I guess the one good thing is that if someone tries to sell you an original
'74 R90s painted in Daytona Orange, you'll know they're trying to pull the
wool as they were only painted in Silver Smoke that year.
Rick Griffith
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
-----Original Message-----
From: Mac Kirkpatrick [SMTP:drbeemer@...]
Sent: Thursday, October 26, 2000 8:41 AM
To: R90sWORLDNET
Subject: [R90SWORLDNET] R90s, Daytona Orange versus TT Silver Smoke
Hi there R90s fans. The R90SWORLDNET@... is doing well. We now
have
20 members and climbing.
The following question came in via Ken Claus from Duwayne Nash,
Dnash@... as follows:
From Duwayne Nash:
a question came up today, which is can you tell by the engine or frame
numbers, which bike is daytona orange or silver smoke? when someone
repaints
an R90s, could you look up any numbers to tell which color it should be?
thanks
duke
1976 R90s silver smoke
Duke: There is no way for the general public or dealers to tell from the
engine number or the serial number (VIN) (these numbers will be the same
if
the engine and frame have not been changed) if an R90s was originally
painted Daytona Orange or TT Silver Smoke when it left the factory. And
many are repainted, many changing to Daytona Orange.
The same issue comes up with other bikes such as 1978 R100RS Motorsports,
as
is this REALLY an original Motorsport or has it been repainted Motorsport
colors? Only 200 were produced for the US market, more were made for the
ROW
(Rest of World). There is no serial number range for these particular
bikes.
(See )
However, see below, I think the BMW factory can tell you how a certain
bike
was made (ie, color, options, dealer to whom delivered, etc.)
I know of at least one Motorsport that had its' bodywork traded to a guy
for
his '81 RS.
Example: I spoke to a guy at the Midland, MI MOA National this year about
his '78 R100RS which he said was a "Motorsport". It was a 1978 bike but it
was painted as an '84 R100RS Last Edition with the orange around the
headlight like a Motorsport. It was a beautiful bike, but I had to tell
him
it was very incorrect and was not portrayed correctly as a Motorsport.
The
Last Editions were painted Pearl White not the white of the Motorsport and
the stripes were very different between the two bikes. Both the Motorsport
and the Last Editions are beautiful bikes but they are very very
different.
You can tell from the serial number what MODEL year the bike was produced
for and if the bike was made for the US market or the Rest of World (ROW)
market.
I believe '74 model R90s US bikes start with 495XXXX, '75 model year bikes
are 498XXXX, and '76 model years start with 499XXXX (This information
agrees
with the four R90s serial numbers I own.)
ROW bikes have a serial number from 407XXXX to 410XXXX.
(Ref. "BMW Twins Restoration" by Mick Walker, Osprey Publishing, London).
Further when any vehicle is produced the factory sends with the vehicle a
CO
(Certificate of Origin) also called an MSO (Manufacturers' Statement of
Origin). This is a "birth certificate" for the vehicle and the division of
motor vehicles in different states use it, along with the buyer's name and
address and purchase date, to then make a title.
The COs from the period of the R90s show the serial number, manufacturer
or
importer name, HP rating, weight, model, model year of the bike, number
of
cylinders, and the name of the dealer to whom the bike was sold.
I am writing this with a copy of an original CO for a '74 R90s in my hand.
There is no provision for mentioning color on the CO.
However the factory can tell from the serial number exactly how they built
the bike at the factory (including the color).
I believe this information is available from Mobile Tradition within BMW.
They can look up a particular serial number and tell, I BELIEVE the date
it
was produced, the color, the options on the bike and the dealer the bike
was
sent to for retail delivery. In other words they can tell you everything
about the bike.
BUT you and I don't know that information nor can we obtain it, as far as
I
know.
BTW I am trying to contact Mobile Tradition to get information on my
bikes'
serial numbers and will let you know what information is available and the
procedure to use to find this information.
Best,
Mac Kirkpatrick
Glenmoore, PA USA
Best,
Mac Kirkpatrick
Glenmoore, PA USA
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
R90SWORLDNET-unsubscribe@...
