1966 BMW R69S Restoration: January 1999

The bow in the fork steering stem (noted earlier) was minimized by careful use of an arbor press in the hands of Joe Groeger. However, when an upper fork guide was placed on the forks it could be seen that the fork steering stem (the tube in the center) was not quite centered in the guide. That problem was resolved, later.

The front swing-arm alignment was checked in Joe’s alignment jig and found to be just fine. Once alignment was checked the bearings were removed. Ugh! One side was full of rust. I wondered if it was the same side as the corroded shock assembly. The close up shows the two races.

I worked on removing the seat tabs the previous owner had welded to the frame. The left side is done, or at least as done as I was going to get it. It will look OK once painted. I learned I need to get closer with the cutting wheel before hitting it with file, grinding wheels, sandpaper, etc. It goes much faster that way.

The tab on the right side was removed more quickly than the left. Experience pays. Again, it will look OK when painted. I still may put a bit more elbow grease into it with various grades of sand paper to get that area of the frame a bit smoother.

This is what the speedometer looks like when I started. Note the unreadable digits on the odometer. I dropped it off at Palo Alto Speedometer. They’ll call tomorrow with an estimate.

The rear wheel was in front of me, so that was the one I started with. The bearings were OK, but they will be replaced, anyway. It was interesting to note that a home made shim was added, suggesting that the bearings had been replaced in the past.

I should have expected this: the front was not in as good shape as the rear. First, the reducing bushing took a harder mallet whack than I thought should be necessary. Then once the plug cover was removed I saw it was the older type with a very dry felt ring.