I bought this bike about six years ago. It is a BMW R60/2- commonly called a "Slash two" by BMW folks. The were produced in this model from about 1955-1969. What makes this bike different is that it is made from the left over/junk parts of four bikes, but specifically the motor is an "Airhead" from the 1970s-1990s. When you get one to fit into the old chassis it is like putting a Big Block in an S10 truck. Not only can your horsepower go from 26 HP to 60+ HP, but you get 12 Volts, 5 Speed transmission and most importantly electric start.
I will let the pictures do most of the talking but to start off the thread I have been working on it in between two tours in Iraq which is why it was still unfinished. Since I got it running and driving before my first trip I never pulled it apart for finishing and just rode it like it was. I decided in the middle of this last tour that I would finally pull it down and make it look nice.
...and then ran out of parts for it and had some time one weekend and decided to pull this apart...Wow, I had Triumph and BMW parts all over my shop.
These are just a few pics of the before, during, when I was riding it unfinished, and then the tear down and re-finish. I will post more pics to fill in the gaps, but it was a complete rebuild to include paint, powder coat and engine.
Fitting the motor requires some cutting and welding and adapting the drive-shaft also. Then re-wiring and a new stainless steel exhaust header pipes and mufflers.
I worked with a guy that had an early beemer. That thing was dead nuts dependable!
Looks like sweet ride. Thanks for covering our asses in the "sandbox"
Aside from fixing all the leaks and cleaning up the engine, one main thing I wanted to accomplish was to paint the cylinders black like the older/original /2's had since they were steel and not aluminum.
Dang, that is SHARP. I've always loved those motors, I'll probably never get my hands on one, though. The wife says that's a good thing, I have too many other hunks to play with right now.
Before I could pull everything apart for sandblasting I had to fit the new front end on the bike. The bike had a "1969 only" telescopic fork that was replaced with the more vintage "Earles Fork" or commonly called a "leading link" front end. The benefit is when you hit the front brake with an Earles Fork the front end doesn't dive down like a telescopic, but actually comes up slightly and is the prefered front end for side cars because of their stability in corners.
Nice looking scoot. Couple things you probably already know, but what the heck.
The Earles fork brake is only slightly better than rubber-soled sneakers, careful setup is necessary here, as is lowered expectations. It is a stable front end, but feels like you're rotating a merry-go-round with the heft of it. Personally, I like the looks far more than the performance.
The engine I like better. You probably know that all 650/750/900/1000 BMWs share stroke dimension, the increase was entirely due to overbore. If you've already lept ahead, yes, all you need for a 1000cc increase is two cylinders and two pistons. Using Luftmeister wrist pins (lighter weight) eases the shakes that were known of the 1000s.
Beyond that - great bikes for long mileages. And you've the comfy seat. Love the Denfield!!
Cosmo
P.S. You can run the front fork pivot in the front hole without fear. Eases the steering abit, even solo.
Be sure you upgrade the damper units in the front shocks, and use the heavy duty springs, even for solo use and especially with the /6 engine. I change all mine as I prefer sharper handling to the stock floating ride! My R69 and R69S are standard engines, no conversions for me. I've worked on a bunch and never met one I really liked! But it looks like yours is well thought out and headed in the right direction.
For more performance I ride my old R100RS equipped with a big bore kit, High comp forged pistons, light pins, ported heads with triple springs and titanium collars, roller thrust conversion, sport cam, dual plugged, light flywheel, modified airbox and modified mufflers. It revs to 8500 and pulls that in high gear with the standard rear end! And it has been all over the country with zero issues! And it only cost $2200 initially!
My '55 R69 on a vintage ride. My '47 Knuckle too!
That things rad-a few guys around here I wish I could stop and take a look at their R's. Neat bikes-just a different type of motorcycle in my opinion-wish I could put on in my garage.....
Monte03,
San Jose BMW did the heads and lightened the flywheel, I did the rest. I also run a telefix fork brace, billet top tree, progressive springs, etc. I did all of it to keep up with my wife on her VFR!
Robbie
My Black R100 Has early San Jose top tree, brace, anti dive kit,
an era gone by but they are great bikes, slap a set of Bags on a beemer and just go.. one of the best things I did for this fairly stock machine was to send out the Bing Carbs to 'Bing Agency' Charlie set me up with the Independent Floats, Wow, stronger mid range and just over all ran better, of course the pollution lines were removed early on... Posts some RS pictures
Rubone, got any links or advice for upgraded front springs and damper units? My VW-Slash2 conversion bike could really use heavier front springs and dampers. It handles ok, but it does ride like it's on airbags.
The standard set-up for sidecars was to switch the rear springs to the front and add the sidecar springs in the rear, stiffens it all up, many suppliers have them , Bench mark works, Bob's, Blue Moon, all should have them. Koni made the best shocks but they are long gone. Ikon suspension out of Australia makes nice damper units.
Robbie
Robbie, I've got a pile of springs in a box here. What's the best way to tell Front/Rear/Sidecar springs apart? I suspect my conversion bike already has sidecar springs on it, since it had a sidecar on it before I got it.
These fenders were just some of the very worst available and need a lot of work. The were packed full of filler and the rear hinge area was a disaster. I couldn't even work with them and had to have them sandblasted by my friend Bruce at Owen's Sand Blasting. I actually thought about splicing in a new fender, but in the end wanted the factory look so I settled in an got out the hammer, dolly and welder. First I had to take the pin out to make the fender two pieces because you can see how the thick steel hinge was sprung out of shape. I actually had to cut/break the hinge loose flatten everything out so it would draw up tight when closed and then re-weld it. I tackled the larger front half first and got it straight. Next, I worked the rear half....I remember thinking I wanted to be doing something else, but it was time to just get comfortable and relax because I was going to be here a while. When the rear half was straight and all the holes were welded shut I attached it to the front half and started working the hinge and ensuring the when it closed the two halves would come together perfectly straight. The back section was so bad that I even had to cut/drill out the 50 year old rivets so that I could get to the bad metal and then put the fender stays in the vise and tweak them.
I used tape to make a line where I wanted to trim the metal to. Then it was just a lot of shaving a little, checking and taking a little more until it all fit tight when the "pie" shape closed together. Next was all the body work and priming which was of course time consuming and tedious also. When it was ll done I put everything together for a test fit with the hinge and fender stays. A little tweaking and it all fit great and was ready for final sanding and paint.
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