BMW R27 restoration

[stevecrout]

So, my little R27 has been sitting quietly in the corner of the garage waiting its turn at a clean-up and I guess its finally time to do it.

This 250cc single followed me home from East Timor about 11 years ago and back then it ran great but had side-car gearing that made top speed about 45 kmph.  Good for the roads in Timor but not so great around here.

The tinwork is a bit rough from spending the last 40 years bounding around Darwin, Australia and it has a bit of welding to do on hinges for the back fender and gas tank lid.

The clutch was starting to slip once in a while and all the rubbers are shot so I  at least I have an idea of what to expect even before tearing it down.

I'll post some photos of the bike being stripped and then we'll have a look at the cylinder and valves tomorrow.

There's a bit of a time crunch because I want to take the bike to Nakusp this year for the BC Beemers Rally on Aug 13. 

Let's see how far I get!



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[stevecrout]

so the engine is apart and all the tolerances are within limits.  It appears the fellow was right when he said the engine was recently rebuilt before selling it to me.
Wire brush off the carbon on the piston and we're all set to go........  as soon as my gasket set arrives.
Powder coating and painting should be done this week.
Replaced the final drive with one that allows a little higher speed (than the current 40 Kmph)

Bought a new header pipe, rubbers, engine mounts and gasket set and hoping they all arrive within the timeframe promised by the suppliers.

50 years old and not one of the bolts or nuts were seized!  Made the teardown real easy.


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[Donovan]

Good work on the R27, would like to see it when finished or some what before.

[stevecrout]

So the parts are all painted now.  I went with paint for the frame because the powder coat would have been an extra week.

I was wondering how to protect the frame from being chipped while working on the installations and thought I'd try the foam insulation rolls used for insulating water pipes. The 1" stuff works great!

We went with a completely new wiring harness due to the previous owner having made some unusual alterations.  I'm glad the R27 doesn't have a sophisticated electrical system.

I intended to switch out the lower geared rear end with a higher one but in the efforts to clean all the parts before putting them back I managed to clean the old rear end and put it back on by mistake.  It made for an extra hour of cleaning and replacing but better to find out now.

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[stevecrout]

didn't make it in time for the BCBeemer rally as the engine mounts only just arrived.

Should only take a day or two to finish but will have to wait for a week.

The rubber kit from Turkey is OK, the engine mounts from Stirgis are OK and the Gasket set from Germany is top notch. all from e-bay and all pre-ordered so they would be here when I got to Canada.  The engine mount guys must have thought I wasn't in any hurry.

The stuff from Germany attracted a heap of Customs duty, handling fees and tax but all the other stuff just arrived with no added costs.

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[fast1]

  Looking good Steve. CHEERS.

[Dennis]

Great to follow a build with photos. 

Peace & Grease, Dennis

[stevecrout]

The R27 is done now.  She started on the third kick and runs like a charm. Thanks again to Dave Litlke for the paint work and Steve Bailey for assistance with the wiring.

It sure is nice to have the right tools though.  Someday when I get them all it'll be real nice!

I put a higher ratio rear drive in it and now I can feel the wind in my hair I'm going so fast!



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[Sr.X]

Sure looks good Steve, can't wait to see it in person. Kinda miss having to work away from home at times, don't get to PG much anymore. Miss getting together with the guys from PG. Keep me in mind if you are out near Smithers. Have a shop and spare room.
'

[Dennis]

Wow Steve.  Are you going to be around long enough for a Tuesday Club ride?  I promise I can ride "parade" speed so you won't be left thinking your buddies abandoned you.

Peace & Grease, Dennis.

[Hans]

Very nice!

[stevecrout]

Thanks for the nice comments everyone.  The project was a bit of a test for me to see how well organized I could be in preparing for the work and to allow for some Murphy's Law to happen. 

Turns out most of the jobs went OK with the engine mounts being the slowest of the bunch and missing the Beemer rally because of it.  As it turned out, the BC Beemer Rally was rained on for all three days and it would have been nail-biting time all the way so I'm glad the R27 stayed home. 

I head back to Palestine on Aug 28th so I have to have all the stuff put away and now that the R27 is loved again, it can't sit in the shed any more so I have re-arrange the garage space and decide who gets kicked out and sent to the shed. Kinda sounds like the makings for a reality TV show.........

[stevecrout]

By the way -  here's a youtube link if you want to see and hear it run....

http://youtu.be/unyxjEan-Z0

or idle

http://youtu.be/lRkNYqjKiiU

[fast1]

  As always Steve, nice bike and good job!! CHEERS.

[Admin]

Great job Steve