Re:
ok, so the story so far, I finally got the Q6 home yesterday, (my wife was not impressed) as it was filthy! I mean properly filthy and missing a few bits too. Having only seen it hanging in a dimly lit warehouse to see it in the day light highlighted the state of the bike. After spending a couple of hours cleaning the machine this morning here is my assessment of the size of the restoration project I have ahead of me.
Lets start with the good bits, its about 90% complete and has at some stage in its life been modified with some non standard parts, it retains its XT rapid fire shifters and XT front and rear derailleurs, which are in working order (although they will need a service). It came with Hope 5w santa cruz hydraulic brake levers and Hope Mono M4 four pot calipers which although functional are pretty chewed up and will need restoration the rear caliper is missing the brake pads, which isn't a massive issue as I was going to replace them anyway. The original Paioli front shock is in good order and the signature telelever front suspension is fully functional too. at some point in its life the original BMW saddle has been replaced by a Selle Royal SMP TRK gel saddle which is not my cup of tea, So if anyone is after one of these saddles, 30 quid or near offer secures, its in good condition no tears or rips, they retail at £60 on Halfrods web site. The Wheels are Bontrager Ranger 26 rims with Shimano hubs again a nonstandard part. its fitted with a Satori Lime One23 stem, not sure whether to keep it or replace at present
Bad bits..
Its not been looked after, or its been well used take your pick
the paint is chipped every where, the Hope floating rotors are missing. one of the front suspension tubes has a small ding, thankfully lower that the travel of the front suspension, so it doesn't effect the operation. The crank has been replaced with a shram unit which is beyond salvage. and the chain is scrap too, when I cleaned the rear wheel this morning I removed the cassette which promptly fell apart! this was not a Shimano part either. finally the folding hinge has seized and won't budge at present and I ran out of WD40 this morning which was infuriating lol The rear shock is completely non standard its an RST unit which is too short and way to soft.
the plan...
From wheels up, The Bontrager/ Shimano wheels are going to be retained, partially down to cost and partially down to they fact they look quite good now clean! The Front wheel is going to need a hub service but other than that, now its clean is in good order and virtually true with good tension in in all the spokes. The rear is also straight, but will need a spoke replaced and re-truing, its bearing appears in good order. The tyres which are some nondiscript hybrid offering are being replaced with Maxxis Ardents and the brake discs will be Shimano floating rotors as I cannot stretch to the cost of Hope parts at present. the Shram crank is going to be replaced with the correct Shimano XT item as will the chain, pedals (currently crank candy mags) and gear cassette. The dent in the front fork will be filled and then I'm going to prep it etch prime and spray Anthracite in colour topped off with a high gloss lacquer, while retaining the silver yokes which after a clean are in surprisingly good condition!
The bike will be component stripped prepped resprayed, not sure what colour as yet, torn between BMW motorsport white, back to its factory silver or something radical like the orange in the photo on this tread. White is winning at present with some blue and red graphics possibly. I'd like to pay some homage to Schauff on the machine, after all they built the bikes for BMW back in the day thinking of going satin black for the rear trailing arm once the folding hinge has been freed up that is! The saddle and seat post is going to be replaced looking at a Range saddle as a possible replacement. handle bars are also going to be replaced as they are too narrow for my taste.
The XT derailleurs will be deep cleaned, serviced, new jockey wheels for the rear, new cables all round same with the shifters.
the dodgy rear shock is going to be replaced with modern a lockable Rock Shock probably the most expensive purchase for the restoration.
I've been in contact with Schauff regarding the head bolts for the telelever and they need a frame number to be able to provide a replacement. set my self a three month time scale to get the thing back on the road providing no surprises along the way...
In closing one thing that I was surprised was the quality of the welding through out the bike, its not quite what I expected from a BMW product as it is not the best I've ever seen! photos to follow, happy trails
