In January 2006, I met Tim Stafford at the MidAmerican motorcycle auction in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he was auctioning of the most beautifully restored BMWs I had ever seen. Tim, who works out of San Diego, does exquisite restorations of BMW motorcycles. I since have heard his restorations represent the “gold standard” of BMW motorcycle restorations.

I discussed my desire with Tim, and he indicated he could do a restoration for me. We concluded a deal with a handshake. By that autumn, the R60/2 was ready, and you see photographs of it on this page.

In the photos below you can see the motorcycle before restoration. It was clearly in need of a complete restoration by Tim Stafford. The Tim's work brought about an incredible change.

In the montage below, you see the restoration of the red R60/2 under way in Tim's work shop.

Years ago, I decided I wanted sealed, maintenance-free 6-volt battery for my slash-2 BMWs. I found an inexpensive 6-volt sealed AGM battery, which is sold for a little over $30 through Batteries Plus. I cannot say enough positive about these batteries. I have used some for over 10 years, and every one I have ever bought is still working just fine. If you have a BMW /2 that is still 6 volts, you really should use this battery. It inserts a fuse in a fuseless BMW and uses a common 2-prong electrical connector available from Radio Shack and other sources, allowing easy charging.

I wanted to make my “new” R60/2 functional, so that meant installing appropriate period saddlebags or panniers. I used Craven panniers in the 1960s, so I set about finding a pair of the handsome “Golden Arrow” panniers on eBay.

I obtained two bags, which were in the standard Craven color of black, and had them painted Granada red. The result is shown below.

Below: Here is “Scarlett” posing in front of Frank Lloyd Wright's First Unitarian Society Meeting House in Madison, Wisconsin — a National Historic Landmark.

Wherever “Scarlett” goes she draws admirers from among current and former motorcyclists. Here she is on the Merrimac Ferry crossing the Wisconsin River. Norm Benedum, wearing a red helmet, is standing beside his black 1966 R69S, which he has named “Walter.” Admirers often focus in on pre-1970 BMW motorcycles. I told Norm that, as a new rider of an R69S, he should get used to it.

Below: “Scarlett” showed up at Iron Horse Motorcycles, Tucson AZ, during a 2010 open house. John Cartright, owner, smiles behind the old and the new.

On July 14, 2011, Norm Benedum and I converted Scarlett from 6-volt electrics to 12 volts. We used the Bench Mark Works “Slap-On” conversion kit. It took us (mostly Norm) 90 minutes to install the components under the front cover. It took more time to replace all the 6-volt bulbs with 12-volt versions and to install the battery. Now Scarlett has 200 watts of power, not just 60.

The photos below show the 12-volt alternator and voltage regulator that replaced the 6-volt generator and regulator. The original BMW magneto remains in place to fire the spark plugs. However, after the conversion the motorcycle should not be run without the 12-volt battery as it would destroy the voltage regulator and diode board.