1969 BMW R69US

 AD ON AIRHEAD LIST MAY 00

The seller in Pennsylvania had advertised the bike on the Airhead List in Fall of 1999. I had asked the price and gotten the reply << ...invested approximately $7,850.00 and the bike looks and runs that way. It has only 8,923 miles...>>. He emailed me a photo, said the bike had formerly belonged to an ambassador who lived in Alabama and he would sell the bike for $7,425. Rather than tell me anythng about the bike himself, the seller said it would be more objective if I talked to his dealer who had worked on it the previous winter. Over the telephone, the dealer read off a work list totalling over $2,000, saying he thought the seller had bought the bike for about $5,500. The dealer's work included such things as repairing some damage to the tank, replacing the petcock, cleaning the carbs, replacing the steering bearings, and replacing the exhaust system. The dealer said the bike had been rather rough when the seller had first got it, but it was OK now. I made a trip to see the bike and arrived at dusk. The bike started and rode OK, but I was disappointed in some of its appearance and and concerned about a faint knock, and decided to get another bike. The next Spring, the seller posted a picture of him on the bike on the Airhead List, with the following message:

Airheads,

... I still have that 1969 R69US with only 9,000 miles if any Airheads would like to add a nice old motorcycle to their collection or fleet.

 THE SALE

In July I called the seller to say I wanted to look at the bike again, and made a second 2-day trip to Pennsylvania. Since almost 1/3 of the value of the bike was in the dealer's receipts, I had asked the seller for copies. The seller said he had lost them and would obtain copies by fax from the dealer. When I arrived to look at the bike, he said he had been too busy to call the dealer about faxing the receipts. He did not offer to do it while I was there, but said he would do it later. Before taking a test ride, I removed the cap to check the gas. It was rather dark in his garage, but I could see that rusty dust was dropping from the gas cap. I asked for a flashlight, and was appalled to see for the first time that the interior of the tank was covered with rust. When I told the seller about the rust, he was not surprised, but had me feel the smooth underside of the repainted tank. I thought this reaction odd. The bike started quickly and rode OK, as it had the previous Fall, and I thought the rusty tank was repairable. I was suddenly a little scared about how little I really knew about the bike, but unwilling to leave empty-handed after investing four days in travel, so I said I would take it. After the transfer, the seller handed me the keys and the last thing I said was "don't forget to send the receipts".

 QUESTIONS

I wondered why, after the painting of the tank and the cleaning of the fuel system, neither the seller nor the dealer had told me about the rust inside the tank until I made a second trip and found it myself. I immediately sent the tank off to Borella Enterprises in CT for treatment, and began a thorough inspection and repair of the bike.

When I removed the half-moon cover over the breather compartment, I found more than two tablespoons of sand. In 1969, this compartment of the motor no longer had a breather function, and had no connection to the air filter. I could not see how sand could have gotten in there. I wiped the sand out, lost half on the floor, and saved some in a foil pan.

Rust in the tank. Sand in the motor. In its previous life, could this bike have been much worse off than it now looked? I wanted to see the details of those receipts, and find out the previous owners.

Foil pan on motor next to breather compartment, holding breather cover and some sand.

EMAILS: THE PAPER CHASE

Atherton 7/15: Still looking forward to getting the maintenance record on the bike. Should I contact the dealer directly and ask for it?

Seller: I promised I would do this and I will.

Atherton 7/25: How are you coming on sending those bills showing what work was done to the bike?

Seller: I found the original invoice and I'll mail them.to you. Please e-mail your full address and I'll send them immediately. They were in my desk drawer after all...

Atherton 8/1: That was a week ago and I have not received them yet. The other day I sent you a self-addressed stamped envelope that you could use.

Atherton 8/5: The invoices have not come yet. I will send you another self-addressed stamped envelope.

Seller: The other envelope just got here Saturday. Your invoices will arrive this week.

Atherton 8/12: This week is over, and the invoices have not arrived. When did you mail them?

Seller: I will send whatever I have....Please don't harass me anymore about these receipts.

Atherton 8/25: It has been almost two months since we planned my trip, where you were to provide the receipts from the dealer for me to see before I bought the bike. If you had wanted me to have them, you would have gotten them to me by now. I can only wonder if you never wanted me to see them. (No response.)

Receipts 8/30: In desperation I obtained the original repair invoice by writing directly to the dealer in Pennsylvania. The bike had been in their shop from January to March 1999. These were the comments written on their $2,150 invoice:

Mufflers rusted fast. Header pipe on RH side and crossover rusted. Remove entire exhaust system & separate salvagable parts. Install new exhaust system. Replace steering bearings. Bearing races stuck on steering stem, grind off. Make up tools to install bearings. Carbs corroded and leaking. Remove, disassemble & clean corrosion, rebuild carbs, install and synch. Install new handlebars, drill hole in bars for signals. Threads pulled off stud for LH bar clamp, replace with Honda stud. Install turnsignal wires, R&R turn switch from bars, make up new harness for switch. Throttle pipe and cam gears worn, replace and reassemble. Repair tail light. R&R brake light switch.

Receipts 9/20: Out of blue, 2-1/2 months after the sale, the seller finally sent his copy of the dealer work invoice for $2,150, plus the dealer's initial estimate of $1,254, as well as the mechanic's handwritten shop tickets describing the daily work, including these comments:

Fuel tank badly rusted. Front rim has bad ding in it. Both mufflers - big holes.

A WORD FROM THE SELLER

Seller: Did you get the information that I forwarded?

Atherton: Yes. I do appreciate it. It would have made a difference if I could have seen it before I bought.

Seller: You had the name and number of the dealership and specifically the service manager. I encouraged you contact them and to learn about the motorcycle without any input from me. As I recall, you did call and speak with him. You examined the motorcycle twice and rode it each time. I gave you every chance at an objective evaluation of the motorcycle. Now, you choose to suggest that you would not have bought the motorcycle had you reviewed the documentation. I wish you hadn't purchased it either. I wanted to sell it; I admit that. I wanted to sell it to someone who would appreciate it and who would understand my desire for them to know the motorcycle before buying it. You are apparently not that man. ... I wish I had not met you and I wish I had not sold you my motorcycle. If you are representative of the Airhead community, I truly do not belong.

 THE SEARCH FOR PREVIOUS OWNERS

When it looked like I would not be getting information from the seller, I had contacted the Alabama Department of Revenue about obtaining information on previous owners. I was told I could apply for this information by showing that I was the current owner. I sent a copy of my Kentucky title to Alabama to establish my ownership, but all they would provide was printout on the the last registered owner with the name and address blacked out. A state form explained that the law prohibited revealing the identify of the vehicle owners.

When the seller finally sent me the repair invoice, he also sent me some letters and papers that indicated four previous owners in Alabama. A little research provided addresses and phone numbers for a couple of the owners, and over the months several email addresses were picked up from mailing lists and ads. Eventually all the previous owners responded and the following history was put together:

• From1969 to 1982 there is no information.
• In1982 the bike was bought at 5,000 miles in Mobile AL by a person in civil service with the military. In 1995 he was based at Ft McClellan in Anniston AL but stationed most of the time in Germany. From 1998 to 2000 he was stationed at the American Embassy in Kuwait, which led my previous owner to say he was an ambassador. When contacted in 2001, this person was based at Ft Bragg NC and stationed in Bosnia. This person said he could not ride the bike much and sold it in 1985 with about 8,000 miles to a person in Anniston AL.
• The1985 buyer in Anniston, AL, who has been involved in vintage BMWs for decades, emailed that he thought the bike had about 16,000 (not 8,000) miles when he got it, and he never rode it, either.
• In 1995 the bike was traded to a person in Huntsville AL who is prominent in the state's BMW club, for some woodworking equipment. If the bike came to him with16,000 miles, the odometer reading appears to have dropped a lot during this period, although this owner says he did not change the speedometer. This owner also says he rarely rode the bike.
• In 1998 the bike was sold to a person in Birmingham AL, for "$1 and other condsideration". He emailed that he bought the bike with about 7,000 miles on the odometer, kept it for 9 months, it seemed to be in in good shape and he enjoyed riding it. He said he shipped it to a buyer in Pennsylvania, and the Pennsylvania buyer was very upset about the condition of the bike. This may explain why my previous owner in Pennsylania was reluctant to give information on who all owned the bike before him.
• In 1999 the Pennsylvania owner bought the bike with about 8,000 miles on the odometer, and turned it over to his dealer. The dealer kept the bike for 4 months and put in $2,150 worth of parts and labor to improve the running and cosmetics. By September of 1999 this owner had put another 1,000 miles on the bike and posted a message on the Airhead List offering it for sale.
• In 2000 I bought the bike with about 9,000 miles on the odometer, and began this story.

 THE VIEW FROM THE SEAT

I think the clean headlight shell of the /2 US models is the most graceful pointer to the road ahead of any motorcycle, particularly when narrow Euro bars are used. This photo shows the speedometer refurbished by Palo Alto Speedometer, new Magura Euro bars, repainted armatures (controls), a new turnsignal switch on the right mounted on a used armature that had a flat boss to receive it, and new harnesses for both left and right switches. Not visible under the throttle cable boot is the rear brakelight switch, which had to be drilled and tapped into the used armature. This switch appeared on the /2 US models in 1968 or 1969 to comply with increasing DOT rules.

 RIDING THE BIKE

The repairs and adjustments transformed the bike. Before, it had a huge wiggly seat, ungainly wide bars, controls that were not smooth, forks that were stiff, a front tire that rubbed the fender, and a motor that I hesitated to use hard. With the new bench seat, Euro bars, controls, switches and cables, rebuilt forks, new vibration damper, and every other detail adjusted like new, the bike revealed its smooth fast nature.

It is interesting to compare it to my restored R60/2. With its handlebars set behind the steering damper, and the upright seating position on the softly spring solo saddle, the R60/2 is a cruiser. It is easy riding, but at 60 mph the wind begins to blow you off the saddle. The R69US has the handlebars set in front of the steering damper, like the /5 whose forks it borrowed, and the forward lean becomes perfectly balanced on the wind at the high speeds that this bike likes to go. The extra 1000 rpm of the R69 motor is the biggest surprise. Where the R60/2 begins to max out against the wall of air, the R69 gets up on its cam and winds out like a turbine, achieving in 3rd gear what the R60/2 can only do in 4th.

The first weekend that the R69US was completed, I rode it to the Hoosier Beemers rally in Vernon, IN, and entered it in their vintage show. The R69US looked good enough to compete against some restored bikes, but the weather was bad, the turnout was poor, and since there were no other old bikes to compete with, the bike won three awards:

The weekend following the vintage show, the R69US went on a 100 mile ride through the Hoosier Knobs countyside with some modern sport touring bikes. The old bike kept up with the 8/10 pace set by the leader, and it sounded a lot mellower than the other bikes, too.

 THE AUTOPSY AND REBUILD

By November of 2000 I had put about 1,000 miles on the bike, raising the odometer to 10,000 miles. I had not yet peiced together the information from previous owners indicating that the speedometer could have been replaced, but there were a number of things that indicated the bike had more miles than the odometer showed. There was a little rod knock when the motor was cold, it burned about 1/2 quart of oil in 500 miles, and the oil became dirty within a few hundred miles. The clutch began to slip after 20 miles at 80 mph, and the transmission jumped out of 3rd gear one time on a long steep hill, although these were one-time occurances that I could not make the bike repeat. Perhaps many people would have not worried about these minor problems in an old bike, but I wanted to find out the true condition of the motor. The age and history of the bike indicated that it could have high mileage, and it had some symptoms of high mileage.

We are fortunate in this Kentucky-Indiana region to have an expert German BMW mechanic and restorer, Guenther Wuest of Fredricksburg, IN, who had done two bikes for me previously. I took the bike to him, we removed the motor, and I spent an enjoyable day watching and listening to his forensic autopsy.

From wear measurements during the autopsy, Guenther Wuest stated that the bike could have as many as 30,000 miles on it. Later information from previous owners indicated that the original speedometer could have reached 16,000 miles, and was then replaced with the present speedometer which now had 10,000 miles, for an actual total of 26,000 miles.

The period of poor storage in bike's history had taken their toll on the motor, and so had the miles. The cylinders and pistons were worn, the oil slingers were full, and the con rod bearings were beginning to knock from wear. The motor could have run on for a few more years, but really needed a full rebuild to do the bike justice.

In December 2000 I ordered parts for a full rebuild by Guenther Wuest. The heads needed new exhaust valves and guides. For the rest of the motor, the parts order included new pistons for a 1st oversize rebore, new main bearings, new con rod sets (rods, big end bearings and crankpins), new slingers, and new clutch pressure plate. The work should be completed by March 2000.

 LESSONS LEARNED

• Learning from my experience with the R60/2 the previous year, I had not only called the dealer about the work that had been done, but had also gone to see the bike and ridden it, twice. I asked to see the repair invoice, and thought I was going to see it before I bought, but it was always just out of reach. A buyer should insist upon seeing the documentation before buying.
• The seller gave the impression what the bike had been owned by a careful ambassador who stored it for long periods which accounted for the low mileage. One owner did have an embassy address for a while, and another owner had more or less stored the bike for ten years. But the devil was in the details, as the ambassador was probably a soldier, and the storage was not true storage and caused deterioration. It would be better to be given the previous owners names and be able to contact them before buying.
• The seller hoped to fulfill his disclosure obligations by having me call the dealer for all the information. The dealer read me what they had had done to the bike, while the seller was vague about the history and could not find the records. This was not a good way for a buyer to gain a true understanding of the bike's history and condition.
• Discount any information about mileage from the seller. The miles on the speedometer not a good indicator, nor are any statements about mileage on a title form. The actual mileage might be inferred by comparing information from serveral previous owners over a period of many years, but in my case, the memories of the owners are not consistent. Perhaps the most objective way to tell the mileage is by taking the motor apart, looking at the slingers, and measuring the wear on pistons and cylinders.
• Long storage can be just as hard on a bike as high miles. This bike had a rust pit in one cylinder where the piston had been stored dry at BDC, and the PA dealer theorized that the bike had been stored at some point in a humid climate with the petcock open, allowing the tank to dry out and rust.
• Ask the seller Jeff Dean's list of Bike Buying Questions on the telephone. If the seller will not or cannot answer questions about the bike's condition and previous owners, don't make the trip.
• If you do make a trip to see the bike, read and follow Ted Verrill 's page on How to Buy a Used BMW Motorcycle, particularly the part about "Going To Look At The Bike". Take a tool kit, and look into the bike (remove seat, open front cover, etc.) Although this seller's main bike was a Ducati, he said he did not own a 10 mm wrench for me to remove the front cover.
• Don't let a seller's credentials take the place of research and facts. This seller had credibility because he was in the collectible car business. I therefore respected the price he had paid for the bike, and what he had put into it. But after seeing the candid comments on the shop tickets provided months later, it seems he had paid too much for a bike in poor condition, and had then paid dealer rates for some work that is often done by an owner. The bike was "in the hole" several thousand dollars and I bought into it.

EPILOG: I enjoyed the bike for more than eight years and 13,000 miles, adding an Avonaire fairing in 2003 and Enduro bags in 2005. When I became physically unable to handle the bike easily or it safely, I sold it for $14,500 . For advertising the bike I made a web page of description and photos.