About This Blog

I have to confess that I'm creating this blog already well into my restoration. During this process, I have been indebted to the many individuals, websites, mailing lists and other blogs already out there. There are a lot of people who know much more about these motorcycles than I ever will, and there are some great resources to tap into.

The goal of this blog is to provide a very structured source of information to anyone else going through the process of restoring one of these classic BMW motorcycles. I will do the best I can to provide useful tidbits and photos as I go, and make references and direct links to products, parts, services or other resources that have helped me along the way. At the same time, I will probably exclude a lot of information that I deem common sense or just plain unnecessary.

Feel free to comment on anything you read here based on your own experience. And, by all means, let me know if I've set the wrong torque on a crucial nut and have destined myself to certain death.

Restoring a 1973 BMW R75/5 Toaster

In April of 2008 I bought my first BMW airhead bike, a 1973 R75/5 short wheel base toaster. I decided to do a full restoration of the motorcycle, hopefully not having to do too much with the engine. With the odometer at about 59,000 miles, it ran a little rough, but alright. My goal was to disassemble, refinish, replace or repair, put it back together and go from there...

Here it is in the garage, with the seat and carbs already removed. As you can see, a previous owner had done a fine hack job on the headlamp bucket, probably to install a fairing. The headlamp and front turn signals were missing.

On that note, let the restoration begin...