Here's a phalanx of 60's escort bikes ready for delivery. These are outfitted with a unique variation of the chrome/painted sport tank. Notice the chromed shocks and non pinstriped fenders. |
I lucked into a pair of NOS Dover White fenders (background) and stunning Escort /2 Sport tank several years ago. These have also been referred to as “Parade” tanks since they were commonly used by groups such as the Shriners. I’ve also heard that Von Dutch, the famed paint and pin stripe artist, offered combination chrome and paint variations. These parts are now on my R 50S. |
Here are two variations of original Hoske tool box locks. A fellow collector was kind enough to trade me the one on the right. You might think it looks like the common sport tank lock and key but its actually a one piece part that mounts to the tool door. The part that looks like a key is not removable. |
This Bowman flywheel is installed in my 57' R 69. The bike also has a Bowman deep sump which is a major upgrade from the thin, standard oil pan.
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Another shot of the Bowman flywheel and clutch assembly just prior to installing the transmission.
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This bizarrely painted Hoske recently appeared on Ebay. The tank is really quite nice and hopefully the new owner will bring it back to a more original finish. I wonder what the rest of the bike looked like?
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Several years ago, I traveled to Ulm, Germany specifically to buy these ultra rare correct number Amal carbs for my R 17. That was not an inexpensive trip! The airfare was cheap, the carbs were not.
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I recently sold this very original Steib TR500 to a gentleman who lives in the Northeast. The sidecar is undergoing a museum quality restoration at Barrington Motor Works and is being mated to an equally beautiful R 69S. |
This was my first sidecar rig, a R 67/Steib S350 combination. Unfortunately, I had to sell this beautiful rig to make room for other projects. The plunger BMW and cucumber Steib is such a great look! |
This rarely seen part is a VDO oil temp gauge and oil pan extension. The extention fits between the motor case and oil pan and provides a location for the thermo coupler. (Photo courtesy of Tim Stafford)
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A close up of the VDO oil temp gauge. Notice the Notice the thermo coupler in the background.
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Yet another variation of the early 50's VDO clock. This example is missing the handlebar clamp. This particular face is unique from any I've seen which could possibly be the bicycle version.
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The R 50S header is unique from all other BMW twins. The finned nut was installed prior to swedging the end of the header pipe. To rechrome the header, the nut must come off which means the pipe has to be cut. This is one of the more interesting challenges encountered when restoring an R 50S... or one could take the simpler route and buy reproductions which are available from Bench Mark Works.
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There were two styles of damper adjustment knob on the earles machines. The shallow shouldered version (left) is the earlier style which was replaced by the deeper shouldered version (right) sometime in the early 60's. Strangely enough, the overall length of the two is the same. The chrome “head cap” which sat below the knob had a spacer to make up the shorter shoulder length on the earlier style. The early knob is from my 1962 R 50S and the version on the right is a stainless reproduction.
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