Tonight gordonmessmer came over and we installed the exhaust system, put a bit of gas in the tank and did a few last minute checks. The engine started and ran on the second kick. This is even more amazing considering that we soon discovered that the left cylinder wasn't firing (pulling the plug wire did nothing to engine RPM.) Turns out that the left carb was completely dry. The float needle was jammed and there was no gas getting in at all. I cleared that and we kicked it again and it ran way better. Did another spark plug cap pull check and now it was the right side that didn't want to run on it's own. Pulled the plugs and the right side was running rich so after resetting the carbs and a bit of tinkering things were balanced up a bit better. Then the engine really wanted to run. It actually starts halfway through a kick now.

So I took it for a ride around the block. It's been so long since I've ridden it that I'd forgotten what it's like. It was a blast. Gordon had a goofy grin on his face when I accelerated past him on the street. I did a lap around the block with the transmission bolts finger tight to align things. Then Gordon tightened them down and I pulled it around into the driveway again.

I'm having a celebratory drink tonight. There's still some fine tuning to do, the timing isn't right and the carbs are still only coarsely tuned, but it runs and that's cause for celebration!

I pulled the R50 out of the garage today to do some work on it and was startled by how good it looked in the daylight. The clean engine makes a huge difference:



Tonight I filled the bike with fluids, gapped and installed plugs, checked the valve clearance and checked things over. I think that the last thing is the exhaust (that doesn't fit, but that's another story), fill the tank and kick it over. We'll see how well that goes, maybe tomorrow.

On the sidecar front, I pulled it into the garage and had a closer look. I tried to pull some of the nuts and bolts apart but they are pretty well gone. I think that I'll try using electrolysis to remove/undo the rust and see if that helps. In the mean time, have a look at the awesome plate that is mounted on the nose of the sidecar:

I spent most of Friday night playing around with a laser cutter. This is the best toy since the stick. Seriously.

Also, I am now the proud but slightly worried owner of this sidecar:



The price was very good, but it needs work. Fortunately all the parts that I'll need seem to be reasonably easy to come by. I think that I'll leave the boat looking ratty for now, it'll match the R50. The frame will need a lot of work though, and a new wheel.

Oh boy, I have another project. :P

One year after I bought the R50 it was once again in the driveway getting worked on:



I spent the day doing things like installing the carbs and electrics. Surprisingly the battery survived the long sleep with a full charge. I unwired it from the bike (previous owner had hard-wired it in) and cleaned up the connections a bit. While doing so the battery's fuse laid down it's life for the cause.

Click below for more pictures from yesterday. I'm so very pleased with how clean and shiny the engine is now.


There's still plenty to do, but I hope to try starting it in the next week or so. The only piece I don't have is a good rear brake shoe, so while I'll be able to start it I may not be able to ride it for a little while.

...but at the end of it I once more own two motorcycles rather than one plus a pile of parts. It's even close not running yet but all the big pieces are together and I sat on it (and made vroom vroom noises) and rolled it out of the garage.

Pictures to follow.

Saturday I met up with gordonmessmer, Morgan, cooncat and Grant at Ride West's parts and apparel swap. I didn't actually need any parts or apparel and had intended to just show up to hang out and eat BBQ brisket. Of course I ended up buying a bunch of stuff. The Haul:

• 70's BMW manual by Clymer.


• Busted up side case with a working locking mechanism to repair my case with a broken latch.


• A pair of Craven Golden Arrow Panniers in remarkably good shape.


• A Teknic 1 piece leather suit.

I wasn't sure about the Cravens until I talked to Kevin about them and he offered me a good deal on a rack that would attach them to the R50. They weren't my first choice mostly because I never thought that I'd be able to get a set so cheaply.

The suit was on the end of the rack where lots of people had been looking at it. It's labeled a '46 Euro' which I think confused people a bit. I'm a size 40, but it fits me great. It was a completely ridiculous deal. As far as I can tell it was something like 75% off retail price. I'm not sure what they cost originally since it's an old model and I can't find much info about it online. I have to say that I look pretty good in it.

I'm completely wiped out today due to getting paged late last night for a problem that took a while to clear up. I had intended on sleeping in but had promised a coworker that I'd give him a ride to work so that didn't work out.



In the long run however, it worked out very well. Being completely out of it I couldn't really focus on work so I ended up looking on craigslist for BMW stuff. Right at the top was a listing for 'BMW Carbs' for $75 so I had a look. They were listed as being for a '55 R50 so I dropped the seller an email and figured I might hear back. A few minutes later my phone rings and I get his address and head for Burien. Upon pulling into the driveway the guy looks a little familiar. Turns out I met him once at a VME meeting. Why do I remember him? Because he used to own my bike. Yes indeed, the carbs he had for sale were the carbs that were installed on my bike at the factory. Epic Score.

They are in remarkably good shape considering they were pulled and tossed onto a shelf 30 years ago. The only part missing is a slide return spring and the only non-rebuild part that needs help is one of the threaded rings that hold the top on. One odd thing is the red/white dust that came out when I opened things up. I'm not sure where that came from. The inside of the float bowls appears to have corroded a bit but is probably workable. Of course the floats are shot, one has even been patched with JB Weld.

Included with the carbs were an extra set of lever-tops for the carbs. This is extra great because I was on the look out of a set to replace the banged up set on the current carbs.


He also had a pair of bar end turn signals for $50 so I picked those up even though I'm not sure I want to use them. One is new and unused, the other used and in need of a lens. Since they are $90 each new I figured I couldn't really lose.

These are one of my favorite parts of the /2. I just love how they blend into the design so cleanly.

Things didn't work out for me to get down to Olympia to crack open the transmission and deliver the vlave covers so I went ahead and shipped the covers and ordered the tools. They showed up on Wednesday and work a treat. gordonmessmer came over on Thursday and we pulled the transmission apart. All the gears look pretty darned good, including the kickstarter sector gear which frequently has bad wear on one end. I managed to knock out the seals but don't yet have the kickstart lever off. Once I get that done I'll take the casing to the local transmission shop for cleaning in their industrial wash.

Over the weekend I took a look at the rear brake shoes. I've got new brake compound for them so I drilled out the rivets and stripped off the old compound being careful to keep it went to prevent dust. Unfortunately what I found is really annoying. At some point in the past someone has replaced the brake compound but in doing so drilled out the holes that the rivets go through. Unfortunately this means that my rivets won't hold the new compound on. I've got a few options but I've not decided on which I want to use just yet. Ideally I'd get someone to weld up the holes so I could re-drill them to the right size.

We've been listed on reddit

Interesting to see all the commentary.

The project I worked on last year got posted to MAKE: blog!

This totally made my weekend.

Friday was my birthday so I took the day off and had some fun. I decided to take a ride on my Rockster in my new Aerostich suit, visit some people and places and just generally do what I felt like. When I took off it was starting to rain a bit so I stopped in at Ride West to see if they had a rain fly for my tank bag (something I've put off buying.) They didn't have one in stock, but Omar had one that he'd snagged from the 'free' bin at the last parts swap and passed it along to me!

From there I headed down to Dauntless Motors which is out in the middle of farm country. I was given a full tour of the shop and got to see several sweet rigs. We discussed what I'm looking for and to my surprise that turns out to not be as pricey as I thought. Not cheap enough to do it now, but at least I have something to aim for.

After that I rode down to Brooks Motor Works where Kevin was pulling out the race bike to give it a spin. We didn't get it on the road but it did fire up after we poked and prodded it a bit. We then had a look at my cylinders.

I then rode north again stopping in at my parent's house for a while. My mom had made me cupcakes, so I ate 4 of them (what? they were small!) and then set them up with GMail and explained the use of the archive button. I had planned on going home via Vashon island and visiting a friend out there but unfortunately I ran short on time and had to jet home via I-5. I hadn't realized just how stiff my legs were until I stopped just off the freeway. Upon putting them down on the pavement (and circulation returning) I proceeded to yell inside my helmet. It was pretty therapeutic so I did it a few more times.

Julie and I then headed over to lisa and henry's for a party. It was awesome to see them again. After that we had a late night snack at Bilbao. I highly recommend the crispy potatoes.

It was a full day, but a good one.

I brought heads for the R50 to Kevin Brooks who went over what he could do for them. He's been doing some really interesting stuff with the engine on his "Bonita Rapide" 1955 R50. Most of the really interesting work has been done on the heads. He's lightened the valve train by 40% by replacing the valves with custom stainless steel valves with longer, thinner stems. The keepers are now made of titanium, and the springs have been lightened to suit. The results of this are less stress on the valve train and more room for air and fuel to get into the cylinder. It also looks so nice that it's a shame to cover it up. In theory I'll not only going have a more robust engine but I'll also have a bit more power too.

Next weekend I'll be heading down again. I'll be dropping off the valve covers for cleaning and I'll also be cracking open the transmission with Kevin's help. That's the last major component to be opened up. It really needs new seals and the bearings should be inspected.

In other news, the final drive is apparently on it's way back to me now. Things are really starting to come back together! Here's what's left to do:

• new seals and bearings for the transmission
  
• blast and paint the cylinders
  
• re-line the rear brake shoes
  
• bolt everything back together
  
• profit? hah!
  

gordonmessmer and I managed to remember to take pictures of the crank before we re-installed it. It's not much different, just a bit cleaner. It's most noticeable on the rods:

Yesterday I took the cylinders into a local shop, but they don't do the kind of blasting I need, nor the painting. Instead they referred me to a one of their sister companies that does. I'll have to find time to get out there during business hours. Maybe one morning next week.

Last night I packed up the final drive to ship out for a bearing replacement and re-shimming. I dropped it off at the post office after work today. Hopefully it won't be gone long.

I also mostly closed up the bottom end last night. I've still got to pound the oil pan back into shape but otherwise it's all back together. It looks like this again:


Next up for tearing apart is the transmission. I'm also going to have the heads cleaned up and reworked, but that's not something that I can do myself. I'm hoping to talk to an expert about it this weekend.

I got to hang out with some very cool people this weekend. I met up with cooncat, Morgan and Grant at the Ride West bike swap. I very nearly bought a totally sweet 1979 R65, black with white pinstripes. Fortunately for my bank account I deferred. It was a pretty sweet bike though. After the swap we went up to Capitol Hill for happy hour and just hung out and chatted. I definitely need to spend more time with those folks.

Part of our discussion was of course about the R50 and cooncat requested an update, so here it is!

I got the crankshaft back from Brent's Motor Works last week. It looks great and was essentially completely rebuilt. gordonmessmer came over and we spent an evening getting the crankcase back together. We were not as well organized this time and had to take the front bearing carrier off an extra time because we forgot the oil pump. We also forgot the oil splash ring so the crank had to come out again. In the end we got it all back together and everything seated properly. I'm glad that I sent the crank out because it's slightly shorter now which keeps the rear slinger from rubbing on the inside of the crankcase.

Then last night I heated up the flywheel (all 12 pounds of steel) and fit it on the end of the crank. The runout is just slightly over the limit at about 0.0045". I'm ready to call that good enough unless there's a fix that doesn't cost too much.

Tonight I sat down with the pistons, cylinders and my set of micrometers. The cylinders are dead on round with no taper. The pistons are as close to the exact same size as makes no difference. The wrist pins are pretty much perfect. The only thing that's possibly out of spec is the piston skirt to cylinder clearance. At the moment it's 0.006". The book says 0.0046" is the max, but I've got it on good authority that the book is being stupid. The pistons are aluminum and the cylinders are steel. It doesn't take too much heating up before you've used up that 0.0046 and are looking at a seized piston. I've got an email out to an expert asking his opinion. If he says they are too loose then I'll find someone to knurl the piston.

Tomorrow I may take the cylinders into a local shop to see about getting them cleaned up. They really need a good blasting and a lick of paint.

Pictures are still on the camera, I'll try to post them soon.

I've been watching a good bit of Top Gear lately. It's an amusing show and I do like cars and whatnot but something has started to nag at me. ( Wherein our author rambles on about electric cars )

I finally packed up the crank and shipped it out to Brent for inspection and truing.

The final drive is also still in pieces while I figure out how to get the pinion needle bearing removed. It's pretty happy where it is but needs replacing. I want to get the final drive back together so I can start on the transmission.

Haven't done a whole lot this weekend. At the moment the primary internet connection to home is down and I just finished fixing the secondary that I broke the other day. Turns out that I have 4 connections available to me from home, each of varying reliability and speed. I just wish I could make them automatically failover or something.

Today I did manage to get down to the garage to do the valve adjustment and throttle body sync on the Rockster. It's amazing how much that can effect how the bike runs. The valves were pretty close, only had to adjust the exhaust on both sides. The throttle bodies were way out (1/2 turn or more) and was probably the reason the milage had dropped of late.

In amusing bird related news, while tinkering with the internet connection I heard Niko call out from downstairs... only he sounded a good bit too clear to be that far away. Careful exploration found him at the top of the curtains at the bottom of the stairs. A good 8 feet from the ground. He's sitting on the top of the laptop now, he earned it!

I've officially lost 50 pounds. I put my weight into the tracker this week and was greeted by a happy blue star with a '50' on it. I'm a little above the middle of my healthy weight range and nearly to my target. I need to start getting more exercise and building some muscle mass. I'd like to start bicycling to work again now that it's getting nice again.

I just got a call from the AMA today. The bills I talked about in my last post are as good as dead. The committee reviewing them saw that they didn't save any money and threw them out. I was quite impressed with the AMA's quick and personal response to my inquiry. I definitely recommend that all motorcyclists join up.

In order to help balance the state budget a number of proposals are being floated that call for the reduction or elimination of advisory boards. This includes the board that monitors the WA State Motorcycle Safety Program. The bills in question are:

HB 2087: Eliminates the board in its entirety (see section 34)

HB 1497: Kills the entire motorcycle safety training program (see section 901 (12))

SB 5588: Suspends the entire program until July 1, 2011 (see section 109)


This would not only be a huge blow for motorcycle safety training in this state but it is also highly pointless. The program in question is entirely funded by the fees paid by motorcyclists when they renew their motorcycle endorsements. Eliminating the program or the board wouldn't save a dime.

So please write to your legislator and let them know how you feel about this. You can find out who your legislators are at this page: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/Default.aspx