Mon, 08/27/2012 - 20:30
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Somebody ground down the original numbers on my R66, but they have been recovered through the miracle of modern chemistry. I would like to gently tap in the correct numbers. Does any one out there know the correct number punch size? Or sizes?
Thanks,
Charlie
- 953 reads
Tue, 08/28/2012 - 00:03
#2
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Thanks for the suggestion. I
Thanks for the suggestion. I may just do that, but haven't yet decided. What I didn't know is that the head and cylinder #'s should match the engine number.I had a chance to have a look at those numbers, because I blew a head gasket. Will remove the valve covers and have a look anyway-at least I should be able to find the cylinder head numbers, right?
best,
Charlie
Tue, 08/28/2012 - 07:45
#3
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The head numbers, if present,
The head numbers, if present, should be visible without disassembly. You should see them stamped into the visible surface just inward of the valve cover mating surface.
Tue, 08/28/2012 - 13:31
#4
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Nope, no punched in numbers
Nope, no punched in numbers there, and no sign of there having been any. Only numbers I can find are cast into the lower rocker support: BMW AL G3 on the top line, below which is 266. This is the right head. These are probably foundry numbers. Maybe the left has the same markings, followed by 166. The 'revealed' engine # is 661397. I've been informed that BMW has the records for all the pre-war plunger bikes, but that the R66 records are missing. Only early # I can find on the engine is 0Z 80, right above where the engine number used to be. So it appears the bike got drafted.
Tue, 09/11/2012 - 05:58
#5
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R66 NUMBERS
Hello Charlie
this are the numbers of my R66
Ciao Luigi
Wed, 09/12/2012 - 23:15
#6
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R66 numbers
Thanks Luigi for posting that photo. It seems the numbers are not punched in very deep. I've been following the various old BMW's on the Cannonball Run. Darryl Richman was in the lead with his 1928 R52, but some kind of disaster occured today (Sept. 12). He'd been having some head gasket problems yesterday, but he was able to fix that. There's also an R62 and an R11 on the run, and both are doing well as of today.
Charlie
Mon, 10/15/2012 - 17:15
#7
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Hello,
following the pictures
Hello,
following the pictures of my R66,original number engine and heads.
my R66 is one the first produced but following i see other numbers identical of picture of LuigibmwR68
my R66
other R66's
Mon, 10/15/2012 - 20:09
#8
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R66 engine #'s
Many thanks-now at least I know what the fonts are like.My bike has no numbers on the heads, nor does it seem that ever were any numbers there. All that's left of the original numbers that I can see is the OZ 80 over where the engine number was ground out. There are also some very small markings forward of the OZ80 that look like 31 Y, but they are very hard to make out, and I can't be certain.
Mon, 10/22/2012 - 15:33
#9
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BMW R66 Oil tubes
Ciao Andrea
Since our two R66 are the first models, even your no oil tubes?
I had to put on my provisional ... there was no proper housing reinforced with the crankcase. You could see that they had tried to copy what then appeared on later models.
Visto che le nostre due R66 sono dei primi modelli, anche la tua non ha i tubi dell'olio?
Sulla mia ne avevano messi di provvisori... non c'era l'apposito alloggiamento rinforzato sul carter motore. Si vedeva che avevano cercato di copiare cosa comparso poi sui successivi modelli.
Luigi
Mon, 10/22/2012 - 16:51
#10
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Hello Luigi,
yes,my R66
Hello Luigi,
yes,my R66 didn't have the oil tubes,it's correct.
We can,i think,divide the production of R66 in 2 "series":
-the first without oil tubes and frame reinforcement
-the second with oil tubes and frame reinforcement
Mon, 10/22/2012 - 23:58
#11
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oil tubes etc.
Hello Luigi & Andrea;
I have the oil-tubes with the reinforced crankcase on my R66. One thing to keep in mind if you run the bike a lot, is that when doing an oil change, you need to remove the rocker covers and drain the oil from each, because the oil pipe is located too high up in the heads to drain completely. If you drain the oil with the bike on the side stand, most of the oil from the right rocker cover will drain back into the case, but you'll definitely have to remove the left-hand cover.
On my old R66 from forty years ago, there was no oiling to the rocker boxes, other than what I pumped in there every second fill-up. I never changed this oil except when I adjusted the valve chearances. This worked fine. So I guess my old R66 was early production,and my current one is later.
My current R66 has a strut beneath the seat. My old R66 did not. Have a look at section 4 in this forum M72 Mystery.You will find two factory modification advisories about the reinforcement of the head-stock, and the strut beneath the seat, both from 1939. My head stock has not been reinforced, but the strut has been installed.
cheers,
Charlie
Fri, 11/02/2012 - 18:46
#12
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Original R-66 pictures
Does anyone have some pictures of an original R-66 ie. not restored? Ive got a fairly original one that I'm trying to figure a few points out about.
Thanks!
Sat, 11/03/2012 - 14:29
#13
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I don't know if many of you
I don't know if many of you folks follow "motoclub.de forum", but someone on that website just found a very original
1939 R61 in Netherlands, and has posted many good photos of the bike, rust/dirt/weird modifications and all! That's basically the same motorcycle as an R66 save for the motor. OTOH, Somer might just consider selling his "non-correct" R66 to me, and forgetting about all the hassel of getting it presentable in mixed company? IMO, other than for an R5 or R17, that R66 is the most desirable BMW ever made!
Tue, 11/06/2012 - 08:29
#14
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Hello Somer,
i have pictures
Hello Somer,
i have pictures of one R66 original found in Novegro Market (MI) some years ago,
this bike was repainted green military but the seller clean easly this paint and find the original black paint under!
this night i post it.
Otherwise you can find very good and original pictures in BMW Mobile Tradition Archive.
Thu, 11/08/2012 - 21:59
#15
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Thanks for the tip-I'll
Thanks for the tip-I'll investigate. I'm with you on the desirability of an R5 or an R66-but while an R17 is very rare, I think it's a fairly unpleasant motorcycle to drive. I owned one for about a year in the mid-sixties, and it was neat to look at, but a bear to ride. It seemed very original to my admittedly untrained eye, and started easily-but it had no brakes to speak of, and the early telescopic forks twisted sideways almost as much as they went up and down. That made the handling treacherous. The straight-ahead ride was harsh and uncomfortable, and the engine, was clattery and leaky. It was easy to work on-which I did a lot of. Compared to the R66 I owned at the time, it was a very primitive motorcycle. Well, you might say-the R17 was clapped out, and I was a dumb kid.Interestingly, a friend of mine bought an R17 several years ago, and his experience was the same as mine. He was so disappointed with it that he made the seller take it back and return his money. Since I'd only paid $300.00 in 1965 for the R17 (about $1,800 in today's money), I wasn't too bent out of shape about my purchase, and when the bike lunched its crank-pin, I was able to sell it to Amol Precision for what I had in it. It is rumored to reside in a loft in Brooklyn, broken crankpin and all 
Charlie
Mon, 12/31/2012 - 19:26
#16
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Engine numbers
My R-66 appears to be an early one too. It had original vin#s and the same numbers stamped above the cylinders.
Mon, 01/14/2013 - 16:46
#17
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Engine numbers
Hi Luigi,
I think that my engine probably met your engine a long time ago in Germany 
Check my numbers !
Best Regards, Lars
Tue, 03/05/2013 - 11:21
#18
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Re Engine numbers
Hi Lars!
Yes is fantastic!
Only 2 numbers!
WOW, they are sisters!
Ciao
Luigi
...maybe you should just "leave well enough alone"? That's very rare and desirable BMW, and your not likely to be able to restamp the frame well enough for it NOT to appear to be a restamp? If you can really prove that it's the frame original to the motor, so what if the frame numbers have been obliterated? FWIW, the font used on the R66 frame serial numbers will be the same as any other 1938-41 BMW frame. I'd suspect that the roundel is the early larger size?...I'd wonder if your cylinders and heads serial numbers match the motor number?...