabricated for a QSL solo seat he has....he bought one with no mounting frame...mine is being used as a template.....

EBay BMW Parts....buyers beware

2009-11-07T08:47:00.010-07:00

Found a few decent EBay purchases recently...I needed foot peg rubbers for the R100S and these square ones are $20.00 each new...found an EBay pair, new, for $10.50........pretty good deal.

This left side BMW Toaster Side Cover came on EBay as a "Buy it Now" for $19.00...that is a steal. A new reproduction one will run over $100.00. I happened to be on EBay when this came up so bought it immediately......it looks find of "gold" in the photo but came to me as chrome and in excellent shape.

This Right side Toaster cover came up with no "Buy it Now" but I picked it up for $34.00......a nice pair for a total of $53.00 + $12.00 total shipping ...not too bad. It showed up yesterday and is in great shape.......I sold my original Toaster Covers from my 1973 R75/5 for $136.00 on EBay and they weren't in as good of condition as this "new" pair......

From a "Buyer Beware" standpoint this pair of Toaster Covers (below) are now on EBay and the bid is over $100.00 for the pair with 5 days remaining on the auction...the bidders are not looking at the photo or don't know what they are looking at, as the right side one has a big chunk cut out of it and the seller is not disclosing that fact. He describes them as in "very nice condition". I emailed him to ask if one was cut up one or was it just an illusion on the photo? He replied : "That's how it came off the bike", and didn't add anything to his auction description........The new owner / winner is going to be pissed when he receives them....the buyer better brace himself for some "negative feedback" unless he discloses that one of them is "junk".....someone likely cut the piece out for a sidecar mount......I had to cut the same area to mount my sidecar but I cut up one of the later style plastic covers....no way would I butcher a Toaster cover...the plastic one ares much cheaper and easy to find.....

I bought these Bates Saddle Bag mounting frames a while back and got them for $9.99....upon receipt I see that a piece is broken on one of them......For the $9.99 purchase price I felt that it was not worth the effort to complain to the seller...he likely did not realize they were damaged....besides he sold me a nice pair of Bates Saddle Bags for $75.00 a few weeks ago....
These old Bates Bags will hook up to the Bates frames with a little modification......they are in fair shape......a bargain for $75.00........

Received this pair of original /5 "cigar" style mufflers yesterday...$71.00 for the pair....they don't look too bad and have one ding in them....new reproduction pairs cost $525.00 + shipping.....

Construction 101

2009-11-05T20:44:00.015-07:00

Well I've stooped to a new low....I have seldom spoke of work in this Blog and never planned on it.........but for lack of anything better to report I will show you all what I've been doing for the past 8 months..........

The area to the lower right has sunk 15 feet or so in the past 12 years.....our mission....(if we choose to accept it...which we unfortunately did)......build something there that won't slide into the lake.....and fill it back up to where it used to be.......

This project had challenges due to the confined, small work area and the 12% to 16% grade slopes in the work area......safety is always a top priority in our world.......

Also we installed 800 feet of HDPE Weld Joint 1 1/2" & 2" pressurized sewer line, 800 feet of 2" HDPE welded water line, 800 feet of Power Cable, new Water manhole and new sewer manhole..... (CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE)

The first of 100 holes is started...................

First off we drilled 100 24" diameter holes 36 feet into the ground , place a huge amount of rebar in the hole...then place concrete to fill it back up.......the holes had to be filled with concrete daily so they do not collapse...... 6 to 8 holes were drilled / placed daily.....
After completion of the caissons we began the "great wall" build..... the walls' foundation is the 100 piers we just drilled & placed......rebar from the piers extends into the wall.......
A number of weeks, a lot of concrete and steel and a lot of sweat (not mine) later.......
Once the wall was built and the concrete gained its' design strength we proceeded to bury it...............

This zoom view is from a mile away from atop the Sanford Dam......before the back fill began.....
the lower section of wall is still being formed.......

Approximately 10000 cubic yards of fill material later..........

The lot was filled and the paving was completed yesterday....I'll post photos of the finished product later.......... Gee , it didn't take very long to build here on this post.....?