Hi, and thanks for the join. Happy to find such a great support thread.

I have been a confirmed Airhead for some time now and my regular ride is an 83 R65. I figured it was time to add something more modern to the garage so have put a deposit on an '84 K100. Should be a more relaxed long distance tourer.

I have of course been trawling the K100 forum for information and will doubtless be back with some dumb beginner questions. I might need some new friends too because my Airhead mates might be a bit hostile!

Greetings Michael and Welcome to the Knuthaus. The only dumb question is the one you don't ask.

welcome aboard

Welcome the forum.
Is the Brick instead of or as well as an Airhead?

Mike.

Welcome to this awesome forum Michael. I also went from airhead to brick some time ago. Now I have an R100R as well as a K75. I enjoy riding them both. I am yet to find an airhead forum as good as the K100 forum. May catch up on one of the rides . Cheers Tom

Welcome !

I also have a 83 R65. I think R65 is a very under rated motorcycle. It might not really modern highway friendly, but as soon as off highway/express way, the short wheel base out shine his/her big brothers.

Looking for the photos of your new to you K.

Thanks everyone!

Yes, I am hanging on to my R65... could not part with her. As said, a brilliant bike around town or on minor roads, just a bit stressed on long highway runs.

I will not have the K100 for a week or so as I need to fly up  to the north coast and ride it down....750km "getting to know you" ride. In the meantime I will try to post a bit of Airhead porn. (If I can figure out how)

WelKome Michael,  

We have chatted on the R65 forum in the past.  Sure is a nice red R65 you have.  

You will find the Sydney and Hunter Krews quite sociable.  If you are lucky they may even introduce you to their "secret" loffee brew.  

Cheers, Dave.

So, planning a bit of an adventure. The K100 I have bought is 750km north of me near the Queensland border. Have booked a flight up there for Friday morning and will ride the bike home.

The seller has done a service on the bike and does not anticipate any problems but I guess there will be the answer to any questions somewhere on this site should I need help.

No hurry to get home to Sydney. I can spend the whole weekend meandering my way down the coast. Looking forward to it

PS I am buggered if I understand how inserting pictures works on this forum! The instructions look very different to what I see on screen.

Hey,welcome,I'm fairly new here too.I also have an airhead,an R60/5 . They're fun bikes but the K100 seems like a real road burner which is what you really need to do the distance. Good luck with your new project. Photos ?

So, my excursion to Ballina was a success. I flew up and bought the bike, hopped on and rode her back to Sydney. Ran faultlessly of course! A great long distance tourer.

Stopped off for a couple of pics on the way south, including the iconic Big Prawn and the legendary Big Banana.

Welcome Michael .

Now you need to continue south and catch up with Rambo the big (merino) sheep here in Goulburn. 

Glad all is pleasing. 

Bill

indian036 wrote:Now you need to continue south and catch up with Rambo the big (merino) sheep here in Goulburn. 

Glad all is pleasing. 

Bill

Tick!

Michael Sydney wrote:

indian036 wrote:Now you need to continue south and catch up with Rambo the big (merino) sheep here in Goulburn. 

Glad all is pleasing. 

Bill

Tick!

Doesn't count. Wasn't with the K and you didn't drop in while you were here. You'll be very welcome to remedy the situation sometime, though.     
(Not June or July. I'll be trying to catch up with some of the Krew on the other side of the world.)

Bill

I will take you up on that Bill. I want to come down that way again and take the magnificent road across to Neriga and Nowra.

Anyone else like to do a loop?

PS I walked around the back of that sheep and it is definitely a ram!

I am keen to ride that loop. I can also confirm Rambo is a Ram.

It couldn't be confirmed as a ram until it had a slight addition to its equipment immediately following its move from its original place to its current place in 2007. I missed the move, arriving back in Oz that morning, but I wanted to see the sheepdog helping move it up the road!

If you're coming on a weekend, 20-21 May is the only one I'm in town before I head OS. Look forward to seeing you up here if you get the chance. 

Bill

21 May I will be at the Campbelltown Steam and Machinery Museum field day, but on 4 wheels with the Citroen Car Club. Would love to make it a bike trip but I am (or should be) committed.

It is always a great event with live steam and lots of other toys.

http://www.csmm.com.au/field-days.html

That's an interesting K 100.

Especially the rear disc. That was changed to solid on a recall, due to discs cracking. Rare to see one now.

The K looks real good and you are in good company in Sydney. We get the occasional visitor from there so if you feel like some adventure come on over! It's only one tube stop on the way.

Thanks Olaf. You are not the first to comment on the possibly lethal rear disk! I have searched but can not find info about a recall. It may even be possible to approach BMW about a replacement!

Can you tell me more?

Interesting discussion about the rear disc. BOB the Blue Old Bike has the solid disc, with recon caliper and new pads by me and new master cylinder by previous owner, RT. It is noticeably less effective than the original type slotted disc on my other K100, with no work necessary in my ownership. 

As our American friends would say, Go Figure.  

Bill

Well, it has been a learning experience so far! I have had my R65 airhead for some time but this K100 is the same, but different.

Acting on advice from fellow forum members I have now removed the stupid peg from the top of the side stand pivot so the stand does not flip up all the time and re-positioned the fuel cap to align with the drain hole. Today I flushed out the front brakes with fresh fluid but the rear master cylinder is not behaving.

This rear cylinder is refusing to bleed properly.As soon as I managed to loosen the bleed screw the pedal lost all feel and will not push fluid through an open bleed screw. I guess a kit is needed as a minimum or maybe a whole new M/C... I need a replacement reservoir anyway.

Previous owner(s) has left me some problems with many fasteners over tightened and some just plain loose. I can't get the 30mm nut loose to adjust steering head bearings. I have ground down a hex socket to fit neatly but think perhaps only a rattle gun will shake it free. Had to reassemble the brake line without completing the job.

I am forming a list of things I would like for this bike but I suspect most will be best sourced overseas:

Full set of braided lines.
Rear master cylinder, kit or aftermarket replacement.
Rear fluid reservoir (early type)
Clock (it infuriates me that BMW sold this bike new with a simple digital clock as an "option" !!

Would also like to obtain a standard bench seat and a tail piece... I like this MotoCo single seat but would like to sometimes fit a dual for occasional two-up trips.

The clock is not an option but is standard equipment that came on all K bikes. and it may be simple but the cost for a replacement from BMW is $252US.

When putting on a dual seat, I would advise against getting a BMW standard "square" seat as they are horribly uncomfortable if ridden for any length of time. The BMW comfort seats are OK though so either get a comfort seat or something aftermarket.

Fit an aftermarket/K1100 round rear reservoir. Any OEM that you find is going to be seriously damaged by UV, very fragile and just looking for somewhere to shatter. As for the master cylinder: if you can release the small grubscrew/bolt on the side the guts will just drop out. It's the easiest m/c overhaul you'll ever do.

I have Australian HEL brand braided lines on my two K bikes. They are very good quality in my opinion and have kits already assembled for many bike models. They also have a very good online tool for ordering custom lines if you have the need.

On my K75 project I chose to remove the ABS so needed different lines. On the front I ran two separate lines down to the calipers direct from the master cylinder using a double banjo bolt at the master cylinder - might be a thought for you if you have any issues with the "through the steering stem" system.
Another useful feature of the brand is that their banjo bolt fittings are designed to swivel so that you do not get any tension in the line due to twisting, i.e. you just bolt the line on and it "relaxes" into the correct position.

Cheers

The master cylinder get lots of crud build up in the bore and as soon as you push the pedal all the way the piston sticks and wont return. Pull it off the bike and put some high pressure air in it from the back and put some clean rag over the end to catch the piston. It may still be usable but a kit would be needed from Motobins.
Check this out it may be a good substitute  http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/181850172730?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT But no guarantee.

Sometimes you can clean out a master and get it working without having to track down and buy a rebuild kit:

http://www.kbikeparts.com/classickbikes.com/ckb.tech/0.ckb.tech.files/master.leak/master.leak.htm

Great forum with a flood of advice. Thanks for all the tips and info!

Thanks Dai, RicK and Duck. As you suggested the master cylinder was full of muck. A good clean out and reassembly and it happily worked again. The bore looked good so I think a kit is due or perhaps that Chinese replacement unit mentioned elsewhere is a good idea plus of course it must be time to service the calipers.

The other little problem I found on my 84K is the rear brake pedal acts on a piston inside the rubber boot, or so I thought. I actually had a plastic cap on it against which the pedal engages, only it had gotten out of line when I did some work, Its quite possible after pressing your pedal all the way that they are not correctly aligned and the pedal is simply pressing the master cylinder to little effect instead of depressing the piston. If you pull the rubber boot back you will see the assembly underneath it.

Definitely replace the reservoir but funny enough I got a BMW one off the local BMW dealer for very small money.

A thing I now find useful is that I take pads out and clean them up every few weeks, keeps the pistons moving freely, pins good too and stops the pistons sticking to the backing and keeps a good eye on pad wear which at times is quite variable.

Yes, I discovered that Olaf. The assembly was fine,though a bit gungy inside the boot.

I was surprised to find the rubber bock between the pedal and the piston, presumably to give a more progressive feel to the pedal. Amazingly that rubber seemed to be in good condition but a kit or cylinder replacement would be prudent I think.

I actually considered selling my Airhead R100R but managed to stop myself at the last minute. I've not ridden it properly for a while, just up the lane now and again to keep it sweet. I normally get rid of bikes I'm not riding but just couldn't part with this beauty as it's in really great condition (the pictures don't do it justice) and I doubt that I'd get one as nice again.











These are some of the pictures I took when I intended to advertise it on eBay-PHEW! 

A very nice example of the R100R. Especially like the cover around the oil cooler. I have one the same with the same colour but a black seat. I enjoy riding the 75 and the airhead equally. Will post some pics when renovation is complete. Glad it did not get to fleabay. Cheers Tom

Tom Grabau wrote:A very nice example of the R100R. Especially like the cover around the oil cooler. I have one the same with the same colour but a black seat. I enjoy riding the 75 and the airhead equally. Will post some pics when renovation is complete. Glad it did not get to fleabay. Cheers Tom

Thanks Tom.
The cover around the oil cooler is a stock BMW part, does your bike not have it?

It used to be Amethyst but didn't like the colour so jumped at the chance to change it when some parts acme up for sale.




The Amethyst bike had a colour coded oil cooler cover