Hey, my names Becky, im 22 and have had my BMWK100LT for four years now and i absolutely love him (yes he is a him!). Hes on 116000miles and still runs like a dream (hes done 40,000 with me through wind, rain, snow and even the occasional sunshine!), HOWEVER, his fan has stopped working, ive found one on ebay but its from an earlier model (mines a G reg and its off a B reg) any idea if it will fit?

all pretty much the same becky ...

just make sure you lubricate the bushes (bearings ) on the fan motor

and treat the electrical connector with some "deoxit " (anticorrosion fluid ) to clean up contact areas

welcome aboard

Think its past that, had it in bits ad been told i need a new one, tried passing a voltage across the fan motor and nothing happened, hopefully found one on ebay though. Need it get him fixed soon, we are off to Germany in July! Some bullies at work say hes going back to his homeland to die, but he will prove them all wrong!

Hi Becky,

Welcome back. The LT is a great bike, glad you love him!

It is helpful if you put your bike details (e.g. model, year, VIN, engine number) in you signature block...then it is easier for members to provide more knowledgeable comments (especially those from the far flung parts of the world who probably can't decipher UK reg plates).

I guess your G reg translates as 1990 and counting backwards that the B reg would be 1985.  My trusty Hayes manual (K100 2 valve '83 to '92 and K75 '85 to 96), doesn't mention different fans so I would guess that it will be the same model for all LTs between '83 and 92. 

Having said that, I have found a few differences between my first (1990) and current (1991) LTs (mostly trim and fairing) - but these may be down to options picked by the original owner or subsequent owners making modifications. I think you should be safe with the fan though.

If I'm talking rot...someone please jump in before Becky commits money on my say so.

Think ive sorted my signature, he is an absolutely brilliant bike! Just out of interest what tyres does everyone else use on their Ks? im using Metzler Lazer techs (he eats continentals and had a faulty bridgestone which really put me off) but going through two sets a year (10000 miles a year) is that normal?

welcome to the Knuthaus Becky, 
I usually run with Metzelers as a standard everyday tread, my last fitout were lazer techs. now I'm doing much less mileage.
we were only just talking of tyres during our Kurri Koffee on the weekend.
if I remember rightly , Rossko wasn't fairing as well on his preferred tyre as Gaz and I do . we came came up with an estimated 15,000 km's ( 10,000 miles) on a tyre.
mind you there is some variance front to back.

good luck with the fan . keep us informed how you go with it.

There's a lot of posts about tyre preferences in the fairing and wheels section. A lot comes down to personal preference and local availability. 

2 sets of tyres/year (i.e. 5000 miles per set) sounds high though, even for wonderful UK roads. I reckon I get 8000 out of a rear and nearly 20,000 out of the front - that's mostly with commuting 70 miles/day on country lanes, A roads and motorway.
I use Avon road riders as they seem to suit the bike handling and wear well. I was tempted to try Bridgestones at my last tyre change...but having heard a few stories, wimped out and stuck with the road riders (which were a lot cheaper too).

By the way apologies to Charlie99 for my comment "...then it is easier for members to provide more knowledgeable comments (especially those from the far flung parts of the world who probably can't decipher UK reg plates" I wasn't implying that your comment was anything but helpful (as yours always are) - I posted my reply just after your posted yours and then when I read the two together it looked like I was being really rude! Definitely no offence intended!

So mines doing pretty badly on an average of 5000 miles per tyre! I ride enthusiastically sometimes but nothing that bad! Riding at the right pressure and everything and not accelerating or braking excessively. any ideas?

Sorry - just checked - I exaggerated the front milage (that was the last tyre in km not miles) more like 14,000 mile rather than 20,000 (I thought it sounded high!). I don't ride like a demon, but am no sunday driver (rider) either and like to go as fast as conditions allow.

Road surface conditions have a lot to do with tyre wear, but I don't think the Blackpool roads are much different to those down here. You certainly shouldn't need to change the front as often as the rear (it's the same with cars - the driven wheel tyres are the highest wearing even without harsh acceleration and braking). The tyre compound will also affect the life - softer compounds will wear faster but (initially) provide surer grip. It comes down to a balance between road holding and acceptable wear rate.

Yeah i tend to go through a rear tyre and a half for every front. Blackpool roads are pretty bad! Would probably help if i tidied out my panniers, i dont really need to carry things like spare pairs of shoes, two chains, a big bottle of drink various different bike fluids etc oh and there's a sleeping bag in there at the moment too! Used to ride with a pillion a lot too and he was even worse then (but i dumped the pillion, he didn't love my bike enough!) i dont know much about cars, cant drive one, passed bike test at 17, bought my bike at 18, got him restricted (unrestricted now!) and never done car test.

Becky wrote:HOWEVER, his fan has stopped working, ive found one on ebay but its from an earlier model (mines a G reg and its off a B reg) any idea if it will fit?

You can find a brand new motor for the fan here. Cost:$79
The only problem for you is that they are in the USA.


CF

Ah not good! Always the case when i need parts, not keen on buying second hand parts, it makes me feel guilty, its like buying an organ...

Hi Becky, good going!

What I tend to do when I want to know if I can replace an other part on my bike is use realoem.com. There you can fill in your VIN number and look through the parts list to see what the parts number is. If you then go back to the first page and enter the part number it will show you which bikes it should fit, so you have an indication if that other part is applicable to your bike as well.

Becky, I would suggest the above reference to Euro Motorelectrics.  My fan quit working one day in summer and I tore it apart, did the same as you, found one on EBay, then to find out the brush holder on my fan was melted, and I could have gotten one from EME for WAY cheaper. 

I would order from them as they are cheaper.

Bob

no problems here at all paul

posts do tend to come in a rush ...on occasions ...but you covered the topic rather well

becky ...i was referring to a replacement unit ...for the lubrication etc

as you have seen many different types of faults develop with fans ....generally because it is quite hard to get to ...and secondly the frequency of use- operation  can be quite low in the cooler climates .. pending ride characteristics.
the commuter in city traffic  might notice a failure quickly , conversely the commuter will exercise the fan rather more often than the weekend rider ...perhaps ? 
just what i have noticed over time in here .
good luck with the repair

orforester wrote:Becky, I would suggest the above reference to Euro Motorelectrics.  My fan quit working one day in summer and I tore it apart, did the same as you, found one on EBay, then to find out the brush holder on my fan was melted, and I could have gotten one from EME for WAY cheaper. 

I would order from them as they are cheaper.

Bob

+1 on EME they are just great to deal with and all the parts are top class and usually OEM

Try Michelin Pilots.
I'm on my second pair and got just over 10,000 miles on front and back. About twice as many miles as previous Metzler or Bridgstones.
They handle well enough, too. Or at least I haven't fell off yet!
Just discovered my fan has gone the same way.

Thanks guys, will hopefully get him sorted soon, off to Germany in July

The fan motor got Bosch part # 0 130 007 027.

Hey guys, how difficult is it to fit the motor if i do just buy the bosch part?found it on a few sites really reasonibly priced, just wondered if it was worth the extra hassle? not for me, i just make the brews!

Hi Becky and welcome too.

As for front tyres, I put a new Bridgestone BT 45 on the RT last November, I have just ordered another......
I used the RT all winter and it was a great tyre so opted for another. I see no problem using two sets in a year if you only use a bike.

I had a coffee yesterday with another new forum member, Sagi,. He appeared here on Monday and I sort of told him there were not too many female K owners. How wrong could I be, you should meet him, since, as you put it, you just dumped your pillion and I am sure he will not believe there are female K riders! He has what I believe is a lovely K75 from his father shipped over from Austria very recently. Oh, he has no pillion either.......After all, from Blackpool its a short trip to the Irish Eccentrics!!!

Motorworks is a great source of parts, new or used and they are very efficient. Your fan complaint is a common on the K. A manual override is a good source of warmth on a cold winters day!!!

Enjoy the forum.

Becky wrote:Hey guys, how difficult is it to fit the motor if i do just buy the bosch part?found it on a few sites really reasonibly priced, just wondered if it was worth the extra hassle? not for me, i just make the brews!

Have a look here.

ha ha do i sense a matchmaking attempt?  always up for making new friends! if anyone is ever up this way just let me know, me and bikey are out most nights and know some awesome roads

oh and thanks for a guide, will really come in useful! (here dad, read this )

Haha, after being introduced so nicely I'd better say hello myself, so welcome to the forum, good luck with your fan and don't let him die in Germany.

Becky wrote:ha ha do i sense a matchmaking attempt?  always up for making new friends! if anyone is ever up this way just let me know, me and bikey are out most nights and know some awesome roads

Well, the only one I can match you up with is Sagi.   ......he is 31, Austrian, Vienna and lives in Cork. As for me, could match you up with my 26 year old son but he is spoken for. He sat on my LT one day and said 'I could like this' in a tone that worried me a lot. You will see I am using an RT now. But for a different reason.

On a more serious note you are very welcome over here. In Ireland we don't need to know the awesome roads, just the ones that aren't. Our camp sites are good too and on a K people everywhere will welcome you. Paul Lipscomb was here a few weeks ago and fell into some bad company met some Irish Eccentrics. We suspect he will be back as we must get some leprechauns Irish Eccentrics to bring him to the correct Healy Pass in west Cork.

Having left Sagi yesterday evening I stopped at a shop on the way home and spent an hour talking to another BMW owner who has a bike owning girlfriend but who was travelling pillion.

Enjoy the K!

He wont die, im going to keep him going untill he gets to a million miles! so excited, spending a fortune though, bought all new jacket and trousers and boots last week and ths week just spent £160 on various parts, hes definitely worth it! less than 6 weeks to go  so Sagi what k do you have and how old are you both?

ha ha fair enough! would love to visit Ireland some time, would fit right in with my red hair! Maybe a trip for later in the year when we have recovered from Germany. Not that far really looking at the plans, only recently learnt where Germany is...i knew roughly but turns out Holland actually isnt part of it! No wonder i only got a B in alevel Geography

slighty worried about having to ride on the wrong side of the road, luckily going with a few others so can always just follow them and now ive cleared up the thing about which way they go round their roundabouts should be fine!

I have a 1990 K 75, just got her on the weekend so only did a little spin on Sunday, looking forward to getting lot's of miles in over the summer, so far I love it.  What a difference to the little Honda I had before. 
You'll be fine on the correct   side of the road. Was worried about that when I came over to Ireland, but being worried meant I was always paying attention to it, after month when I stopped thinking about it,  I found myself on the wrong side suddenly.

i had a little honda before i got mine! had a cb250 (still do, hes in the retirment shed with the honda h100a) and then passed mky test at 17, fell in love with bikey, bought him without actually riding him and had him restricted down to 33bhp (because over here you are restricted to 33bhp fopr two years if you pass under the age of 25) so i didnt have to wait two years to ride him! couldnt believe the difference when he was unrestricted. Should be fine if im paying attention and i dont lose the guys im following! and what do you mean? left is the right side of the road, thats the side my side stand is on! (which admittedly is a little bit bent which is why i have a block of wood in one pannier just in case)

mine was a NX 250, did not want to send it to retirement so I gave it away to a young guy who's hopefully treating her well and keeps her going for another few years. 
left or right, right or wrong... I guess it's best to adjust to the local preferences.

Ha ha very true, i wont argue if i see a truck on my side of the road! I cant sell mine, they have all served me faithfully, the H100 was my first proper bike, hes that old that hes the one my dad passed his test on! My cb250 did 1000miles in a weekend two up, blackpool to southampton and back again and was incredibly reliable, i know my bikey will never break but always a good idea to have a backup plan! Plus the only one i did sell was my moped, recentl;y found out that it ended up sold to webuyanybike.com for £13.50... could risk any of my others meeting that fate or being slaughtered for their organs and then ebayed!

never keen on buying second hand parts, i know its necessary but ks are rare, its like trading in rhino horn! plus theres always the slight chance that that part came from a bike that has killed someone....i have an odd way of thinking!

Becky wrote:Hey guys, how difficult is it to fit the motor if i do just buy the bosch part?found it on a few sites really reasonibly priced, just wondered if it was worth the extra hassle? not for me, i just make the brews!

Coffee, White and one. Welcome to the Knuthouse. As for your tyres, I use Metzler Marathon rear and a Laza Tech front. I normaly get around 20000K fron the front and 10000 from the rear. But I do like taking 35KPH corners at 110 KPH.

The only thing wrong with having a woman on the forum is that we'll have to behave        

ha ha you dont! I'm probably just as bad, if not worse than you lot x

Becky wrote:ha ha fair enough! would love to visit Ireland some time, would fit right in with my red hair! Maybe a trip for later in the year when we have recovered from Germany. Not that far really looking at the plans, only recently learnt where Germany is...i knew roughly but turns out Holland actually isnt part of it! No wonder i only got a B in alevel Geography

A dangerous thing to say.

We have a trip up north in September, date not yet decided. For the last two years we have taken a trip up to the north Antrim coast and Comberjohn has always arranged excellent weather. You could make a weekend of it....excellent camping up at Tollymore Forest Park. Ferry to Dublin on Friday, meet up a few Eccentrics and 2 hours ride from the ferry to the camp site. Sunday afternoon ferry from Dublin back to Holyhead......

In Ireland we drive on the left side, after dark we drive on the right.

92KK K100LT 193214 wrote:
....In Ireland we drive on the left side, after dark we drive on the right.

Just don't be out on the roads at dusk or dawn.....otherwise known as the twilight zone (cue music....)

Or as they say in Jamaica "The left side is the right side, the right side is suicide".

Actually, driving/riding on the wrong side isn't as unnatural as you'd expect as the roads, junctions, signs and roundabouts are all set up to make it seem fairly normal. By car it can be alarming for your passenger when trying to overtake (they get to see the oncoming juggernaught as you pull out to see if its clear to overtake) but this doesn't affect bikes (nor do toll booths being on the wrong side). The only problem I had after driving on the wrong side for a few years was, when I came home to blighty, I pulled out of a single track side road (so the road wasn't naturally leading me into the left lane) and automatically pulled into the right lane. I then noticed a truck coming towards me and thought "what an idiot - what's he doing on the wrong side of the road" only to realise that the idiot was in my car. Don't know what the truck driver must have thought but I duly got myself back onto the proper side of the road before we got too close!

Weekend in September sounds good, be interesting to meet a few of you! You have really confused me now, what side of the road are you actually supposed to ride on in Ireland? I think i will be ok on the wrong side of the road, providing i am not tired and i have something to follow (which i will providing my friends GS dosnt decide to die again, last time we went away the starter motor went so i ended up having to bump start him every time we stopped!)one of my dads mates goes abroad alot and he said hes had a few moments setting off early in the morning when there is nothing on the road just automatically going to the left hand side

Becky wrote: ...You have really confused me now, what side of the road are you actually supposed to ride on in Ireland? 

Left - same as the UK only things are done in kilometres and euros which makes places look further away, petrol look more expensive and that "120" motorway speed limit sign look like a challenge...

We will be putting up a thread for the trip. Ferries are plentiful so you won't need to make a booking until the last minute. We usually keep a weather eye out as its a lovely run in good weather so if really bad weather was on the way we can move it.

Comberjohn had recommended Tollymore Forest Park for camping and the setting in the Mourne Mountains is awesome. Some prefer hotels or B&B and plenty of those too.

Hopefully Paul Lipscomb might make this too and anyone else will be very welcome! There are ferries back from Dublin around 9pm as well as in the afternoon. Check out Stenaline and Irish Ferries and also L D Lines. I think Rosslare would suit Paul better.

Becky wrote:im using Metzler Lazer techs (he eats continentals and had a faulty bridgestone which really put me off) but going through two sets a year (10000 miles a year) is that normal?

Which Continentals? Mine came with a new pair of ContiGos and after 4.5K miles the rear is looking decidedly worn, not sure if that's normal or not? It certainly makes sense given the power and weight of the bike and the narrowness of the tyres.

By the way - 22 years old, K rider, red hair, CB250, trip to Germany (the best place).. 'Sup 

 

Two sets of tyres would be normal enough if you are a spirited rider. Red hair shortens tyre life significantly.

Red hair means you must come over here for a visit. Just point Bikey in a westerly direction and quietly whisper 'Guiness'. Paul Lipscomb will fill you in on some of the details. Some of the best things British are in fact Irish. Like British Racing Green! Go to Germany for the practice run. By the way, when I drove to Budapest I recorded my slowest average speeds on the Autobahn section- too much traffic.

Ha ha sup back people are always fairly surprised at meets when they see me on him! And yeah made the mistake of putting conti gos on mine, smoothest ride ive ever had out of him but he ate them in no time! Where are you based?

Yep definitely a spirited rider! Its his fault, he encorages me! Does it when in sat in work, whispers to me 'you have flexi time, we need to go out now while its nice!'

Becky wrote:Ha ha sup back ;)people are always fairly surprised at meets when they see me on him! And yeah made the mistake of putting conti gos on mine, smoothest ride ive ever had out of him but he ate them in no time! Where are you based?

What pressures did you run? Did you get any head shakes?

I'm just West from the M1 near Leicester, bit far from Blackpool. Still 'sup though.

Ah cool, i used to live in derby while at uni and have a few friends in leciester. No head shakes but they do tend to look around for the supervising man, which there isn't! My dad calls it an old mans bike and a shed but hes just jealous that i can ride for more than half an hour without aching unlike him!

When I bought my first Beemer as a lad, my mates to a person scolded me for wanting the 'old man's bike' instead of a flashier rice rocket. Well, to them I didn't then have an answer, and today I do, as I still own the first new Beemer I ever bought, and it's held its value. Unlike me, I s'pose.

Ride on as it suits you.

Cheers.

Becky wrote:slighty worried about having to ride on the wrong side of the road, luckily going with a few others so can always just follow them and now ive cleared up the thing about which way they go round their roundabouts should be fine!

I have never ridden a bike on the continent, but I have driven cars in France and Spain, always left hand drive hire cars. I found the biggest danger is exiting car parks, garage forecourts etc. Your natural in built tendency is to look right first, and if the road is quiet you can forget that the traffic nearest to you is coming from your left. Just something to keep in mind, and take that extra couple of seconds to make sure. Enjoy the trip.

Yeah, wouldn't trade my bike for the world, got offered £1200 for him recently, only paid £1100 for him 40000 miles ago, dad said sell but i just couldn't, plus the amount ive spent on him hes pretty much 60% new parts anyway now!