1976 BMW R-Series

I have owned this 1976 Daytona Orange R90S since 2014, when I purchased it from the original owner in Vail, Colorado, in order to be the fraternal twin to my 1976 Silver Smoke R90S. ( I had just returned from the 40th Anniversary R90S Rally in Bucks County, Pa., and was at the height of my enthusiasm.) I bought the bike on the basis of photos with the expectation that due to the dry, high altitude environment in which it had resided, the alloy and chrome would have experienced minimal oxidation. Thankfully, when the delivery truck came to my house, I realized that my assumption proved to be correct. When I bought the bike, it had about 27500 miles on it.
This particular R90S was one of the very few that was originally sold by the dealership with a matching Luftmeister touring fairing, rather than the original bikini fairing. For me, the first order of business was to remove the Luftmeister fairing, roughly put it into the dumpster, and replace it with an original fairing. I bought a new fairing from Holt BMW in Athens, Ohio, and they painted it Daytona Orange. For what it's worth, Holt BMW is the gold standard for R90S painting, While I was at it, I had them repaint the battery side covers and put on new decals. The newly painted fairing matches very well with the original paint on the tank, front fender, and the seat cowl, which have minimal "patina." There is a belt buckle chip on the tank, a small scratch on the rear of the seat cowl, and some small stone chips on the back of the front fender. These minor imperfections are evident it the photos, and in my opinion are too minor to warrent repainting. Cosmetically, this is a beautiful example of this iconic model as it is. The wheels are original, and the chrome spokes are in very nice condition. There are two cosmetic oddities that are worth mention. First, the "90" on the engine case badges are painted black instead of the usual red, but don't ask me how or why. This first oddity could be easily remedied with a bottle of model airplane paint and a small brush. The second oddity is a small welding repair on the right muffler, the likes of which I have never seen before. (I have owned about 25 BMW airheads since 1973.) The remedy for that is a new muffler, although it is otherwise in very nice condition, as is the rest of the exhaust system.
When I bought this bike in 2014, it ran very well. However, as with any BMW of this vintage, it needed "sorting out" mechanically to address the usual maintenance issues. The rear main seal has been replaced, and while I was in there, I replaced the clutch plate and spring plate, because they were midway in their spec measurement of wear. I also disassembled and inspected the top end and replaced the pushrod tube seals and gaskets. While all apart, the heads and the valve covers were bead blasted, and the cylinders were freshened up with black paint. The DelOrto carbs were thoroughly cleaned and rebuilt with a rebuild kit from Bing. I also installed a Dyna III electonic ignition. (For those purists, the original parts are stored under the saddle.) I recently had the instrument cluster (speedo and tach) totally rebuilt by Palo Alto Speedometer ($750). I replaced the miserable original side stand with a much preferable Brown side stand. The bike has fresh fluids, and the valves have been recently adjusted. Last month I put in a new battery. The bike has the Metzler Lasertech tires that I put on it six years and 2500 miles ago. Finally, the bike comes with the original tool kit, tire pump, luggage rack accessory (instead of the grab rail) and Krauser hard side cases.
I have disclosed all of the pertinent information about this motorcycle that I would want to know if I were a prospective buyer. To the best of my knowledge, this motorcycle needs nothing and is ready to ride anywhere. If those who are seriously interested have further questions, I can be reached by phone or text at 517 two-nine-zero-three-five-nine-nine. Good luck with the bidding.