I think I killed my horn

Chassis - Horn Installation

After painstakingly refinishing the original horn I'm sorry to say I think I made a huge mistake. Prior to installing the horn assembly back on to the bike, I wanted to make sure it was operating properly. I attached the contacts directly to the 6V battery. After a few squeaks from the unit it sounds no more!

According to the electrical diagram there doesn't appear to be any step down of voltage to the unit so its either that it received too many amps or a mismatch of polarity fried one of the coils. I didn't think that polarity was an issue here since its a very simple magnetic coil and field system and it should work in either direction.

After inspecting the electrical schematic closer I noticed that a I installed the horn leads from the bike on the wrong terminals. I'm praying that it is something as simple as polarity and I wont have to purchase a repro horn.

I have a feeling though that this isn't the case and I just put this vintage part into an early grave.

Reinstallation of Parts Begins

Its a really good feeling when you reach the point when you stop taking parts off the bike and start putting them back on again. This weekend we hit that point.

If I had all the time and money I needed (both of which are in short demand), I would have torn the bike down to the chassis and rebuilt it from the ground up. This will happen in my lifetime but for now I'm eager to start the new riding season that's upon us.

Engine - Fuel System Install

• Reinstalled refinished engine mounts and tank mount hardware. New rubber mounts added to both assembly's
• Installed new braided fuel lines. These look great! You got love the "Made in Germany" imprints on the lines.
• Reused existing in-line fuel filters. I'm not happy with the in-line filters cosmetically. However, functionally they do two things. For one, they allow the rider to confirm fuel is flowing to the carburetor float chamber. Secondly, since I'm uncertain of the condition (or existence) of the original fuel tap filter screen, at least there is some protection to each of the carbs from dirty fuel.

Engine Casing Cleaning

It's getting warmer out and I'm getting anxious to get this machine on the road! Finally had some time to work on the bike this weekend. Engine - Cleaning Engine Casing: Before reinstalling the tank, I spent some time on refinishing the engine casing. The aluminum finish over the years has some discoloration and light oxidation. It's not bad but it certainly can look better. I have tried quite a few things on the metal surface with fair to poor results. I'm checking the motorcycle club boards now to see if anyone has some better idea's. In the meantime I settled on a treatment of Aluminum Navel Jelly and a finishing treatment of Mothers Mag and Aluminum Polish. If you haven't used Mother's before for aluminum work - I would highly recommend it. The product does an amazing job of bringing a luster up on metal surfaces. I'm got tired of polishing - lets mount some parts!

Cylinder Head Refinshing

Some minor work underway his weekend. Finished up installing the battery tray and some other minor stainless steel nuts and bolts around the bike. I'm in a holding pattern waiting on some parts to arrive from Blue Moon so I decided to get the rust off of the cylinder heads.Its was really bothering me. The pictures made them look worse then they were so its nice to get a clean finish on them.

A fairly simple but time consuming process. Instead of dismantling the heads I simply taped up everything around them to allow for several coats of heat resistant paint. Dont forget the heater - its still cold in the Northeast!

Here's the BEFORE and AFTER shots. Looks a lot better...

Looking at these - new headers would be awsome! However, they arent in the budget right now.

Restoration Notes – Rust Removal, Horn Engine Mount, Gas Tank Mounts, Dimmer Switch Wiring Ordered

Chassis - Rust Removal (Continues)

• Removed horn assembly, removed gas tank, removed upper engine mount. ground rust and refinished all mount assembly’s. Replaced rusted hardware on horn assembly.
• Ordered dimmer hi/low wiring harness. Note that the /2 dimmer hi/low harness and switch runs about $150 at Bluemoon (part 71a listed below). This was a little too costly for my current budget. After closer examination of Blue Moons exploded parts listing I found out that the wiring harness can be purchased separately for $14 (Part 90 listed below). This may require some soldering work at the switch, but well worth the money saved. Lessoned learned here – do your research.

• Ordered new fuel lines, spark plugs plug wires, plug caps, kick start bumper. The kick start bumper was pretty costly $30. This is a pretty basic part but unfortunately very custom to /2’s.

Airhead Snowblower

While scanning the internet for required parts I ran accross this hillarious article of a very creative R-Series bike owner. Its worth a read...

Restoration Notes – Foot Pegs, Stainless Steel Hardware and Rust Removal

3/2/2008 - 2pm - 8pm - 6 Hours

Some much overdue work on the R60 this weekend. No major work but all in all it was good to get some of these minor things out of the way. Spring is on its way and am looking forward to some vintage rides. Happiness is having another ride you can use (in my case an R1200) while your vintage bike is torn apart!

Chassis - Replace and Refinished Foot Peg Assemblies:

• Removed old foot peg rubber grips (thanks to the help of a Sawsall). Removed rust and repainted foot peg arm. Installed new rubber foot pegs by heating them to 150 degrees in the oven and using silicon to lubricate. A little pressure and they slide right on. Prior, to installing new rubber, removed rust and refinished peg assembly before reassembling.

Chassis - Stainless Steel Hardware Replacement (Continues)

• Continued the quest to remove all old hardware with stainless steel replacements. Disassembled rear rack, removed Back Well. Replaced rear fender mounting hardware with Stainless. The kit didn't come with hardware for the rear light can anchors. They are simple bolts should it shouldn't be hard to locate replacements

Chassis - Rust Removal (Continues)

• Removed Battery Rack, removed ground rust and refinished. (Ordered the wrong battery pad. Need to order the larger one before reassembling)
• Removed Seat Brackets, ground rust and Refinished.
• Cleaned rear fender paint with compound and removed as much as the minor pit rust as possible. The fender and finish is actually in fairly good shape. However, it really needs to be refinished to fully protect it. Unfortunately its just not in the budget right now so I'll so my best to stay on top of the minor rust.
• Cleaned and polished rear shock caps. These are typically hidden when the large bench seat is installed. I don't think they have ever been polished

Chassis - Rubber Materials Replacement (Continues)

• Replaced Rear brake light can rubber seal with new rubber. Old rubber was badly deteriorated.

It's amazing how quickly time goes when you're futzing around with a vintage boxer.

Future Plans:

Minor Work / Minor Costs:

• Chassis - Complete battery shelf installation - rust removal, refinishing, install new battery pad and rubber bracket, replace wiring terminations
• Chassis - Reinstall seat brackets and rear fender hardware, Denfield racks and side bags and newly reupholstered bench seat.
• Chassis - Replace Speedo gasket and chrome ring, running light
• Chassis - Repair Side stand mounting bracket and replace rubber side stand and center stand bumpers
• Chassis – Refinish brake pedal
• Carburetor - Replace fuel lines
• Electrical - Replace plug wires and caps
• Driveshaft / Final Drive – Replace front and rear brake pads
• Engine – Drop oil pan, clean and inspect, upgrade hardware to stainless. Add magnetic drain plug, replace oil .
• Driveshaft / Final Drive – Replace Gear Oil

Major Work / Major Costs

• Steering - Re-chrome/Replace handlebar risers
• Electrical - Replace/Rewire Horn/Light Dimmer Switch
• Exhaust – Replace port and starboard header pipes and crossover pipe. Muffler are still okay
• Steering / Suspension – Replace / Re chrome front and rear axles
• Engine – Replace port valve cover
• Steering / Suspension – Replace chrome wheel spokes

Other links of interest to check out: Check out our Chicago trip blog at http://www.jerothesbiketrip.blogspot.com/ Long Island BMW Riders Club: http://www.libmwrc.com/ Vintage BMW Club: http://vintagebmw.org/version6/ http://www.jcservicesllc.com/ - Technology Services Firm Specializing in small businesses.

Researching Your Project

A master mechanic that I met awhile back made a very astute statement that has always stuck with me: . The internet has a lot of information, some of it good - most much of it questionable – do your research wisely…. . The internet has been an amazing tool in leaning about restorations as well as locating parts – especially for my project. However, his point is well taken; Do your research but question everything you learn on the web. . If you are here you probably have a similar project underway or are considering one. I am clearly not a master mechanic, but I do know how to locate good and useful information on the web. . Take advantage of the links on the side of the blog. Many of these have been invaluable for this project. As I find articles, sites and businesses that have been of value to this project – I will update the list accordingly. . Enjoy!

Dealing with a Faulty Coil

Out for a ride on a beautiful October weeend. Up and over the Hawks Nest in NY State when we come into Port Jervis and the R60 started loosing power and eventually cut out. It hiccuped once before we got to town but I just assumed it was a fuel problem. That wasn't the case... After letting it cool down a bit, the bike started again which indicated the coil was going bad.

Defective Coil Explained:

If your not familiar with this problem what happens is the wire field wrapping of the coil gets a hairline crack in it from years of use. When the bike is cold the defect is not evident since the wires are packed tightly together. As things heat up and expand it causes a drop in electrical output from the coil and ultimately reduces the spark plug output causing the power loss. Letting the bike cool down will allow you to typically get it started again and hopefully limp back to your starting point.

Although my riding partner wanted to call for a tow - I refused to be stranded on this very trustworthy machine. We cut our ride short and headed back to home base. With a couple of hiccups here and there the old gal got me home before finally cutting out again from the heat. After getting home, I ordered and replaced the coil, replaced condenser, plug lines and caps. Parts acquired from Bench Mark Works - Thanks Guys! Even kept a spare condenser just in case. I'm looking forward to the winter time so that I can give this bike a thorough work over.

Maintenance of Failed Fuel Float

After turning the full on in prep for a ride, the starboard Bing carburetor started spilling fuel on the ground. After some dissection it turns out that the brass float assembly failed with several very fie stress cracks. I was away at the time so I attempted to dry the float out to get the bike running again. Its work for a short period but ultimately needed replacement Completed an oil change and replaced both port and starboard aux float assemblies and seals. While on-line - of course I had to buy other parts! Comboguy: Wide Seat Cover /2 The Bolt Guy: Stainless Bolt Hardware Kit Ordered Air Filter and Battery Pad. Wax and Chrome Polish ($290)