Complete Restoration of BMW R75/5 into Cafe Racer

[balkowitsch]

I don't mean to be the bearer of bad news, but one of your fan's whos has been an avid follower of your rebuild has passed away. James R. Coleman of Marion, Ar. , known on the MOA site as ' copandengr' died last week. He had bilt, restored, and customized quite a few different kinds of bikes is his past. I saw his album of past bikes and they included Harley's, Nortons, BMW's and various Jap bikes. He was quite good at it. I was in the process of helping him acquire a R60/5, which he hoped to get in August. That's over now, but we all will continue to follow your progress with interest just as much as JR did. Thx Barry

Dear Barry, thanks for letting us know. I did not know Mr. Marion but he sounds like a great guy who had a love for all types of motorcycles. I am very sorry for the loss of a member of this fine community. My thoughts go out to his family and I want to dedicate the rest of this build to his memory. I have always said it is the people that surround these cars and motorcycles that are the most important element, and lets think of James from time to time during this process.

Thanks,
Shane

PS: As an Oncology Nurse by trade, I know all too well about how fickle life is sometimes having held the hands of hundreds of patients over the years. I am sure he will be missed by man.

[RINTY]

Shane:

James and I had some correspondence after he posted to your thread. His medical condition did sound extremely serious, and I hoped that the prospect of doing another project brightened his last months.

[RINTY]

Shane:

James and I had some correspondence after he posted to your thread. His medical condition did sound extremely serious, and I hoped that the prospect of doing another project, brightened his last months.

He did seem like a great guy.

Do you have a picture of him, Barry?

[barryg]

I'm embarrassed to say I don't. I don't have a digital camera and can't post pictures. I went over yesterday to pay my respects to his wife, Lynne. She told me that their grandson had come over and had been helping him get the garage back in shape to start the BMW bike project, if it worked out. She said he hadn't been happier in month's. Just the thought of getting that bike really perked him up. He lived a couple of miles from me, so I brought him over to my garage for a little field trip to see my bikes. It really made his day. But that little 2 mile trip to my house, showed me his true condition, which was quite weak and frail. Didn't mean to hijack the thread, but it shows that threads like this really affect people's lives in a very positive way. Barry

[balkowitsch]

I'm embarrassed to say I don't. I don't have a digital camera and can't post pictures. I went over yesterday to pay my respects to his wife, Lynne. She told me that their grandson had come over and had been helping him get the garage back in shape to start the BMW bike project, if it worked out. She said he hadn't been happier in month's. Just the thought of getting that bike really perked him up. He lived a couple of miles from me, so I brought him over to my garage for a little field trip to see my bikes. It really made his day. But that little 2 mile trip to my house, showed me his true condition, which was quite weak and frail. Didn't mean to hijack the thread, but it shows that threads like this really affect people's lives in a very positive way. Barry

There is absolutely no problem, hijack this thread all the way, it deserves to be said,
thanks for sharing,
Shane

[balkowitsch]

After looking at the white race stripe I am not really happy with how thin it is. The thickness is dictated by the thickest width of the stripe we can do on the front fender. So I have come up with an idea of painting the entire front fender white and then we will thicken the white stripe on the rest of the bike. I hate thin weak stripes, I think they look much better wider, just my personal preference so Josh will mockup the photos with a white front fender and widen the stripe on the rest of the bike, little details is what it is all about. I made a similar decision on the Porsche, the GT Spyder Mirror on the driver's side (exactly what what was on James Dean Sypder the day he crashed) should have been silver the same color as the body. Everyone does the mirror in the same color as the body, it was a given, I thought outside of the box a little bit and decided to have the mirror be white as a contrast and as a marriage to the race stripe and I get many compliments on that decision, no matter how small it was at the time.

Thanks,
Shane

[toooldtocare]

Look at what BMW has done with the strip on their R1200R. I kind of like this width on the fender. Kind of like the bike too.

[balkowitsch]

Look at what BMW has done with the strip on their R1200R. I kind of like this width on the fender. Kind of like the bike too.

That is a beautiful modern bike and the throw-back stripe of yesteryear is cool as well. I have told Josh that I think the stripe should be wide enough to emcompass more than the filler cap on the tank, just a little bit on the outside on both sides should be just about right. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks,
Shane

[balkowitsch]

Josh gave me this photoshopped image of his bike with my paint scheme some months ago and not sure if I shared, here is the stripe, thinking of going a little bit wider, we will see,

thanks,
Shane

[apt13]

i think the fat stripe with one or 2 pinstripes on the side would be amazing. especially if you are doing the pinstripes around the side of the tank.

[toooldtocare]

i think the fat stripe with one or 2 pinstripes on the side would be amazing. especially if you are doing the pinstripes around the side of the tank.

Me too.

[lmo1131]

little details is what it is all about.

I wouldn't let the rib on the front fender dictate the width of the stripe... and while a white fender would look "different", it may also come off as "un-finished".

Back in the mid-80's I was looking for a clean look on my /5 and removed the toaster panels and their attendant tank clips. I opted for a "dark" gray, of my own mixing, painted the bike and no pin stripes. I liked the look.

But I don't know how many guys asked me what color I was going to paint it.. .. it didn't even occur to me that it looked like "primer" gray ... I added white pin stripes, and the whole thing clicked.

My $.02US

p.s. thanks for the airbox cover lead.

[balkowitsch]

I wouldn't let the rib on the front fender dictate the width of the stripe... and while a white fender would look "different", it may also come off as "un-finished".

Back in the mid-80's I was looking for a clean look on my /5 and removed the toaster panels and their attendant tank clips. I opted for a "dark" gray, of my own mixing, painted the bike and no pin stripes. I liked the look.

But I don't know how many guys asked me what color I was going to paint it.. .. it didn't even occur to me that it looked like "primer" gray ... I added white pin stripes, and the whole thing clicked.

My $.02US

p.s. thanks for the airbox cover lead.

How are you? Your 2 cents is surely appreciated. We had the same concern with the GT mirror for my Porsche and the first thing Bill said, do you think it will look unfinished? Lets see what the mock-up looks like and we can all pitch a yes or no. It is amazing I could see the bike with a pink fender if I wanted in a few clicks of the mouse by Josh, he is really a photoshop guru and it is a very helpful aid in the design and visual process. Thanks again for giving me your opinion,

Sincerely,
Shane

[balkowitsch]

Here is a photoshopped mockup of my paint scheme on Josh's bike, gives us a good idea as to what our end result will look like, we have many changes over this bike like exhaust and seat pan but gives us a good indication, you will see I asked him months ago to do the front fender white and I have to admit that I do not think it looks unfinished at all, but that is just me.

Thanks,
Shane

[lmo1131]

yeah, I think I do like that Shane ... you're probably not thinking about making that tank/seat stripe as wide as the front fender, but I think it will need to be w-i-d-e, wider than the gas cap...

And as you mentioned, little details will tie it all together.... like a single-line gray pin stripe on the front fender (?)

I was an old-school Industrial Designer in the pre-computer aided design age... . Josh's PS mods would have taken us hours to draw and render with colored markers.. .