Owning and collecting BMW motorcycles
(Page 3 of 4)
May/June 2007
By Bill Stermer
More recent books include Ian Falloon’s "The BMW Story", an excellent reference, and Kevin Ash’s "BMW Motorcycles: The Evolution of Excellence", both available through the Motorcycle Classics website.
I remember the moment I was first struck by the BMW brand. It was around 1969, and I was a college student in Michigan. One day, riding my Gilera 125cc four-stroke single past a farmhouse about five miles from home, I spied a beautiful black BMW R69US resting on the lawn. It had a bat-wing-style fairing and those rounded saddlebags, and because it carried a “For Sale” sign, I stopped. Immediately, visions of crossing the country on this huge machine wafted through my brain — I wanted that bike so badly I would have sold my mother for it. Unfortunately, a new R69US sold for $1,648 back then, and when the farmer told me what he wanted for his late-model bike with optional touring equipment, well, it was not to be at that time ... and my mother wouldn’t have agreed to it, anyway. But the dream persisted.
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Making the dream
Kevin Brooks is the guy who makes those kinds of dreams come true. Working out of his one-man shop, Brooks Motor Works, in Olympia, Wash., Brooks rebuilds and restores classic BMWs, including the two R69Ss shown on page 61. These are no trailer queens: Last October, Brooks and his wife, Barbara, rode the bikes from Olympia to the Vintage BMW California Coast Campout and BBQ near Paso Robles (see sidebar, page 64) and back!
Brooks does everything, including tune-ups, restorations and rebuilds, and specializes in restoring /2s, /3s and a few prewar bikes. “I’m doing a 1936 and a 1937 R5 right now, and did a 1939 R51 a few years ago,” he says. “I’ve been working on them since the 1970s, and about eight years ago started doing it as a business.” That business has been going very well. “I’m flabbergasted by the interest in these bikes. I get calls for them every week, and the two major BMW dealers in Washington send all their /6 inquiries to me.”
What’s the difference between a rebuild and a restoration? “For a rebuild I take the bike apart, repaint it, correct any faults, re-ring it, etc., but there is some latitude with regard to things like using the original nuts and bolts. For a restoration everything must be perfect. I put the bolts in a tumbler with a walnut media and clean them up. The originals are cadmium plated, and for an international concourse level they must be correct. That’s one of the details that determine a good restoration as opposed to a rebuild. When you’re working on the bike, you have to tape the wrenches so they don’t mar the bolts.”
The price of a restoration depends on how original the bike is, and how many updates you want. For example, it’s $200 for a set of spokes and $300 for a pair of rims. These kinds of details tend to add up quickly, and a rebuild can be $15,000 or $16,000.
Because he expects his bikes to be ridden, Brooks makes improvements from stock. “I start with detail improvements so the bike goes better, stops better, is more reliable and easier to maintain,” he says. “What I strive to achieve in the rebuilding and modernization of these machines is absolute reliability coupled with an incremental improvement in engine performance, handling and braking. The trick is doing it without changing the classic, original look. But fortunately, I am not alone. There are independent sources for everything from CDI ignition systems to lightened flywheels, improved braking materials and 12-volt halogen lights. By selecting carefully, we can update to the very latest technology in the critical areas of ignition systems, brakes and handling.