1 Bringing a K bike back from the dead Fri Aug 04, 2017 3:14 am
duck
Life time member
Disclaimer: I do not warrant that this is the "right way" or only way to do this. It's just what I, a mere shadetree mechanic with a good lot of K bike wrenching under my belt, plan to do.
The victim: A 56K 93 K1100LT that has not run since June of 2010.
How do I know? It just so happens that the guy who sold it to me purchased it in 2010 and took it apart in order to give it a spline lube. He didn't feel fully confident putting it back together by himself so he enlisted me to do the actual clutch spline lube and help him put it back together. (I'd already done a bunch of successful spline lubes by then including my own 93 K1100LT that I purchased back in 2005.)
After we'd finished the spline lube I took it for a spin around the block to make sure everything was in order so, despite the usual jokes about buying dead bikes that "ran when parked," I'm the last person who rode this bike so I know for a fact that it was in good running condition. (The reason he never rode it was due to inseam issues so he rode his low seat K75RT instead.)
Another good thing is that he purchased the bike from a reputable BMW dealer (A&S) so it's likely that one of their wrenches gave it an inspection prior to the sale.
Step 1: Pre-lube the engine and get it turning slowly (manually) in order to get the cylinders lubed.
(I didn't get home until about 10 so I'll do this in the morning.)
Since K engines are flat in-lines on their side, merely pouring a little oil in each cylinder won't get the circumference of the cylinder walls and rings lubed. What I've used in the past and plan to use on this bike is fogging oil since it's an aerosol oil made for engines that can be sprayed at the tops of the cylinders once the spark plugs have been removed.
Once I've got the cylinders pre-lubed with the fogging oil I'll put the bike in fifth gear and turn the rear wheel to turn the engine in order to spread the oil on the rings and cylinder walls. (I'll leave the spark plugs out since the engine will be much easier to turn without compression.)
Step 2: Oil & filter change.
Once I know the engine will turn (I'm pretty confident that it will) I'll give it an oil change with Valvoline High Mileage Oil because high mileage oils have additives to help restore dry seals and the Valvoline HM oil has a good reputation.
Step 3: Turn the engine a few revolutions with the starter in order to get the remainder of the engine oiled.
I don't want the fuel system working when I do this so, before installing a known good battery to spin the engine with the starter a few times, I'll unplug the fuel level sender that powers fuel pump the and leave the Motronic disconnected so the injectors won't function.
Step 4: Fuel system
Once I have the engine turning and oiled I'll attack the fuel system before attempting to start it. I haven't pulled off the gas cap yet to see what the inside of the tank looks like but hopefully I won't have to deal with the black goo of doom.
I'll report back tomorrow once I get it turning.
The victim: A 56K 93 K1100LT that has not run since June of 2010.
How do I know? It just so happens that the guy who sold it to me purchased it in 2010 and took it apart in order to give it a spline lube. He didn't feel fully confident putting it back together by himself so he enlisted me to do the actual clutch spline lube and help him put it back together. (I'd already done a bunch of successful spline lubes by then including my own 93 K1100LT that I purchased back in 2005.)
After we'd finished the spline lube I took it for a spin around the block to make sure everything was in order so, despite the usual jokes about buying dead bikes that "ran when parked," I'm the last person who rode this bike so I know for a fact that it was in good running condition. (The reason he never rode it was due to inseam issues so he rode his low seat K75RT instead.)
Another good thing is that he purchased the bike from a reputable BMW dealer (A&S) so it's likely that one of their wrenches gave it an inspection prior to the sale.
Step 1: Pre-lube the engine and get it turning slowly (manually) in order to get the cylinders lubed.
(I didn't get home until about 10 so I'll do this in the morning.)
Since K engines are flat in-lines on their side, merely pouring a little oil in each cylinder won't get the circumference of the cylinder walls and rings lubed. What I've used in the past and plan to use on this bike is fogging oil since it's an aerosol oil made for engines that can be sprayed at the tops of the cylinders once the spark plugs have been removed.
Once I've got the cylinders pre-lubed with the fogging oil I'll put the bike in fifth gear and turn the rear wheel to turn the engine in order to spread the oil on the rings and cylinder walls. (I'll leave the spark plugs out since the engine will be much easier to turn without compression.)
Step 2: Oil & filter change.
Once I know the engine will turn (I'm pretty confident that it will) I'll give it an oil change with Valvoline High Mileage Oil because high mileage oils have additives to help restore dry seals and the Valvoline HM oil has a good reputation.
Step 3: Turn the engine a few revolutions with the starter in order to get the remainder of the engine oiled.
I don't want the fuel system working when I do this so, before installing a known good battery to spin the engine with the starter a few times, I'll unplug the fuel level sender that powers fuel pump the and leave the Motronic disconnected so the injectors won't function.
Step 4: Fuel system
Once I have the engine turning and oiled I'll attack the fuel system before attempting to start it. I haven't pulled off the gas cap yet to see what the inside of the tank looks like but hopefully I won't have to deal with the black goo of doom.
I'll report back tomorrow once I get it turning.
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Current stable:
86 Custom K100 (standard fairing, K75 Belly pan, Ceramic chromed engine covers, paralever)
K75 Frankenbrick (Paralever, K11 front end, hybrid ABS, K1100RS fairing, radial tires)
86 K75C Turbo w/ paralever
94 K1100RS
93 K1100LT
91 K1
93 K75S (K11 front end)
91 K75S (K1 front end)
14 Yamaha WR250R
98 Taxi Cab K1200RS
14 K1600GT