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The original headlamp has been replaced by a vintage "Puch" head light nacelle with a Puch speedometer.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.
2 comments:
This looks like quite the project you're taking on, I must admit I would have walked away from it, way beyond my wrenching skills I think.
dom
Redleg's Rides
Colorado Motorcycle Travel Examiner
This one should be a piece of cake to get running....just not sure what to do with it. I have a 1953 Zundapp KS601 Sport. I've found that the Zundapp parts are VERY expensive and even harder to acquire. If the Zundapp engine is toast, I'll likely never find a replacement due to the rarity and cost,the R60 engine might be an option?
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