R90S Paint

[mistermike]

I recently bought a 1974 with orig. silver smoke that needs some restoration-it's all there but the paint is completely faded on the front fender and cowl, and there are big chips on the fairing . The tank isn't too bad and looks like it might come back pretty nice with some polishing, but there's a small dimple just above seat.

Would it make any sense to paint everything but the tank? I would think there wouldn't be much cost savings and the patina of the orig. tank won't match the new paint. How much of a "crime" would it be to not replicate the smoke paint, say go with black and an old fashion flame job? :nono :rocker

I know it's all personal preference and I would have no intention of selling for some years, but I also don't want to kill resale if there's no market acceptance for anything but smoke. Opinions? Thanks

[kbasa]

I recently bought a 1974 with orig. silver smoke that needs some restoration-it's all there but the paint is completely faded on the front fender and cowl, and there are big chips on the fairing . The tank isn't too bad and looks like it might come back pretty nice with some polishing, but there's a small dimple just above seat.

Would it make any sense to paint everything but the tank? I would think there wouldn't be much cost savings and the patina of the orig. tank won't match the new paint. How much of a "crime" would it be to not replicate the smoke paint, say go with black and an old fashion flame job? :nono :rocker

I know it's all personal preference and I would have no intention of selling for some years, but I also don't want to kill resale if there's no market acceptance for anything but smoke. Opinions? Thanks

Oy.

Paint it back in the original colors, man. :nod

You'll be glad you did.

[BeemerMike]

Paint it back in the original colors, man. :nod

I have a low-mileage Daytona Orange R90S sitting in the garage awaiting restoration (the previous owner was not kind to the paint, and toured with a big Luftmeister fairing, but kept the original S fairing to sell with the bike). I would not consider anything other than repainting to the original paint scheme for an R90S, even though it will be more expensive to do so. JMHO.

[lkchris]

How much of a "crime" would it be to not replicate the smoke paint, say go with black and an old fashion flame job?


Just to your wallet, as you'll cut your resale value at least in half.

[8ninety8]

I bought my '74 R90S in '86. It was screwed up in many ways including the paint job. I left the tank and seat pan original attending to scratches and nicks only with a good rub out. The fairing and front fender were done with paint bombs in the garage with an emphasis on a blacker border.

Personal preferrence rules, and the next owner can make it perfect if that's his thing. Also, I couldn't stand the tacky stick on pin stripes. Ripped them off.

Bikes are made for riding and tinkering. Museums are for looking. I'll be posting a picture as soon as my kid comes over and does it for me. I think you'll really enjoy your new bike. I had many other Beemers, sold them all and kept this one bike. It's an old hot rod. Later, Dudes.

[crazydrummerdude]

Opinions?

Smoke it.

[swall]

If the bike is original, runs and has no major mechanical problems, your decision comes down to what you expect to get out of the bike during your period of ownership. If you expect to sell and get max value, leave it alone. Find someone to polish out the paint, but leave the original finish there. If you just want to have a nice bike and don't care about the status as a collectible piece in years to come, go ahead and paint it.

[12bswayed]

I went through the same thing when I bought my '74 R90S...When I bought it, it had already been repainted by the original owner. It was god awful baby blue faded to dark blue. Colors straight out of the 70's! It had a Luftmeister fairing on it, and many parts had been chromed. Since the bike was already pretty far from original, I decided to paint the bike the color I wanted it to be. I bought a used S fairing and repainted the bike a candy apple red and black.

I'm very happy with the results....I realize I may have cut the resale value, but I don't plan on selling it.

[swall]

You did not cut the resale value, considering where you started. Even if you had it repainted into a proper '90S scheme, you still may have ended up in minus territory.