1966 BMW R69S Restoration: July 1999
1999 July 9 (Friday)
The tank and fenders are back, nicely painted and pin-striped.
Painted parts
The color match to the powder coat is good. The pin striping makes it look even better. Quality is OK.
Fuel tank
I couldn’t resist installing the roundels. Unfortunately the enamel on one cracked as I was screwing it onto the tank. Even cracked it looks better than the roundels I removed. I installed the tool-box lid using a new hinge-pin but re-used the old gasket as it was in great shape. Lastly the knee-pads went on the tank. I love the black-on-white color scheme.
1999 July 11 (Sunday)
Front swing-arm
I screwed the cleaned grease fitting into the front swing-arm. The parts book called for a crush washer which I didn’t have. There was no crush washer when I removed the fitting. I used a thin coating of Hylomar on the threads, instead.
Front swing-arm bearings
The first picture shows the inside spacers, bearings, thrust sleeves, and seals before assembly. The second picture shows the swing-arm axle and shims after the bearings were installed. Unfortunately, the shims are too thick for the new bearings. They are 1.5 mm and I’ll need at least one 1.0 mm shim, perhaps 2 that size.
1999 July 15 (Thursday)
Wheel rims
I pulled the tires off of the rims to check out the tubes. I’m still waiting for the proper thrust sleeve for the bearing stack. I need that to put the wheels back together. While the tires are off I’ll also check the rims to see if they are true.
Rim differences
One thing I noticed is that the rims are different. Notice the spoke nipples and the depth of the rim sidewall. Yet another indication that the front end of this bike may not be original.