1969 Bmw R-series on 2040-motos

    I am offering this low mileage BMW R69US which I bought in New Mexico. It had previously been registered in California, so the bike has always been in a dry environment. I received its California title, signed as originated in Bakersfield, and the tiny tank emblems indicate Johnny's BMW in Bakersfield, and the previous owner as also living there. I copied this title before surrendering it to the DMV to get it put into my name and the mileage read 10,165 miles. The story the seller in New Mexico told me was that his wife surprised him by buying it for him and that he drove it a little (odometer now reads 10,498 miles) for a year or two before letting it sit. He said it ran great. It still wears its California plate from 1998.  He never registered it.     

    After getting a friend in New Mexico to deliver it to me I carefully examined it and brought it back to life as it had great compression and mileage appeared correct as it wears its original speedometer (with correct shift points, a good tip off as old bmws often have replacement speedos with almost always wrong shift points) and based on title and story, I surmised it to be a genuine low mile bike. I changed the oil, set the valves and points, cleaned out the tank and petcocks, and rebuilt the carburetors. I replaced a couple of jets, all gaskets, one float and needle, adjusted them, sprayed light oil throughout the engine and other parts, and fired it up. It is smooth and strong, although loud with its minimal mufflers. After airing up its dry rotted tires, I put on one mile to check shifting and brakes. It was very strong but I was reluctant to put on more miles because of the tires and also because fork seals are shot and leaking. I believe it is a nice bike that just needs a new sympathetic owner to finish tires and forks, or one who will restore it to its original condition.   The bike has some negatives besides the obvious wrong sheet metal. Firstly it has a 21 inch rim laced onto the correct hub for that chopper look which also explains why there is no centerstand because it can't lift it enough with that big front wheel! In fact it has no stand presently but I will include a side stand of your picking from the three shown in one of the pictures.  They are all missing either springs or pivots but came off of past BMWs of mine. When it was customized whoever did it polished some things that were not that way originally, specifically the front engine covers, fork tubes and front brake backing plate. Also the transmission and rear drive. At least they left the engine block alone and those polished parts can be brought back. I researched the internet and people there strongly recommend  using a small needle scaler to put on a texture and then blasting. What I saw online was hard to tell from original. The frame has not been chopped in any way but the air pump tabs and the solo seat front tabs were removed and there are holes on either side of the rear shock towers that hold on the sissy bar. There is also a dent on the left shock tower but tower is straight otherwise. A competent welder can easily put those small parts back and I am providing those parts to the purchaser, as well as an original wiring harness because present one has been chopped up and altered. Those parts are also shown in the photo that shows the side stands. Oh and the lights are disconnected but should be easy to hook back up. If the bike doesn't sell, I will do those repairs as well as the remaining restoration work.  I have alot of the parts needed to restore the bike, and would consider selling them separately to the bike purchaser but won't sell them separately to other people.      These R69US models are very rare (vintage bmw site says 1003 of them made) and are worthy of restoration. This one is titled 1969 but I think it may be a 1968 because the previously mentioned title has in small print "first sold in 1968" and also because of serial number. Dealers back then often titled them in the year that they first were registered. Anyway, all numbers match and it is a genuine R69US. If I could afford to finish the restoration which I know will cost quite a bit, I wouldn't have it listed. But I also know it will be worth double or triple its low reserve of $7500 if finished. Thank you for your interest and good luck bidding.