On August 31 2007 I ended my ride in the Iron Butt Rally when I pulled into the final checkpoint in Chesterfield, Missouri.  Even though I failed to become an official “finisher” because I missed the required 190,000 point goal by some 14,000 points, I had completed the ride-of-a-lifetime and I had done it on my 1976 BMW R60/6.

              For purposes of the rally, the R60 and I were considered part of the Hopeless Class.  In a contest where most riders were on late model, large displacement motorcycles with the latest in technological advances I was riding a 31 year old, 600 cc bike that sported 40 horsepower and a 75-80 mph top speed. 

            Since the rally ended a lot of folks have asked about the R60.  How it had been maintained, what had been done to the motor, suspension etc.  What I had done to get her set up for Long Distance (LD) riding and how she was prepped for the Iron Butt Rally (IBR).

             This is the tale of the bike.  I’m not going to turn it into a long version of her maintenance log or a bolt-this-to-that how-to.   What I do hope to accomplish is to hit the high points of my 31 years with the bike, what I’ve done to keep her running in better-than-new condition and give enough details that folks can use the information to make their rides as comfortable and reliable as mine has been.

             In 1976 I was riding a Honda 450 with 98,000 miles on it.  I was working at an all-sports radio station in Richmond, VA and had gotten a press packet for Daytona Bike Week but wasn’t going to be able to go so I gave the packet to the owner of an independent bike shop where I bought motorcycle parts.

             A few weeks later he called and asked me to stop by the shop and when I showed up he introduced me to a friend of his.  They had gone to Daytona and found that the ‘packet’ held passes to the races, pits and gatherings put on by the manufacturers and they’d had a blast.  The friend heard that I wanted to buy a BMW but couldn’t quite afford one.  Turns out he was the manager of a Virginia BMW dealership and made me an offer on a new R60/6 that I couldn’t refuse.

              The bike was a Monza Blue 600 cc beauty with 5 miles on the odometer. It was my first new motorcycle and my first large displacement cycle.  In ’76, 600cc was considered a large bike.  Over the first four years I averaged 25,000 miles a year which included at least one five to six week cross-country camping trip each year.

             Some folks see motorcycles as tools, to be used and discarded as newer or better models come to market.  I tend to be the type to ride the wheels off of a vehicle and because it’s hard to find knowledgeable and reliable service I do all of my own maintenance.  I named the R60 Entropy for the theory in physics that says that everything in the universe will wear down but it will take a long time for it to happen.  BMW had a reputation in the ‘70s for making incredibly reliable and robust machines that would take the rider anywhere under any circumstances.

             As time went on I added a Vetter Windjammer III fairing and lowers, an assortment of large saddlebags, trip trunks and auxiliary lights.  The R60 was my only form of transportation for years and everything I needed to carry had to fit in lockable storage. 

            Entropy lived up to BMW’s reputation for dependability.  I replaced a set of rear wheel bearings at 45,000 miles that were set up too tight from the factory and galled themselves into oblivion.  An alternator rotor ‘opened’ up near 90,000 miles which was far too common on Airheads and expensive to replace back then.

              I mentioned that I did all of my own maintenance and this included tire changes.  Running the original Continental RB-2 up front and K-112 on the rear I’d average 14K miles or so on the front and 8K on the rear or about two rears to a front.  That’s the same ratio today on the Bridgestone S-11s that are now on the bike.

             At 112,000 miles I tore the engine down and installed new first oversized pistons and rings, did a valve job and replaced the timing chain.  It was totally unnecessary. “Everyone” I rode with, even the Beemer-folk, told me that 112K was high mileage and I needed to refresh the top end and cylinders.

               When the parts were measured there was indeed some wear but no where near the point that the work was needed.  But I’d bought the parts, the bike was disassembled and I was young so the work was done.  I also stopped listening to “everyone.” From this point on I began to repair the R60 only when there was a definite need.