1954 BMW R-Series

651422

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This is a freshly restored 1954 BMW R68 motorcycle. I have owned this motorcycle since 1969 and it was a strong runner, starting on the first kick and using no oil before undergoing a full frame up mechanical and cosmetic restoration starting 3 years ago. The engine has been completely rebuilt including a lower end tear down, new pistons and rings, cylinder reboring by Boretech using the Carbide Bore process and the transmission was rebuilt by Vech at Benchmark Works. It is an original matching numbers R68 that was manufactured on July 21st, 1954 and delivered on October 25th, 1954 to the BMW importer Butler & Smith in New York City. I will provide written/ verifiable proof from BMW Group Archiv and have the title for this motorcycle dated April 27th, 1973 showing that I first registered it on May 12th, 1969 in Massachusetts which did not require titles for vehicles older than 10 years old at the time. The bike is in Ohio now. It starts on the first kick and runs smoothly. If you are not familiar with these bikes put “BMW R68 Dean” in Google as that is an excellent starting point. In "The Illustrated BMW Motorcycle Buyer's Guide" by Stefan Knittel and Roland Slabon, published in 1990 the R68 was given a 5 star collectability rating and they are very rare, in general there is about one per year available on ebay. The bike has not been ridden for 41 years until just now to fine tune it but has been stored indoors with clean fluids since the mid 70s prior to being restored. It is not cosmetically perfect. My purpose initially was to take the original bike and put it back together so that it did not just remain as a future project on the basement shelves when I came across Jeff Dean's excellent R68 web site 3 years ago and decided to give it a full restoration. The scope increased to the extent that it would now look perfectly at home in a museum or indoor collection but it is an old bike and still retains some of its character and history. There is a short touched up scratch on the top of the gas tank from the mirror shaft and some other cosmetic imperfections but that being said it looks great and great care was put into the restoration. It now has the correct Veigel speedomer reading in KM/hour and the correct pre 55 throttle grip; parts that were not available when the originals failed in the 1970s. It runs as well as it looks and everything works. The lower end was torn down as part of the engine rebuild, it has new pistons and rings and the cylinders were rebored by Boretech to 73 mm, 2nd oversize using the Carbide Bore process. The cylinders are coated with Silicon carbide so you should never need another rebore as the wear will be greatly reduced, the oil will last longer and it will break in sooner. They use this process on racing engines. Many photos and a description of the restoration will follow but this is a brief summary: The bike has the original engine, frame, drivers seat, transmission, suspension, fenders, gas tank, headlight, wheels, rims, air filter, carburetors, air tubes, electrical switches, kick levers, horn, foot rests, handlebars, etc.... and was a complete original bike when I bought it in 1969. It had about 13,500 miles on the odometer when I bought it and I put no more than 15000 miles on it in a mix of city and highway driving using it as transportation for several years mostly between 1969 and 1974. I will make the following guarantees on this bike: That it is an original R68, the frame and engine match and will provide verification from BMW Group Archiv That it it has a clean authentic title from 1973 in my name That the engine and transmission have been rebuilt with the lower end taken apart, inspected and slingers cleaned, new pistons, seals, valves re seated, etc... That it was a good/straight machine before the restoration driving smoothly on highways That it is a working bike and starts right upI will provide receipts for work on the engine, transmission, final drive, painting and most of the new parts. Some of the parts were purchased 25 years ago and even so over14 K was spent on services and parts. Most new parts were purchased from Germany or Benchmark Works All of the outdoors pictures were taken just now and the indoor pictures were taken in the Spring. There are many more pictures and I have made an album available on the internet and will send you the link on request since ebay will not post it. Also, my son just took some videos showing the bike starting right up and of me riding it. It is okay to ask questions on the phone and if you are in traveling distance to see the bike in person before buying it. The bike is located in central Ohio, however, the title is from Massachusetts as that's where I was living at the time. If you come to pickup the bike we can have the title and bill of sale notarized here in Ohio. The bike comes with many spare parts including original parts that were not used including the original valve covers, spare brake shoes with good linings, extra points, plugs, inner tubes, cables, the original ignition coil, some original CAD plated bolts that were not used in the restoration and a spare usable rim that I bought in 1974 when I joined the Vintage BMW Motorcycle Owners Club. It comes with 2 ignition keys, 2 steering lock keys, the toolbox key, a service manual, vintage tool kit and a new cover. Buyer to arrange shipping or pick it up but I will work with you on it. Payment by Paypal for a $ 2,000 deposit and the rest of the funds must be cleared before the bike is released. Details: The bike has all new seals for the engine, transmission, final drive and suspension. The lower end was torn down as part of the engine rebuilds so it has clean slingers, some new bearings, new seals as well as having the heads serviced. It has new pistons and rings and the cylinders were rebored by Boretech using the Carbide Bore process so that the cylinders are coated with Silicon carbide. The rocker arms and push rods were replaced just before I bought the bike and have about 15,000 miles on them. ----------------------------------------------- Wheels: New spokes, balanced, bearings inspected and repacked, new hubcaps painted as per originals, new bearing covers. New old stock tires. They are older now but show no signs of age having been kept wrapped up in a humidity controlled basement Brakes: New shoes and non asbestos linings which provide 30% more friction/stopping power than the originals. I will include the vintage/original brake shoes with good linings as spares Suspension/Steering: New steering bearings and new steering friction linings. Front suspension cleaned, inspected and new seals. Rear suspension cleaned, new rubber bumpers, can tops, one new spring and bushing Paint: New Drive train: Transmission rebuilt by Vech at BenchmarkWorks including new bearings, seals, output flange, Kick starter pawl and shift claws. Vech did his magic to shim and adjust everything perfectly. Very low miles on a replacement clutch which was inspected during the engine rebuild. Brand new rubber drive shaft coupling ring with chrome casing from Germany NOS driveshaft and bell housing purchased in 1992 so the universal joint is new Final drive; inspected, new bearings, seals and gasket Exhaust: New Cables: New Rubber parts: New Fuel System: All new carburetor parts except for the original Bing bodies and covers. The bodies are in very good condition, all threads and passages are good. The original parts will be provided as spares and work except for one float. Wiring and Electrical: All new wiring, points, points cam felt, condenser and battery. New ignition coil and the magneto was rebuilt by Barrington Motorwerks and has a full magnetic charge. New Old Stock voltage regulator. New correct plug caps. Original coil will be provided as a spare. Even the metal wire ties were installed as per the originals for the wiring harness. Cables: New, old ones will be provided as spares Fasteners: Many original fasteners were sent out for Cadmium plating and some were Parkerized, many original fasteners were used but some are new. The clutch cable and brake pivot arms were CAD plated. I have seen some paint the brake pivot arms black but mine were original and were never Parkerized or painted black to begin with so they were CAD plated; not painted. Speedometer: New correct Veidel spedometer from Vech through BMW Mobile Traditions reads to 180 Km/h . Seats: New leather Georg Meier sport seat hand made by his descendants/family in Germany. Original front seat rebuilt.…........................................................................................................................I received this email from another helpful R68 owner on 10/4/17, these are not my words but its nice to hear and his bike was made at the same time, just before this one:scotthwy:I’ve got 651421. I saw Jeff Dean’s R68 go for 70K a couple of weeks ago. Your bike is worth that too. Mine is original paint which is impossible to find. I’m not selling anytime soon. Best,