1 1984 K100RT Restoration Tue Sep 18, 2012 8:00 am
tintock
Silver member
Well, I've finally bit the bullet and decided to start on the restoration of my 1984 K100RT.
It's been lying up in my garage for 5 years without turning a wheel after it failed its MOT in 2007 with stiff steering and excessive fluctuation of front and rear braking effort. Daft, I know, but after the failure I sort of took the huff at the dealership, the bike and anything to do with biking!
Anyway, I'm back on track now and good to go. I'm not particularly skilled in matters mechanical - I can unbolt/unscrew stuff without too much effort but it's the oily bits that scare me! I'm hopeful that I can strip everything down to the frame without the necessity for delving into the bike's innards.
It looks a bit tatty, I know, but I'm sure a good clean-up and a paint job on the frame and tank/fairing/sidepanels will do wonders. I'll probably have to get the seat re-upholstered too as it's worse than sitting on a rough plank and no-one seems to sell replacement seats for the 1984 bikes. I know I won't be able to manage the sort of restoration that other members (I'm following HALO's sterling efforts) have achieved, but I know my limitations!
I've got the tank off and drained the old fuel so I can put some fresh stuff in and see if the old girl will burst into life before I start taking her apart. Of course, it doesn't help that I've lost the original keys for the bike, but I've found a spare ignition key and I've managed to jiggle the fuel filler cap open with an old, worn ignition key. Don't know how I'm going to fix that problem as no-one seems to stock lock barrels and keys for the 1984 models.
The battery is goosed, of course, so I've ordered a Motobatt MBTX30U from eBay and a servicing kit from Motobins. Some years ago, Im sure I was their best customer for a while and I get the feeling that our relationship is going to become expensive again lol!
I'm also thinking of getting this motorcycle lift from M&P to help with taking the engine off the frame. The reviews seem to be positive enough and I was wondering if anyone here has one.
I'm anticipating that this job will see me over the winter and I'm hopeful that the job will be done in time for next Spring.
Wish me luck!
It's been lying up in my garage for 5 years without turning a wheel after it failed its MOT in 2007 with stiff steering and excessive fluctuation of front and rear braking effort. Daft, I know, but after the failure I sort of took the huff at the dealership, the bike and anything to do with biking!
Anyway, I'm back on track now and good to go. I'm not particularly skilled in matters mechanical - I can unbolt/unscrew stuff without too much effort but it's the oily bits that scare me! I'm hopeful that I can strip everything down to the frame without the necessity for delving into the bike's innards.
It looks a bit tatty, I know, but I'm sure a good clean-up and a paint job on the frame and tank/fairing/sidepanels will do wonders. I'll probably have to get the seat re-upholstered too as it's worse than sitting on a rough plank and no-one seems to sell replacement seats for the 1984 bikes. I know I won't be able to manage the sort of restoration that other members (I'm following HALO's sterling efforts) have achieved, but I know my limitations!
I've got the tank off and drained the old fuel so I can put some fresh stuff in and see if the old girl will burst into life before I start taking her apart. Of course, it doesn't help that I've lost the original keys for the bike, but I've found a spare ignition key and I've managed to jiggle the fuel filler cap open with an old, worn ignition key. Don't know how I'm going to fix that problem as no-one seems to stock lock barrels and keys for the 1984 models.
The battery is goosed, of course, so I've ordered a Motobatt MBTX30U from eBay and a servicing kit from Motobins. Some years ago, Im sure I was their best customer for a while and I get the feeling that our relationship is going to become expensive again lol!
I'm also thinking of getting this motorcycle lift from M&P to help with taking the engine off the frame. The reviews seem to be positive enough and I was wondering if anyone here has one.
I'm anticipating that this job will see me over the winter and I'm hopeful that the job will be done in time for next Spring.
Wish me luck!
Last edited by tintock on Tue Sep 18, 2012 5:46 pm; edited 1 time in total