Hi, I could do with some help here. After my lovely RT was destroyed by a car (6 years of great riding) I have have gone out and found myself a K100RS 1988 model. It seemed in great nick, clean and well looked after. But oh no...
The first ride of any distance revealed some faults.
Although the engine seems to pull OK, 120 mph of a motorway back home (just to try it out!!!), the clutch is as heavy as hell. I mean, really stiff and lacking feel. It will not be long before the clutch cable pings apart under the load. The result is that changing gear is a sad experience. Inaccurate and slow. The bloke who flogged it to me told me that he had already changed the cable for a new one, and disconected the side stand 'lifter' (not such a bad idea) so it should be OK for kinks and 'soldiers' sticking out of the cable. Any ideas out there.
Also the throttle is 'sticky' and slow to close. It does it OK, but it really should snap back rather than need a firm hand to shut it down. My last k100 had a throttle set screw fitted which I kept just engaged to ease the grip needed to ride about, but the k100rs throttle is just plain slow. I do like to ride with my fingers over the brake lever in traffic (a real safe riding trick I belive) while in traffic, but with this I just cant.
Anybody in the know. Any help welcome. Cheers. javascript:emoticonp('')

Hi Boris what about the clutch end of the clutch mechanism there are roller bearings which are prone to getting water in and making operation very stiff. One of the recommended changes is to add a grease nipple after fixing the stuffed bearings. Look at the throttle cable - if the adjuster for it is about 10-12" down from the throttle - it possibly qualifies for a free BMW replacement. The new ones have the adjuster on the throttle body.
Regards,
K-BIKE

This below from http://www.ibmwr.org/ktech/k100-faq.shtml
6.0 Clutch Cable

* 6.0 General
o The cable is routed from the handle bars, under the fuel tank, down the left-hand frame, and is held in place with "tie wraps" and plastic cable restraints.
* 6.1 Breaking
o There can be a couple of problems here. BMW says that the clutch cable should basically last the life of the bike, but some owners find that they have been through two or three cables.
o The most common problem is that the cable snaps right at the clutch lever, leaving the round "bearing" from the end of the cable in the clutch lever. This can be caused by:
1. A burr in the lever assembly that needs to be removed, but the most common problem is a maintenance issue,
2. The "bearing" that rides in the clutch lever is not lubricated well, or has gotten dirty enough that it doesn't rotate when the clutch lever is pulled. This kinks the cable each time the clutch lever is pulled, until it's strength is compromised to the point that it breaks (usually at an inopportune moment - syncro-shifting can be an invaluable skill!).

7.0 Throttle Cable

* 7.1 Early model K100 Adjustment (years???)
These bikes use an in-line expansion assembly approx. one foot down the cable from the right-hand grip; it usually ends up just in front of the leading edge of the gas tank (requires reaching through the fork holes in fairing, or just reaching around the forks behind the instrument pod.
* 7.2 Later model K100 adjustment (years???)
The later models use a conventional lever mounted adjustment, such as the clutch cable adjuster.
* 7.2 Don'ts
o Don't try to adjust the cable in the vicinity of the throttle-bodies. This could throw-off the fuel cut-off (throttle closed) switch, causing fuel consumption problems and backfiring.
o Don't try to adjust the cable at the grip/cable-head. The grip's teeth mesh and the "cable-puller" gear assembly have index marks which need to match to provide full throttle-range operation.

Thanks for the advice and help. I will look at those points with care. Its a lovely bike, and I am so pleased to get it. It has stood for while, and at some point it must have got rather wet for a period and this has not helped. None the less it has cleaned up into a 'classic' , and looks just GREAT.
Would you belive that I managed to drop the bike last night while getting on the centre stand. I blame the shorter handle bars than my previous RT which allowed a better pull and leverage. It just caught me out and did the 'topple'. More damage done to the fairing than in 20 years, and at 0mph!! I guess the 3 pints of beer (I do NOT make a habit of drink and drive....) did not help. Ah well, I'll make it good again. Lesson learnt I hope. Handle with care. Cheers from BORISTHEBIKE.

Hi KBike,
Spring comes and bikers get busy like the bears and the bees. The advice that you gave me last year was spot on. The clutch release pivot bearings were shot, the pivot itself was like a french bread stick, the thrust piston was scored and the cable usless. All replaced. Then the NEXT problem! Clutch Push rod location.
I have detailed it in the general forum. The gearbox and clutch are now off. Any advice on why the clutch push rod will not locate fully home would be most welcome, the 'putting together' starts next week with all new bits, but I still have not solved the problem that led me to taking the whole thing apart. Maybe it will just work when I reassemble the bits, (better hurry before I forget where they all go) but we all know that kind of thinking is just unrealistic...
Cheers
Boris the Bike

There are a couple of different clutch pushrods Boris, My bike is a 90 K100RT and I discovered that mine had the later style pushrod (can be removed from gearbox without removal of gearbox from engine but had the earlier style thrust bearing and piston on it (according to Haynes Manual). The gearbox I purchased from beemerboneyard was from an RS model and the clutch pushrod piston was totally different to mine but after checking with verniers the inner diameter on the bearing (also different) were the same and after checking bmw microfiche saw that the rods were the same in both. I simply pin punched the rod out of the bearing seat and it was a neat sliding fit into the new bearing. I did notice though that when I reconnected the clutch cable that it was out a fair bit with the measurements indicated in manual and simply reset them according to the instructions and all appears to be fine at the moment however I havent started or checked to see if it needs further adjustment until I get replacement final drive unit as dont want to start without the driveshaft supported both ends. Will advise next week when it gets here if it all worked ok or not. Touch wood all will be good.