With the exception of the new leading link fork, I’ve received all the parts I’ve ordered for the Dnepr rebuild project. The shipment of the fork was delayed, but was finally shipped a week ago and was in Warsaw, Poland as of April 20.
The new rims arrived from Germany and look great. They are better built than the original rims, and lighter, too. They have a hard powder-coated black finish that is durable and looks good, too. I figured that this might be a good opportunity to replace the wheel bearings, so I bought a set of 8 Timken bearings, 2 per wheel hub. The Dnepr toolkit included a set of spanners that make the removal of the bearings easy and simple. The old grease was hard and dry, but the original wheel bearings appeared to be in good condition. I’ll clean them and set them aside as spares. Once I replace the wheel bearings, I’ll lace the new rims to the hubs using the new stainless steel spokes.
The new 2-into-2 exhaust is much nicer than the original Dnepr 2-into-1 system, and is a replica of the original BMW design, including the fish-tail style mufflers. The chrome is a high quality, and the pieces fit together nicely. These chrome exhausts will really make a strong visual impact when they are installed. I can’t wait to hear how the engine sounds with the new mufflers.
This weekend I’ll focus on cleaning the hubs and installing the new bearings so I can move on to lacing the new rims on the hubs. Stay tuned!
