R69US INSPECTION AND REPAIRS

TANK
As noted before purchase, the interior of the tank was completely covered with rust. I removed the tank and sent it to Borella Enterprises in CT to have the rust removed and the inside of the tank coated with factory red epoxy. John Borella was able to do this without getting the damaging chemicals on the painted exterior.

AXLES
Exposed areas of axles had rusted, pitted slightly, and been painted with silver paint. I cleaned off the paint and rust with emery cloth.

WHEELS
Front alloy rim had a little dent and had been partly straightened with hammer blows to the soft aluminum, the front fender was rubbing against tire, the chrome spokes had rust, and the rear wheel bearings had excess grease coming out into the hub. The forward brake lever on the front hub was stiff and did not retract fully. I pulled out the fender, cleaned the grease from the rear hub, and removed the front hub and lubricated the brake shoe actuator levers.

SEAT
The wide bench seat used a set of two brackets on each side. The halves of the bracket sets that connect the seat bracket to the fender were missing, allowing the seat to wobble back and forth insecurely, attached only by its vertical stays. The remaining halves of the brackets attached to the seat had gouged the fender on both sides.The seat cover was chafed and worn with pinhole perforations in areas below seat handles. I ordered and installed a new standard seat, instead of restoring the wide seat which seemed out of proportion to the the small tank.

REAR FENDER
Paint was worn off sides of fender by bench seat brackets. Paint was worn off top of fender by bench seat spring clamps. This could be due the lack of seat brackets not supporting the seat off the fender.There was a large area of deep rusty scratches on fender above battery, unexplainable. I masked and spray painted the damaged portions of fender for protection. The fender looked fine covered by a bench seat, but would need a professional painting to be exposed and carry a solo seat.

BATTERY AREA
The battery holder and surrounding frame had some rust due to acid burns. I removed and repainted the battery holder, and repainted some of the surrounding area while I painted the rear fender.

VIBRATION DAMPER
The dealer had told me they did not remember if the damper was on, but that it was an aftermarket accessory trhat was not neccessary. The crankshaft vibration damper had been removed from front of the generator. The generator was held on with the shorter bolt for an R60/2. I ordered and installed a complete new vibration damper, since it was a BMW part required to protected the crankshaft at high rpms (Factory Service Bulletin No. 228 dated 25 Apr 1966, from http://www.beemergarage.com/bulletin.html)

VALVES
Valve cover gaskets were 1/2 thickness of a new gasket, were hard and black, probably original. All valves were too tight. I adjusted the valves and used new gaskets.

IGNITION
The timing was too advanced, the spark plug cables were generic US type with soft rubber caps, and the original coil was gone, replaced by black plastic repro coil which is known as prone to failure. I set the timing, and ordered new cables and caps. I bought an old coil for use as a core, and sent it to Huggett in Switzerland in exchange for a new coil, and installed new cables and proper caps.

FUEL SYSTEM
Fuel line filters had fine rust dust settled in them that had passed the petcock screen, the carburetor had fine rust dust settled in bottom, and the carb needles were pinned in their top hole (leanest setting). I replaced the filters, cleaned the carbs, and set the needles in the richer second hole.

EXHAUST SYSTEM
New headers were blued by heat, probably by the combination of lean mixture, advanced timing and tight valves.

OIL SUMP
Sump fell off as soon as bolts were loosened. Sump had been cleaned recently, and reinstalled without sealant. The gasket was old and hard, probably original. The flange of sump on right side had been hammered upward and deformed beyond any ability to seal a gasket. I sent the sump to a shop for straightening and repainting.

TRANSMISSION
The pivot of the clutch release lever behind the transmission was frozen, pivoting on its ears rather than the shaft pin. I knocked out the pin and lubed it.

SIDESTAND
No sidestand - either it was an option or was removed. I ordered and installed a new sidestand.

CABLES
Cables were probably original, as indicated by clutch cable still running under the original factory metal tie. The clutch cable could not have been replaced without replacing this tie. I ordered and installed all new cables.

SPEEDOMETER
The speedo needle wiggled at slow speeds, I replaced the cable and it continued to wiggle for 30 miles, when the speedometer cable broke. I installed a second cable, which broke immediately. I removed the speedometer and discovered that it had frozen, and was the cause of the broken cables. I sent it to Palo Alto Speedometer for repair and restoration.

SIGNALS AND BARS
Turnsignals had been added to the bike, with a home-made wiring harness and generic switch clamped to the wide US handlebars. I ordered and installed Euro bars, a proper turnsignal switch, new switch harnesses for both sides, and obtained a throttle armature that was made to hold the turnsignal witch.

BRAKELIGHT SWITCH
The rear brakelight switch had been coaxed back to life by the dealer, but now ceased to work. I ordered and installed a new switch and little mounting bolts. The 1969 bike was unique in having a front brakelight switch on the handlebar control, unlike previous /2s but like the /5 which came out next year. The front switch was wired into the rear switch - for a while I could not figure out what the extra wires were for.

FORKS
One aluminum fork filler cap was cracked as if hit by a hammer in removal, so I got new chrome caps. The fork action was very poor - there was a lot of stiction resistance, not much travel, and the front end of the bike seemed to settle down on the springs too low. The rubber gaiters were new but were 11-rib type for /6 BMW, instead of 13-ribs for /2 US and /5. Either because the gaiters were the wrong kind, or perhaps they were cheap repros, they did not fold up smoothly. The accordion folds would only collapse on alternating sides of the fork leg, giving a very odd and sloppy appearance. I obtained 13-rib gaitors and removed the fork bottoms to install them. The fork oil was clear and fresh but already contained particles, and the bottom rubber bumpers were missing. I replaced the bumpers and put the forks together, but was still not satisfied with the ride. I took the bike to restorer Guenther Wuest, who took the forks completely apart and found the upper bumpers were disintegrating and jamming the internal shock absorbers. He rebuilt the lower forks with new rings, bumpers, and seals, which restored their smooth action. I still felt the springs were a little low and continued investigating. From a shop manual I realized that some 3/4 inch long spring preload spacers were missing from top of each fork. And in some old /2 US fork parts that I bought on the Internet, I found those spacers. Installation of the spacers raised the front end about 3/4 inch.

DAMPER
The friction steering damper had some air gaps in it. Removal showed that the plate containing the friction material was not flat against the steering head, and was missing the friction material on the front half of the bottom side. In my old US fork parts, I found a good friction plate, which had to be bent to meet the steering head flat. These repairs made the damper work properly.

SAND
No sand or mud was found in any other part of the bike. How a large amount of sand got into the breather enclosure, and remained there during subsequent work, is a mystery.

MOTOR
After all the above work the bike was put on the road. Even after a good valve adjustment, there was still that slight knocking sound when cold that I heard when I first saw the bike, but it went away as soon as the motor warmed up. Guenther Wuest thought this sound was most likely rod knock. This could have been caused by corrosion and wear of the rod bearings, resulting from poor storage of the bike in a damp environment with condensation and dirty old oil. When the bike is cold and the rod bearings are dry, the knock could be heard. As soon as the bearings fill with oil and warm up, the excess tolerance was filled and the sound stopped. It was tempting to remove the cylinders and check the valves and the bore. As a rule, the iron cylinders wear at 0.01 mm per 10,000 km, so this bike should have less than 0.02 mm of cylinder wear. If the cylinders were much bigger than that, it could indicate the 9,000 miles were inaccurate, and justify removing the crank to check and clean the crud that accumulates in the oil slingers, and to check the wear on the rod bearings and main bearings. However the bike ran too well, and the rod knock was too minor, to require a tear down, at least until the riding season was over.