What have I gotten into?

This is one of the numerous phrases I’ve heard many times on the Britbike.com forum.  Someone will buy a basket case motorcycle because they need it…perhaps it’s therapeutic, maybe they’re masochistic.  I’ve heard it described as an addiction.  I think most will agree that these people have problems.  My name is Josh, and, as my wife will tell you, I have a problem.

With the help and advice of Jon Swanson, a fellow graduate student friend of mine who rebuilt his 1966 Lightning, I rebuilt and restored a 1970 BSA Lightning several years ago.  At the time, I wanted a bike on which I could commute.  Being at the University, parking was a lot cheaper and much closer to the building than the commuter lot.  I couldn’t afford a running motorcycle outright.  Fortunately, Jon found this wonder on Ebay in a barn near San Antonio for a whole $600.  Knowing what I know now, it was a bit expensive, but I saved the motorcycle from an unfortunate off-road/chopper/bobber fate.  The experience was certainly worth the expense!  Unfortunately, I only rode it a handful of times to work then, and never once bought a motorcycle permit to park on campus.  Given the recent gasoline prices, the BSA has since become a fun part of my daily commute.  This is where the story begins.

My 1970 BSA Lightning the night I brought it home from San Antonio

My 1970 Lightning after restoration...always a work in progress.

On Thursday, I was riding home when Isaac, a mechanic at a local European repair shop, flagged me over.  I pulled in to the driveway where we promptly began discussing British motorcycles.  He asked if my bike was a ’68.  I told him it was, in fact, a ’70.  I was surprised he got that close; no one in Washington, NC has ever commented on my bike, much less guessed a year!  He then told me he had a 68 Triumph chopper.  What a relief!  I thought I had seen a Triumph there once, and followed it half way though town before I lost it and had never seen it again.  So I wasn’t going crazy!  He then told me he had a BMW motorcycle he was thinking of putting on Craiglist.  I asked him how much he wanted for it.  Now, my wife, Shanna, just had knee surgery, so my budget was (and still is) $0 at this point.  I don’t even know why I asked.  Maybe it was just to tease myself.  He said he wanted $50.  $50!  That’s outrageous.  Even if it was only for a BMW frame or engine cases, that’s a heck of a good deal.  I was pretty sure I’d take it, so I rushed home to get my Explorer, headed back to the shop and followed him to his place.  He opened his garage.  My first thought for the bike sitting behind the door is that it needed a lot of TLC.  After a look-over, I decided to take it.  I again rushed home, ate a quick, excited dinner while Shanna got the cash.  I got the trailer and rushed back to Isaac’s place.  The rear wheel doesn’t turn, so it was a bit of a pain getting it out of the garage and onto the trailer, but a few minutes and a hernia later, it was secure.  Did I mention it is in pretty sad shape?

The right side of my BMW R51/3

The left side of my BMW R51/3

There was no room in the shed, and Shanna was still on the mend, so I left it on the trailer overnight.  However, I stayed busy looking up serial numbers, dates, etc.  It turns out that my $50 purchase is a 1952 R51/3 (the year is still waiting to be verified by the BMW Group in Munich; their delivery books are in the process of being digitized).  I’m not sure if the bike is rare or just desirable, but a number of people on the Vintage BMW Motorcycle Owners Forum believed I could get several grand for it.  This is probably the best purchase I’ve ever made!  I might be crazy, but I don’t want the money, even for a large profit.  That’s not the point of this whole experiment.  I want to tear the bike apart and resurrect it.  I want to ride the thing knowing I have put it together.

This urge was only made stronger by a BMWBLOG Special Feature on the R51/3.  What a beautiful bike!  But that’s for another post.  So far, I’ve received estimates ranging between $10,000 and $20,000 or more to resurrect the bike.  That’s way out of my price range for even a couple of years.  So, I intend to make this a LONG term project, as in decades.  My thought is that I’m only 30, I’ve got decades to put this thing together.  One day at a time.

After doing a brief search, I couldn’t find any blogs about restoring a R51/3.  Maybe I didn’t look hard enough.  Several lessons were learned from the Lightning rebuild.  One of the most important is to take lots of pictures.  Lots.  My goal for this blog is to post pictures, ask questions, discuss techniques, share my pains/joys/sorrows/opinions/irritations, etc.  Maybe one day someone will read this thread and learn from my (hopefully not too many) mistakes!