Beemer in a Box

Well my fantasies of a "Barn Find" treasure were somewhat dashed upon viewing my latest purchase. We had driven 120 miles to Darby Mt. to check out the 1971 R75/5 which was offered to me . A "Basket Case" was an understatement for this old girl. It featured a partially disassembled engine, a completely disassembled transmission and parts missing too numerous to list.

After driving so far I just couldn't leave empty handed so offered the owner a lower price than his asking price for all. The offer was accepted and we loaded it up. The fuel tank is complete except for tank pads. It has a couple of minor dings in it. The "BMW" roundels are in perfect shape so they'll go on my unused Toaster Tank. The tank will likely go on E-Bay. Wheels ,front turn signals, and many miscellaneous parts will sell easily on E-Bay. The cylinders and heads are removed and are present. The front and rear fenders are there and are in great shape with original paint so they are excellant sale items. The boxes included a few nice Japanese Bike parts so I'll likely list them. Also included was a brand new Harley Davidson Detachable backrest. I checked it out and new ones are over $200.00 so we'll see what that will bring.

The "bucket" seat is one of the ugliest things I've ever seen but it does have a stock BMW grab rail on it. Don't know what I'll do with the seat. The bike has a 32:10 final drive which is the same as my stock final drive (which is 50% worn) so maybe I'll keep it for a spare. There are many usable engine parts so we'll figure out what to sell and what not to sell. I'll keep the electrical diode board for a spare and maybe the rotor if it's good. Most of the engine metal has been polished so someone had a love affair with the bike in it's distant past. The engine parts removed appear to be in perfect shape so I have no idea why someone would have pulled it all apart. The seller said he is missing another big box of parts which held the rear signals, headlight shell, carbs and a lot of the missing parts. If he finds the missing box he'll contact me and send them to me. I'll keep my fingers crossed but won't hold my breath.

BMW Snow Machine

I didn't know BMW made a snow machine. By the looks of these photos taken in the 30's they made one anyway. Can't imagine how to steer it.

Craigslist BMW Fishing Trip

Decided to go "fishing" on Craigslist again looking for BMW parts bikes. Looks like I hooked another fish. Person over in Darby MT. contacted me and has a 1971 R75/5 for a reasonable price. Missing the speedometer/tachometer, front fender and carbs. The rest of the bike is there. They started a restoration , purchased some new parts and then lost interest in the project. It has been sitting in their garage for a few years. I committed to purchase it sight unseen. Definitely worth the asking price as the large 6.2 gallon tank is worth a couple hundred bucks alone. I don't know what new parts they have but am curious to see what I bought. We will run over tomorrow afternoon to pick it up if it all works out. I visited with the owner tonight and he said there is 4 boxes of parts with the bike. Ends up he inherited the bike when he purchased a storage unit years ago. He said there are quite a few new parts but he knows nothing about motorcycles and all he knows is that the seat and tank look real nice and there are lots of boxes. The bike has always been indoors and now I'm wondering more about what it is I've purchased. Kind of like an early Christmas. Maybe it's an older rare earles fork model, or maybe it's a rare old racing bike, more than likely it's an old beat up /5 junker. But it is always fun to dream...... you just never know........You know I just got to thinking.........I sold my first BMW, which was a worn out 1971 R75/5, to a guy in Missoula 12 years ago. What are the chances that I've purchased my old bike back? Karma could be coming back to bite me!

A Taste Of Winter

Winter payed us a visit this week. We had 20 degree tempuratures and 30-40 MPH winds most of the weekend. Due to the wind whatever snow fell here was likely in Idaho within an hour. This shot is from the pass going towards Bannack looking back towards the Beaverhead Valley. I've driven this 50 mile stretch of road round trip every day since May. Yellowstone Park is just over the horizon from there.

We had a nice big drift outside on Saturday morning. The storm really hit hard on Saturday night. The wind was really howling when this photo was taken. We will head for Billings this weekend for a week or so. I am flying out to Las Vegas next week to inspect our next project and then we will head for Lake Mead the following week. It will be nice to be down in good motorcycling weather again. We are planning a few trips for the winter months. The side car interior has been redone and I will pick up the pieces next week. I also received my new (old) mufflers and a back up steering damper assembly. I'll install the new parts next week when I have time. I need to retorque the cylinder heads on the bike before the side car is reinstalled. We'll be living at Lake Mead for all of November so we'll reattach the hack for the time we're there to get in a bit of riding time.

This is the Hotel Mead (brick building) at Bannack MT. Bannack was the Montana Territorial Capital back in the 1800's. The ghost town is now a State Park and is pretty neat to explore. The town was still occupied by a hardy few in the 50's and everyone left by 1970, I beleive. You can walk through all the buildings . Many parts of the town are pretty much gone now but there is still 50-60 buildings standing. Most of the buildings are in pretty good shape as the state maintains them. I imagine the roof maintenance and keeping them weather tight is a full time project. You can almost hear the pasts' traffic and hustle and bustle of the old main street of Bannack. Thousands of people once lived here. It was the largest city in Montana for many years.

This is the old Masonic Hall right across the street from the Mead Hotel. The town was established when gold mining was prosperous in the area. Virginia City took over as territorial capital when gold was discovered there. Then finally, Helena was capital until Mt. became a state. There are numerous ghost towns in the area from the 1800's mining days.

Famous Flat Tracker Dick McAfee

I stumbled across a literal time capsule of Flat Track history yesterday. I was checking out a Honda Twin listed in the local newspaper. Upon visiting the owner I walked into a life time collection of bikes, memories and artifacts. I wasn't ever knowledgeable about Motorcycle Flat Track Racing but the more I looked around the shop the more I realized I was in the presence of a motorcycling legend. Dick and his brother Hugh were legends in the Ca. Bay area in the early 50's. They held records for years. The reproduction above is a perfect example of Dicks'passion. He built this bike as a copy of the 51 Triumph that he raced in the 50's. the bike is beautiful. Dick said he just likes to look at it. Now 80 years old, Dick says he trie to stick with electric start bikes. He still rides but says he is getting a little slower and more careful.

another of the Triumphs he has built. I think this one was a 53 if I remember right.

Another back room held a Jawa Speedway and an old Triumph sportsman class Cub.

This is a 50 Triumph he is currantly working on. The wall in the background shows photos of a who's who of 50's Flat Track Racing. More about Dick McAfee on the next post.

"Barn Find" Jupiter Sidecar

I recently had a gentileman contact me who ran across this old gem on Craigslist in Ca. She's been sitting for a number of years as the dust patina shows. Pretty poor photo but it appears to be complete. $5000.00 would take it home. Looks like the hack has its' own rear view mirror. Can't tell if it is a long or short wheel base BMW. The prospective buyer wanted my opinion of the R75 tug. The R75 is capable but it really depends on what you want to use it for. If one only wants an around town plugging around bike the R75 is fine. If you plan on longer travel, heavy loads and touring, modifications are in order. The modifications I've performed have been pretty much from my own experiences and observations. Hauling the hack is definately tough on all components of the BMW.

In my case I was somewhat bored with the same old ride and the hack addition really fit our needs at this stage of time. There are lots of set up rigs for sale out there but for me a lot of the fun has been setting up the rig and performing the modifications I deem necessary. I imagine some BMW "purists" would be agahst to see a nice old "Toaster" modified to such a degree. Each to their own. Our hack riding season here has stopped for a while as we have taken the hack off in anticipation of moving south in the next few weeks. We'll probably end up in the Las Vegas area working in November. I just disassembled the Jupiter Sidecar interior and it has been taken to an upholstery shop to have the interior redone in a white "Ultra Leather". I have an old ragged R90/6 seat which fits the R75 so I'm having it done in white also. Don't know if I'll use the stock BMW seat but I will have the option.
I just won a pair of old long/low BMW mufflers on E-Bay for $50.00. They use the stock mounts and sit down low, closer to the ground. The stock pipes sweep up higher. The low pipes will give the bike an older look and will also get the exhaust noise farther behind us. I also won a spare steering damper rod and hardware for $35.00 . My first BMW suffered a broken piece at the bottom of the damper so I want a spare set of hardware in case of a failure on mine. Losing the center steering damper would be catastropic on the road. Our bike suffers from a steering wobble and lightly adjusting the steering damper nuetralizes the low speed wobble. I ran across a complete R75 side car modification kit last winter at a BMW dealer garage sale in L.A. I didn't really understand all the parts included in the kit so passed on it. It needed a lot of additional parts and bearings to be used. Now that I am more familiar with side hacks I realize what I passed up. The kit had a widened, reinforced swing arm, 3 - 16" steel 5 spoke wheels, an earls' fork, and other misc. stuff. In hind sight this was a super set up and would have been ideal for what I need. It would allow much wider , smaller tires and lowered the rig. Irv Seaver BMW was having the "garage" sale and maybe the kit didn't sell. I will check this winter. I could have purchased the kit for $800.00 at the time. The fork change is definately in order for side car use. I am nervous about purchasing some of the earls forks I've seen as fitment isn't always that easy. Plus I don't want to spend thousands of dollars doing it. Oh well, another project for down the line.

California Dreamin

We are really looking forward to our Winter off time. Are missing our California Airhead Family. Friends above (L -R) Gil Lowe, Gil and I have shared campsites quite a few times. He is a retired former wardrobe manager at one of the Hollywood Studios. He had a bad accident la couple years ago but has healed up and is back in action. A few years ago I was fueling a little old antique Honda at a gas station in Columbus and began visiting with a guy on a Beemer at the pumps. I saw his CA. plates and found he was a friend of Gils' on a road trip. Small world. Next to Gil is B. Jan Hoffman, he is the founder of the Airheads Beemer Club and the editor of the magazine. We miss him and his better half, Di. Next in line is Gary Hanson. Gary was from Thompson Falls MT. and was one of the most gracious, giving souls I have known. We loved Gary Dearly. He fought health problems for years. About the time he was conquering his health issues and riding again he lost his life in a motorcycle accident in the Sierra Mountains. Gary is sorely missed. The cute little gal is Carin May. She and her husband Terry moved back east a number of years ago and they are truly missed by everyone.

Terry and Carin at a quiet moment at Agua Caliente in the Anza Borrego Desert New Years Rally. We hear they may come out to CA. for the Rally this New Years. We really hope they can make it. It will be like old times again. Terry has a massive collection of dialed in sport bikes and is a master of setting his bikes up. He is a retired Navy Man. Lucky bum retired in his late 40's. They have been in Florida and the Carolinas for the past 5-6 years. They threw a big going away party for us in El Cajon CA. when we moved from San Diego to Montana.

This was a typical Smith Campsite Bloody Mary morning during the New Years Rally. (L-R) Gil Lowe, Gary Hanson,Scott Kempton, Carin May, Bill Snyder, and yours truly. The Bloody Mary morning has become a tradition over the years. I am ashamed of myself for last New Years as we went to the Rally in our motor home. I had been very sick the previous week and just couldn't make myself sleep on the ground for three days. We will join the tenting crowd this year, I promise!

The guys here are the guys who take care of us for the weekend. (L - R) Kevin Kempton, chef extraordinaire, Kelly (Kellyhanna) Pixton master chef, sporting the hair sweater, and supreme glass artist, Scott Kempton. These guys are our best buddies and we really miss them. Scott has a glass blowing show every December at his studio in Escondido CA. We hope to attend again this year. There are about 40 more close CA. friends we miss and are looking forward to seeing them all this Winter!!!!!!!!

Indian Summer

Fantastic weekend here in MT. In the 70's all weekend. I received a new Jupiter windscreen from Florida this week so went ahead and installed it. Had to drill the plexiglass to fit the mounting holes on the sidecar. I am missing whatever windshield frame mounts that are original. I have never seen the original hardware so I don't know what I'm missing. I installed some trim around the bottom and then used a foam weatherstripping along the base to cushion the screen when it is tightened. I found some black allen head bolts and had some rigid black plastic washers to spread out the pressure on the plexiglass. I used lock nuts and just barely tightened the bolts to hold the screen securely with out stressing the plexi.

Darian wanted a lightly smoked screen so that is what I ordered. Gustauffson Plastics in Florida makes hundreds of different replacement screens. I was skeptical when ordering about fitment but the screen was near perfect. I let it sit in the sun for a couple hours to let it be a little more pliable before installing. It is three inches taller than the home made one but it leans back for aerodynamics so is about the same height when installed. I makes the cockpit seem a bit smaller since it leans back.

The weather was great today so I took one final ride before breaking down the rig to load into the trailer. I must pull the hack from the bike to fit it into my trailer. Only takes a few minutes. I need the rig removed anyway as I need to re torque the heads and then check the valve clearances again. Gave the bike one final cleaning to remove three months worth of bugs and road grime from our last three trips.

Here is the rig in its' travel place. I have large I-Bolts through the floor and simply ratchet strap the frame down to the floor, chock the wheel and secure the jack stands under the rig frame. I noticed one motorcycle frame mount was a bit loose after removing the hack so will need to re adjust and check all hardware before installing again. I removed all the upholstered sidecar components and Darian will take them to Billings and have them re upholstered in the next couple weeks. I have some nice white Ultra Leather material from the motorhome which should look pretty good. I was going to go with black leather but the consensus has been that white stands out and off sets the rig when I've asked other opinions. White it is. The weather will possibly change by the end of the week so sadly the side car riding is over for a while. I need to be ready to travel if the job locations change. Might be here another month but don't know for sure right now. Should have final directions sometimes this week. May be leaving the first week of October but nothing is for sure right now. I found a long, low pair of R75/5 mufflers on E-Bay. They are 70's vintage and appear to be in pretty good shape. I want to get the Dunstall pipes off the bike and install a lower muffler which is longer. These should work perfectly if I win them. The Dunstall mufflers now installed are quite loud and my passenger complains of the noise on long trips. Also they stop right under the saddle bags and always blacken the bottom of the bags.

20-20 Hindsight....Barn Finds

Over the years I have found many, many old bikes, particularly in Arizona. The climate in Yuma AZ. is very dry and old bikes seem to sit in a state of "mummification". Normally the heat will deteriorate all rubber parts but all in all the arid climate preserves the major components. Above are a pair of Honda CA 95's. The blue one is a 1961 model. These are a 150cc engine. The blue one had around 6000 miles. The black one was a 1964 model and had some engine troubles. I purchased the pair from a former Yuma county sheriff who had the bikes in his back yard for 30 years or more. They sat with a piece of plywood over them. I spent 4 hours getting the blue one running after it sat all those years. A battery and fuel lines was all it took. The owner had drained all the gas when he parked them. I paid
$250.00 for the pair. He had the original owners manuals, titles and keys. The tool sets were complete and never appeared to be used.

This is a 1967 CA95 also. I found it in Yuma for $250.00 also. It looked terrible when I purchased it. A little elbow grease and major cleaning brought out a beautiful bike. It was a simple repair to get running. Battery and a carb. cleaning. Had the original white wall tires. I think it had around 8000 miles on it. Was a great running little bike.

This is a 1966 450 Honda "Black Bomber". I got it from the Yuma Sheriff also. It had only 3000 miles on the clock. The mufflers and all chrome were pristine. The original owner had chromed the side covers. I spent a few hours to get it running. The tires were original and had flat spots from sitting all those years. They even held air. Of all the bikes I've had this is the one I wish I'd kept. It only needed tires, seat cover, fork boots, and tank emblems to be complete. I now see them going for thousands on E-Bay. I sold it for $650.00 to a fellow Airhead in Sacramento.

This is a 1969 305 Honda "Dream". Paid a whopping $500.00 for it. It was a runner and had very low mileage. 5000 miles I believe. Was missing original mufflers, and carb. cover. It drove like new. I did a partial trade for a M.C. paint job with this one. The blue w/red seat was a rare original color scheme. I always ran newspaper ads in Yuma looking for old non-running bikes. maybe I'll run another ad this winter, you never know what might still surface.

466th Bomb Group 784th Squadron Crew #555

I've condensed a number of different 466th related Posts to: http://555navigator.blogspot.com/

Crew #555 taken in Late 1944, Attlebridge England. Planes flown, Damifino, Dixie!, Times-a-Wastin. Crew members as follows: Standing Left to Right: Pilot-Paul Bridgman, Radio Operator-Elijah J. Porter, Waist/Top Gunner-Corodon Norton, Nose Gunner-Wm. E. Gilbert, Co-Pilot- Wesley R. Vawter, Navigator- John Wm. Smith, Seated Left to Right: Tail Gunner-R.E. Weckerly, Bombadier-Tom Hallet, Engineer-Allen D. Miller, Ball Turret Gunner- James R. Attenholt.

My Father, J. Wm. Smith, has kept in touch with Co-Pilot Wes Vawter since the war. They lost track of all the other crewmen over the years. I imagine after surviving the war most of the veterans were happy to forget the things they witnessed , ready to put it behind them and go about their lives. My father never talked about his War experiences as long as I can remember while growing up. Upon gaining computer literacy (to a point) a few years ago I discovered some 8th Air Force Web sites which spurred me to begin asking Dad, then in his late 80's , questions about those experiences so many years ago. He opened up and told me many stories of those months in England. I was fascinated and was able to post a few photos and some of his experiences on a Web site. I later started my own Web Blog and had a couple of posts about the 466th Bomb Group. Finding these photos posted here, I was able to get Wesley Vawter to name all the guys in the photo. Dad had forgotten a few of the names but Wes had them written down.

Low and behold the son of one of Dads' Crew Mates saw my site and contacted me to let me know that another Crewman, Corodon (Buzz) Norton was alive and well and living in Florida at age 82. I excitedly contacted Dad (now 92) and gave him the news. I then called Mr. Norton and visited with him for 15 minutes or so. He was happy to find that Dad and Wes Vawter were still alive and kicking. Dad and Buzz will be talking soon. I am so happy that this series of events has occurred. Comrades from so many years ago will be reunited, at least over the phone. I hope that this event will not open old wounds. These men relied upon each other to get through those times and were closer than family, in a way. I am sincerely grateful that Mr. Nortons son, Greg, contacted me and helped connect the old pals after all these years. Thanks again Greg.

Navigator- LT. John William "Smitty" Smith w/ "Dixie!"

Crewman of crew #555 w/ "Damifino"

Crew #555 Crewman

Extreme Lows...........

We made it to West Yellowstone on Sunday afternoon after a great ride through the park. We had reserved a small one room cabin a week before as it only cost $20.00 more than a tent site. We went into town in the early evening to eat and the temperature dropped about 30 degrees in a few minutes and rain poured down. We hung out til the rain stopped and back to the cabin we went. It rained on and off all night but by 8:00 am the clouds broke some and the sun was coming through. We did a quick Macdonald's breakfast and headed out around 10:00 am.

Our route took us around Hebgan Lake and Quake Lake. Approaching Hebgan we could see that rain was imminent so we stopped long enough to put on more layers and some rain gear. As we hit the Quake lake the rain got heavier and then turned to snow. These photos don't do justice to the snowfall. I had to pull over as I lost visibility and between the fogging face shield and the wind blown snow I was blinded. I took a quick pair of photos' and we headed out and made it about a mile to the Visitor Center.

Uncertain what to do we sat for a minute. A couple of people in their cars were looking and pointing at us and photographing us as we were turning white with the wet snowfall. I decided to hell with it and we went onto the road again. The snow turned to rain in a couple miles and we breathed a sigh of relief. Within minutes we were back into a worse blizzard and I fought to see the road and the other traffic around us. This went on for 40-50 miles as we struggled along. The bike and sidecar windshields iced up and my face shield was iced over. This was probably the longest 50 mile ride of my life. I was able to ride a while with the face shield up and peered over the ice covered windshield. The snow turned into a sleet hail kind of stuff and I was blinded when the stuff went into my eyes. I had to shed my eye glasses early on due to fogging. We pulled to the narrow shoulder and I regained my composure before setting out again. We finally rode out of the heavy snow and pulled over near Cameron. The bike was covered in ice and snow and we were pretty well frazzled. The photo below shows the ice laded bike and passenger. Actually we faired well except for my frozen hands and feet. I could not unlatch my helmet as my fingers were useless. Darian finally got my helmet untied and we sat for a bit and regrouped. From there on out the weather was on and off rain which was not bad at all compared to the Sept. 1st. blizzard. It was nice to get home safe and sound. Definitely one of the longest hour or so rides of my life!

Geyser Basin

Elk along the Madison River, Yellowstone

Extreme Highs............Part 1

Saturday was a beautiful 90 degree day heading towards the Grand Tetons. We headed down I-15 South from Dillon and took a little cut across road over to Rexberg Idaho. Couldn't have been a better day for a ride. Sunny, warm, no wind to speak of. We headed towards Riggs Idaho and witnessed numerous grain harvesting operations in process. Very pretty farm country and a dispersed population. As you get closer to the Tetons we saw many more new developments going in with some audacious looking houses. Definitely look like they belong in Aspen Co. not Idaho. Definitely not the locals building new homes. I guess that is like the out of state money which is coming into Montana. We are seeing the same gaudy excesses here in our state. I guess they call it progress(?).

We stopped at a pull over spot here with a long distance view of the east side of the Tetons. A guy on a new big rental Gold Wing pulled up. He was from upstate New York and was a private jet pilot for some big money real estate developer from Florida. His job is to fly the head guys around to their resort spots and then he hangs out while they play and spend more of their money. Jackson Hole, Aspen, New Mexico are a few of their destinations. He was a nice guy and was up to 250 miles on the rental bike in a few hours. Cost him around $190.00 (with insurance) for a 24 hour rental. He also had a sidecar he mounted on his older Gold Wing at home but he couldn't get it set up properly and pulled it off. Our old bike tracks good and is fairly easy to ride. I do need to increase the lean out a bit more since we are loading the rig with so much gear.

We arrived at Jackson Hole Wyoming early in the afternoon and made our way to a campground about 10 miles south of Jackson. It was a real nice spot right above the Snake River which can be seen in the background. A pair of young families were camped in front of us and we had to ride between their tents to get to our site. We ran into Jackson for a quick bite to eat and then back to the campground. Tourists were thick in Jackson. A lot of bikes on the street. Saw a couple more sidecars around town. We went to bed early to watch a DVDmovie and at about 10:30 pm 5 motorcyclists (at least three with straight pipes) roared into the site above us. They also had to ride within a foot of the other tents. Each of the young families had babies and they immediately began squalling after the bikes roared in. They kept us awake for a while until they set up. Then it was Snore and Fart time for them for the rest of the night. A real nice lullaby to fall asleep to.

We awoke to cooler temperatures Sunday morning and rain from about 5:00 am til 7:00 am. The 5 Snorer/Farters next door high tailed it out of there while the rain was falling. I heard one of them yell "Pardon Me" as his bike roared to life and he pulled out within the foot of the now unsleeping babies in the tents. With that, the kids began to cry again and I had to get up. The clouds broke so Darian and I quickly tore down the camp and hit the road by 9:00 am. We entered Grand Teton Park and took a leisurely ride around the base of the mountains. Beautiful views and clouds rolling in and out of the peaks. The temperatures were now in the 50's and 60's. Perfect cool riding weather. We toured the park and then headed towards Yellowstone from the south. Darian took some movies while riding in the sidecar in Yellowstone but I haven't figured out how to post them yet. I'll work on that....................to be continued