Godfather
10-03-2009, 10:23 PM
In my ongoing search for the deal of the century, a friend of a friend told me about a BMW he knows of so I looked at the 75' R75/6 today. The first impression was..."I drove 2 hours to look at this thing? Man It looks rough!" Rusted handlebars, broken adjusting knob, rust on some of the spokes, many small rust spots on the white tank, some rust and pitting on the exhaust system, but oddly enough not the exhaust nuts. The aftermarket seat is ripped. The frame has some surface rust spots. Side covers are missing, no fork boots. Front turn signals, but not the shiny chrome stems, are missing. all rubber bits look really weathered. The engine is ozidized badly. Most all nuts and bolts have rust on them...they must not be stainless eh? Tires were holding air, but must be replaced.
I walk and crawl all around it looking it over and over. I touched, tapped on and squeezed the exhausts checking for holes rotted through them, but they are solid. I do not see any evidence of oil leaks, and it is obvious the engine has not been degreased or washed. Hmmm, interesting. The owner states he had the carbs rebuilt and he replaced fuel lines and battery too. I look in the tank, no rust, in fact it is sparkling clean. The engine oil is clean and he said he did not change it. He explained he aquired this bike as part of a car purchase deal. He has no interest in restoring it. so he is selling it.
I ask if it runs...Without saying a word... he opens the fuel petcocks, adjusts the choke, turns the key, hits the starter button and the R75 instantly comes to life! This thing sounds amazing! Idling smoothly within 2 seconds of him returning the choke back to it's original position, and it keeps on purring, quietly, smoothly as if to say, DONT JUDGE A BOOK BY IT"S COVER. BTW there is no sign of any smoke.The throttle does not return/spring back easily, I inagine the cables are to blame, after all this bike has been sitting for a long long time. The ODO reads 2994miles and it works??? The tach squeals so he disconnected the cable. The brakes work. the indicator lights Gen and neuteral are lit. With a slight increase in rpm the gen light goes out. I ask to ride it and get the go ahead. The trans shifts into first gear on the second attempt and I am off...very slowly through 1st. I take my time shifting into 2nd because of the throttle, a minor clunk and all is good, the shift to 3rd is smoother. I never got to 4th or 5th because it was just not safe. All the while the bike is just purring along. I go only about 2 blocks total.
He is asking $1800 and is pretty firm on the price. Is it possible the mileage is original and this thing sat for 30+ years? It needs $1000 in parts not counting seat, shocks, or anything electrical. That is just to get it on the road and nothing done cosmetically.
What are your thoughts?
As allways, THANKS!
I walk and crawl all around it looking it over and over. I touched, tapped on and squeezed the exhausts checking for holes rotted through them, but they are solid. I do not see any evidence of oil leaks, and it is obvious the engine has not been degreased or washed. Hmmm, interesting. The owner states he had the carbs rebuilt and he replaced fuel lines and battery too. I look in the tank, no rust, in fact it is sparkling clean. The engine oil is clean and he said he did not change it. He explained he aquired this bike as part of a car purchase deal. He has no interest in restoring it. so he is selling it.
I ask if it runs...Without saying a word... he opens the fuel petcocks, adjusts the choke, turns the key, hits the starter button and the R75 instantly comes to life! This thing sounds amazing! Idling smoothly within 2 seconds of him returning the choke back to it's original position, and it keeps on purring, quietly, smoothly as if to say, DONT JUDGE A BOOK BY IT"S COVER. BTW there is no sign of any smoke.The throttle does not return/spring back easily, I inagine the cables are to blame, after all this bike has been sitting for a long long time. The ODO reads 2994miles and it works??? The tach squeals so he disconnected the cable. The brakes work. the indicator lights Gen and neuteral are lit. With a slight increase in rpm the gen light goes out. I ask to ride it and get the go ahead. The trans shifts into first gear on the second attempt and I am off...very slowly through 1st. I take my time shifting into 2nd because of the throttle, a minor clunk and all is good, the shift to 3rd is smoother. I never got to 4th or 5th because it was just not safe. All the while the bike is just purring along. I go only about 2 blocks total.
He is asking $1800 and is pretty firm on the price. Is it possible the mileage is original and this thing sat for 30+ years? It needs $1000 in parts not counting seat, shocks, or anything electrical. That is just to get it on the road and nothing done cosmetically.
What are your thoughts?
As allways, THANKS!