Looking for R27 Kindred Spirits

[Andrew Luter]

Just bought a '63 R27 in fairly good condition. Originally purchased in Berlin and then brought to San Francisco. Been in a barn near Napa for about the last 10-15 years. Has been recently serviced and runs well, but I need to have it in for a full inspection/tune-up.

The bike has been down once, and I can see that the front footpeg is bent and the rear snapped off the frame (I still have it). What is the best way to get it back on? Straight welding, or do I need to be more careful here? Any suggestions on shops in the San Francisco Bay area?

I am sure I will continue to regal you all with my efforts to get this bike back in shape.

Thanks, Mark, for a great forum to air our woes and wisdom.

-- Andrew

[Allan Atherton]

The frame on my basket case R27 was bent upward over the centerstand. When the footpeg was bolted on, it was bent upward also, so I figured the same force that bent the footpeg caused it to bend the frame. The only way to check the frame is to put it in a jig that measures the distances from steering head to rear swingarm. The fork needs to be removed to do this. The rear swingarm might not need to be removed since you can sort of see the jig's points without its removal. My frame was bent only cosmetically - visible to the eye but did not affect the jig. It was straightened with a little heat from a torch and force from a jack.

If the rear footpeg mount is broken off, it needs welding, which maybe ought to be done on a bare frame, and will certainly mess up the paint.

Depending on how you feel about the bike and how much time and money you want to put into it, you should consider having the frame bared, jigged, straightened if needed, the footpeg mount rewelded, and the frame powdercoated.

I will attach a pix of my R27, but even though it is under the size limit at 47K, it has failed to work in the past.