Although the cosmetics aren't my primary concern at this point, getting the bike running is, I'll be tackling the finish later on. But while taking the bike apart to get to suspect parts I'm removing some components.

The battery tray. I've removed it, one of the grommets won't come out and I've done some polishing. It's aluminum. Should I put a clear coat on it to keep it from staining?

One of the things I'm wondering about is the screws that hold a bracket/rail on the sides of the throttle body. This is the bracket that holds the throttle stop on the outside of the bike, on the interior side of the bike it holds the fuel pressure regulator and what looks like a pressure switch (i can send photos). Many of the screws are a bit rusty, some have corrosion. I've removed them singly, because I don't know if they hold anything on the inside of the rail/bracket, and polished them to get the rust off. Can these be treated with anything to keep them from rusting again, wax, clear coat, although I don't want to fill the phillips heads. I tried to find new screws (non BMW). I found some M4/10 SS screws, they are shorter than the bmw screws probably 1-2 mm's shorter. Has anyone replaced these with Stainless screws? In boating we worry about the corrosion on dissimilar metals, stainless into aluminum. We used to use Boshield T4 (I think, it's been a long time) this was said to prevent gulling, the electrical corrosion between the metals.

The question of different metals is one that I'm wondering about. I wouldn't mind replacing most anything that is rusting with SS screws. It seems to me so far that where screws are used they are typically on non bearing or load applications. SS Replacement shouldn't cause a problem, should it?

I removed the fuel rail to to test and clean the injectors. I cleaned the rust from some spots on the rail. I bought some black Rustoleum engine paint. I also got some primer. Unfortunately, I didn't notice that this was not engine paint do you think I'll have a problem? I used the primer 3 coats sanding. Black paint 2 coats, sand, third coat.

Thanks for any help or suggestions

Rick

rick the fuel rail does not get to head temperatures (although there are a couple of brackets that attach to the head so some transfer does happen ), nor the throttle bodies ...but it does get warm in there .

for screw cleaning have a look in oldgoats restoration project or halos restoration project ...near the end i think . something like a rust converter that leaves a plasticised covering of some sort . hope that helps

I hadn't seen those, but I'll go looking.

I'm not too worried about the fuel rail. I know I can get it off easily. As far as the screws especially on the air box side. I neither want to screw them up or do anything that would make them less than what their meant for. For instance, they go into the aluminum bracket/rail which seems to "only" hold things like the throttle sensor switch, throttle stop, pressure, regulator, etc. That's what I can see. My problem of course is what I don't see. They seem to be 12mm in length, do they hold something on the inside of the bracket/rail that I don't see? If I used the 10mm length SS screws, would something drop off.

I'm hoping if you don't know the answers to these questions, others may comment.

I'm off to find the Oldgoat and halo resto's

Thanks

Rick

Rick,
I have no qualms about using stainless fixings on all my bikes, I give them a good coating of Copperslip and haven't had any failures or galling. You really appreciate them when you dismantle something that's not been apart for many years.
Cheers'
Paul.

I was just reading old goats resto. I shot him a post to ask how he cleaned/finished the side foot peg supports. They look aluminum. Whew, Halo did a heck of a job! I wish I had that kind of confidence.

Did you use them in that rail that has the throttle stop and fuel pressure regulator? I see you're in England. Here in the states I can only find SS screws that are about 2mm shorter. I figured if BMW made them 12 mm instead of 10mm they did it for a reason.

Your thoughts?

Rick

Rick,
give the battery tray mounts a little tap with a hammer and screw driver/ chisel at the base to loosen them. It only takes a tiny bit of movement to get them started. I ruined two before I thought to do this.
rossco

phoenixk2b wrote:Here in the states I can only find SS screws that are about 2mm shorter. I figured if BMW made them 12 mm instead of 10mm they did it for a reason.

A quite common length, M6 is in steps of 2mm up to 20mm length.

The one I can't get out is really stubborn, the stud that goes into the bike came out, but the stud into the tray won't budge. I did a tap, I've done WD40, deep creep, I even did a quick shot with a torch and quick cooling with an ice cube, no luck. I tried enhancing the little slot at the top of the stud with a dremel, my wheel was a little too large and was also etching the bolt. I gave up and worked around that stud. Now that I think about it, I may not have been backing up the stud when I tapped it. I'll try again.

Inga, here in the states SS isn't all that common. I live in a sailing town (Annapolis), we use a fair amount of stainless and some in metric. Not as much since Beneteau Yachts started building here in the states. Unfortunately, most of the bolts and screws go in 5mm steps. I could be wrong about the 2mm longer size, I didn't have a meter stick, but they were listed as M4x10 and m4x15, the beemer screw was in between the available sizes. The metric classification for bolts and screws is somewhat a mystery to me, one of the many things I need to study to become competent on this bike.

Thanks

Rick

K100 blog http://1985k100rsre-build.blogspot.com/

Well, the 5mm steps also what`s most common here...
and can be buyed everywhere (almost).
To get the 2mm steps, a visit to a hardware store of a decent size is needed.

Rick, I recently replaced my battery mounts and ran into difficulty with two of the old studs. The rubbers had seperated from the studs leaving a smooth domed head (nothing to grip). I used an old chisel driven in just a tiny bit to lift the flange off the gearbox casing. Then I used a good strong flatblade screwdriver (designed for hittting) to cut into the edge of the head and drive it around. I found a bit of threadlock on the stud so the first few sharp blows were absolutely necessary. Sorry I didn't take any pics but I hope this description works for you.

88KE

Yea, I kind of know what you mean. The first time I took the tray out all 3 came out with one stuck in the tray. This time one was left stuck in the bike (gearbox?) one in the tray.

I've decided to pick my battles. So, I'm leaving the studs and rubbers where they are until I'm ready to do the engine/body/frame/fairing restore. Right now, I'm most concerned with the mechanicals and electricals to get the bike running. Once I know it's running and the engine is solid. I'm going to do a restore probably starting in late fall or winter when there's little temptation to ride. I've been reading Halo's and now Old dogs restore posts. I saw Old dog was online so I thought I'd jump on and see what he did with those dag gone screws in the throttle body rail. I have the airbox out and I thought I'd replace or shine them up while I'm waiting for my replacement coils.

Boy, the job those two did on their bikes is tough to live up to. I don't know if I can go that far. Once the bike is running taking the engine apart to refinish! I don't know if I'd ever get it back together and working.

But that's a battle for another day