Blue Moon Cycle

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Our R27 is now stripped down to it's components, this represents about 8 hours of work. Each part will be inspected and it will be determined if the part needs repair or replacement. We have decided to powder coat the frame, fork and other black components. We will paint the sheet metal. Since this bike will be black, getting a good color match will not be a problem.

Jon removes all bearing races from frame and swing arms before powder coating, Crow's foot pry bar works well on stock steering bearings but you will need a special puller to get the swing arm bearings out without damage. If you are not concerned about saving the bearings you can lay a weld bead in the race, this will shrink the race and it will fall out.Be sure to mask all bearing areas before paint or powder.

All sheet metal is inspected and prepared for paint.

Rubber knee pads are stretched over a flange on the gas tank, no adhesive is used, simply pull the pad away from center and it will come off. Knee pad flange area is a common place for rust to occur. If the flange is extremely rusty it should be ground off and a new flange tack welded on. Replacement flanges are available from Blue Moon Cycle. In any case all traces of rust must be removed before paint is applied. This tank still has its original red inner coating, most manufactures did not take this extra step. BMW tanks survive a lot longer due to the protective coating that the factory installed.

All good aluminum parts will go out for polishing. This is something you could do yourself if you invest a little money in a buffing machine and wheels.

We usually replace shocks on restoration but these shocks show no sign of leakage and they still provide strong rebound damping.

The front brake shoes show little sign of wear, brake plate will be bead blasted and brakes cleaner and pivots lubricated. Rear drive splines are also excellent, all seals will be replace in final drive.

Switch terminal has been broken due to a heavy handed mechanic. We will have to replace it with a new one, these are not cheap but they are available. Red and Green plastic lens were thermal welded at the factory, we will replace these with new ones.

We have seen some signs of rust and neglect but we have seen nothing to indicate this bike is not a 11000 mile machine.Speedo will get cleaned up and a new chrome rim installed.We prefer to leave the mileage at its original setting, you erase part of the machines history if you reset the speedometer to zero.

Click here for Episode Three.
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