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This picture is after I finished restoring the bike in 2002. I bought this bike in 2000 from a gentleman in his 70’s who collected non-running motorcycles. He had had acquired it in trade for an old Harley for which Blue Moon gave him this bike and a 1966 R60/2. Neither the R27 nor the R60/2 were capable of running. This is a late model R27 and features a trip meter on the speedometer, a paper air filter instead of the wire mesh filter, and a slightly larger carburetor than on earlier models. It had on 14,000 miles on the odometer, but it had not been treated well by its previous owners. The most difficult replacement part to find was a correct fitting exhaust system. The reproduction exhaust pipes I obtained from my usual reliable sources were not correctly bent so they did not clear the frame. I reused the original. However the inlet on the reproduction muffler was too small for the exhaust pipe, so I had to modify an automotive exhaust pipe expander to get things to fit. The 3.25 x 18 Metzler tires are available from Europe. The casings were soda blasted, as were the wheel hubs. I would highly recommend this method of cleaning casings. The wheel hubs did not respond well to the soda blasting, but the hubs on my /2 projects did turn out well. I think that BMW often used different, higher quality materials in the twins than they used in the singles. This bike is a hoot to ride on country roads at speeds of up to 65 mph. It is the smoothest running of my vintage BMW’s at 60 mph. The vibration at other speeds, in spite of the five rubber engine mounts, means that you have to check fasteners and wire connections regularly. This bike is cute, lots of fun, but very high maintenance. Hmmm… sounds familiar. |