Complete Restoration of BMW R75/5 into Cafe Racer

I'm contemplating running late model Ducati exhaust on mine... I had a thought to run mine at CLASS at Sears Point next year, with clip ons & rear sets...

[QUOTE=balkowitsch;679731]I wanted to ask if anyone knows what the Price Tag was for my bike back in 1971?

Thanks,
Shane[/QUOTE]

If you really want to know what your bike cost new, take the original 1970 or 71 price and adjust it for inflation. BMW's have always been expensive bikes to own and operate.

[QUOTE=balkowitsch;679815]
SNIP!
So the question of the day for all my BMW buddies, R35 or R12 exhaust?
SNIP!

Thanks,
Shane[/QUOTE]

I spend a lot of time studying the 40's, 50's and 60's American Hot Rod movement and used that for inspiration when I built my bike. It's a tribute to the Hot Rod Beemers of the early 80's. As such, I included plenty of chrome and polished parts, along with all of the correct 80's era after-market farkles that I could find. It still needs the Dellorto's and the cam but it'll be complete very shortly.

If you really want to separate your bike from all the others, use the R35 mufflers but cut the remaining flat stock away from the stamped muffler and fishtail, fabricate a mount to meet the stock horns, have the seams welded and polished and then chrome plate the whole thing. That would be bitchin! :thumb

Yeah, you could certainly use the mufflers as delivered but if you're gonna do it, why not do it all the way? :dance

That's the whole thing about building a custom bike or car. It's about building the bike to fit your taste. Right off the bat, the purist point out what is different front stock. Then you start trying to plez the hot rod crowd and what they think of as proper. At the same time you don't want the bike to start looking cartoonish. It's not easy to build a custom bike that asthetically plezes you and the majority of others. Good look with your hot rod, I liked the way it was, can probably learn to like the new look.

[QUOTE=barryg;680161]That's the whole thing about building a custom bike or car. It's about building the bike to fit your taste. Right off the bat, the purist point out what is different front stock. Then you start trying to plez the hot rod crowd and what they think of as proper. At the same time you don't want the bike to start looking cartoonish. It's not easy to build a custom bike that asthetically plezes you and the majority of others. Good look with your hot rod, I liked the way it was, can probably learn to like the new look.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for all the comments. I think that is what this is all about, finding something that suits the owner and makes it unique. The Porsche guys are so stuck on the "Stock" thing, you will not find more purists, trust me on that. But at the end of the day, it is my Porsche and my BMW and I have to be happy with what is sitting in the shop. My little Porsche has been in the 356 Registry and Classic Porsche magazines already and Hemmings Exotics is running something next month and Excellence Magazine wants to do a story of my car in the Badlands of North Dakota this summer. I don't think the car would have gotten that much attention if I would have restored it back to stock, there are many stock 1965 Porsche 356 cars on the road, but not one like my Outlaw and that really is the point. I embrace the challenge and really love the idea of making it my own. It would have been one phone call to make it back to stock, all the decisions are made, but to make the BMW a Cafe Racer, that is another thing entirely. Thanks for all the support guys. I have to admit, everyone is so kind and helpful, I was attacked out at the 356 Registry website and they had to take my thread down numerous times because of all the heated discussions, I am not finding that here at all and I want to thank you all for that.

Sincerely,
Shane

[QUOTE]The Porsche guys are so stuck on the "Stock" thing...balkowitsch[/QUOTE]

True, but there is a significant group in the Porsche community that builds modified cars. And judging from the numerous articles on these cars in Excellence, there seems to be considerable interest in them in the general Porsche community. Just speaking for myself, there is something elegant about taking, say, a 911T, and fitting it with a 3.6 engine, G50 transmission, turbo brakes, and Griffiths air conditioning. And a well done airhead cafe racer is also elegant.

The problem with modifying a Porsche is the risk of reducing its resale value, something that is not really a factor with an older airhead.

In any event, regardless of anyone's opinion of modding, no one is going to mod a Porsche RS, or a BMW Motosport.

Both of the tanks for the bikes I bought have major dents and we have always wanted the Toaster look for the build, the chrome panels on the side of the tank really speak to vintage BMW motorcycles so it has always been our goal to have the build have that tank type. But the tanks were in not that great of condition so I purchased one online that is in excellent condition, see photograph below, so now we have our tank!

Thanks,
Shane

I found an inflation calculator online and if you bought a new R75 for $1848 in 1971, the amount in today's money would be: $10,262.38. Just wanted to share. Josh also did a quick mockup of the bike with an alternate tank and some of the new fiberglass pieces, very, very rough, just trying to get a little glimpse into the future.

Thanks,
Shane

Hey Shane:

Just got the spring issue of Classic Porsche, and there, on page 16 was...:clap

Well done. :thumb Your BMW project will be a breeze, compared to that one.

By the way, I think I see some new gussetting around the steering neck of your airhead frame. You should also consider gussetting the area just ahead of the swingarm tube. IIRC, HPN used to sell kits for this, but you can make your own. Also, brace the swingarm, while everything's apart. These airhead frames really flex while cornering.

[QUOTE=rinty;683200]Hey Shane:

Just got the spring issue of Classic Porsche, and there, on page 16 was...:clap

Well done. :thumb Your BMW project will be a breeze, compared to that one.

By the way, I think I see some new gussetting around the steering neck of your airhead frame. You should also consider gussetting the area just ahead of the swingarm tube. IIRC, HPN used to sell kits for this, but you can make your own. Also, brace the swingarm, while everything's apart. These airhead frames really flex while cornering.[/QUOTE]

Thanks so much for the vote of support. 9 World and Hemmings Exotics also published articles this week on my car, that is 4 magazines so far, it is amazing the attention this little car is getting. It has been a dream come true and I am so glad that we have started on the bike project, I really enjoy the build process, thanks again for all of your support.

Your friend,
Shane

I too just got my copy of Hemmings yesterday. Nice job on the 356, nice article too.

[QUOTE=toooldtocare;683311]I too just got my copy of Hemmings yesterday. Nice job on the 356, nice article too.[/QUOTE]

Thanks, I think the Hemmings article may be my favorite, it really captured our story. Thanks for following. I hope to make you BMW guys just as proud with our Cafe Racer. Right now we are a little slow because Josh my builder is getting married this weekend. But in a few weeks we will be back at it and have new pictures.

Thanks again for being so kind,
Sincerely,
Shane:whistle

We purchased the R12 exhaust for the bike, I think using this old time exhaust with our Cafe Racer is going to be pretty cool. :) We bought the exhaust from Poland from the below website, a Polish exhaust system for my German bike, sounds perfect:

[url]www.oldtimergarage.szn.pl[/url]

Thanks,
Shane

Shane, just a word of warning that might affect your plans for the exhaust on your bike. I know of no chrome shop that will chrome a used exhaust system. The oil and carbon inside is impossible to completely clean out and even a miniscule amount of it will ruin the precise chemistry of the solutions in their tanks. Believe me, that stuff is bad expensive!

[QUOTE=copandengr;688232]Shane, just a word of warning that might affect your plans for the exhaust on your bike. I know of no chrome shop that will chrome a used exhaust system. The oil and carbon inside is impossible to completely clean out and even a miniscule amount of it will ruin the precise chemistry of the solutions in their tanks. Believe me, that stuff is bad expensive![/QUOTE]

Thanks for the heads up but this is not a used exhaust, it is a brand new replica of the original. We are also not going to chrome the exhaust, I cannot stand the yellow and blue of chrome pipes after they heat up, so we are going to have them ceramically coated instead, at least that is the plan. I appreciate your input thought, I can't wait to see what it looks like.

Thanks,
Shane

[QUOTE=rinty;680231]snipped:
The problem with modifying a Porsche is the risk of reducing its resale value, something that is not really a factor with an older airhead.

In any event, regardless of anyone's opinion of modding, no one is going to mod a Porsche RS, or a BMW Motosport.[/QUOTE]

The financial analysis of any project includes cost of acquisition off set by sale price at exit. The problem is how do you calculate the life cycle cost when you include the Pleasure Bennefit from the build and use?

I am enjoying this thread very much.


P.S. I'll bet you even money there is someone out there right now bending a Porsche RS or BMW Motorsport to fit their imagination.
:wave