I noticed that , at night, when I'm riding at cruising speed the battery lamp is glowing dimly. Is that something to worry about?

Also,
once in a while when I accelerate from a stop, the bike hesitates for a second. It feels as if someone cut the engine off just for a second.
No other indication on the instruments. Just a kind of buck and loss of power, then all goes back to normal.

The battery seems OK and I have a new ground cable.

Any help?

85 K100RT. Speedo shows 28,000 (but who knows for real.)

Also, should I consider checking the valve clearance?
Some say it doesn't change till much  higher mileage.

Puccini wrote: I noticed that , at night, when I'm riding at cruising speed the battery lamp is glowing dimly. Is that something to worry about?

If you have added any to the fuse #1 Circuit this will happen, but nothing to worry about....untill it changes.

Puccini wrote: Also, should I consider checking the valve clearance?
Some say it doesn't change till much  higher mileage.

It wouldn't hurt to have the openings checked....most changes come before 60 -70 K km.... after that the openings is rather stable.

Whats fuse #1??  The bike is really stock. nothing added.

Also, is the idea to check the valve settings before it get a lot of miles instead of after it gets a lot of miles?

50,000 km is about 31,000 miles.
If my speedo is anywhere near correct then I should do it now. Correct?

Under 30,000 miles a BMW is barely broken in.  
For the momentary hesitation, try injector cleaner, Thechron or Seafoam for a couple of tanks.  Low miles on an older bike can mean that fuel sat in the system for a while.  When did you change out the fuel filter last?
It won't hurt the bike to check the valve clearance.  If anything it will give you a baseline for future checks.
As for the charging light,  A couple of things can cause this to happen.  If you have LED's in the instrument cluster, it will glow occasionally.   A ground may have a bit of corrosion.  Unless it grows brighter during your ride, don't get too concerned.

As Inge said
"It wouldn't hurt to have the openings checked....most changes come before 60 -70 K km.... after that the openings is rather stable."  
I check mine every 20,000km (which is about yearly) it can pay, if you find one that has changed a lot either way it can show a problem that is easily fixed now from turning into a bigger problem.

By "openings", do you mean the fuse holder (socket?, female?)

Valve, we got a touch side tracked. 

Well my 85 K100RT did  sit for a long time but the son of the oldeer man that owned it had the bike gone over before I bought it.

Spline lube, new fuel pump , etc.

I sent out the injectors and had them cleaned, and have done basic maintenance since I have had it.

All in all it seems pretty good but I think I should check the timing and 
the valves. It seems kinda buzzy.

I'm very good with the old airhead twins but this newer technology is a little daunting.

Biggest problem is that it's hard to find piston positions for TDC, and accurately turning the crank. Not like the ole /7 bikes.

If you take the small T shaped cover off the front of the engine you will see this

In the section between the 2 arrows there is a V shaped bit on a round plate that will point to TDC

Yes, thank you.

But, how do you tell which cylinder is on TDC?

Do you have to remove the valve cover to  do this?

I plan to use an adjustable timing light to check the timing. Do you use the same mark?

That will show 1 & 4 which is the reference for the ignition and cam timing.  If you need 2 & 3 I just put a screwdriver in the plug hole and feel for it.
If you are doing the shims just make it so the lobe faces away from the shim on the base circle of the cam.

RicK G wrote:That will show 1 & 4 which is the reference for the ignition and cam timing.  If you need 2 & 3 I just put a screwdriver in the plug hole and feel for it.
If you are doing the shims just make it so the lobe faces away from the shim on the base circle of the cam.

OK,, thanks.

I guess I'll have to just wish for the best.

The one thing I loved the most about my old R75/7 was how easy it was to do work on it.

I love the K100 but I miss the simplicity of the "R" bikes.

P.S. I've has many BMW's but the best one was  my 76 R75/7.
There was something really great about that bike.

Gerry

Once you get to know the Ks they are good to work on in that most of the engine is accessible once the fairing sides are off.
I spent many years working with Hondas and the Ks are a lot better than something like a Goldwing or the ST1100 and 1300.

RicK G wrote:Once you get to know the Ks they are good to work on in that most of the engine is accessible once the fairing sides are off.
I spent many years working with Hondas and the Ks are a lot better than something like a Goldwing or the ST1100 and 1300.

I couldn't agree more.

Funny thing, here in the USA, if you say motorcycle, everybody thinks Harley Davidson.
The riding public here is brain dead.

It's a miracle if 80% of the HD owners ever go farther than down to Atlantic City (75mi) and after that they spend 3 hours polishing their chrome and dry cleaning all their clothes that say "Harley Davidson" on them.
I've had many HD owners scorn my "K" bike because the engine looks "WEIRD".

One Harley rider tried to impress me by coming up fast behind me on an open highway and blowing by me to scare the hell out of me.

He got frustrated after I accelerated away from him and wisely gave up at around 120mph.

But, there IS a difference between BIKERS and MOTORCYCLISTS.

I'm sure you have the same problems in Aussieland.

Best Regards.

Puccini said: 'The riding public here is brain dead.'

Actually, I reckon it's the non-riding public.

Of course, there are good people riding motorbikes everywhere in the world, and it would be a crying shame to stereotype each other, but why not!?

In OZ as well as in America, the HD rider sure seems to know just how to dress, behave, sneer, shave his head, sport tough stickers (tatts) and align the front tyres of the chopper symmetrically outside the pub.

It's a lifestyle thing.

A friend of mine was in a café off Old Route 66 in Arizona, having a look round the place at the variety of riders while he slowly sipped his coffee. He remarked to the waitress that "there sure were a lot of gay pirates dressed up in the place." She look round then leaned in and replied, "Yep, and a lot of power rangers too."

It takes all types.

Some times we just need to be reminded.

Puccini wrote:

RicK G wrote:Once you get to know the Ks they are good to work on in that most of the engine is accessible once the fairing sides are off.
I spent many years working with Hondas and the Ks are a lot better than something like a Goldwing or the ST1100 and 1300.

I couldn't agree more.

Funny thing, here in the USA, if you say motorcycle, everybody thinks Harley Davidson.
The riding public here is brain dead.

When people find I ride a motorcycle they will often say "is is a Harley" upon which I reply like I am talking to an idiot and say that I ride a motorcycle and smile. Most times they have a puzzled look and say nothing as the ball continues uninterrupted on its way through to the keeper (catcher in baseball, keeper is for cricket) then I say "whoosh" and walk away. 

2 links for setting timing on a K100

http://skylands.ibmwr.org/tom/tech/k100_timing.html

http://www.ibmwr.org/ktech/k-bike-ignition-timing.shtml