Right then lets get to the nitty gritty...

So I now own a 91 16v RS, it has been off the road for 13 years, but has now been reinstated, and is running, it has a new fuel pump, new battery, and fresh fuel. But what are the things I should be Checking, Oiling, Greasing and Lubing? are there splines in the paralever that need doing? I know nothing of these bikes, so if you think something should be checked, then please say so, and if you can tell me where it hides, and how to do it, I shall give it a go, and report back.

But please be aware, I don't have a bench, and my bike is in a lockup away from my house so no electric either.



Kevin.

http://www.verrill.com/moto/newkbike.shtml

Bam.

About oiling, lubing and greasing............after 21 years grease dries out and hardens (I suppose you don`t know the maintance history)......what could be a good idea to clean and regrease is the steering head bearings, swing arm bearings........and important on a 4V the paralever bearings.

About spline lube...gearbox input shaft and the splines between the u-joints at the driveshaft is the most important...but of course when you`re at it, also a coat on the splines on each end of the driveshaft won`t hurt.

Hi Kev,
Treat every separable electrical connection, plugs, sockets, bulb holders, earth points with DeoxIT from Caig, when you have 20+ year old electrical connections with an engine management system and bulb monitor etc. it does not take much resistance to cause issues.

Other than that change all fluids and filters on the bike using BMW approved parts and fluids and you have then returned the bike to the status as it left the factory. By all means later on start using triple refined mouse milk as your lubricant of choice but start with everything as near to standard as possible to assess the feel of that and make your changes from there e.g. with thicker or thinner fork oils for instance.
Regards,
K-BIKE

I have just done the head bearings and cannot believe they were so bad.

I have the K almost 2 1/2 years and when I got it I gave it the works:

All new oils.

All new filters, air, oil, fuel.

Repair leaking rear master cylinder [new seals] a common problem.

Replaced battery.

Repalced clutch cable.

Replaced one mirror glass.

Checked brakes [pads ok still]

Replaced one fairing panel, it had been crudely cut for speakers.

This year due to electrical problems I redid all the connections under the fuel tank, opened and cleaned all of the earths. The electrical non start problem led to me replace the starter relay and load shed relays which were not the cause. A replacement ICU did cure the problem, cleaned off all the electrical connections with wet or dry 1200 grade, used dry for obvious reasons. If you are at the electrics open the conection at the ICU and check the terminals, clean them off etc.

I also found the fuel lines perished. These are special BMW ones due to high pressure and you will likely find these perished. Failed fuel lines are common source of auto fires. For safety replace them, if they fail you get high pressure fuel sprayed over the engine/injectors etc [how do I know, but it happened when I was testing it] where there are lots of sparks. When you do this if you use worm drive/Jubilee clips strategically placed [wing nut ones are even better, no tools needed, 4 golf tees in your tool kit] you can undo these to remove the tank without having to remove any fairing parts!!! [A small modification might be needed to the fuel pump wiring to access it more easily]. If you use slightly longer fuel lines you can raise and prop the rear of the tank to access the relay box without disconnecting anything!!! [there is room in the relay box to hold spare bulbs too].

More recently did head bearings. They were dried out with grease gone all hard. I knew there was option of just clean and regrease but my experience of this is that there is more work in that than replacing them and the chances are they are shot. I examined the old ones very carefully and in the light you could see the wear ridges in the outer races. The grease was caked quite hard and completely useless. My advice is replace the bearings and the tracks, new grease and all will be right. You might get some problems removing forks/nut/etc due to seized fastenings but these can be solved too. Mine also showed up a need for a replacement brake hose.

I have found that my exhaust nuts are badly corroded. As in they are unlikely to be removed without failing, requiring a drilling out job and possible damage to the cylinder head. I made a decision to keep going as this is only an issue for me if I need the head off or need the exhaust off. I have 97,000 miles up and the only real thing looking at me is timing chain/tensioners etc so I will keep going. Getting the exhaust studs out will not be easy, not easy to work under the engine so it could me a case of get bike upside down or remove engine.

I hope this is helpful. Its not all madly difficult or expensive. Total parts cost in 2 1/2 years is about €450 [US$350] including oil changes, oil.

92KK

The easiest way to shift corroded exhaust nuts is with a nut splitter. Once you get the nuts off, then you have the full length of the stud to work with if you have to remove them.

Sounds painful

The twin nut splitter is even worse.