Well, I've finally bit the bullet and decided to start on the restoration of my 1984 K100RT.

It's been lying up in my garage for 5 years without turning a wheel after it failed its MOT in 2007 with stiff steering and excessive fluctuation of front and rear braking effort. Daft, I know, but after the failure I sort of took the huff at the dealership, the bike and anything to do with biking!

Anyway, I'm back on track now and good to go. I'm not particularly skilled in matters mechanical - I can unbolt/unscrew stuff without too much effort but it's the oily bits that scare me! I'm hopeful that I can strip everything down to the frame without the necessity for delving into the bike's innards.



It looks a bit tatty, I know, but I'm sure a good clean-up and a paint job on the frame and tank/fairing/sidepanels will do wonders. I'll probably have to get the seat re-upholstered too as it's worse than sitting on a rough plank and no-one seems to sell replacement seats for the 1984 bikes. I know I won't be able to manage the sort of restoration that other members (I'm following HALO's sterling efforts) have achieved, but I know my limitations!

I've got the tank off and drained the old fuel so I can put some fresh stuff in and see if the old girl will burst into life before I start taking her apart. Of course, it doesn't help that I've lost the original keys for the bike, but I've found a spare ignition key and I've managed to jiggle the fuel filler cap open with an old, worn ignition key. Don't know how I'm going to fix that problem as no-one seems to stock lock barrels and keys for the 1984 models.

The battery is goosed, of course, so I've ordered a Motobatt MBTX30U from eBay and a servicing kit from Motobins. Some years ago, Im sure I was their best customer for a while and I get the feeling that our relationship is going to become expensive again lol!

I'm also thinking of getting this motorcycle lift from M&P to help with taking the engine off the frame. The reviews seem to be positive enough and I was wondering if anyone here has one.

I'm anticipating that this job will see me over the winter and I'm hopeful that the job will be done in time for next Spring.

Wish me luck!

Good luck!

BTW. A bit diffcult to judge from the picture, but it looks like you got the newer type of filler cap (from 04/85), so a lock barrel shouldn`t be any problem.

It was a recall on the early type filler caps.

Instead of droping the engine out it is easier if you look at it like you lift the bike of the engine.
Block the engine on the flat sump and then lift the rest of the bike away It is easier.

Rick G wrote:Instead of droping the engine out it is easier if you look at it like you lift the bike of the engine.
Block the engine on the flat sump and then lift the rest of the bike away It is easier.

+1

You can use the barrel from Motobins.







Early caps did have a push button.......and other barrels.

Inge K. wrote:You can use the barrel from Motobins...Early caps did have a push button.......and other barrels.

Excellent! Thanks again for your help!

Tintock well done a fantastic candidate for a resto, hope your garage is warm for the winter resto. Take lots of photos during the strip down so you can see were bits went and if you can buy some cheap take away food containers and group the mounting hardware (bolts nuts etc) into the containers, no real need to mark them just group the bits that comes off a major part you are pulling down. I didn't at first and wish I did. All you need now is a $150 sand blasting cabinet & a decent commpressor, fine wire brushes with detergent I use lots of cheap degreaser cans as well now. Good luck .

Halo

Tintock, good luck with your resto. A word of warning....beware of A SAFE PLACE. I pulled down my bike some time ago and put some bits and pieces in A SAFE PLACE. They are still there. One day I will rediscover this magical land and then having plenty of more spares.

Hi Halo and ainsjac. Thanks for your wise words and encouragement!

Taking loads of photos and grouping the components of a major part is a great idea - I'll certainly be doing that. I'm also bagging and labelling the small parts - nuts, bolts and fasteners - in small ziploc bags because, if I don't, I know for sure I'll lose track. It takes a little bit longer but this isn't a rush job so time isn't really a factor.

And I will definitely find a safe place for the bits! I'm clearing out my loft at the moment, so there should be plenty room for bits that don't need immediate attention like the fairing, seat, panniers and top-box etc.

Many, many years ago (in what feels like a galaxy far away lol!) I once dismantled a CX500 for restoration and ended up selling it in boxes to a mate for £50! I'll try not to repeat that effort...

This is what I did. Lots of bags. Lots of bits of paper inside the bags and felt pen on the outside as extra insurance.
I managed to get the bike back together with most of the bags empty.
Takes 1 minute to get a bag, piece of paper, what they are, little sketch if needed and the bits can't fall out.
Hmmm. Most of the bags empty.
I think I have found your safe place guys. Obviously they are not parts for my bike or they would be on it.



rossco

rossco wrote:I think I have found your safe place guys. Obviously they are not parts for my bike or they would be on it.
rossco

Ah great, you found it....is my gearbox input seal there Rossco?



That bike looks like a great candidate for a resto Tintock. You've given yourself a realistic timscale too. We will follow your updates with interest, good luck with it.

88KE

Thanks for the encouragement, rossco and 88KE!

rossco, maybe you could have a wee look in the box for my original set of bike keys!

This is what I've started doing with the small parts...



...and I'll be taking up HALO's suggestion about grouping major parts together.

Re the timescale, 88KE - my philosophy for this job is "Do a Little, Change a Lot". I just hope it works out!

Well, 2 days after they were ordered, the service kit from Motobins and the Motobatt MBTX30U battery from an eBay seller both arrived. Excellent service indeed!





The only problem was that the terminal adaptors that were supposed to be included with the battery weren't. So no chance of connecting the battery up tonight, but I've emailed the seller so, hopefully, the terminal adaptors will follow shortly.

And so it begins !!!!!! fast work.

88

Just another suggestion...worth considering. I came across so many rusty, broken and bent screws and bolts. I should have bitten the bullet earlier by buying boxes of new washers, bolts etc and replacing the crap ones with new ones straight away in the plastic bags. That way you have the correct number in the bags and you don't have problems later trying to reassemble with bent stuff, stopping , going to buy new ones and then doing the whole thing again a few days latter. If you are going to repaint the bolts etc....easier to paint new ones rather than stripping off paint,etc .
Stainless steel is worth considering.

wow fast turnaround tintock

have fun !

I'm with you Ainsjac , I've replaced nearly every screw , nut & bolt with stainless ones over the past 25 years , the caliper bolts get ratty very quickly from the brake dust , another tip is to polish the heads of the stainless bolts , it makes them even more resistant to corrosion , just put them in a cordless drill and give em a quick spin inside a rag with a bit of autosol , takes a few seconds per bolt , makes everything sparkle !

JR

Melbourne Australia

Hi tintock,

As ainsjac and JR suggests, I would go for new stainless fixings from the start. All of my bikes have had ss nuts, bolts and screws for donkey's years and they never go rusty. But they must be lubricated on assembly.

Good luck with the re-build,

Paul.

What do you use to lube them Paul?

Loads of excellent suggestions there folks! I've considered replacing the existing fasteners with S/S parts, but I wasn't sure about the costs involved. It's certainly something I'd like to do, that's for sure. Lubing the fasteners is a definite - anything that makes this a one-time restoration appeals to me!

Clearly, many people have done this sort of thing before. Does anyone know if there any links that would help with the types, sizes and quantities of the different fasteners required for this job?

I like the idea that I can quickly tell what's needed by comparing the stuff I've bagged with new equivalents and the Autosol tip is one I'd never have thought up on my own.

This is just really a personal reference list of major parts I have replaced since buying the bike in 2001. It's the first time I've quantified the costs and, frankly, I'm astonished that the total almost equals what I paid for the bike.

There's a wishlist at the end which will, no doubt, grow alarmingly as the restoration continues.

2001: Total Cost = £289.47
External Exhaust Heatshield and associated parts
Shock Absorber
Choke Lever
Miscellaneous Bits'n'Bobs

2002: Total Cost = £53.46
Right Glovebox Lid, Fitting Kit and Lock

2003: Total Cost = £677.19
Progressive Suspension Fork Springs
Horn Kit
Fork Boot
Replacement HT Leads
Brake Bleed Nipple
S/S Front and Rear Brake Hoses
Rear Master Brake Cylinder
Front Master Brake Cyclinder Top Cap, Vale and Bellows
Read Brake Cylinder Reserve
Fairing Gaiter
Ignition Lock and Keys
K100 Microfiche
Front Brake Cylinder
Front Brake Switch
Miscellaneous Bits'n'Bobs

2004: Total Cost = £305.75
48 litre H&B Top Box, Rack and Backrest
Battery
Miscellaneous Bits'n'Bobs

2006: Total Cost = £11.70
Miscellaneous Bits'n'Bobs

2012: Total Cost = £186.94
Motobatt ABTX30U Battery
Tools
280-pce Stainless Allen Bolt Kit for K100LT
Cleaning Sundries
Miscellaneous Parts etc.

Wishlist
Fuel Filler Cap Lock and Keys
Steering Head Bearing x 2
Stainless Steel Fastener Kit (Under consideration)
R/H Fork Gaiter

hmm 11 years and thats all you have spent on a bike 28 years old .....and mostly on upgrades ....cheeeep !!!

charlie99 wrote:hmm 11 years and thats all you have spent on a bike 28 years old .....and mostly on upgrades ....cheeeep !!!

Aye, well, that's only my personal expenditure - don't forget it's been off the road for over 5 years. It doesn't include the costs incurred by previous owners either - the nearly-complete service history for the bike tells it's own story.

Anyway, I'm expecting that this restoration will be anything other than cheap! One lesson I've learned from previous experience is to try as far as possible to obtain parts in a single order. Reviewing the shipping charges from previous purchases was an education!

aye! freight can be a killer

in most cases anything to do with rubber will be "past it " unless replaced somewhere before now .

good luck with the resto

well be watching

tintock wrote:Clearly, many people have done this sort of thing before. Does anyone know if there any links that would help with the types, sizes and quantities of the different fasteners required for this job?

You can buy kits with all the screws included at Motobins/K series/accessories and at Motorworks.

Inge K. wrote:You can buy kits with all the screws included at Motobins/K series/accessories and at Motorworks.

Thanks for the info. I noticed that both these suppliers sold the kits but I had hoped to pay a bit less than their respective asking prices. I suppose I'm fitting the stereotypical image of a Scotsman here and, in reality, I've no idea what it would cost to source the parts individually, but I'm turning purple at the thought of parting with over £200 for a fastener kit.

It may, of course, come down to that - but, in the meantime, I think I'll need to go for a lie-down!

There are ebay options Tintock.

I had a look and could not find any at the moment found THIS and I am not sure how complete the kits are, but they tend to come from the UK.

And then looking I saw THIS one. 10 pound.
Do a google search. There are plenty of kits/ sets out there a lot cheaper than 200 pound
All I know about stainless is how shiny Halo manages to get it.
Plenty of bolt people here to help out.
Probably a couple of nutters too.

rossco

rossco wrote:There are ebay options Tintock...

OK! I'm back up off the floor now lol! Thanks for the links, rossco - and for the humour too!

Hi tintock, have a look at these

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/280Qty-STAINLESS-ALLEN-BOLTS-KIT-BMW-K100-LT-/150629114147?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts&hash=item231231e123

Not a complete set but a good start. I bought some recently and they look pretty good quality.

88,I usually use Coppaslip.

Paul.

sidecar paul wrote:Hi tintock, have a look at these...

Thanks, Paul. I think that's much the same set of S/S bolts that rossco mentioned - they're about 57p cheaper buying direct rather from their eBay shop, but it's very useful to get your personal recommendation as someone who's bought the product. I think I'll buy them - definitely can't complain about the price, that's for sure!

I may also go for the US fastener set rossco mentioned as it seems to be more comprehensive, but I'll see how I get on with these ones first. Thanks again!

I love this thread I'm getting some good vibes on this one. The bolts yes when I saw the 200pound ask at motobins I choked the first time I ordered parts early this year. Doing up the old ones takes alot of time, proberly not as good as new ones but feels rewarding to me. SCP how can they sell the ones you found so cheap ?, would they send to Aussie ?.

I would like to see you get a sand blaster cabinet though tintock for those rusty parts it's just sooooo good.



Halo

Halo wrote:...I would like to see you get a sand blaster cabinet though tintock for those rusty parts it's just sooooo good...

Aye, Halo, I would love to sort myself with a sand blaster/soda blaster setup too, but I don't think I can justify the expenditure on a suitable air compressor and all the other associated bit'sn'bobs. Especially with Xmas coming up over the horizon. Even a week's hire of a suitable machine costs £200 locally.

Unless something turns up, it looks like it'll be brass wire brushes and elbow grease. I can't say I'm looking forward to that phase of the resto, but that's life I suppose!

BTW, I put a WA address into the BoltMeUp website with that pack in the basket and it just returned the same shipping costs as it cost me - i.e. £1.89. Somehow, I think they'd be looking for a bit more to ship to Oz but worth an email enquiry perhaps?

I have bought a couple of these brushes over the years...as an option if you don't have a blaster.

http://www.machinerycleanery.com/

The brushes themselves are of good quality and last well.

Sean.

Saxon7 wrote:I have bought a couple of these brushes over the years...

Thanks for the link, Sean - these are worth bearing in mind for the fiddly bits if I get stuck.

The brass circular wire brush wheels inparticular I have had great success with you can put them on a drill

Halo wrote:...brass circular wire brush wheels...

Aye, I took advantage of an offer in ALDI a few months ago and bought 3 packs of assorted power tool brass brushes and handbrushes. I've a feeling 3 packs won't be enough!

I took advantage of some sunny weather today and got some more work done. Note that I didn't say "sunny and warm" - I had to scrape the ice off my windscreen this morning!

Anyway, with the tank, seat and lower L/H fairing panel off a couple of days ago, this is how it started off.





I have to admit that my heart sank a bit when I saw the extent of the corrosion, but then again, much of the bike looked as if it might be OK.





The underside of the seat is particularly extensively rusted, although it's probably just surface corrosion. I'll have to have it re-upholstered anyway as I don't think that either new or pattern seats are available for the 1984 RTs. The panniers will come up nicely and the Hepco & Becker topbox is virtually brand new (if a purchase made in 2004 can be referred to as "recent").

To be fair, many of the alloy and engine parts seem to be fine at first glance.The wheels and fork legs were powder-coated in 2003 so they should also be OK after a good clean-up.





This is how it finished for the day.





I was (temporarily) beaten by the 2 Allen bolts securing the tailpiece
bar which doubles up as a seat hinge, as the nuts at the bottom were
just spinning around with the bolts. I couldn't lay my hands on my
needle nose Mole grips, so I decided to retreat and have a a bottle of
home brew instead. The bolts can wait for another day!



Cheers!

The nectar of gods and bottled by a saint it just has to be a good drop.

Bless you, my son,...hic

Tintock to clean up the motor I'd use CT 12 its a mild sulphuric acid or its equivalent use a paint brush from the bottom up you will not get any streaking

cheers Tony

Thanks, Tony. I'm not familiar with CT 12 over here in Scotland, in fact, I'm a bit out-of-date on the subject of engine/parts cleaners and degreasers. I'm one of the "Gunk" generation and I'm a bit clueless about what products are available nowadays.

I'm reading up on lots of the restoration threads - primarily those by HALO and OldGoat at the mo - to learn as many tricks and tips as I can before I get started for real. There seems to be loads of products and services in Canada, the US and Oz that I'm simply unaware of here - probably because I haven't really started looking in earnest yet.

I'll keep my eyes open for a mild sulphuric acid cleaner, though, as I'm heading out today to begin stocking up on cleaning stuff.

I'll keep my eyes open for a mild sulphuric acid cleaner, though, as I'm heading out today to begin stocking up on cleaning stuff.[/quote]

Something like Jeyes Fluid ??? - just don't get it on the paintwork.

That's mighty progress Tintock! you'll be amazed how well some of those parts clean up. My engine cover bolts looked like yours and a quick lash in the brass brush followed by some 1200 or 1500 wet'n'dry had them back to mirror, I really couldn't believe the quality thats in some of these parts. You'll get there!

88

This is good I would like to see you try this on the Al parts as I never did but was thinking I could have. Mybe this will be a way around the sandblasting and soapy water wire brushing I did on the Al parts.

88KE wrote:That's mighty progress Tintock!...

Aye, mate. It's amazing how much better progress appears to be once the fibreglass and seat comes off. Still a lot of work to be done, of course, but I'm looking forward to the job and getting the old girl properly ready for the road again.

I was up clearing out the loft the other day so I could make storage space for the fairing parts etc., and I came across a power tool I forgotten I had - a 160W dremel-type tool, complete with vice, stand, flexible drive extension and all the bits, plus a box of new wire brushes, cutters and grinders. An absolute bargain for me as I was contemplating splashing out £80 on a dremel for this restoration.

Halo wrote:This is good I would like to see you try this on the Al parts...

I'm tempted to try out the drain cleaner on the aluminium parts, but I think I'll do a bit of research and reading before I consider trying it. I'm concerned about damaging the soft metal parts with such a strong acid and I can't remember what effect dropping some water on 91% sulphuric acid would have. I could always dilute it, but it was over 35 years ago when I used to do the lab stuff and my memory is a bit hazy on the whole subject. And on everything else as a matter of fact lol!

yep make sure you dilute it first don't use it neat (acid that is ) and start at the bottom going up stops streaking
I used this on my furniture trucks body kept it looking near new

cheers Tony

Toto_jp wrote:yep make sure you dilute it first don't use it neat...

Thanks for the info and tips. It's all good!

I know I'm getting a bit ahead of myself here, but I really fancy using the KBS ClearCoat that HALO put on his engine and metal components. There is a KBS agent in the UK, but they don't do the aerosol cans and I don't have any spraying equipment.

Is there a UK equivalent for the KBS ClearCoat or do I have do ask my daughter to bring a few cans with her when she comes over from WA for Xmas?