First off thanks to this forum and it’s members. You have been very valuable in researching my next purchase.
Looking at buying a 93 BMW K1100LT. I’ve owned a number of street and dirt bikes over the +30 years of riding. This would be the first BMW and my first street bike in a while.
The bike I’m looking at looks good from 10’ away. The current owned said he has not done much with the bike other than change the oil. It has 70k miles. Is stock except for an aftermarket wind screen, a Corbin seat along with a clean stock seat, a Gerry rigged aftermarket radio along with the stock radio. The paint is in good condition with a few scratches, noting indicating it’s been down. No corrosion on the forks, visible frame, inside the tank, or under the seat. I did not take the front fairings off. All the lights work. Bike started easy and ran smooth and quiet. No play in the wheel bearings or steering stem. I did not test ride. No leaks on the drive shaft or anywhere else except as noted below.
Now the bad. In addition to needing a rear tire and brakes all the way around, it has an oil leak in the underside’s rear drain hole, slight leak in the front master, the ABS light stays on and my biggest concern a cracked header pipe at the collector. It is a hairline crack that goes around the pipe (lower left side looking to the rear). I could not hear any additional exhaust noise or any rattling due to the crack.
We discussed price and agreed to $1700USD dependent on a few days thought and a test ride if I come back.
Is the cracked header pipe a deal breaker? Will the crack get worst? My research on this site and others indicates that folks have had very limited success in repairing these and aftermarket exhausts are difficult to obtain and pricey. If I knew the problem would not get worst I’d drive it as is. I don’t want to drop a bunch of $ into an exhaust for a bike with limited value.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts and opinions.
Bryan H
