| The
photos on this page feature Elaine White's 1968 BMW R50 restored by
vintage BMW expert, Craig "Vech" Vechorik. Restoration was completed in
June, 1998. After riding my bike for about one year, I realized that I never took the passenger pillion seat off the rack. The rack seemed useless to me...just plain excess baggage. I sold the rack-mount seat, removed the rack, and installed a curved-base fender-mount seat. The cleaner line atop the rear fender suited me very well. Less clutter. I like it. |  before after |
 |
I
love to ride the R50, but I have a slight problem when it comes to
remembering to turn off my Hella bar-end turn signals. I just can't
seem to remember to do it. My Lincoln Town Car automatically cancels
the turn signals and I expect no less from my R50. Vech located a vendor that sells turns signal deactivators. The unit we purchased (and added as a part for Bench Mark Works) is acc071--turn signal de-activator/electronic flasher. You can set it to blink 20, 40 or 60 times before it turns off, or you can set it to blink 20, 40 or 60 times AFTER you release the brake. This unit works with both 6-volt and 12-volt systems. The deactivator replaces the flasher and is easy to install. It works great! Nothing outside the bike would tell you that my bike is any different than an original R50, but modern conveniences surely are nice to have. It's a good safety feature as well. |
| As of 2003, I've put about 5,000 miles on this R50. I've been tempted to customize it, but, in the end, I always resort to keeping it original. Last, year, I had Vech install a "moonlight light" underneath the gas tank. You can't see it unless you look under the gas tank. At night, it shines a pale blue light on my engine. I think it's unique and really beautiful. Vech thinks it's tacky and he unmercifully makes fun of me about it. To heck with him and the others who laugh. That blue light also gives me a chance to tease back. When someone spots my white motor mount bracket and tells me it is supposed to be black. I say, "That's right and while you're looking at my bike, look at this....." They are always pleasantly shocked that I would do such a thing. Now the sheepskin seat cover?---now THAT'S TACKY! I seldom use it. |  |
 I had my gas cap "customized" a bit. I figured if I ever wanted stock original again, all I would have to do is put on a new gas cap. The braided leather on the key is Vech's idea. You can stuff the key in your pocket and leave the tail of the leather sticking out. Even if you're wearing gloves, it's easy to pull the leather tail to get your key. |
During July, 2003, I added reproduction stainless
steel Albert headlight-mount mirrors and stainless steel handlebars. We
don't sell the handlebars, but we are exclusive owners of the Albert
trademark name and producers of the left-thread and headlight-mount
Albert mirrors. There seems to be differing opinions about the strength of stainless steel handlebars vs chrome handlebars. If the bars are made of high quality stainless, then they are stronger than chrome, but chromed steel bends under stress while stainless steel will crack (break). I figure if I have problems with my handlebars bending (or breaking) then I have more to worry about than the type handlebars on my bike. Stainless solves all my pitting and rusting problems forever. BMW Mobile Traditions released sport cams for all the Earles Fork bikes and since Vech put them in my R51/2, I've been wondering about what it would be like to have them in my R50. Oh well...a gal's gotta do what a gal's gotta do. If I get any more wild ideas for my bike, I'll let you know. In the meantime, I sure love my bike! |