[quote="Two Wheels Better"][quote="Themason"]Hmmm, I see late model 16V wheels and Monolever on the rear. Since it is a right side view I am left wondering if a left side view would reveal an 8 valve or 16 valve head and exhaust system. I guess you could have a K1100LT back there with a Monolever rear end. I have even seen a 4 1/2 inch wide K1100RS rear wheel with Monolever but you had to use the 16V exhaust and even then you only had a few mm clearance between the exhaust and the tire. Looks like a 16V fork too.
Anyway, back on topic, I have seen Spectro barrels in the back of a BMW shop so I was aware they supplied the engine oil. I was not aware of the gear lube also being a Spectro product since the last time I used a Spectro brand gear lube, in a gearbox and not on my toast, it was honey colored as you say. Thanks for the information.
Now about that bike of yours ....................[/quote]
I pretty well spell it out in my signature line what I've done to the 8V K100RS over the past few years. It currently rides on K75 'S' forks, a 4.5x18" rear wheel, a 2.5x18" front, with a 17" wheel/tyre combo, 305mm discs and a Marzocchi fork all obtained for when I return to OZ next year. The exhaust is a round can Motad from the UK and is a relatively tight fit back there. Some of us who have done that particular wheel/tyre mod in OZ call them the 'Phat Tyred Ladies'.
Yep, the only Castrol oil in the US from the BMW factory is the Castrol-branded SAF-XO 75W90 full synthetic for the later model's 'hollow' final drive and/or gearbox if required. [i]All[/i] others are provided by Spectro, engine and gear oils alike. Have a squiz at what ol' Ted says on his BMW site and then look at his 'Addendum' and then 'Further Addendum' at the bottom. This is but one example of confirmation. Tomorrow at work I will jot down all of the part numbers/viscosity/grades and post them up so this forum's members in the US know what they're buying [i]IF[/i] they purchase oils from their local dealer.
[url=http://www.beemershop.com/tech00.php[/quote]
http://www.beemershop.com/tech00.php[/quote[/url]]Interesting. Thanks for the description. I will pass along to you a tip from a friend here in the US who built and tested the prototypes of the K100 and K75. Don't use the Marzocchi fork. It is not durable, it weighs more than the original Fichtel Sachs fork, and has the damping split between the legs. If you really want to go whole hog on a fork, buy an original fork, not the S fork, but the standard Fichtel Sachs fork and use sliders with the built in fork brace like the S fork has, have the inside diameter of each slider nitride coated and use brand new fork tubes and teflon seals at the bottom of each damper rod. You will never wear this fork out, and because there is full contact the entire length of the fork instead of just at a bushing at the bottom that will wear, it ends up being a lighter and more responsive fork. Splitting the damping as is done on both the Marzocchi fork and the later S fork you have is not ideal either. Better to take the old fork and install Race Tech Cartridge Emulators in both legs. This is the hot set up.
Also, unless you change the triple clamps to reduce the offset, changing to a 17 inch front wheel will reduce the already insufficient trail to the point of being dangerous. The primary reason these bikes have a high speed weave, especially when loaded, is a lack of trail. Using a smaller diameter front wheel only makes the problem worse. The triple clamp used with the 16V bikes (K-1, K100RS/16V and K1100) likewise has insufficient trail. You need to use some other triple clamp modified to fit. I have an R100GS triple clamp on one of my Ks. It is a machinests nightmare to make this work, boring the holes, spacing the lower triple clamp,steering stops, fitting guages, etc. An R100R triple clamp is equally ugly to make work. You can also use the triple clamps, even the complete front end, off an original GSX/R-1000 (they used the same steering head bearings) with a modified stem. Don't ask me how it's modded, but I have ridden a K100RS with the Gixxer front end. That works very nicely.
But putting a 17 inch front wheel on the set up you have now is asking for trouble. I know. Even with the 18 inch front tire, there is so little trail that if you load it down for touring and then compress the front end further with a high speed cornering load, such as a certain 130 mph Autobahn sweeper entering Bonn returning from the Dutch GP, you can initiate a weave that has both ends of the bike cycling through the full travel of the suspension while the bars move lock to lock. At 130 mph that is [i]very[/i] scary. Now, with enough trail, the bike never weaves, ever, no matter how much I stuff in the bags or how fast I ride it. It is a little heavier steering, but not much, and the added stability lets you get away with things you would never try otherwise.