BMW R60/2 US Fender on a /5

After some Internet research I determined that a 1968 R60/2 US Fender might fit an R75/5. I looked at a US Model on eBay and it struck me that the steel fender and additional bracing could be a benefit to the front end stability if in fact it would fit an R75/5 fork. I put out a post on the /5 United message board to see if anyone had done this conversion. I received a reply from a guy who had done this years ago and had no problem as long as you use the standard size tire. The BMW R60 US model uses an 18" front tire and the R75/5 uses a 19" tire.

Made some inquiries and found this original paint / stripe fender without the lower brace for $500.00 via the IBMWR site....a bit more than I was willing to pay.......


This fender was offered to me for $75.00 via the IBMWR site.....now that is more like it! It cleaned up really good and all I had to do was touch up that spot in the center.....didn't do a repaint as it is pretty good.....

The main brace was cracked nearly in half (red arrow) ...didn't want to weld on that part so had Huckys BMW Parts come up with both heavy NOS braces....they were rather expensive.....

Fender got lost in shipping and took over three weeks to arrive.....it looked pretty ugly and had a bunch of silver over -spray on it but some clean up effort brought it back to a nice shine...

I was concerned that clearance would be a problem. I had ordered NOS upper and lower fender braces from an importer over in Florida. I also purchased all stainless steel fasteners for the installation. The fender was kind of a bugger to install as there is no access to the inside of the fender once it is in place. I had the fender on and off a couple of times before I got it right.
The rear lower mounting bolts are the tightest point. I had to remove the flat washers to gain enough clearance for the tire to clear. I took a road test on the winding road leading out of the Marina to the main highway. The increased stability was immediately evident on the first tight turn. The additional heavier bracing combined with the steel fender really helps out.

The whole assembly probably adds a few pounds to the front end but the increased weight is over shadowed by the better driving characteristics. The paint has a few bad spots but the fender is in near perfect shape with no dents or scratches. I had some matching touch up paint so covered up the "marred" areas on top of the fender.

I have a couple other rare bargain priced items heading my way right now. A "Telfco" heel - toe shifter which is a very rare optional accessory. I have no idea if I'll like it but I'll give it a try. Also an orphan left side Luftmiester aluminum saddle fuel tank. The saddle tanks sell in pairs and bring around $350.00 to $400.00 per pair. I thought that there was a slim chance that someone might have a single left side tank and sure enough someone answered my add with an orphaned single tank for $75.00. Couldn't pass it up for that price. I listed my retired R75/5 top end engine parts for $300.00 on the IBMWR site. That must have been too cheap as I had three buyers in a few hours! They headed for Pennsylvania today. Might be in Yuma this weekend so I'll look at the parts I have laying around down there for eBay fodder. Later

Salton Sea Serenity

Another view of the Salton Sea....
Back to Mother Earth from where it came.
Damn, they should have spent a few more bucks on treated lumber.
Nothing like a pool outside your door.

I never realized the amount of bird life around the Sea. There were huge white Pelicans by the 100's. One could watch them pulling fish out of the water.

They would skim right along the surface of the water.

Great Sunsets.

Salton Sea ,Continued

Darian looks pretty good on the Victory cycle. If bigger is better, than this oughta be pretty darn good. Looks like an old Auburn Boattail Speedster. A friend of B. Jans rode it in for a visit. Ended up he was a friend of the Victory Companies Media Director and he was just out to show the bike around. Pretty cool retro cruiser. ( I don't think anyone was going to run out and buy one any time soon)

B. Jan actually looked pretty good on the bike too. Gary Jackson ( the campout organiser) cooked up some fantastic Mexican food all weekend. He really had it together to feed that many folks so quickly. Gary is now my hero!

We had wonderful sunsets both nights. The sun dropped out by 5:00 PM. Firewwod was there so nice little fires were cranking after dark.

We really hope to get to this place again.

Salton Sea, California

Meet Gary Jackson, on the right. Gary has been sponsoring a little get together at the Salton Sea for a few years. This year we were given the chance to attend since we are in the Las Vegas area, 300 miles north of the rally site. We were ready to go early Friday morning and hit the road by 7:00 AM. We took the familiar route to Needles Ca., then to Vidal Junction. We took a breather at Vidal and ended up visiting with a couple on a Goldwing for nearly an hour. We took a back road over to Desert Center where we waited 1 1/2 hours for a breakfast that was crap. Horrible food, cold toast, mummified hash browns and bacon that was still quivering. We arrived at the Rally site at 3:30 or so.

We were surprised to find a whole bunch of familiar faces!!! YAY, Murry Olson (Above, originally from Casper Wyo.) Bill Snyder, Steve-O, Reed B., Noel T., Bert & Lisa, Jimmy Tank, Brian P. Alex, to name a few. Our old friend Scotty Bonnar, whom we hadn't seen for 8 years or so. We love Scotty. #1 B. Jan Hoffman showed up Saturday. We just had a great time visiting and sharing camaraderie with all the Airhead Family! Spent time visiting with other folks. It's great to get acquainted with familiar faces of folks you don't know well. I always learn lots of tips on BMW's, Electronic gadgets, camping gear, etc, etc.

I didn't really get a "head" count but there must have been over 40 people there. The Mecca Beach site is a serene, beautiful area. Nice sand beaches and huge numbers of birds. The temperatures were a miserable 85 in the afternoon and a fridged 60 degrees at night. Pretty tough to take!

The campsite had numerous tables and shower facilities 50 feet away. A great little Mexican Store was just up the road with all the staples one could need. The sun sets were awesome......(next post)......

Fuel System Mystery

Dug into the BMW fuel system after work the past two days. Drained the fuel tank, removed and cleaned the pet cock fuel screens, then replaced the in line fuel filters. Removed and replaced the carb diaphragms with new ones. The old ones seem good but decided to change them anyway. Bike cold started perfectly and idles perfectly. Still had the high RPM miss though. Talked with Bob Clement (Bobs Motorwerks) and we discussed the problem. He quizzed me about jetting etc. He asked me what the original R75 needle jet size was. I looked and by chance they are a larger jet. I swapped the needle jets out and lo and behold the problem was about 95% healed. The engine still seems a bit weak from 5000 to 6500 RPM so will change the main jets out to a slightly larger jet. Found them on line for about $5.00 each. I'm sure I'm on the right track now. With the modifications I've done it is taking some trial and error to get the engine up to its' full potential. Have had contact with an eBay seller who wants a Toaster Tank.

He has a large 6.2 gallon German Police tank up for sale and we may do a trade. The German Police tank has an upper tool box & lid on the top of the tank. The little tool box was for the Police Radio installation. These tanks are quite rare. My Toaster Tank is in a little better condition than the Police Tank but I think it is a fair trade. The Police Tank is definitely much rarer than the Toaster Tank.

This tank could be used with the sidecar as it has a 5-6 gallon capacity. The tool box takes away
from the normal 6.2 gallon capacity of this style tank. We'll see if we go through with this transaction in the next few days.
I've had conversations with the tank owner and we will go through with the tank swap this week. I completed 6 eBay sales this evening for a total of $140.00. That brings the total sales of parts from the "basket beemer" to over $950.00. Pretty good considering how much of the bike was missing. I still have the frame/wheels/hubs/final drive/engine block/etc. Will probably squeeze another $200.00 to $300.00 out of whats left. I removed the charging system components this evening and will keep for spare parts. Contemplating installing the 280 watt alternator from my R90 engine to replace the 180 watt R75 alternator. Not sure what other components need to be swapped so put a post on the /5 United site to see others opinions / experiences with this type of swap.

Sick Beemer

Worked under the lights last night and pulled off both BMW carbs. Took them apart early this A.M. and replaced all "o"-rings and gaskets. Also raised the main needle jets one notch to enrichen the fuel . Found one idle jet "o" ring out of place and one choke assembly gasket bad. I'm trying to chase down a high end problem which causes the engine to stumble at higher RPM (5000 to 6500). Pulled the front cover and replaced the points, then reset the timing. Bike runs and starts better but still has the high RPM problem(?) Appears not to be getting enough fuel. I'll drain the tank next and make sure the intake petcock screens are clear. Might be that some old tank debris could be clogging the screens(?) I'll just keep screwing with things until I figure it out. Want the bike running good before we head out to CA. weekend after next. I've had this problem to some degree all summer. It seems that right after I fill the fuel tank the problem is less. That might indicate that the increased static pressure from the volume of fuel in the tank over comes the resistance of the clogged fuel screens. ( I hope, sounds good in theory anyway).

Callville Bay Lake Mead NV.

Moved to Nevada last week. We are set up at Callville Bay which is about 30 miles from Henderson NV. Beautiful place here. Minimal traffic and quiet. Assembled the side car on Saturday and took a little tour around part of the lake. Weather is in the 60's & 70's.

The hack interior came out real nice. We like the off white. The off white bike seat was questionable but now that it's installed I think it looks good. I found a NOS "R75/5" seat emblem so replaced the R90/6 emblem with the proper badge. Also found a dip stick oil temperature guage so I can moniter oil temperature. I've seen vintage Luftmiester temperature gauges go on E-Bay for over $125.00. I found a new one from a parts dealer for $65.00.

Eventually I will line the sidecar flooring with an automotive indoor-outdoor type carpet. The make a gray colored type, kind of like a trunk lining. I'll have to snoop around to find something. We plan on a run to the Salton Sea weekend after next as long as my work schedule allows. About 600 miles round trip. We'll travel over on Friday, stay Saturday night, and return to L.V. on Sunday.

I've purchased the 1968 R60/ US fender and brace assembly so should have it here within a week or so. The main brace has a crack in it so I found another brace in L.A. to use. Erv Sever BMW has some fenders but want $250.00 - $400.00 for a nicely painted one. A little steep. The fender I have coming has some paint issues but it's hard to tell the condition looking at a photo. My work here hasn't kicked off yet as we are waiting on the govt. permitting process which can take a 7 to 10 days.

Lake Mead NV.

We moved to Lake Mead Nevada last weekend. We'll be working here for at least 5 weeks. It's nice to be in a warmer climate. Hope to get the sidecar put together this weekend. I need to re- torque the engine cylinder heads, and tinker with the carbs a bit. I found a 1968 R60/US Fender and brace to mount on the bike. The "US" Fender is steel and uses a more stable bracing system which will add support to the front forks. Haven't worked out the deal yet. The seller offered it to me for $75.00. I found another one on the internet but the seller wanted $450.00.

I have got the new sidecar interior installed, the recovered R90/6 seat installed, the "new" old mufflers installed, the new steering damper installed. I made a deal for a "Rev Pak" storage bag which fits over the seat or luggage rack. They are a bit pricey but I found a lightly used one for $80.00, with a rain cover included. For a bit of nostalgia I came up with a set of WW2 Navigators Wings & Pilot Cadet Wings which now live on the Heinrich Tank tool box cover. The So.Cal. Airheads have a Salton Sea campout coming up in late November. That's quite a few miles from here but we might try to get over for the event. It's around 600 miles round trip. been running quite a few ads on E-Bay and sales are currently at over $500.00. Still have a couple days on some items so $ should go higher. The basket case is down to the bare bones now. A guy contacted me today and wants the rear sub frame so I'll have to tear it down a bit further now.

The weather here is moderate, 60 -70 during the day so is pretty good riding weather. Lots of bikes on the road around here. hopefully we'll join them this weekend.