Hi, Funny enough, I've owned this motorcycle for over 13 years and never realized in all that time that the side stand was not MEANT to automatically retract when I uprighted the bike. I thought it was designed to work that way, retract automatically. So yesterday, I had the bike serviced and the mechanic mentioned to me that the side stand must be broken or maladjusted because it is not meant to flip up automatically. The side stand should stay extended until manually retracted.

Question is, what mechanism keeps the side stand extended? I can't see any obvious missing part and since I don't have another K100 to compare against, I don't know what to expect. The parts fiche is very unclear as well. Can anyone help? A photo would really help for comparison.

P.S. this model does not have any clutch cable connection; i.e. pull in the clutch to retract the side stand. I've read about this feature on K75's in other forums.

There is nothing wrong with your sidestand it's meant to retract automatically. If you want it to stay down, cut the end off the pivot bolt where it protrudes past the mounting. This then allows the springs to overcenter and lock. The only problem is if you are used to the self retracting feature you may forget that the stand is down with nasty consequences!!!!

Hmmm.

So, I've got a bum steer? This mechanic has over 25 years BMW experience, having worked with many of the most reputable BMW dealerships in Toronto. And I'm certain he's seen a great number of these bikes. I was in no doubt about his advice; I'm sure it was given in earnest.

I can live with the side stand as it is (I have done so for over 13 years). Whenever I use it, I put the bike in gear so that it doesn't dump on me. Maybe one day I will convert over to a K1100 side/center stand combination and I'll get a locking side stand with heavy duty center stand as a result.

Thanks for the feedback.

All K100 had the side stand retracting when you pull the clutch lever.
The top part of the lever #1 rest on the clutch lever in the back of the gear box. If you pull the clutch in, the side stand retracts.

Bert, I am completely missing all the numbered parts in that drawing...they just don't exist on my bike. I don't even think there is a pivot welded on the frame for part #1 to use. Is this retraction mechanism a North American / European model difference? My bike was manufactured and sold in Germany. I imported it into North America when I moved back to Toronto after living abroad.

Part #1 is mounted on the same shaft as the clutch lever.

Sorry Bert the model I have has (now had) a self retracting side stand as per Avengers post. It is a diabolical design and modified in the same way mentioned.
I remember many years ago long before I owned a K that it was something discussed and may also have been on some of the R models although not on my '65 or '100.
So the rule of thumb is BMW mechanics don't know everything despite experience.
Just to confuse the issue I would have expected it to be gone on the '88 model but if you are used to it and happy with it leave it be but if you want a "normal" sidestand modify it and just remember that it no longer self retracts as it can be both embarrassing and dangerous DAMHIK.

Thought I'd give an update on the problem that I had with my side stand retracting automatically.

CAUSE:  The PO combined different parts from different vintage K100 center / side stands probably because the bike was heavily modified at some point in its life.

The stand should have been equipped with all the hardware as posted in the parts diagram above by Crazy Frog, especially spring shackle Part 4.  My bike did not have any of this hardware except for the spring shackle.  However, the shackle that was fitted was Part 12 from this centerstand:


Note that the shapes are different; Part 4 has a deeper cutout than does Part 12.  The deeper cutout "hugs" the pivot bolt and angles the springs to hold the sidestand deployed.  Mine didn't perform that job.  The result was that, when the sidestand was deployed, the springs were overstreched.  When the weight was released from the sidestand (uprighting the bike for example), then the springs wanting to release this energy retracted the sidestand.

I have since replace the hardware with all the correct parts and the sidestand functions exactly as it should.  I can deploy the sidestand and it will remain deployed.

Just of interest for those who MAY encounter this problem.

Reading this had jogged a few brain cells. I seem to recall some hoo ha about some European countries making it compulsory to have the side stand retract automaticly and the Oz Government talking about following suit. I think it was early to mid 80s so that may explain why as yours was a european model and the US ones may have been different. From my point of view I don't think it is such a bad idea because leaving the stand down is something I often do although I have never come to grief over it. My k1100 has the side stand cut out and it is staying there but I did get rid of the clutch retract mechanism on the K100 as it was making it near impossible to pull the lever in and I broke some cables which were at least partly due to the side stand thingy.

"All K100 had the side stand retracting when you pull the clutch lever."

my 91 RS does not. Did you means RT's only or was mine modified?

I am pretty certain that not ALL K100's had automatically retracting sidestands some may have but not all.
Regards,
K-BIKE

My grey market import, Euro to OZ, is fully manual. The second ETK diagram and its parts and pieces is what my 11/86 K100RS looks like.

Mine is spring loaded, so when you lift the bike upright, the stand flicks up. This I find a pain as you have to get off the bike to put the side stand on. I seem to remember my r80rt was the same set up.

For those, like geordnz and I, who find the self-retracting sidestand a real PITA, the only change necessary is to substiture spring shackle 12 for shackle 4 (referencing the above diagrams). The side stand will then lock when deployed.

You've inspired me to go and sort mine out. The self retracting stand is such a pain I just don't use it. I don't mind it retracting, it's just putting it down without being able to put my foot down first. Doesn't help that the pivot is worn and it leans too far.

Thanks for that Robmac. I always have a problem getting off the bike and putting it on either the side or centre stand (full face helmet to not clash with windscreen, very long legs to get over the panniers and topbox then find the handle etc etc), being able to swing out the side stand before getting off the bike would just give me a bit more piece of mind and make it easer to get off the bike lol. I guess I could then get it on the centre stand with ease to stop it "marking it's territory" with smoke on start up

yeah i had a drop event geord ...thinking it had snapped into place ....and i saw my leg geting crushed as we both went over on the tarmac ...funny stuff .....giggles

but really it is good to have it lay out proper like and hang there ...

and whats wrong with "an old girl marking her territory" ????

that expression has really taken off huh ...??? giggles

pjjms wrote:You've inspired me to go and sort mine out. The self retracting stand is such a pain I just don't use it. I don't mind it retracting, it's just putting it down without being able to put my foot down first. Doesn't help that the pivot is worn and it leans too far.

Glad I provided some insiration for you.

I tightened up my sidestand slop by manufacturing my own bushing. It was simple; I don't have any machine tools at my disposal so most should be able to accomplish this with hand tools.

I bought a 3/8" x 5/8" x 3/4" (0.375" x 0.625" x 0.75") bronze bushing from a bearing company. I used a hack saw and file to cut the bushing length down to a size that was a friction fit between the tangs of the sidestand arm. I then reamed out the centre hole on a drill press to 10mm to exactly fit the pivot bolt. This new bushing has taken out much of the original slop in the sidestand but not all of it. I'm hoping that the bronze bearing will work long term in such a severe operating environment (rain, grime, road dirt, lack of regular lubrication, etc.)

robmack wrote:Thought I'd give an update on the problem that I had with my side stand retracting automatically.


I have since replace the hardware with all the correct parts and the sidestand functions exactly as it should.

Robert, tell us where on earth you managed to find all of those parts you needed????')" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">

Chris, I gotta tell ya, it wasn't easy man. I scrounged around, nearly had to sell my first born.

Big public thankyou for your donation to my bike.

yay !!!! good work guys

When on the side stand the clutch lever is inoperative and the MOT man said I had some trouble down there. So much for MOT's
I always kick mine back but it still works if I pull the lever if I forget.
I posted pictures way back re the lean over, all I did was to add an ali block...!
Cheers Ajays

I managed to get the part #4 in Crazy's diagram above today from the local dealer (they do second hand parts). For the princely sum of $5.00, a pair of pliers to undo the springs, flick off the old part and replace it,.
I now have a non auto-retracting side stand! Yeehaaa.

awww nice stuff geord ......happy times !!!!

I'm constantly amazed by all the neat stuff I find here. On my 1986 K100rt, the clutch lever is inoperable when the bike is on the side stand. I start the bike in neutral, bike upright position, pull in the clutch and the side stand retracts for me before driving off. I assumed that this was a very clever mechanical safety feature? I'm happy with it. Is it a problem that I should be concerned about?

If it works well and you are happy to have it then there is no problem.

Mine was a bit worn and very tight, so tight I broke a couple of clutch cables so the easy thing was to get rid of it which suited me fine but the K75 that my wife rides still has it because she wants it there.

I would suggest keeping everything well lubed because retracting the side stand using the clutch lever would be a bit of strain on the clutch cable.



I just kick it up with my foot and hopefully the cable will last a bit longer.

I've noticed lately that my non auto-retracting side stand had a fair bit of 'play' in it when up against the exhaust pipe. The centre stand pivots were dry and squeaked when using the stand as well. A quick shot of grease always helps but the bush seemed to be ready to retire. I looked up the parts on ETK. BMW Australia had the bush and screw in stock in Sydney for a fair price, so I ordered them in. This arvo I got going on replacing them.

Armed with a new compact grease gun, a fresh tube of 'waterproof' grease, a 16mm spanner, a spring stretching tool, a torch (flashlight), and a couple of clean rags, I disassembled the stand. The screw was not as tight as I'd imagined. The bush sits in a steel machined lug as a part of the main stand's base. The bush simply slips in and has a groove round its circumference for the dispersal of grease through the zerk fitting.


Just by feel I could tell the internal bushing was worn a fair bit as compared to a new set. The screw didn't make much of a difference but since I'm in there, WTF.


I cleaned out the old, dried-up grease (as hard as pebbles) and wiped down the entire area. The new bush pressed in using finger pressure and the screw was tightened up snugly. A coupla blasts of fresh grease went in and around the bush and screw before installation, as well as in the centre stand pivots.


The stand is much tighter now - though it does still have some minor back and forth rocking - and with the grease lubricating the pivots it's silent in operation. I reckon it cost me far less than ten shekels for the bits and it's another thing I can forget about for the next twenty years or so.

good work ol mate ....

Thanks for this GITH and especially the pictures. I was just recently thinking that there was a lot of slack in my side stand, so now I know what to look for.

On my 1984 K100RT, as soon as I take the weight off the sidestand it flips up. It doesn't really bother me as I have got used to it now. Also, I can start the bike with the sidestand deployed. This gets confusing when I am on my 1993 K1100LT as on that bike the sidestand does not auto retract but if the sidestand is down the starter will not operate - go figure (the K1100LT is an ex police model with the 2mph speedometer graduations - not sure if this was a special for the police or if all K1100's will not start with the sidestand down ?)

krambo wrote:On my 1984 K100RT, as soon as I take the weight off the sidestand it flips up. - not sure if this was a special for the police or if all K1100's will not start with the sidestand down ?)

The sidestand switch is standard on all 4V&11 models.
Also the weight dependent sidestand on your -84.

If I don`t remember wrong, the clutch retracting mechanism in the beginning was a
US only.
But afterwards did spread to other markets, you could also buy this retracting
mechanism as a complete bolt on set.

Inge K.

Inge K,
My '86 (UK) had the clutch retracting mech.
Paul.

What is the 'packing' under the head of the bolt here? The side-stand fixings on neither my '84 K100RS nor the '89 K100RT look like this - but both bikes seem to have had a hard life.



On the RT, the fitted bolt looks like this, below; it projects far enough to foul the return springs, stopping them going over-centre & holding the stand down. What's wrong? (I'm aware the linkage for the side-stand auto-retract is missing)

MartDude wrote: What is the 'packing' under the head of the bolt here?

A grease nipple is mounted on this,....older models have just holes for the greasing the stands......use a grease gun with a pointed nozzle on these.

MartDude wrote:On the RT, the fitted bolt looks like this, below; it projects far enough to foul the return springs, stopping them going over-centre & holding the stand down. What's wrong?

It`s nothing wrong, this is the reason to extra tip on the bolt.
Auto retracting and clutch retracting mechanisms got a different u-shaped bracket at the upper end of the springs.

Sorry, wrong posting

OK, so this bush

fits into the lug on the frame, and the one with the grease nipple goes under the bolt head?

Sorry if that seems an obvious question - the details in the parts fiche I've found so far don't make it clear

No that bush is mounted inside the sidestand.

It looks like this:

Inge K. wrote:No that bush is mounted inside the sidestand.

Sorry, that's what I meant. So, what's the bush (?) immediately under the bolt head in my earlier picture, please?

Also, without the clutch-activated stand retracting mechanism, should I be using this bolt, with the shorter pin on the end?

MartDude wrote: So, what's the bush (?) immediately under the bolt head in my earlier picture, please?

It`s a picture of that in my previous post.

MartDude wrote: Also, without the clutch-activated stand retracting mechanism, should I be using this bolt, with the shorter pin on the end?

The longer bolt is to be used together with the grease nipple, the shorter w/o the grease nipple.

Inge K. wrote:
The longer bolt is to be used together with the grease nipple, the shorter w/o the grease nipple.

Great, that's what I needed; thanks for your patience.

Am updating this thread to show how the retract mechanism works on 2v machines. The cam and shaft (pieces 5 & 6 below) were missing on my bike and only with luck was able to obtain both on E-bay. I've been terrible about remembering to retract the kickstand, and now at least I can ride with some assurance this will no longer be a problem.

---

(above) The OEM microfish is misleading so I've photoshopped it to read properly. Note: Pieces 12 (left) and/or 4 & 5 (right) actually occupy a post mounted just above the kickstand attach point (red arrows).

---

(above) The cam and shaft (left) are what activate the retraction. Both the cam and spring hanger (right) wrap around the end of the kickstand pivit bolt.

---

(above) When properly installed cam lever gently nudges the end of the kickstand. Note the forward spring (shown) stablizes the kickstand in the extended position, while the rear spring is what retracts the stand.

Have just installed a new clutch cable and now the kickstand pivit point and bushing have been well lubricated with high temperature moly graphite grease (due to close proximity of exhaust headers). It works perfectly. Servicing this joint still requires removing the springs, which can be a pain, so next year I plan to replace the short bolt with the longer one containing the grease nipple (the official BMW upgrade noted previously).

My '84 K100RT is the 'normal' setup, supposed to retract with the clutch, but not otherwise. However the first day I owned it, I dropped it on its side because the sidestand WAS retracting as soon as you lifted the bike. Fixed that by removing the rear of the two springs, and have never looked back. It still retracts correctly when I pull in the clutch (note, you have to adjust the retractor mechanism as you adjust the clutch over its life..)

Here's a fun question.. The bike won't start when it's in gear, unless the clutch is depressed. However as far as I can tell, there's no switch at handlebars.. ANd now that I have my gearbox in pieces, I know there's no clutch switch there... How does it know??

--DG

If you have a look at the clutch lever you will see there is an identical switch to the one used on the front brake side....

Can't find a clear photo on the comp and it's raining so not going out to the garage lol

The fact that the bike does start when the clutch is depressed, means the left handlebar switch is functioning normally.
In order to crank the engine without the clutch depressed,,,, the bike must be in neutral & the Green neutral light on the instrument cluster must be lit up.
A common failure is when the green light won't come on even though the transmission is in neutral and the gear indicator is also reading 0 as it should.
This failure of the green light (if it has occurred) is often caused by a failed transistor on the Gear shift indicator circuit board on the Tachometer

AJ.Valente wrote:I've been terrible about remembering to retract the kickstand, and now at least I can ride with some assurance this will no longer be a problem.

The second time your bike falls over because you thought you had put the side stand down correctly, but you haven't, you will see the error of your ways and remove that mechanism from the bike and never ever again forget to retract the stand manually.

rossco

my 84RS is way more simple...it is spring loaded to up...................................................thats it.
You do have to be very positive that there is weight on it when selected forward and down....no clutch effect or for that matter any stress on the clutch cable.

Klompy the grey brick wrote:my 84RS is way more simple...

Mine is simple too (like its user). I have no sidestand at all. Or neutral light. Or clutch switch.

AJ , Klompy and I pulled the centrestand off on Saturday, after fitting a new ( thanks Sean) main stand,we were left with a pile of unrecognizable pieces to reassemble we looked at the puzzle ahead of us .
scratched our heads a bit, drank bourbon a bit, scratched a bit more,( probably why it's thinning on top), even referred to the forum,
THIS was the link we missed. now you air it .......
pics show exactly what we were looking for. Klompy , I think you were too focused on the television.
The Irish must have been with us that day as luck would have it , all went back together in a round about way and still working fine.
Thanks AJ , just gives us piece of mind we did it right. Cheers.