Friday, October 4, 2013

"Fish'in" for Beemers again

I always run "Wanted: Dead or Alive" Ads on Craigslist as we travel around the country.
Had a promising reply tonight from one such ad. Fellow nearby contacted me about a BMW R100 that has been "resting" in his car port for the past couple years.
 Story goes that he sold it to a neighbor who had it stolen from him. After quite a bit of time the cops called and had recovered the bike....the neighbor buyer did not want it back so the original owner took it. He said it fired up when returned and he drove it into the car port. There it has sat for the past couple years. He has a clear Title and only wants $350.00 bucks so I'm likely going to haul it home tomorrow. He said it was a "1986 R100/7"....problem is that they never made a "R100/7" in 1986. BMW did make a R100RS / R100RT "Mono" in 1986....he said it was a rear "Mono" shock model so it must be the RS or the RT Model. We'll see....photos will follow manana.

Picked the bike up today. It is actually a 1988 Model R100RT...minus the fairing.


She is pretty rough cosmetically...dented tank on right side, lots of grime from sitting. 62K miles on the odometer so I hope that the drive train will be servicable.




I also located a 1966 BMW R60/2 in Wyoming earlier this Summer. It has been sitting in a shed since the mid 70's. He said the exhaust was shot and a previous owner installed some "non OEM" handlebars. Since the bike has sat in an unheated shed for 40 odd years the internal engine condition would be very questionable. I was hoping for a cheap asking price but when he said "$3700.00" my heart sunk a bit...no bargain price there....too many unknowns to put out that much for the bike. I never had a chance to go look at that one. Maybe worth taking a look at it...if it was an R69S it would be a great buy.


Recently I was contemplating a "swap" for my old 1977 Gold Wing....local guy has a 1976 R60/6 he wants to trade straight across. I've been wanting another R60/6 since I sold my R60/6 Rat bike a couple years ago. ...I almost had myself talked into it but this R60/6 has some aesthetic issues......numerous dents in the gas tank, torn up seat, but the guy says it runs great. I haven't seen the bike in person yet, only photos....I'm going to think about that trade for a while. The old Gold Wing is in much better condtion than the R60/6 but old Gold Wings are nearly a "dime a dozen" these days and do not bring very high resale values.....but it is such a joy to ride.....plus I'm still contemplating turning it into a sidecar tug some day.
But.......I really would like to have an R60/6...decisions, decisions....

                                     BMW R60/6


Another guy contacted me and had a large amount of BMW Airhead parts. I met him a couple weeks ago. He mostly had engine / mechanical parts. Also had a couple tanks, frame, other assorted stuff. He assessed his parts at $2200.00 so wanted $1200.00 for everything. I think the parts were worth the price, but the time involved in sorting and selling off things to break even would be extreme, plus he didn't really have anything rare in the collection. I was prepared to go $600.00 on the items but no way $1200.00.

I do know of an early 80's R65LS BMW sitting out in AZ. I've been attempting to buy the bike for a few years, but the owner doesn't yet want to part with it, thinking he'll "get it going" someday. 10 years have passed and it still sits in the same spot, deteriorating under a tarp in the desert oven - like heat, I went to see him last Winter, to show him the sidecar rig....I bought a 1974 BMW R90/6 from him which was the basis for my sidecar build....maybe this Winter I'll be able to cut a deal on the R65LS....I've never seen the entire bike as it is covered with  old tarps. It looks as if as one tarp rots away, he throws another one on top, so there are multiple tarps covering the thing. He bought the bike new and the mileage is low, but the desert enviroment is tough on all rubber items. The R90 I bought from him had desert sand in the cylinders, the LS probably does too. It would require a nearly complete "tear down" to get running again.








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Gila Mtns.

Gila Mtns.