ISO Imperfect Parts

Dear Bob’s Customers, airhead enthusiasts, independent dealers, service shops and friends of yours,

The Vintage BMW Motorcycle Museum at Bob’s needs some imperfect parts (see the bolded items and images) that might be in your garage, basement, attic, or even the backyard under a tarp. Some might still be attached to a machine you’ve been planning to take apart and fix for years.

We are not looking to, nor will we resell these items as good used parts, or ever use them to repair any motorcycles. They will only be used to build more stands that hold the round information panels for each of the motorcycles and several special displays in the 5,500 SF space that is open to the public on a regular basis at no cost.

Bob dreamed up this simple and cool design decades ago and he’d very much like to continue with the same design as the museum and number of bikes, cut-away drivelines and a few other select large items on display has grown.

We’ve finally run out of the BMW parts we need to go with the three other pieces we machine from 6061 Aluminum stock. The image below shows what a row of these stands looks like.

The main component is a stock flywheel from any 1955 to 1969 BMW Twin – think R50, R60, R69, R50/2, R50S, R60/2 and the R69S.

What you have does not need to be perfect for our use. They can be rusty, the keyway can be damaged, the crank opening can be imperfect and even the threaded holes for securing the clutch package can be stripped. We can use them.

The other important component are the fork tubes from 1970 to 1978 Twins, sharp enthusiasts will recall there were no BMW singles produced in this era. They do not need to be perfectly straight although severely bent (think 5 degrees or more) may not be too good for this task, the exterior surfaces can be blemished from failed fork seals, stone chips or even rusty chrome due to sitting out in the elements too long and even the threads at the top or bottom can be slightly rough but we do need to screw our machined bits into each end to make it all work.

This is a labor of love as we make no money and regularly share the entire collection with interested individuals, motorcycle, and car clubs (the local BMWCCA chapter is scheduled for November), Scout groups, parents, and their kids during the summer, and even those with disabilities who have been some of our most enjoyable guests. We also use the Museum and collection to raise money for a few good causes each year.  

Because of that we’d love to receive outright donations to the Museum. Of course, we are willing to cover shipping costs and can guide you with packaging. For anyone with a reasonable quantity or perhaps near perfect parts they are willing to part with we can afford to purchase these items as well. We could also consider trading for items you might need.

If you are local, we get to do this in person and make it more fun buy sharing the collection and museum with you. Please reach out directly to Bob on this request and to make it easy just send him a short email with a photo of what you have plus all your contact info so he can calculate shipping costs before he picks up the phone. If dollars must be involved, please share that amount in your initial email to him at: bob@bobsbmw.com and please place the word MUSEUM in the subject line.

He thanks you in advance for any, and all assistance in making the Vintage BMW Motorcycle Museum at Bob’s a very special, enthusiast place to visit and share in the passion for all things BMW Motorcycle. Bob says that if we do well here there are in fact a few special parts and accessories he’d like to acquire to display in the future for which he’s willing to pay fair market value for. That list may appear before the end of the year.