Hello All,

I'm a new BMW k100 owner and rider. I love my K bike so far.

There have been some heavy rains recently and I didn't have the chance to cover or garage my bike during the rains.  It just rained 2 days ago and yesterday I took my bike out for a spin and about 20 minutes into my ride my digital gear display was going haywire and cycling through all the gears and never displayed the correct geat when in it.  It did the same thing today on my ride to work about 20 minutes into it.

Has anyone ever experienced this?  I can shift fine and was able to continue my ride but the display was not having it.

Any advice?

Also, where do I put the transmission fluid? is that a thing with K bikes?

thanks all!

The gear position indicator switch (at the rear end of the transmission) has got some water inside.  They can be disassembled, dried out and resealed; it seems to work most of the time.  I have two dodgy gear position switches and aren't worried much that they don't work properly.

The transmission oil filler plug is located on the right side of the transmission just behind the alternator.  Its a hex headed bolt.  To check the oil level it helps if you have the factory toolkit.  The "handle" section of the shock absorber preload C spanner is marked for the correct oil level.  If you don't have one you will find a diagram somewhere on this site showing how to make one.

Al

+1 on the gear position indicator getting moisture inside. I prised out the old goo and sealed it up with some silicone about eight years ago and it's just now beginning to go on the blink again. I've located a cheap replacement.

Transmission gear oil is GL5 Hypoid - very important - refill after a long drain of the oil when warm. Drain plug is right hand side rear, below, large Allen head screw, makes a mess, I use a cardboard cut into a vee to steer it away from the centrestand. 850/900cc of 75W90 or 80W90 or 75W140 if it's hot where you ride. A maximum of 250cc of the same stuff goes in the final drive. Synthetic or dinosaur, it is your choice. Everyone has a different opinion about that subject. If the gear oil is the colour of coffee with milk when it drains you are getting water into the guts of the 'box and that might be a torn clutch release arm boot. A thorough drain and fill after replacing the boot is often all it needs.

Thanks so much. Do you know of a good YouTube video I could watch to help me change those fluids?

Thanks guys, I’m a noob.

JDiggamus wrote:Thanks so much.  Do you know of a good YouTube video I could watch to help me change those fluids?

An important stage in the procedure is to loosen the filler caps first because if you empty oil first then can't open the filler caps to replenish oil, you won't be going anywhere by moto. Get a K75/K100 2V service manual from the Tech section in the Portal here.

The process employs the ancient directive righty-tighty, lefty-loosey then lets gravity do the rest. It shouldn't be too difficult if you've ever opened and closed a bottle of seltzer, although the contents here shouldn't be put in your mouth and you'll need both a hex wrench and a spanner of correct sizes. Measure replacement fluid exactly.

In the attached video, he's working on a K75. Don't let that bother you. Follow Two Wheels Better's advice concerning draining the fluid into the pan using a cardboard vee as a channel. You'll probably make a mess of it anyway. Don't do this task on an Isfahan rug.

This video might help even if it isn't good. There aren't many videos specific to this process on a classic K, apparently. It also could be good if you speak Spanish but if you don't, try following the procedure to get closed captioning in the language of your choice, unless its Indic Pali. The translation to English could be better but the image quality and staging is good enough. Use your imagination.

Start the video. If it doesn't open with English subtitles:
Click the cc box in the menu then
Click the Settings gear wheel in the menu.
In the box that appears, click the line Subtitles/CC(1)   Spanish(auto-generated)
In the next box that appears click Auto Translate then click the language you want.

Here's the link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4Lyy8y1ZAE

I use foil to keep the last stream of trans gear oil from running down the center stand.

Foil is also useful to keep oil off of the rotors and wheel when draining the forks.


Also, if the gear position indicator is messed up and won't go into neutral in order to start then pulling the clutch in will allow you to start the bike.


General maintenance link: 
http://bit.ly/kgenmaint

Thanks, everyone.  Water got into.  it's dried out and I'm not having the problem anymore!