I'm so far along in fixing up my 1975 R75/6 that I decided to clean its tool kit.
Every BMW airhead of the time came with a fantastically complete toolkit that'd pretty much get you out of any situation. Sadly, the BMW does not come with know-how, for that I turn to a Clymer manual, good friends and the source of all knowledge, Internet forums.
While taking the lead in swapping out my old toaster tank for a slightly larger, better looking, model and installing a new-to-me S bikini fairing, my pal Dan Rodarte commented on the poor condition of my tool set. They were, as you can see in the photo above, slowly rusting away. He suggested dipping them in Coca-Cola and scrubbing them a bit as the kits are so handy and hard to come by. I remember the myriad guides I've seen on the internet of people doing similar things with the tasty beverage and thought, OK. Lets try it! Coke is a wonderful source of phosphoric acid and its supposed to clean rust, what'd I have to lose?
Here are some photos of the results. I simply poured a 16oz coke into a glass bowl (I wanted something non-reactive, who'd want to ruin a nice pot with Coke?) and let the worst looking tools sit for a few minutes. All I did was scrub with an abrasive green kitchen sponge. Dan warned me not to leave the tools in too long or the coke might eat too much off!
Soon the bike'll be on the road again (I'm waiting on a few silly bits to show up, should be by early next week) and I'll share a lot more about the restoration. Here's a shot as she comes back together…
