1976 BMW R90/6 "Jimmy Neutron Wanna Be"

Still piddling away. So many little things have needed attention on this thing for some time that it takes a bit to work through them as I am trying to do other things. I think I hit the final iteration on the handlebar clamps and got that all squared away. I have probably pulled this front end apart a dozen times during this project, and I know it needs to come apart at least once more to add pre load spacers over the springs. I have too much sag at this point.

I am somewhat ashamed to say that I think this may have had the 1976 original grease in the steering head bearings. This is a bit of a chore to get at on this bike funny enough, but they are now serviced and should be good for an another 100k miles:
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The forks appear to have been rebuilt not long before I got it, and neither seal leaked, so I opted for fresh oil and a new pair of progressive springs:
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Clamps are made from oem bottoms, plus 2 more pieces of Aluminum that I epoxied to the bottom of them, then sanded and shaped smooth.
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Purists may hate me, but I really never have liked the factory rectangle signals, so I cut down my spare set of signal mounts, made a top hat insert that presses in from the back, and mounted these bullet signals. I eventually want to swap to higher quality ones, but for now, these will do just fine!
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Pic limit hit for the last post..

I am waiting to get this tube style fork brace in the mail to wrap up the front end and get a fender put back on, but I had to pull it off the lift to work on a customer bike.
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I enjoy how it looks with the 1" drop due to sliding into the triple tree now.
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I stopped at a friends muffler shop, and he flaired me out a piece of S.S. pipe to act as a mid pipe for the cones. They will slide right onto the mac headers that I have, and if I ever want to throw bags back on, I can just bolt the mac mufflers back on. The mufflers are a bit shorter and smaller overall than I like, but the budget says they have to be made to work for now. I am not opposed to upgrading later.
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I also have one of these seats on the way. They are made in Vietnam by https://texavina.com/ but run out of California. I am also looking at different rear fender options, as I've always found the factory BMW one a bit bulbous as well. This one has the factory bmw fender turned backwards (which literally bolts in that way with factory holes). I am playing with tail lights, but thinking about doing the same.
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Lots of work completed, but I am doing very poorly at documenting it here. I think I finally got the front end reassembled for the last time. Though it doesn't look like much, any one that has taken apart and put together one of these knows that its a bit tricky to get everything sorted where its supposed to be. I got a tube type fork brace from a cool dude that still makes them in his shop in North Carolina. There was alot of sag measurement and spacers made as well as adjusting with caps and springs removed to make sure that there is minimal stiction, which these old ATE forks are known for. I am hoping that the top triple install which pinches the top forks vs the stock configuration, fresh springs and oil as well as the stronger brace will yield a bit less rubbery of a feel and aid in performance. I have an alloy front fender on the way from ebay. I hope that its not too short, but will likely re drill my beat up factory front fender to put on if I take any long trips in the future, but use the short one for daily tomfoolery.
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I badly botched the paint removal on the starter cover, and didn't have the time or patience to send it out to vapor hone. Good thing appliance epoxy in Stainless Steel color is a VERY close match to the color of a stock airhead engine casting. I also restored the badges in the same way, sanding the letters. It gives them more of a raw cast aluminum look, which i appreciate more than the factory black I think. Its also tough as nails once cured and resists fuel well. I painted my dr650 bobber engine cases with it years ago, and after several thousand miles of daily use it still looks great!
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Left badge has the letters sanded.
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Installed on the engine. Funny enough, the picture makes it look like it matches less than it does in person.
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I also started working on an inner fender well and a different rear fender. It appears to be a front fender off of some kind of cruser. I think it will all make much more sense and look more correct once the seat is in.
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I should note, every mod I have done to this point is a bolt on, without anything cut. I plan to continue on that route. My good friend Mr.E did the same type of build years ago with his CB750. This bike should go to my son Lenny one day, and if he so chooses a restoration, I plan to have everything in storage to put it back to stock.
 
Looking great. Can't wait to see it in person. The ole girl isn't gunna know how to behave!
 
Lots still going down. Never had it quite this far apart, but figured it's the best time to tackle some neglected maintenance items. Rear main seal and clutch spline lube. I love how simple these things are. If I get the time, I may go in more detail on the steps I've taken in a later post.


Side note, I didn't take any before pics, but my shop was almost un usable for the clutter. I took a good 3 dayer and did a big reset. It's made the work much more enjoyable.

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One look at that picture and I have to say, "Who are you and what have you done w/ my friend Levi?"

Looks great!
 
Rider52 said:
I cleaned up my space today. I felt ashamed after seeing your picture.
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Yeah, sometime last Fall I decided this Winter's project was going to be The Shop! Then came the shoulder replacement, then came the cold. Almost done now, but it's been like trying to put a size 13 foot into a size 9 boot. At least Levi's got a nice size 20 boot to work with!
 
Pretty much how she sits. It seems as though I've had an order arrive from Euro Moto Electrics once a week for a few weeks now, and adding up the invoices makes me a bit queezy. (could've bough a used Fuel Injected bike for the price of parts at this point).

I pulled the trans to do a spline lube job, which is considered "regular maintenance" on these things. Figured Id pull the flywheel to check out the rear main seal, as a leak was suspected. To my surprise it was dry, but now I am waiting on the 5 $20 ea one time use stretch bolts to come in... Yep, $100 in bolts to check a $30 seal... oof.

Hopefully picking up the fresh dual plug heads from the machine shop today. My spring break is next week and I'd really love to make some strides to get this old girl back on the road by then!

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Spring break went a little different than planned and ended up out of state for a bit of it. I did get the trans re mounted as well as the final drive, which has been resealed at most common service points as well. My texavina seat finally made it from vietnam and the quality seems to be pretty nice. I am working on playing with fender combos now, though i really should be getting the top end put back together.

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I also picked up the freshened up heads from MotoTech, and he ran a hone to bust the glaze while I was there. Everything measured well within spec, so a new set of rings should have me good for another 50k miles or until I save enough to buy a Seibenrock 1000cc power up kit lol. I have to make a few spacers for the bottom set of spark plugs as to not have to run shorter plugs, and I am adding post 75 o ring counterbores to the top stud holes. easy upgrade and helps to not have oil blockage issues as with the sealant. I'm also eliminating the base gasket to slightly bump the compression.
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Our Grand Potentate @Tim hooked me up with a trade for his lincoln 185 welder. The first thing I used it for was to fix and stiffen up the bent OG passenger peg mounts.

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I have run into lots of little projects and maintenance items that i keep running into "as its apart". Its the best time to deal with them, but many add time that I didn't originally expect, and often leads to me waiting on an order for one little part or seal to come in to actually complete the task.
 
I'm liking the seat. Haven't seen it in person, but in the pix it looks better than expected and has a "like stock but better than stock" look to it. Love an old airhead but it's, admittedly, difficult to make one of the stodgy old girls look modern and sporty and not go overboard and "bobber-badass" the thing. So far to my eye the seat and fender combo you have selected, as well as the clean up and paint of the engine, have gone a very long way to nudge the traditional "dignity" into a "classy sport" look w/o stripping it down to it's underwear.
 
ridesolo said:
I'm liking the seat. Haven't seen it in person, but in the pix it looks better than expected and has a "like stock but better than stock" look to it. Love an old airhead but it's, admittedly, difficult to make one of the stodgy old girls look modern and sporty and not go overboard and "bobber-badass" the thing. So far to my eye the seat and fender combo you have selected, as well as the clean up and paint of the engine, have gone a very long way to nudge the traditional "dignity" into a "classy sport" look w/o stripping it down to it's underwear.
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well said and I agree!
 
Maritime said:
You need to work on the "side end" of the engine LOL.
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Haha I've said that multiple times about his old boxer. Lots of work can be done without ever even pulling the tank.
ridesolo said:
I'm liking the seat. Haven't seen it in person, but in the pix it looks better than expected and has a "like stock but better than stock" look to it. Love an old airhead but it's, admittedly, difficult to make one of the stodgy old girls look modern and sporty and not go overboard and "bobber-badass" the thing. So far to my eye the seat and fender combo you have selected, as well as the clean up and paint of the engine, have gone a very long way to nudge the traditional "dignity" into a "classy sport" look w/o stripping it down to it's underwear.
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Thanks Cory. For his iteration that is what I was really going for. Mild custom, retro mod, whatever you want to call it. Bottom to top triple conversion, fork brace, slimmer fenders, updated ignition and charging with dual plug heads etc, but that said until this point, nothing has been cut on the frame or cannot be pretty easily put back to stock, and I'm liking how its looking. I appreciate it.

adventurco said:
Seat looks great, but don't you dare paint that tank!
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I struggle with that. I would like to paint all the tins, and @ridesolo has offered to help. Part of me wants to keep the tank as is to pay at least a small bit of homage to the old man touring bike that is used to be, but part of me also thinks this bike would look alot better in black.... ;)
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