Another BMW K100 followed me home

[bomber737]

Finally got most of the parts I have been waiting for so I was able to make some headway on the project. I got the dyna beads installed in the tires. I made the mistake of thinking I needed more weight than I really did. Glad I looked at the weights that came off the rims before I started pouring them in. The weights are marked in grams so a quick conversion and all I needed in each tire was 2 oz. I got the new rear main seal installed and the inner oring to seal the clutch basket. I am glad I purchased the alignment tool for the clutch friction disk, it made it so much easier to align all the parts and since I marked everything before I took it apart I know it's ready to go.

I also got most of the new radiator hoses installed and removed all the old fuel lines and they will get replaced tonight.

I got the new studs installed for the exhaust and everything got a nice coat of anti-seize on all the threads. Hopefully next time I have to remove exhaust I will be able to get the nuts off with out any major hassle. BMW uses a nut that deforms when you tighten them down to secure them so I am installing some nice nylock nuts.

Now the next project will be to clean up the top of the engine and get the new fuel lines installed. There had been some debate as to the cams that are installed in my bike. Early production 85 models did not have this breather and they were installed in later 85's. The 85's have a hotter cam than were used in 86 but I am not sure what date the 86 cams started getting installed. I will have to look it up by VIN and see what I have. I got all new clamps since BMW likes to use ones that you need a tool to crimp. Its going to be a big job to work around all the wires running everywhere on this bike. They use a hall sensor for ignition timing and the cover is on the front of the engine so I will definitely have to be careful. And I am hoping that the fuel regulator is in working worder since the bike ran before it should run after im all done but you never know. I am just not planning on replacing it at this time.


Rest of tonight will be spent getting the trany remounted and maby if I have time I can even get the swing arm and tire mounted.

[GSX1000E]

Might I suggest using lock nuts/stover nuts in lew of those nylocks? When the exhaust gets hot, those nylon centers will melt and no longer be of any value.

[bomber737]

You know I just remembered that I do have some serrated shouldered nuts on order with Fastenal. I just have not been home to get them. Good suggestion, thanks.

[bomber737]

Last night with some help I got the trany re-installed and the clutch actuator actually works like it is supposed to. Yeah I got it right, now hopefully I installed the new rear main seal properly and the o ring sealing the clutch basket. Only time will tell. I really need to get on the looks of the engine now. It looks pretty bad next to the nice newly painted trany and rear end. I did decide to sand blast and paint the battery tray and when I do that I will also be painting the battery strap. They both look like A$$ so I can't have that.

I also got the frame mounted back on the engine and the bars re-installed. Took me some time to get the cable routing correct and I forgot that I had purchased another clutch cable because the first one I got was for a RS model and this one is a RT. Man this thing is strange compared to our GS's I also continued the clean up of the engine. Lots more work to do.




I do think the engine is cleaning up nicely, I just need to get a softer brush for the final cleaning and then I will put some autosol on it to hopefully protect the look.

[bomber737]

More time to work on the bike last few days. It got up to 20 degrees and I am feeling like spring is right around the corner considering it was -30 last week. I have been working on the forks some and I got them rebuilt. I put new progressive springs in and I am hoping I got the spacers the correct length with new fork oil and seals. I will find out how much sag I have when I get the bike back on 2 wheels.

I got the fork lowers wire brushed, cleaned up and painted. I think they look very nice and they match the rear end. In the picture they are still in primer.

Since it warmed up I did get a chance to sand blast the corrosion off the battery tray and holder. I got the battery tray re-installed.

I also got the new throttle cable I have been waiting for and got it installed. I did find that the throttle sleeve was quite stiff from old grease so I pulled it off and regreased it. It works very nice now, this bike uses a geared throttle sleeve and a small chain. The cable is attached to the chain. Seems like Suzuki and all the other Jap bikes use a better system. Sorry I didnt get and pictures of that. I did get the right side control back together and I am not happy with the washed out color of the buttons and the work out lettering. I will have to deal with that later. The spare set I have are in the same condition so I just used the best ones.




Next on the agenda are finish up the engine clean up and get some polish on it until I can get it pained. I will also be insulating the fuel lines and pressure regulator. The fuel lines run along the back side of the throttle bodies and is exposed to a lot of engine heat.

[bomber737]

More work done on the K this week. I got the swing arm mounted and the pivot bolt tensioned. Unfortunately just as I got 5ft/lb on it the center of it stripped so next time I pull the rear end off I will have to replace it. I will probably buy it now and store it since the prices of these parts seems to keep going up, it's a $30 part right now.

I also got the rear wheel mounted up. I love the look of the rear end of this bike. I think its unfortunate BMW put such a large muffler on the thing. I did see a really excellent hand made one. I would like to make something like that for the other K100 I have. I continued wire brushing the engine cases ans I am almost done with them. I think a nice coat of autosol will protect the shine until I can get them painted. I installed the aribox and started working on getting the wire loom back in place and everything re-connected. There are a lot of wires going everywhere on this thing. Makes our GS's wire loom look simple, all that extra stuff to control the fuel injection and mass airflow sensor.
I also got the kick stand and side stand cleaned up and working nice and smoothly. I didn't even have to paint it since the paint was in great shape but it was dirty dirty.


BMW does seem to use twin springs on a lot of their stuff like the side stand and the center stand. I started rebuilding the rear of the bike getting the inner fender in place and the rear fairing. I can't tighten the fairing down just yet as I need to get the pegs installed and the supports for the bags.

[bomber737]

I am planning on changing out the tube on the anti-freeze reservoir. I did have a pleasant surprise when i was looking through the boxes of parts i have from the other K100 I have and found a progressive rear shock. So that saves me about $350 bucks, this has to be the first thing that has saved me some cash on this build.

I have had a lot of time in the last few days to work on the bike. I finished the rear fairing and got the luggage mounts on the bike. I will be adding led's to the taillight to make it more visible, you can barely see the brake light. The mounts are hard to see but I think the clean up looks great, I got the foot peg mount cleaned up and some what shined up.

I got tired of kneeling so I though I would work on the upper fairing. I got the fairing mounted and tried to follow the cable routing diagram, of course once I for the upper fairing on I realized I had some wires in the wrong place. That took a while to get rectified and the fairing mount was a little tweaked so there went another hour straightening it out. Now it shoud be easy to take the fairing on and off as I need to. I also got the horns mounted and wired back up. I did wind up using the RS wire loom for the turn signals and horns. I did come up with a solution to the problem of the mirrors wanting to fall off when bumped. I am planning on using a cable and a spring to put tension on the mirror housing. It works for my snowmobiles so it should work on the bike. I have rolled my sled and those mirrors get folded flat and spring right back in place


I found that the weather stripping on the radiator screen was messed up so I cannibalized the one from the busted up RT fairing and got it installed. looks nice minus all the rock dings. When I get the bike painted I think I will protect this area with that 3M plastic stuff for car hoods.

I worked on the forks as well. I got the front brake calipers cleaned up and new pads installed so I should have no problem stopping this thing. I think in the future I will be replacing all the rubber lines with stainless. I really like the way the fork lowers cleaned up and I think the front end looks like new. I will be leaving the mud flap off the bike. I have a fork brace on the bike but its still loose, I will tighten it up when I am sure it wont inhibit the movement of the forks.

[bomber737]

Now I have moved on to the guages. I have been having my daughters most of the week so I have not had time to work on the bike but I have started tearing apart both of my gauge clusters. What a mess I have going on on the kitchen table. Ah the joys of not having a wife. My kitchen table used to be my carb rebuild bench until my kids complained. I guess they will have to get over the gauges being on there for now

I have 2 sets of gauges so I can pick the best parts for the RS I am building. I was not happy with the broken gear indicator in the gauges so I decided to swap the good one I have to go in the set I will be using on this bike.


I then moved on to the spedo and found that both had bad gears so apart they came and I managed to get 1 good set for the spedo I will be calibrating this week.


Good set of gears installed and ready for calibration.
I also ordered a new set of gears. I cant believe how easy it is to roll back the miles on a K. I found that the 4L plastic piece was shorter than it should have been and glued in to the spot. I will have to get a new one of those. I am also planning on putting LED bulbs in the whole cluster. I ordered 20 off of ebay for $15. The bulbs for the turn signal are different and I already have LED's for those. I am not worried about hyper flashing because I still have incandescent bulbs in the signals.
I have one 9 screw cluster rear housing and one 6 screw. I will be using the 9 screw housing on the build bike. It also has 2 vents already in it so I wont have to drill any holes.

[bomber737]

More work on the gauge cluster. i have the new gears ordered but I decided to put LED bulbs in and they finally got to my house today. They fit in 5 positions so I had to order another style for the rest. But I bet these will have the gauges look nice and at least they will work for the rest of my lifetime. So now I have to wait for the next batch of bulbs. Man it seams I am always waiting for parts with this thing. BTW I ordered 2 sets of spedo gears from odometergears.com. They were very helpful and knowledgeable and gave me 10 bucks off the second set of gears I ordered. i even got to talk directly to a human.

[subforry]

Waiting for parts is why I have more than one motorcycle. I can't imagine a world where I could walk into a dealer and buy a part on a Saturday. My local BMW dealer seems to get parts in about 2 days.

I have always owned old and odd vehicles. It still throws me when I call the Subaru dealer and they have the part in stock. That may not last since my Subaru is 2005 and rarely needs parts.

I was reading your signature and noticed you have '89 GSX1100F. I often think about how the BMW K RS and the Katana compare. They are different beasts built for the same prupose. I would be interested to hear (read) your thoughts.

Enjoying the build thread, thanks.

[bomber737]

Thanks subforry, I know the GSX was advertised as sport touring but in my opinion it is a pure sport bike with more power than the GSX-R and softer less adjustable suspension. I have ridden 2 GSX's, a 750 and my 1100 and I will tell you they sit way more forward than the K.

I have a RT and an RS and I went with the RT bars on the build bike. I will be using the RS bars on the next BMW K build this summer. The GSX has what amounts to clipons for the controls.

What the GSX has over the GSX-R is the electric windshield which actually moves air over you when it is fully extended. I wish I could find a GSX-R to compare mine with. I might be dating myself here but there is no way I would ride the GSX on an extended trip like I would with my GS1000E or the K. I guess I am to old to be hunched over all day. The GSX does have descent suspension with the addition of progressive springs. The stock rear suspension adequate.

I am really looking forward to riding my K this summer, when I got it there was already snow on the ground so I didn't get a chance to try it out yet. Speaking of the K, are you going to ride yours to the international BMW rally up here in St. Paul MN this summer? I just saw the flyer on the BMWMOA web site.

[subforry]

Speaking of the K, are you going to ride yours to the international BMW rally up here in St. Paul MN this summer? I just saw the flyer on the BMWMOA web site.

That would be a blast but I wont have the free time, also quite a long ride. I was hoping to take a camping trip in March but my weekends are already full.

[bomber737]

Finally got around to working on the K, I had ordered a rebuild kit for the gas cap and got it installed. This gave me a chance to clean and lube all the moving parts. There was a little corrosion in there so I am glad its lubed and cleaned up.


I decided to use the fuel pump from the low mileage bike and I replaced the fuel filter and got some new submersible fuel line so at least I know I wont be pumping crap through my fuel system. The tank was very clean but there was some really old gas in there so out it went.

I got he tank hooked back up and installed on the bike but I didn't get a picture of that yet.

[bomber737]

Since it go cold out again I decided to tackle a few other projects I wanted to address. I was not happy with how bright the tail light was while the bike was sitting there so since we have so much room in the sides I decided to add some lights. I originally purchased some off of Ebay but I was not happy with how small they were. So I went to the local parts store and low and behold they had what i was looking for. They weren't giving them away but I am happy with how they look.




I also finally got all the LED bulbs for the gauges and got them installed. I got the small ones from a web site, superbrightled.com and I am hopeing they will never require replacing in my life time. They cost me #$1.39 a piece and you will need 8 of them and 2 of a twist in type. We will see how they look when I get the gauges back in the bike

[bomber737]

I finally got back to the K. I wired up the new running brake lights. I did this by soldering the 2 leads from the new lights together with a 3rd wire as a pig tail. I crimped a male connector to each set of 3 wires and pluged them into the wires that used to go to power the light. I crimped female connectors to the pig tail and attached them into the light bulb socket.



I really like the way they look and I think I am more visible with the light cluster like it is now. I think I will start looking for some strip lights to add to the brakeing light.


I had some time so I got the rear diff oil changed and the engine oil. I still need to do the trany, maby tomorrow but it is supposed to be 70 up here in da nort so I might be riding one of my other bikes.

I also got the power cord for my battery tender installed and mounted. So now I wont have to pull it next winter.