In addition to being a working geek, I am also a motorcycle geek. (These are my wife’s words, not mine.)
So this page is dedicated to my rebuilding of a 1976 BMW R90/6, and turning it into what is known as a Cafe Racer.
Enjoy!
December 25, 2009… That’s right, Christmas day. I took the "tadpole" (her nickname, don’t ask) out for one last cruise before gutting her.
And this is how she looked by the end of the day Monday, December 28, 2009.
My goal:
Finished by April 15, 2010 with the following modifications:
- all painting done by myself, with the frame and fork lowers being red and the rest of the colors being silver and anthracite (charcoal), with red accents.
- wheels powder coated anthracite on the rim and hub, with SS spokes, and red pin striping. I will even be attempting to dismantle and rebuild the 40 spoke wheels myself. Yikes!
- vintage Ducati race fairing
- solo seat
- replace air cleaner with custom battery box
- single cone air filters on carbs
So that’s the main stuff. There will be plenty of small upgrades, reconditioning, and cleaning/ polishing along the way. So stay tuned….
December 31, 2009
Well I got the new wrench in the mail that allows for the dismantling of the exhaust. Leave it to those crazy Germans to require a wrench that looks like this!
Once the exhaust was removed from the block, I was able to remove the engine from the frame. So how do I handle an engine that weights about 150 lbs and twist and turn it out of a frame… by myself?
A Flash of Genius
By making some brackets to attach straps to the engine, then attaching those to a come-a-long, I looped it up over a steel I-beam and made an engine hoist. Worked perfectly!
Then it was lowered down onto a make-shift engine table. (That my wife wanted me to throw away! I know I can use that for something….)
January 3, 2010
The clean up has started by degreasing and stripping the frame, followed by a good coat of self etching primer.
January 9, 2009
After receiving the new odometer reset knob, I cracked open the instrument pod for installation. It wasn’t too hard to extract the broken section of the reset stalk stuck in the odometer, and I took the opportunity to clean and regrease the gears while I was in there. Then it was on to clean up the outside and repaint the raised numbers for the warning lights. I did this by using the eraser on the end of a pencil for a paint brush and simply stamped on the paint. Worked like a charm, and now I have a good looking refurbished instrument pod.
