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Greetings from Belgium Wed Aug 07, 2024 10:23 pm
Mathijs
New member
Hello everyone!
I live in Hasselt, BE, and have been riding motorcycles since I legally could. Here's a bit about my journey:
I've owned a few Japanese motorcycles in the past, but had to sell them one by one as my free time diminished due to my studies. In recent years, I’ve been fortunate enough to ride my dad's 2007 R1200GSA. However, he’s now selling his bike, so it's time for me to find my own ride again.
Given my height of 1m98 (6’6), my new bike had to meet three criteria: (1) be comfortable for vacations, (2) be affordable as I just bought an apartment, and (3) be easy to maintain because I want to handle the maintenance myself.
On May 6th, 2024, while on vacation in Scotland, we stayed at the Kinloch Campsite on the Isle of Skye. There, two bikers pulled up with German license plates—a KTM Adventure-thingy and a black BMW K100RS. After some hesitation, I approached the tall BMW owner (1) to learn more about owning, riding, and maintaining a K-bike. He told me his bike was 38 years old and that he had owned it for 34 years (3). Despite having around 190,000-ish km on it, the bike was in great condition. I thought to myself, "That's not just the kind of bike I want; that’s the kind of person I want to be." Taking good care of your belongings and treating them with respect means they can last for years.
I'm being specific because I hope, perhaps wishfully, that I might find and thank that German guy for our brief chat. His dedication to his bike really sold it to me.
A month later, I found a perlmuttweiß K100RS in Germany for 1300 euros (2). It had been sitting still for a long time and wouldn’t start, but it was a no-brainer—I bought it.
Now, here we are. I have a K-bike that’s been running for a few days and is ready to go through inspection. I've already found invaluable information on this forum and hope to continue benefiting from it in the future.
Best regards and ride safe,
Mathijs
I live in Hasselt, BE, and have been riding motorcycles since I legally could. Here's a bit about my journey:
I've owned a few Japanese motorcycles in the past, but had to sell them one by one as my free time diminished due to my studies. In recent years, I’ve been fortunate enough to ride my dad's 2007 R1200GSA. However, he’s now selling his bike, so it's time for me to find my own ride again.
Given my height of 1m98 (6’6), my new bike had to meet three criteria: (1) be comfortable for vacations, (2) be affordable as I just bought an apartment, and (3) be easy to maintain because I want to handle the maintenance myself.
On May 6th, 2024, while on vacation in Scotland, we stayed at the Kinloch Campsite on the Isle of Skye. There, two bikers pulled up with German license plates—a KTM Adventure-thingy and a black BMW K100RS. After some hesitation, I approached the tall BMW owner (1) to learn more about owning, riding, and maintaining a K-bike. He told me his bike was 38 years old and that he had owned it for 34 years (3). Despite having around 190,000-ish km on it, the bike was in great condition. I thought to myself, "That's not just the kind of bike I want; that’s the kind of person I want to be." Taking good care of your belongings and treating them with respect means they can last for years.
I'm being specific because I hope, perhaps wishfully, that I might find and thank that German guy for our brief chat. His dedication to his bike really sold it to me.
A month later, I found a perlmuttweiß K100RS in Germany for 1300 euros (2). It had been sitting still for a long time and wouldn’t start, but it was a no-brainer—I bought it.
Now, here we are. I have a K-bike that’s been running for a few days and is ready to go through inspection. I've already found invaluable information on this forum and hope to continue benefiting from it in the future.
Best regards and ride safe,
Mathijs
One thing to do almost immediately - fit a jubilee clip (worm drive) around the four exhaust pipes about 10cm in front of where they enter the silencer. This will stop the vibration that cracks the welds and destroys the exhaust system.
to our community!
