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I have started on removing the rear part of the motorcycle,and in spite of 2 years exposure to oil and WD40 the small fastenings worked in pairs, one undid but the other would not move. One unscrewed while the other needed the head drilling and chisels applied.

The jury is out on the seat whether to renew of replace. The rear mudguard is another Difazio creation I like it but it is bulky and retains two wings to carry some large indicators. My aim was always to try and create a semi-standard BMW R75 from the rear and thus increase the visual shock of the other end so it will join the front fairing in the loft and I will obtain a standard type rear mudguard for a BMW.

Getting the rear moulding off was a pain, first to be removed is the huge pannier frame (I was lucky enough to catch a set of period Krauser panniers and frame in very good condition at a local auction and have high hopes of fitting them. The Right hand bolt that held the RH frame and the rear unit would not undo, its nut was tucked between the frame and rear mudguard moulding and it resisted all attempts to stop it turning. Finally I removed the battery box and bolts and could slide the moulding forward and spring it enough the get to the narrow flanged nut from above, continuing the unequal corrosion pattern the LH one just undid. The footrests held the bottom of the frame and true to form the RH footrest undid smoothly, while the LH needed a good heating before it moved. The footrests themselves were very crude just 8mm rod threaded  then bent backwards and welded along the foot part to form a sort of rectangular peg for the rubbers.

Next item to stop the rear mudguard removal was the rear wheel, so first I removed the silencer and the spindle nuts,spacers speedo drive and spindle.

I was expecting fun removing the rear wheel itself, since I had not been able to raise the plot very high on my own and I had read many stories on how a high back wheel might help in removal on a standard machine. In my case however things were made worse by the all enveloping rear mudguard moulding and the solid tyre (without any air), fortunately lateral thinking occurred, and I took a disc cutter and removed a nice flap of the 40 year old flat rear tyre then it slipped past the brake shoes and allowed the whole wheel followed by the rear moulding to be removed (memo don’t go for a wide rear tyre on rebuild)

Now came the first real problem and possibly the reason the bike was sidelined to the damp shed in the first place. I removed the plastic swing arm pivot covers and attempted to unscrew the RH  pivot bolt, but the Allen key just turned in the hole which was butchered, the LH side looked as bad but with some poking about I found that had a hole all the way through, so the RH was obviously blocked with a snapped Allen key (this was born out by the failure of a drill to make any headway against it) so I asked for suggestions on a BMW forum where  the final solution suggested was to cut the pivots with a disc cutter! But the most favoured was to use a 12 point driver hammered into the hole. I added a final flourish by to grinding the end of the key to remove all the 12 points tapered end edges so the 12 point when hammered into the ¼” before it met the snapped off key would cut a new shape in the hole. This worked, and after I added some heat from my propane torch it just started to move. Eventually bit by bit it came out, and so did the other side. Finally they were out and I managed to twist the whole assembly  past the back brake lever and rod that was firmly fixed/rusted to its spindle, (I shall revisit that item when the frame is cleared of engine and gearbox.)