I first fell in love with the BMW/2 about 1981 or 82.  At the time I occasionally did work on bikes for spending money. A fellow I knew had a 1960 R60 that needed a tuneup.  He wasn’t very mechanically inclined so he asked me to do it.  At first I thought it was an ugly beast when compared to my 68 Triumph, particularly since his bike was military green throughout with twin “tractor” seats.  I thought the “sideways” kickstarter was plain funky too.   I really didn’t want to fool with it, but a paying job buys milk for the little ones. So I agreed to do it.

He brought the bike over along with his manual, which was in German.  I managed to decipher enough of the manual to do the tuneup and of course I had to take it for a ride to ensure the job was done right. Well, that one ride and the machines utter simplicity hooked me! i didn’t want to give it back!  I tried to buy it but he wasn’t selling. But I promised myself that someday I would own one .

At the time you could pick up used British bikes dirt cheap, people would almost give them to you; boy has that situation changed!  But I stuck with the Limeys.  Buying them, fixing them, and reselling them.  I even did a couple of complete restorations, my 68 TR6R and a 1970 Norton Commando.

But over the years I kept looking for an R60.  From time to time I would find one for sale but for one reason or another I just couldn’t make a deal with the various owners.  Then, in April of this year I was sitting in a coffee shop reading the paper while I waited for my breakfast to arrive.  I spotted an ad for a 1962 R60, “needs work” it said.  I called the guy up and arranged to see the bike the following weekend.

It was over a hundred miles his place and the bike definitely needed work, in fact it was a minor mess.  He had left it outside over the winter (maybe more than one) and the aluminum parts had begun to oxidize.  I don’t think he had ever washed it and thats probably the only thing that kept it from rusting away.

He had a devil of a time getting it started, ignition key didn’t work , the lights only worked when they wanted too, and both carbs leaked terribly.  But a quick check showed it had good compression. It finally did start and once warmed up it ran reasonably well. . Both tires were severely checked and the rear was almost totally bald, but it performed reasonably well on the road test despite the leaking carbs.

I decided to take a chance and made him an offer several hundred dollars less than what he was asking.  After a little dickering we finally agreed on a price and I rode away on the bike with my son following in the car.  I almost made it home without incident, but I didn’t want to go any faster than 50 mph because of the tires, and so darkness fell and the lights decided they weren’t going to work at all.  We found an all night service station and the attendant agreed to let us park the bike until we could come back and get it with my truck. (Should’ve taken the truck to begin with.) We came back about two hours later and loaded it into the pickup, finally getting the bike home about midnight.

Started working on the bike on Sunday morning, mostly cleaning and trying to figure out what else needed to be done.  The bike cleaned up really well, all the crud had actually protected it.

So far I’ve replaced the coil, installed new  tires, rebuilt the carbs, replaced the ignition lock and the circuit board, rewired it completely and installed a Pentacomm points plate along with a complete tune up.  I also replaced the “ape hanger” handlebars and installed a Denfeld solo seat instead of the “overstuffed” aftermarket thing that was on it. I’ve ordered the passenger seat and a set of front shock cartridges. It starts easily and runs like a champ, now!

I’ve been riding it to work every day for the last month. I don’t plan to restore it cosmetically. The tank and fenders are light gray instead of black.  I thought of repainting them but I’ve grown to like the color actually. It’s not perfect, It’s nowhere near a restoration quality machine, but I intend to ride it, not look at it.  It’s sitting out in the garage now, parked next to Penelope, my trusty old Triumph, whom I believe is jealous that I’m not riding her as much as I used to.

His name is Friederich.  In fact I think I hear him calling me now.  He’s saying, “Herb, come rebuild my front shocks!”  And I will too, just as soon as I get the shock tool I ordered from Ed Korn.  I waited twenty years to get you, why rush things now?

Herbert Mann
Petaluma, California