RIDE!

What a wonderful day for riding!  About 62 degrees and full of sunshine.  Stopped off at the shop and did a quick inventory of the R100 I got from Al.  Made a list of things I plan to do and the order I want to do them in.  Put one of my batteries on charge and plan to install in the bike just to turn it over.  I made a call to a friend of mine to see if he had another set of stock BMW mufflers I can trade him out of with some /2 parts.  Dry fit a solo seat to see what it would look like going solo.  After that the sunshine was calling so I jumped on the R50/2 and hit the road for about 4 hours of riding, swung by the grocery store on the way home and had a guy waiting for me at the bike asking for permission to take a few photos of the bike.  He thought the "as found" colors with patina rust was way too cool!  He said it would be impossible to make a bike look like that and liked natures way of showing the age of the rig.  After his 5 or 6 photos I got back to the house, then the shop for a little more looking over Al's R100.  It's going to be a great winter project and awesome bike when finished.

Al, is that a tear I see coming out from under your glasses?

 

 

So...what good are plans anyway?

I was going to Bob's BMW Pie Day until I got an email with a craigslist ad for a 1978 R100.  I made a call to the owner, Al, and early this morning headed to Pittsburgh to pick it up.  I saw one photo of the bike but after talking to Al it sounded like the prefect winter project.  I left at sun-up and got there about 11 am.  Met Al and his son Steve and began to load.  Bike came with a few handy spares too.  Al and Steve said it needed a clutch replacement but I'll do my usual thing, pull the engine, pull the cylinders, remove the trans, inspect the lower end, to a top overhaul, hopefully get by with just a new clutch (I think I have one that will fit), reassemble start and test.  If I can get by with just that it would be nice.  The bike is in nice over-all condition with usual bumps, scrapes and upholstery problems but I'm more of a mechanically fit guy and once all the mechanics are done, I'm done and I ride the way it looks.  Checkout the cool leather bags!  They are going on the R50 if they fit.

Here are some photos of the bike and a photo of the reworked Ural leg shield that I trimmed to fit the R50/2.

Gobble, Gobble

Thanksgiving Day is over and the weather is brisk.  Snowed a little yesterday but that only makes me want to ride more.  I finally got the tool box key made.  The locksmith had the lock for about a week and made a key impression then cut the German made steel keys to match.  Works well and only $25 for the work.  Tomorrow I will ride to Bob's BMW to see if any pie is left over from his Pie Day that was today, plus I want to see what he has on sale for the specials he is running.  If any one is looking for some nice gauntlets there in a guy on ebay from Smithburg, MD selling them for $12.95 free shipping and they are real nice.  I bought two pair myself,  very nice and warm.

Tomorrow my BMW riding buddy and I are going to be out on the road to Bob's.  I was able to install those Russian made leg shields but I had to crop the tops of them to get a clean fit.  The original shape was touching the bottom of the fairing so I just moved the profile down a bit to clear.  If I hadn't said anything no one would notice.  They work well too and help keep that cold air from freezing my kneecaps.

Today I also bought a used Sony HDR AS15 camera to mount on the sidecar for doing some on the road video.  I got it for $100 on Craigslist and it's like new.  The mount will go onto the sidecar just in front of the windscreen and as close to the bike as possible so the taping will show part of the front of the bikes front fender and wheel.  I'm hoping that will give a nice on the road effect.  I'm going to try to mount it this evening for some taping tomorrow.

Maintenance wise the bike is in great condition.  Since I enjoy this bike so much I decided to sell the R100 for sure.  I hope to see it go to someone that will drive and enjoy the bike as much as me on my R50/2.

I'll post some photos tomorrow.

November...already

I haven't been riding very much the past few days with the weather changing the way it has.  I still need to replace the dust boot on the driveshaft and hope to get it done this week.  If and I mean IF the weather warms up a bit I'll be back on the road riding, may even take a two day trip somewhere, but not a 1200 miler for sure, maybe one or two hundred with an overnight.

I did how ever install the interior of a ural sidecar into my sidecar and it looks and feels great.  I still want to add another right hand rear view mirror just to make lane changes a little easier.  The question is do I double mount a mirror on the handle bars or add the mirror to the sidecar?  I'm playing with the double mirror idea right now but not sure if I will like it.