home | about | collection | gallery | barter | media | links
  gallery 3
bikes, parts, weird stuff
 
 

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

 

The Rauch headlamp bucket is one of the most unobtainable accessories from the earles fork era. I was lucky to get this triple instrument version in a three way trade and have since passed it on. As you can see, the large instruments are the speedo and tach. The third opening is for an oil temp gauge.

Here's another Rauch, this time a dual instrument version. I found this plunger machine a few years ago and tried diligently to persuade the owner to sell. The tach might not look like a BMW part, but it does match the tach shown in the original Rauch brochure. I think this is the real deal!

This Rauch is on my R69. You can see a better photo on the R69 restoration page. Years ago, I purchased an R60 with all sorts of accessories including this bucket. I swapped a standard Bosch bucket for the Rauch and sold off the bike. It had been restored by the former owner but the reflector opening was out of round, so I sent it to Kent Holt. A year later, it came back as good as new. The large VDO tach instrument was part of a multi bike/parts trade and is said to be original.

Here’s my dual Rauch prior to restoration. Upon closer inspection, the craftsmanship (or lack thereof) was pretty crude. The dual opening dashboard was simply soldered into an OEM Bosch bucket.

If you are wondering how valuable these Rauch buckets are, this Ebay auction should give you a good idea. This is the actual triple bucket as seen in the first photo above. Who would have ever guessed a headlight bucket could sell for most than most motorcycles?

The rarest and arguably most desirable fuel tank is this Lugauer that I had a chance to buy several years ago. These were supposedly made for and sold by Georg Meier. Unfortunately, the seller had packaged the tank with another bike that I did not want.

In the past few years, the VDO 8 day clock has become a very sought after accessory. Unfortunately, these little gems are pure unobtanium. The gold version was produced in the early to mid 50's. The black version was commonly used for ISDT (International Six Days Trials) racing. VDO beefed up the later style by mounting the clock unit in a rubber donut, which was crimped in a protective alloy shell. The photo shows two ISDT versions, one with an adjustable red hand, the other without. For some reason, the price of these clocks has gone through the roof with some enthusiasts paying over $3000.

Close up of the earlier "Gold Clock"

Notice the "5 53" stamp indicating the production date

The original silver plated or painted housings were very prone to rust. VDO used a different finish on the later ISDT clocks which was more durable and corrosion resistant.

Here's a photo courtesy of an earlesfork.com visitor. The two tone face on this version is different than any I’ve seen before and is said to be original.

This unique clock appeared on US Ebay several years ago. I followed the auction, which ended up with a winning bid of over $3000! The white face and BMW logo are not original but it does make for a really attractive, one of a kind accessory.

This photo shows the back of the later ISDT style clock. The date stamp indicates an early 60's piece. I found this clock by sheer luck. I was talking to a fellow enthusiast years ago and was trying to describe the VDO clock over the phone. He remembered seeing something similar in the tool box of a friends Honda dealership. I called his contact and tried to describe the part. The guy must have thought I was nuts... who on earth would be calling for a useless old clock? One thing led to another, and the clock surfaced from the back of a tool box. As it turns out, the former owner's father used it for trials racing back in the 60's and 70's.

Here's a period photo of an ISDT sidecar machine. Notice the VDO clock on the handlebar.That is one brave soul in the sidcar!