Complete Restoration of BMW R75/5 into Cafe Racer

[balkowitsch]

Invariably, seats close to the tank will rub the paint. Might want to consider that aspect of a custom seat design.

Yep, agreed, that was one of the reasons we had it sent back to us before final leather applied, if you are making a custom seat, no reason it should not be perfect for the job, I cannot wait to see it back with leather on it.

Thanks,
Shane

[balkowitsch]

I have to tell you, that Vapor Blasting is the gig! WOW!, did they turn our wonderful, see photographs, amazing.

[balkowitsch]

More vapor blasting candy!

[balkowitsch]

And vapor blasting is relatively cheap.

Thanks,
Shane

[Walking Eagle]

THANKS, again, for sharing all your marvelous finds and design ideas.

LOVE those mirrors -- they look as if they'd cost a lot more than $20, for sure.

You and Josh have already established and documented your "artist" DNA, so I feel a little presumptuous to weigh-in on design, but this is a terrific thread, bound to attract interlopers!

My .02 worth on the sidecover finish is this: I like the paint idea, maybe matching paint, which would look better than chrome. My goal would be to make the sidecover area "disappear" for the viewer -- an effect more easily achieved via (a) using sidecovers, no matter what the Cafe Racer book says. . .and (b) paint vs. chrome.

Full disclosure: I don't like the chrome sidecovers, even on the classic Toasters, and feel that it "interrupts" the flow of the view, and -somehow- it manages to look a mite garish. [No offense intended toward dedicated Toaster boys and girls -- Ah, you have no choice but to "like" the factory look when you restore a Classic to full glory.]

That vapor-blasting appears to be THE way to go, eh? Thanks for sharing that bit of technology. Down here in Southern NM, we can just set the stuff out in the 50 mph breeze and wait for The White Sands to work the magic! Only takes about a year to get most of the grit out of everything; the engine parts only last about 5,000 miles before ya gotta rebuild it, but the price is right.

Keep on keepin' on -- great stuff.

Regards,

Walking Eagle

[balkowitsch]

THANKS, again, for sharing all your marvelous finds and design ideas.

LOVE those mirrors -- they look as if they'd cost a lot more than $20, for sure.

You and Josh have already established and documented your "artist" DNA, so I feel a little presumptuous to weigh-in on design, but this is a terrific thread, bound to attract interlopers!

My .02 worth on the sidecover finish is this: I like the paint idea, maybe matching paint, which would look better than chrome. My goal would be to make the sidecover area "disappear" for the viewer -- an effect more easily achieved via (a) using sidecovers, no matter what the Cafe Racer book says. . .and (b) paint vs. chrome.

Full disclosure: I don't like the chrome sidecovers, even on the classic Toasters, and feel that it "interrupts" the flow of the view, and -somehow- it manages to look a mite garish. [No offense intended toward dedicated Toaster boys and girls -- Ah, you have no choice but to "like" the factory look when you restore a Classic to full glory.]

That vapor-blasting appears to be THE way to go, eh? Thanks for sharing that bit of technology. Down here in Southern NM, we can just set the stuff out in the 50 mph breeze and wait for The White Sands to work the magic! Only takes about a year to get most of the grit out of everything; the engine parts only last about 5,000 miles before ya gotta rebuild it, but the price is right.

Keep on keepin' on -- great stuff.

Regards,

Walking Eagle

Dear Walking Eagle, by all means you chime in anytime you want, love to hear input from everyone in the know, as a BMW newbie I am very aware that I have alot to learn, lucky for me like with the Porsche and Bill, now I have Josh for the bike and he has a ton of knowledge to give me about these bikes owning and restoring many of them in the past, he is a die hard, no better kind of builder.

Anyway as for the sidecovers, it was determined that mine were in too bad of shape so I bought a set of new reproductions side covers from San Jose BMW yesterday, they ran $250 for anyone else that may want to know where to get them.

My thoughts are with you on the side covers, they probably will not be on the bike most of the time, but it is nice to have a set just in case I want to put them on the bike. I did this with the Porsche also, have some parts restored that are not on the car right now but they are there if I ever need them or want to mix it up a bit. I typed the below goal for the Porsche over 3 years ago and I modified it for the bike:

Goal for the Build:
To create a "Sister" companion bike to my Porsche 356. To design and modify the bike in a classic one-off Cafe Racer theme.
We are going to take an original BMW R755 and have it restored into a beautiful, unique and reliable Cafe Racer for everyday driving. Anything worth doing is worth doing right. Obviously I wish to use as many original parts as possible but if a part does not function properly or is aesthetically flawed and cannot be restored I would rather replace it with new mint part. The end result is very important but equally important is the journey getting there.

Thanks again guys!

Sincerely,
Shane

[balkowitsch]

I cannot tell you how excited I was when a box arrived from the U.K. from Lewis Leathers. I know they have been making these coats since the late 1800's and that they have a world wide reputation and had a lot to live up to, and I have to admit, this coat is just amazing as hell. The quality and the craftmanship is unbelievable and I have to admit, I have never seen this quality leather jacket in my life. The size is perfect from my measurements, the bespoke race stripe down both arms was to my specifications and the weight, quality, stitching and zippers are top notch. I could not be happier, I would recommend their coats to anyone. Did a quick impromptu photo of me in my back warehouse with it on, it takes alot to make me look cool and this jacket may just pull it off. !

Thanks,
Shane

PS: Now we just need to finish the bike so I can use the jacket.

[40427]

Very nice !!

Looks real retro, now you need some bug juice on it to make it perfect.

[balkowitsch]

Very nice !!

Looks real retro, now you need some bug juice on it to make it perfect.

If you think it looks retro then mission accomplished. Wait till I get my Davida helmet on and goggles, I will be living early 1970's dream! Thanks for all your support.

Thanks,
Shane

[Walking Eagle]

They've been growing cows for a long time in the UK, so no surprise that they do this amazing work with hides. There's an active "leather care" thread RIGHT NOW - curiously located in the Oilhead area - that I'd suggest as a quick read -- a mui rapido way to come up to speed on how to care for that FANTASTIC-looking jacket -- you be stylin' now. Well, an -ah- actual motorcycle might help with the stylin' part, but you guys are rolling now.

If this here project was a movie, you'd win Oscar for Best Production Design. . .details, details, details. Doncha love it?

Walking Eagle

[balkowitsch]

Josh has traveled to Europe with his new bride for their honeymoon so we are just taking it easy for a week or two. I have ordered more parts and he should have some things to sort through when he returns. The bike should be black from coating when he returns as well as all the parts should be polished. Next step getting a rolling chassis and mockup before final paint!

Thanks,
Shane

[balkowitsch]

Agustin from Autos International sent me over a photograph of the seat in progress. I am very excited to see how it is coming. His question was if I wanted the double white stitch on the chalk lines or nothing at all. I am going with the thread in these areas, I think it is a nice accent and gives the seat much detail, we will see.

Thanks,
Shane

[Ken F]

LIKE it!!!

Ken

[Walking Eagle]

As with the rest of this amazing restoration, the double-row looks GREAT!

+1, definitely.

Walking Eagle

[toooldtocare]

Nice.