By Mark Weiss
| My bike is a 1972 R75/5. I originally acquired it for parts from a shop
that was going out of business. The bike had been abandoned at the shop and was missing
the gearbox, carburetors and final drive, but did have a really weird Avon fairing. The
hulk languished in my backyard for 12 years as I rode various other BMWs. Over the last couple of years I have attended the California Superbike School seven times, and during last couple of classes some of the CSS staff had been pressing me to get a more serious bike and stop riding my street bikes. I couldn't see myself buying a ZX-6, but I realized that I did have enough parts piled up to build an R75 racer. Before taking the bike out to Willow Springs I was able to get it out onto Phoenix International Raceway for two track days. Currently the bike is using a '74 mainframe while I refurbish the '72 frame that matches the engine. I elected to try the front drum brake, but did reduce the rim size to 18 inches. This gives me a little bit better braking and noticeably quicker steering. I'm going to be using Works Performance rear shocks and I've currently got Dunlop 591s, which have performed quite well. The bike is very easy to ride and has been very predictable. I'm bumping my knees on the cylinder heads a lot, but I've reduced the bruising each time out. I've just added a billet upper triple clamp, and for a better riding position I have added a set of clip-ons. For next year I will try to improve the front suspension and I'll be looking for some more horsepower. The bike is extremely quiet because dyno testing showed that the stock BMW headpipes and mufflers produced more torque and horsepower than the other three systems I tried. Right now the motor is stock, and 42 hp at the rear wheel is NOT enough! |