The BMW story part III

For part II see: http://bmwcafe.blogspot.com/

Temperatures outside have gone down, snow is falling and my body temperature is still over 37. So no bike building for me. Time enough to write some more about the BMW though.

After stripping all the unnecessarily parts of the bike it became obvious that the guy who had sold the bike to me hadn't been completely honoust about the shape the bike was in.....

Discovered more later during the build. It was a disappointment, but not entirely unexpected. I just fixed what needed fixing and continued building. The next thing I needed was a fuel tank. I preferred an aluminum tank, so I ordered a used one.

As you can see: not a big success. Luckily the shop where I bought it (great source for cafe parts in Holland: Rocket) let me send it back and gave me my money back. Including the shipping money!

So I had to look for a new tank. Found a great one at the swapmarket of Hardenberg. Also found an exhaust there and a saddle for the Virago. To get some ideas I tried that saddle and the seat of the CX cafe:

The CX seat didn't work for me. I liked the Virago saddle, but it wasn't what I wanted either. So I set out to make my own seat. Made a frame of an bicycle carrier I found in someone elses the waste. Yes, I have no shame.

Covered the frame with perforated aluminium.

Having a seat meant I could sit on the bike. That meant I could ride it. So time for the first test ride:

Loved it. 

More on the beemer next time!