Author Topic: Hello from Costa Rica (Read 16491 times)

Filmcamera · « **on:** May 04, 2016, 05:48:56 PM »

Hello everyone,

I am so glad I have found this forum, I suspect I am going to be using it a lot over the next few months...

So let me explain. I am from London originally where I had ridden a Triumph Daytona 900, a Kawaski Ninja 900 and a Honda CBR 600 in my mid 20's before moving to Costa Rica in 97 aged 32. I never had a bike here and the desire for one kept getting strong despite acquiring a wife and kids etc along the way.

Then a coupel of weeks ago I saw an ad for a 1991 K100RS 16v. The owner was American and in his 780's and leaving CR for good. The bike has been in the country for 13 years without ever getting legal and has been off the road of two and a half years.

I couldn't resist... it seemed like a challenge and seeing that lovely machine looking sad and unloved was too much to bear. :musicboohoo:

I took delivery yesterday and now begin the process of gettting it legal and working before trying to make it look pretty.

So far

New fuel pump
new steering bearings
ABS brain doesn't work
I am having the injectors cleaned and adding changing the fuel filter

After that fingers crossed for now

A quick question, as you will see she has a full set of tragkorbs but they have definitely seen better days, is it possible to buy replacement hinges etc?

Here she is

Brad-Man · « **Reply #1 on:** May 04, 2016, 06:19:48 PM »

http://www.maxbmwmotorcycles.com/fiche/DiagramsMain.aspx?vid=51750&rnd=07012015

This site shows parts available.

There may be other side like Motobins that have used or new parts.

Welcome!

Filmcamera · « **Reply #2 on:** May 04, 2016, 06:58:22 PM »

Great thanks.

I just discovered that I am the proud owner of the only K100RS in the entire country... that is going to make parts tough to find lol

Elipten · « **Reply #3 on:** May 04, 2016, 07:45:21 PM »

Is there dealership in country? If not international post.

Filmcamera · « **Reply #4 on:** May 04, 2016, 07:48:51 PM »

There is a dealership but OMG you don't want to buy anything there - hugely I mean hugely expensive... I haeva P.O Box in FL for exactly this kind of thing, I buy stuff online, send it to FL then down here by boat... just one of the joys of living in tropical paradise!

TrueAce · « **Reply #5 on:** May 04, 2016, 09:02:54 PM »

Welcome, Filmcamera, congratulations on your find. Interesting two-tone paint.........not seen that before, any history on that?

Filmcamera · « **Reply #6 on:** May 04, 2016, 09:25:03 PM »

Apparently the bike was yellow when it was brought into Costa Rica, probably not the original colour either.

The owner decided to change it and put the two tone paint on it. He gave me a matching helmet with the bike!

The paint job isn't great so I will be repainting it at some point, not sure what colour yet but I am leaning towards the pearl metallic white, maybe I will keep the two tone just for fun

TrueAce · « **Reply #7 on:** May 04, 2016, 09:33:02 PM »

Check under the seat for a German paint code number. If that was Dakar Yellow, a limited use color, you might want to consider restoration.

billday · « **Reply #8 on:** May 05, 2016, 08:56:54 AM »

Welcome!

Google Beemer Boneyard for used parts and also new maintenance things that fit. Also IBMWR.org for used parts.

There is a post by Frankenduck on bag refurb, including using hardware store hinges and pop rivets, somewhere in the Motobrick Lieberry.

Good luck, keep us posted on your progress.

tsnap · « **Reply #9 on:** May 05, 2016, 03:10:20 PM »

hmmm, I have a roof when I visit Tamarindo, but fly into San JOSE.

TOM

The Mighty Gryphon · « **Reply #10 on:** May 05, 2016, 08:47:46 PM »

The hinges are still available from BMW and can be had for $5.50 each.

Here is the Max BMW fiche for your bike.

http://www.maxbmwmotorcycles.com/fiche/DiagramsMain.aspx?vid=51709&rnd=04282014

kris · « **Reply #11 on:** May 06, 2016, 07:47:06 AM »

That's quite a find and a good story to match! Good luck with the bike. Given your climate you might want to clean as many of the electrical connectors/ connections as you can. Order a can of DEOXIT spray from wherever and hit everything with that. As Gryph said you can still buy the hinges. Heck, you can buy them in Ontario for $5....we can't often beat US pricing! It's the delivery that'll kill ya'. Don't forget spline lube on this machine. You know the rest....fresh oils and fluids. Keep her cool and lubed and you'll run for years. Down there it sounds like you'll run and cook (on this bike) for years! Good luck.

Filmcamera · « **Reply #12 on:** May 06, 2016, 12:46:54 PM »

Good idea on the electrical connectors, thanks. I am picking it up in a couple of hours - I am as nervous as a new dad!

So far I have put a new fuel pump and filter, cleaned the injectors, new air filter and changed all the oils - engine, transmission and brake and installed a new battery, and lubed the rear spline, don't think he did the front one, I will try and find out when I pick up the bike. My Spanish is pretty good but I am suddenly confronted with lots of technical jargon which I have no clue how to say in Spanish (any suggestions as to how to say rear drive spline lube greatly appreciated!) Also installed new steering bearings.

Other than that I know the ABS is bad - I can live without it but I did find an online place that repairs them so maybe down the road I will do that. Some of the switches are bad - emergency lights for example. Those I have to fix next because I can't get RITEVE (a government road test all vehicles have to do annually) without them. Other than that I need to just ride it for a few days to blow away the cobwebs and see if anything else shows up as bad.

Then take it to customs to get it imported so I can actually ride it legally.

Next I have to take my bike test!! I have had a UK license for 30 years but the law has changed here and they won't issue me a bike license without doing a test - including a theory test - so back to school for me next week!

I'll let update as things progress.

Thanks everyone

riots100 · « **Reply #13 on:** May 06, 2016, 06:24:13 PM »

lubricar el diferencial trasero (final drive lube)
y
lubricar el posterior del eje de transmisión (rear spline, drive shaft, lube)

Filmcamera · « **Reply #14 on:** May 06, 2016, 06:51:28 PM »

Thank you very much Bruce!

So update:

I picked up the bike and set off home...

I quickly discovered

1. Fuel gauge is broke
2. Speedometer is wildly out - showing 20 mph in 5th gear with 4000 revs...
3. Temp gauge not working

So far so good, minor annoyances but no big deal.

So I head out of downtown San Jose to my house about 15 miles away. I have to negotiate a little town traffic before getting on the 'freeway' a small two lane road anywhere else. So I open her up a bit - she responds nicely though with quite a lot of engine vibration which I understand is one of the features of a brick. Since no speedo I have to idea how fast I got to but 6000 in top felt like a decent lick.

Finally I get to the bottom of the hill I live at the top of. It is a VERY steep hill and when I moved in 15 years ago the road was gravel. It is now concrete but a concrete road made by the neighbours so smooth it isn't. I gingerly start climbing this hill and the engine starts to die, like it is out of gas or something. I pull the clutch, drop to first and rev frantically until she finally catches again - I guess the motorcycling gods wanted to see how I was at hill starts since this same scenario was repeated five times on the way up the 1 mile hill. I do finally get to my house, by now sweating profusely and definitely not arriving portraying a cool motorbike God as I had intended.. The moment I kill the engine vast amounts of water came out of the overflow.

In other words I have an overheating issue...

After she cooled down I topped up the radiator and got it going again - it seems the fan isn't kicking in. Well at least I know now why it overheated. I was feeling a lot of heat on my left leg as I drove home but wasn't sure if that was normal this being my first brick.

Despite the scary and nerve wracking last mile or so I love the bike and cant' wait to shower her with the love and attention she needs and deserves.

Any tips on the fan issue not to mention the gauges would be greatly appreciated. I am beginning to suspect the last owner's idea of electrical work was - if it is broke disconnect it and forget about it.

riots100 · « **Reply #15 on:** May 06, 2016, 07:01:50 PM »

I had a "fan on turning on" issue on a K75 that had sat for a long time. (years) Both the Temperature Sending Unit behind the throttle bodies and the Temperature Relay Switch in the fuse box, were bad. Replacing both fixed my fan/overheating issues.

I bought both parts new from MAX Motorcycles. From what I understand, you can find after market Temperature Sending Units for much less.

Filmcamera · « **Reply #16 on:** May 06, 2016, 07:38:33 PM »

Returning to Trueace's comment. I checked under the seat and of course the paint code is largely chipped off. All I can see is that it starts with a 6 followed by either a 5 or 7.

From what I can see that probably means it was black originally.

Black is not a good colour for CR - too much dust etc on the roads. I do like the dakar yellow I have to admit, or maybe metallic white. Lots of time before that decision has to be taken luckily.

Laitch · « **Reply #17 on:** May 06, 2016, 07:43:09 PM »

Quote from: Filmcamera on May 06, 2016, 06:51:28 PM

Any tips on the fan issue not to mention the gauges would be greatly appreciated.

"Quite a lot of engine vibration" is not a characteristic of a well-running K100 but they do vibrate more than a K75. Clean fuel, new plugs, proper spark plug lead connections could possibly help smooth out the performance,

Use a dowel or stick long enough to reach the fan—after you can find it—to see if it rotates. It may be seized—not an uncommon condition on neglected or seldom used bikes. If it rotates then check the motor, the sending unit and the relay for function. In that climate and riding up steep grades, getting that fan functioning is paramount to keep from ruining the engine. Flush and replace the coolant, too.

Clean the sender in the final drive to see if that gets the speedometer working.

+1 on cleaning all electrical connections.

TrueAce · « **Reply #18 on:** May 06, 2016, 08:15:08 PM »

Was the tank partially full on the uphill fades?

Filmcamera · « **Reply #19 on:** May 07, 2016, 10:17:36 AM »

There isn't much gas in the tank but enough, I think. As to the fan - you are right about it being hard to find! After removing the lower half of the fairing I was able to finally get to it and yes it does rotate freely so it isn't seized. I had emailed the old owner telling him about the overheating and he told me he had wired the fan to be permanently on, so I now I just need to track down his 'improvements' and see what is up. Next I will try cleaning the sending unit on the speedo and see if that helps.

TrueAce · « **Reply #20 on:** May 07, 2016, 01:30:36 PM »

The lack of power uphill may have been a result of the fuel pump in the tank not being able to fully intake fuel. Fill the tank and see if the problem still occurs.

Filmcamera · « **Reply #21 on:** May 07, 2016, 06:39:32 PM »

Hi Trueace,

You were spot on, I filled it all the way up today and it came up the hill as good as gold, I am loving the torque this thing has. The hill I live on is steep - I am seriously steep - and it chugged up in 2nd at 2500 revs like it was nothing. It is still overheating a little but I am a happy man.

I took my 19 year old son for a quick spin and when he got off I asked "What do you think?" - in a slightly shaky voice he replied "quick" - a convert I suspect!!

johnny · « **Reply #22 on:** May 07, 2016, 07:49:08 PM »

greetings...

gasoline is good...

rpms are good...

3500 rpm is abouts the lowest i would ride in 2nd gear... anything below that and you have nearly no throttle to contact patch control if you were to need it... especially up a steep grade...

j o

Filmcamera · « **Reply #23 on:** May 07, 2016, 08:00:31 PM »

I will bear that in mind, thanks

TrueAce · « **Reply #24 on:** May 07, 2016, 08:11:40 PM »

So do you know you have overheating as opposed to lots of heat from the engine? A manual control switch for the fan is simple to run (details available), but be clear about which symptoms you want to tackle first. Maybe a bit of riding will help you set priorities.

News:

Author Topic: Hello from Costa Rica (Read 16491 times)