Tip of the Iceberg - Part 2

Let's go on from where we left. Well, we were still walking around the old R25 and looking for problems.

Having a crashbar is generally a good practice for a motorbike, but not for our purpose. It shall go away...

The round cap in front of the engine block, covering the power generator looks awesome when nickel plated.

That rusty thing over there is the exhaust pipe. I think I will have to replace it sooner or later, I'm not sure if it can get well only with rust removal and polishing.

Let's continue with the nickel plating. The shaft drive and the cover will go to nicket plating. There should have been a conical piece where the shaft enters into the rear drive hub.

Speaking of the shaft drive, ever since the first model released in 1923, called R32, every BMW had a shaft drive. The first ever chain driven BMW, the F650 is released in 1993, followed up by my first F650GS, followed up by my second F650GS.

The kickstart will also look good when shiny. There may be a problem inside the cover, I'm not sure that the kickstart lever stays where it should actually stay.
(We would have to wait 16 years more for the much more comfortable electric starters.)

Pushrod guides. Still nice and shiny. The o-rings are damaged, though. Probably I will have to dismantle the engine block way down to them, I should find out if there's any further issue hidden in there, such as bent pushrods or such.

The shift lever should also shine. Would a thorough cleaning be enough or should I have it nickel plated?

The fork adjustment screw... Needs nickel, too. Once I'm in there, I will have to check out the bearings, too.

The tank cap looks okay, but the handlebar and the fork caps do not...

I'm somewhat confused with the seat. These bikes were mostly sold with the Pagusa solo seats, but these were also available. The bike looks really classy with Pagusa, but depending on its origin, I could well keep this one, too. Because it is very very comfortable.

The engine block in general looks nice and clean. In any case, I will have to renew the gaskets.

And of course, every single nut, bolt, screw, etc. will be replaced with brand new stainless ones.

I didn't say perfect. The sump pan obviously leaks oil. Is it just the gasket, or is there more to come, that's something I can find out only after the cleaning and removal.

The fuel hose is not quite how it should be. The previous owner also said that the fuel filter cannot handle the necessary fuel flow, especially at higher speeds. So I need a new hose and filter. By the way, the tap is not original, but there are very beautiful replicas.

The rear shock caps look quite tired. They must be made of aluminum. I'm not sure how to take care of them, maybe they can be polished properly.

The rims are pretty good. I might renew the spokes, or just stick with lots and lots of WD-40 for them. The spoke adjustment freaks me out.

The lock below the vehicle number plate is the steering lock. I don't think it's original anymore, at least, the key is not. But I might leave it as it is. Actually I liked it.

The knob over there is the sidecar attachment, there is another one at the rear end of the chassis. Wouldn't it be nice, if I find a Steib LS200 somewhere later?

















Despite the huge to-do list, I go back a few steps and take a look, and I still love what I see. Doesn't the bike look beautiful, even in this condition?