New Handlebars got fitted this week

Against all the nay-saying that went on , in my mind this is by far the best modification I have done

The bike now corners a lot easier, is far more comfortable and easier to handle than it ever was with the stock LT bars on it:

I would be among the first to say dont do that but it is thinking outside the box.

As with any mod that dramatically changes the position of the rider I would like to see a photo of you on it.

Hard to visualise a lost of these changes without seeing someone on the bike.

Oh, it is a damn fine looking bike Be made

rossko

I'll agree with rossko, damn that's a top looking bike. Now do we call that a K100CL? whatever you call it you've done a great job. Just looking at the bike it beckons you to get on and go for a ride, and that's what it's all about. It's great to see somebody customize a k that's note a café racer, but a bike that's a top looking knock around bike and enjoyable looking tourer ( cruiser ) Well done. You've given me a lot of encouragement , when I finish my Austin Cambridge project I'll be looking for a new project and I think you've hit the nail on the head for me .

nice change mate !

 onya smithy ...will be good to see something erm different

Well . . . . looks like the mechanic I paid to do the engine f@#$%ed it up

3000ks later = failed number one big end bearing :_(

so shes off the road for quite some time now

I should have done the engine myself

looks like (after speaking to 3 engine rebuilders) he put the con rods back in in the wrong order :_(

I have the crank out now and will do the rebuild myself

I am starting to trust less and less "experts"

I would be having it out with him. The job is not a difficult and if a f*^#up like that is made then he should pay for someone who is expert to do it properly.
When I was working my own business which was mainly Jap fours I couldn't count the number of time I have heard that story. I reckon about 1 bike a month with a major fix because some Idiot had got to it and several each week with problems of a smaller nature.

Yep. You are right. I SHOULD have it out with him but to be honest I just can't be bothered any more.

I hate stress. Much easier for me just to pay the price for the parts, wait for them to arrive (8 weeks . .  groan), get the crank reground and do the overhaul myself. At least that way I will KNOW what I have got.

I am sorry but this has really really pissed me off.

No bike over summer, and this is probably going to be one of the best summers on record for riding here.

I am out of wheels for at least 8 - 9 weeks. There is no monetary compensation enough in the world for missing out on riding time in the height of the season.

Never mind. Shit happens. Just get on with life and be happy anywayz (as much as poss without 2 wheeler :-()

thanks for your post Rick. Appreciated

I have a heap of good cranks here that I can give you if you want but postage is the killer.
I think there is only one under size for the big ends so reclaiming may be difficult.

RicK GI have a heap of good cranks here that I can give you if you want but postage is the killer.
I think there is only one under size for the big ends so reclaiming may be difficult.

Thanks for the offer man, appreciated. I have done a little homework and we are able to regrind the crank and BM is able to supply the new shells no problem. Total cost for a full set of mains and bigs is $365 nz incl gst so that's not so bad. The only other components needed is a new head gasket and a front seal for the timing chain cover.

Normally I would not have to take the head off, and be able to simply replace the bearings and crank just by removing the sump plate and crank but, in his infinite wisdom, the mechanic who got to this engine prior to me ( the same one who cocked up the rebuild) cleaned all the identifying paint marks off the rods so I have no way of identifying the correct weights used for the shell bearings - there are three different wights used, a set will either be A, b or c -  all identified by red blue or green paint spots. Therefore I have had to take the rods out (via the top of the cylinder necessitating removal of . .  yes . . the HEAD) and give them to the engine shop doing the regrind on the crank to correctly match the conrods to the crank and get the order sorted out perfectly and get the correct shells of bmw

Never mind.

Better done properly this way and KNOW the facker is all good than take any chances whatsoever with half measures

Regards

Keith

Upon considering the amount of time it was going to take to get up and running again I decided to take the plunge and buy another bike.

I got a 1988 k100rs with 48k on the clock for $2000 and will do an engine transplant / resurface / refit and be back in the wind on Christmas Eve as opposed to nearly the end of March.

Riding time is too precious to me for my ride to be stuck in the shed awaiting BMW's now infamous parts supply train (up to 10 weeks for A part here in NZ).

This repower cost might have cost me a couple of Grand for the other bike but I don't care really about the money. Now I have enough spares to keep me going for the rest of my riding days and can recond the other engine @ my leisure. I have a whole nother bike. It is badly weathered but is dead straight in respect to not having been tampered with. The engine is quiet as a mouse, purrs like a kitten and is extremely responsive right up to the top speed of 220kph with ease.

All in all, with all the replacements and subtracting the cost of the engine rebuild (incl crank regrind, head gasket, seals and bearings) doing it this way has cost about $500 more than waiting 3 months and doing it the other way

3 months for $500 !

Not too bad I reckon - about $40.00 a week to get back in the wind NOW as opposed to nearly next WINTER

Well worth it to me

This fixes quite a few little issues I was not happy with when I finished the LT.

Like the side stand which was so badly worn the bike leaned over rather dangerously when angle parked.

Also the Crash Bars. I now have the whole set of correct mounting bolts and mounts and a spare set of bars

Aside from that I now have the RS gearbox, far superior to the LT.

I also had an issue with the throttle body which I (stupidly) disassembled to clean and could not re - obtain the factory presets for the butterflys. The shop had a helluva time sychronising them. The new replacements will fix that

I may well be selling parts once I decide what I am doing with the other bike = to rebuild or not to rebuild - that is the question

oi chaps ...I think he has "the disease "

you have no hope of things returning to normal

"k pox "    

lol... all jokes aside ...good to hear ...and happy riding to you

Slave to the shed to get that shiny bastard out

Good decision IMH , swap them engines then work on the 2nd custom.

You do great work mate, do it again and you have two unique to you bikes.

One day these will be worth real money but that's not why you should do it!

You should do it for the pride you get from a job well done, like that black bike.

Thanks guys for all the encouragement.

I WILL need it.

I am just about done with toying in the workshop and need to get some serious riding time up my sleeve.

We have a few big road trips planned, one is a Rock Concert in Taupo, Lynard Skynard, 10CC and Starship, on Feb 8 and the other is the East coast - a small ride of around 2500k's ..  right up around the East Coast Lighthouse, riding around the coast all the way and then through the guts of the island via the Big Lake and home again.

Need to get EVERYTHING sorted ASAP

Well . .  finally . .  we are away again

The engine from the RS is now in the LT along with the main and side stands, the fuel pump (which is brand new) and the rear shock (also brand new). I needed seat rubbers as well so I got them on. All the outer engine cases from the LT have been transferred to the RS block and the result is now back to square one. But this one is heaps smoother and swifter than the last one :-)) ;




Very little remains to be done to this bike now. I would like to add small spot lamps to the engine bars and (maybe) some highway pegs but that is about it. Possibly a tank protector as well but by and large she is finished and running like a charm

Looks like a bought one.
Nice job on the swap.
I would be interested to know how those bars go and especially with touring pegs.

Only question is, why did you get rid of the gold air intake?
   that was the only difference I could see.
Nice work.

rossko wrote:Looks like a bought one.
Nice job on the swap.
I would be interested to know how those bars go and especially with touring pegs.

Only question is, why did you get rid of the gold air intake?
   that was the only difference I could see.
Nice work.

Thanks. The Bars are wonderful. A LOT more comfy riding position. I will get a photo up with me on it at some point so you can see. the air intake colour change was the womans idea. She reckoned the bike looked cleaner with a black one. Personally I think the black one looks a lot better. What do other riders think I wonder? Black or Gold . . that is the question??

I think the gold looks the goods.

Your front brakes must be a bitch to bleed?
How do you take the lid off the reservoir without losing the contents?

Is that a police car in your drive?

Despite the nay sayers and purists - I love what you have done there.  It is truly unique and there is only one like it - yours !

I too would be interested in the rideability with those bars and the slightly rear mounted footpegs ?

Good work

rossko wrote:I think the gold looks the goods.

Your front brakes must be a bitch to bleed?
How do you take the lid off the reservoir without losing the contents?

Is that a police car in your drive?

The brake reservoir is JUST at the right angle . . no problems there. Ya just need to be careful and surround it with a rag just in case when you lift the lid.

That's not a cop car, its a mates taxi> I know. I give him shit about it now and then. Looks like one of those aussie jobs from a distance but its not

krambo wrote:Despite the nay sayers and purists - I love what you have done there.  It is truly unique and there is only one like it - yours !

I too would be interested in the rideability with those bars and the slightly rear mounted footpegs ?

Good work

The pegs on it currently are the standard K100LT mounts and positions.

I am looking at mounting Highway pegs at the moment, you know, like the Hardly guys have, off the engine bars, and spot lamps.

Then, aside from replacing the front brake line with a better one, that will be it

Hey Be made,

Gotta say I was with the Nay Sayers when I saw earlier posts on this rebuild and your suggestion for the cruiser style bars, but that bike is a cracker!
Love it.
 


+1 for the black air intake
in fact the radiator IMHO the Radiator grill could use the same treatment, but hey it's your bike and you've made  plenty of good decisions that many here (including myself) would've shied away from.

Good luck with the donk rebuild.

Jez

That looks very smart indeed; congratulations on making such a nice job of the conversion.  It makes a change to see something else apart from all the pseudo cafe racers that people seem to build.

Jez wrote:Hey Be made,

 . . . . .

in fact the radiator IMHO the Radiator grill could use the same treatment . . . . .

Jez

I had an idea about this a while back. To paint a couple of beema Kidneys on to it  . .maybee . . . :_))

Here we are out and about. 25ks from my town is a nice hill :-))

Top looking bike and a nice view as well.

And a shiny gold air intake

Be made wrote:
I had an idea about this a while back. To paint a couple of beema Kidneys on to it  . .maybee . . . :_))

Took me ages to figure out what a Beemer kidney was! but..........I like it!

Jez wrote:

Be made wrote:
I had an idea about this a while back. To paint a couple of beema Kidneys on to it  . .maybee . . . :_))

Took me ages to figure out what a Beemer kidney was! but..........I like it!

yep. all the cars and standard k bikes have them:

this is a 750i one:

You sure that's a 750i I reckon its a 735 6 cyl because as far as I know the V8s and V12s had a wider grill and around 96 they changed all 7 series to the wider grill.
BTW only K100 and K75 had the split groll the K1100 didn't have it.

Well there you go. I stand corrected. it IS a 735

Anyway, not too worried about specifics at the mo bro. Just toying with the idea

I have thought that having the split grill, the trade mark of BMW cars, on the bikes was a bold move as there was limited space available on many bikes to use it and it didnt take long for them to drop it either.

RicK G wrote:I have thought that having the split grill, the trade mark of BMW cars, on the bikes was a bold move as there was limited space available on many bikes to use it and it didnt take long for them to drop it either.

Same. Thats why I was going to paint mine on

I finally found some spots. These were $38 a pair.

Wired independently,, and one is sideways,

The visibility at night is incredible but the real purpose of these, for me, is to BE SEEN, especially around sunset, by ignorant CAGE drivers

Here is the colour scheme I chose, but this one is factory, as standard, on a 1983 R100CS, for sale recently on trademe. It fetched $4500.00. not too bad

I did wonder if bmw ever made a bike stock standard with these colors and now I know :-))

Kidneys painted as discussed, have reverted to stock brake lines, deeply unhappy with the previous set up. Will replace the hoses with braids at some point:

what lines had you replaced them with ?

sorry, maybe a dumb moment on my behalf

looks good

charlie99 wrote:what lines had you replaced them with ?

sorry, maybe a dumb moment on my behalf

looks good

The previous one was a single braid from the handlebar to the caliper, with a joining hose over the mud guard. the problem was it dangled and had nowhere to tidy it up. It made the whole front end look pretty untidy. see previous pics to get what I am on about

There's a metal line you can get from BMW that goes between the calipers. ($17 new in the US) With some creative (and careful) bending you can hide it under the fender.

yep just saw it mate ...didn't have time to look whilst at the office ..
I think it looks tidier the way you have it now ...but with a little imagination maybe a single line could be achieved again ?
good luck !!

duck wrote:There's a metal line you can get from BMW that goes between the calipers. ($17 new in the US) With some creative (and careful) bending you can hide it under the fender.

Thanks, . . . I have the stock one, it was on it, and will go back on when I get a plug for the junction at the base of the steering head, then reduction to a single line, bradied, will be done, one day. At the moment Summer is upon us . .  YAY!. Serious riding time is called for now . .. :-)))

Why do you need a plug?  I just run a line straight from the master to the right caliper.  Then you can pull the crap out of the center of the steering head and chuck it.



That was the first ride.  I've since zip-tied it lightly to the lower fork tree to keep it from flopping around.

duck wrote:Why do you need a plug?  I just run a line straight from the master to the right caliper.  Then you can pull the crap out of the center of the steering head and chuck it.

I want to plug it because I actually like the center pipe system and I want to keep the handlebars and side view as clean as poss

Just clocked the first 6000 kilometers on this rebuild since mid October 2013, the first 3000 on the original donk (which died an orrible death due to another persons F@#$% up and cost me 22 days off the road) and the second 3000 ks on the second engine which was on its original 49000 ks when I transplanted it (so now the speedo reads 53000 )

The bike is running like a charm.

I have balded a Rear Bridgestone Battlax tyre from new and the front one is about 50% worn so I now know how long a back tyre lasts ! (2 up 95% of the time, nitro filled).

The polished and painted cases are holding their finish really well and the other painted finishes are doing well also aside from occasional scratches due to fair wear and tear

The only breakdowns (aside from the other engine big end failure) in the last 3000 was when an HT lead managed to dislodge from the coil, while we were 110ks from home, luckily it did it in a town (Tauranga) and we limped on 3 cylinders to the nearest bike shop where I got a new set of plugs (to be on the safe side), refitted the lead, and we carried on to Gisbourne, all in all a 750K trip, staying overnight there before returning home the next day.

A stunning ride, reaching speeds at the top end of the range a lot of the time, cornering through 70 kilomters of very winding gorge and strumming down the coast on beautiful long straights by the sea . .  yum yum

 . . . . and . . . .  a fuel pump from the '86 RS which I swapped as it was supposed to be new when I bought the bike but failed while stropping around town (very scary instant engine die at speed)

aside from that its all been beeeemer sweeeet

nice .....
little things do come up from time to time ...but you have most sorted by now I guess ...

good to hear that you enjoyed the big ride

cheers and keep on riding ,,,they are deelightfull machine eh !?

charlie99 wrote:good to hear that you enjoyed the big ride

cheers and keep on riding ,,,they are deelightfull machine eh !?

Indeed, Delightful is an understatement. I am ever surprised, every time I get on how swiftly the bike gets up to high speed and how effortless passing is, how solid and reliable the startup is and the stability on the road . .  manifico . . I am so glad I switched to K's . ..       not to mention handling like its a train on tracks and the great fuel economy

Several of my friends have had all sorts of box and engine problems this last summer. I keep telling them to by a beemer. I know of 1 Rocket 3, costing the guy well over 4 grand to sort out his gearbox. Hell. you could have a nice RS for that

Just sealed the exhaust where the 4 headers / muffler joins, after speaking to the local BM mechanic.

It had developed a leak over the last month or so, and was noticibly louder than previously, but did not expect that to be responsible for the engine popping quite loudly a lot on decelleration.

Doesn't any more :--))

First of the BIG rains here today, after a great 6 and a half months of lovely lovely riding weather.

7500 ks of bliss, for the last 23/27 Weekends.

Time for a bit of a rest, swap over a few more bits from the RS to the Lc, like

• the gearbox (mine has whines in 3rd and 4th)
  
• Paint and fit the front brake calipers and front forks (mine are scored),
  
• pannier brackets (mine are badly worn resulting in loose fitting panniers)
  
• Electric controls of the handle bars (the others are mint, mine well worn)
  
• Braided front brake singular line from triple clamp
  
• Anything else I can do to make mine nicer or in better condition
  

Once I have done the above nothing else will remain and I will have officially finished 'building' this rebuild

Then it will be time to look for another project (like, maybe an r100 :--)))

the gearbox (mine has whines in 3rd and 4th)  So do most of the K gearboxes, they have straight cut gears on all but 5th which is spiral cut. I think you will find that 1st and 2nd make just as much noise but because of the relative slow speed and you are going slower and the engine noise will be heard more you don't notice it.
Don't be at all surprised at all if the next box is the same.


Anything else I can do to make mine nicer or in better condition:-  We could send you broke suggesting things to do 

Hi Be Made nice job you've done on your bike.It sure has been a great summer for putting K's on K's i have been managed to clock up a little over 14000K's in the past eight months it's my first K100 and its hard to stay off the seat yes they are dam good bikes.No doubt we will catch up on the road sometime

Bemade you have a nice bike there, but you haven't mentioned what the bars came off, would be nice to know as I suffer from wrist ache when using my stock rt bars