I am still intrigued....how low can it go with the temperature so that a K won't start. Is it to do with the battery or the metal ( brass or otherwise) refusing to move? In WW11 in the Russian offensive the fluids froze in machinery and no go. Sorry, can't continue, must defrost the tank !

My K100 won't start till it gets to about -5 because I have the key and I am inside with the fire going.

i think the viscosity of the oil is the limiting factor, that and ice forming in the inlet tract when a cold engine starts, though this is more of a prob on carbed vehicles, iirc its the viscosity of oil that stops engines dead in the extreme cold.

K Freak, your honesty is quite refreshing. However you are not as cool as I thought you were.

I've been told that the lines contain metal pigment that heats from the light beam, resulting in a defrosting affect on the glass plate.
Sounds plausible to me.... :|

This is probably a bit of useless info.....but we noticed on a recent trip to Europe, the Budapest coppers (or some of them) are still on the old K100's. It's great to see the old girls still in use (or being recycled) Cheers Tom Grabau

Recent trip to Europe?

Where's our bloody postcard!

I guess that answers the question, who on the forum didn't get a card.

I did

But not from Tom

Barry Sheene used an expression, Answers on the back of a post card, wonder how many he sent.

Prototype from 1979, 1000cc, three cylinders, crank on the left:

 

And if you believe that they put the crank on the wrong side then you will believe anything. This is how it was:

 

And to prove that my photo is the correct one, look at the BMW roundel on the engine, the white is at the top right, now go look at your bike.

As to the post several above RE: The yellow(?) lines in the glass in the front of the R100rs fairing are desighned to warm the glass in cold damp conditions for defogging. They react with the light from the headlamp shining through from behind>

OBTW Look what I just contracted to by off Ebay:



 
All original (except windshield & side stand), 26,000 miles, Nice set of panniers included but not shown.
Recently serviced and ready to go.

Traveling to San Francisco next week to pick it up and ride it home to Phoenix! (brave soul, huh?)

bikerboy wrote:And if you believe that they put the crank on the wrong side then you will believe anything. This is how it was:

 

And to prove that my photo is the correct one, look at the BMW roundel on the engine, the white is at the top right, now go look at your bike.

Good one Bikerboy.

I took the picture on photoshop, flipped it horizontally and got a perfect mirror image too.

Look, I can get an Aussie or UK sidecar in minutes:

  

 This is why we cannot trust pictures anymore.

What's a TR?  That badge on the fairing is confusing.

johnr wrote:i think the viscosity of the oil is the limiting factor, that and ice forming in the inlet tract when a cold engine starts, though this is more of a prob on carbed vehicles, iirc its the viscosity of oil that stops engines dead in the extreme cold.

 Talking to a friend in the airforce years ago, he was telling me in some of the nordic countries, on some planes they drain the oil from the engine into a trolley type thing once its landed.  the tank is kept heated and they can pump the oil back in quickly when the plane has to fly again.

I've experienced the cold thick oil thing with a friends Honda single, we had to tow it in the end to get it started.

Al

This is why we cannot trust pictures anymore.
Precicely

icK G wrote:This is why we cannot trust pictures anymore.
Precicely

 Precisely
But you can trust this one
Look how patiently she waits while Rick G microwaves his gloves.

It would more convincing if there was a leprechaun sitting on the fan.

Many very old aircraft had oil warmers on them. They were no longer needed when multigrade oils were invented. The main reason for the warmer was to keep the oil thin so that it circulated to vital parts as quickly as possible. These days a 5W40 will reach the whole of the engine quicker than a 15W40 will, without any oil warming system.

bikerboy wrote:And if you believe that they put the crank on the wrong side then you will believe anything.

 

And to prove that my photo is the correct one, look at the BMW roundel on the engine, the white is at the top right, now go look at your bike.

"And if you believe that they put the crank on the wrong side then you will believe anything."

Please forgive my most grievous error.  The only thing worse than a know-it-all is a smartass know-it-all.

Did you get out of the wrong side of bed Dewey?