Restoring an '85 K100 to...something.

[Nine80seven]

An old K100 is a gift that keeps giving.  Picked mine up two years back.  When I flinched after seeing the receipts, my wife said, "I'll buy it, now git outta here!" 

The last dealer inspection noted compression at 170,80,160 and 175!  Go figure?  WTH, bought it anywho.  Got a new meter last week, tested it hot today.., 161,153,156and 156!  Go figure? 

Checked it twice, can't believe the dealer numbers.  Same with valves.  Way outta whack.  Hellova bike these old Ks.  There's a lot to do, at 84k miles, made in '84, congrats on the effort. 

[iiXioM]

These things are pretty cool once cleaned up and running. Mine definitely needs a good bit of work and time, but it'll be worth it in the end. Gives me something to do to clear my mind, almost therapeutic.

Didn't get very far since last week. I pulled the exhaust off finally. And by pull, i mean I really had to pull to get the nuts off the flanges. The underside is definitely gunky. Can't wait to clean this sucker up and make it sparkly.

Next up is the part i'm not looking forward to: pulling the front-end off. I was weary of doing it, but watched a video last night and seems fairly straight forward. I haven't decided what im going to do about the front forks yet. Should i replace the springs? do i need to? What about the bearings? The steering doesnt feel notchy at all. I'm sure I need to replace the fork oil. I think the seals are alright since theres no leaking, but it's got boots on them. As you can see, the front end gets me a bit up in arms. I had a F650GS with a leaky fork seal that just wouldn't stop spewing, and had a fork crack on me.

[iiXioM]

Slow progress is still progress, right?

Finally got the triples off. The bearings are magically in fairly decent shape. There are traces of some sort of grey lithium smelly grease. The top bearing looks like it was replaced, the bottom looks like original. I'm replacing both either way.

I pulled about 3ft worth of roasted cables that looked like they went to the front blinkers, heated grips, and possibly an extra 12v socket. Cleared all screws, plastic, rubber, and other bits from the frame, now i just gotta find a reputable and reasonably priced powdercoating place, then the madness can begin!

[Vespa no more]

Impressive

I haven't been on the forum for a while so it was pleasing to see you taking it all on. Hopefully there are no major financial issues lurking around the corner. I hope you are enjoying the process and look forward to more pics in the future.

If the rest is getting sprayed, you will have some of the best before and after pics.

Regards

Guy

[iiXioM]

Impressive

I haven't been on the forum for a while so it was pleasing to see you taking it all on. Hopefully there are no major financial issues lurking around the corner. I hope you are enjoying the process and look forward to more pics in the future.

If the rest is getting sprayed, you will have some of the best before and after pics.

Regards

Guy

Hey Vespa. I'm definitely enjoying the teardown and work. It's definitely therapeutic, even if it doesnt turn out well in the end it was fun.

So far no overly expensive parts to replace other than basics, such as rubber hoses and such. I think the most I've spent so far are in cleaning supplies and the battery. I'm going to get my hands into the splines hopefully this week, and i'll find out how bad off i am. I got the bike for free, so i figured if it's mostly functional and i drop maybe a grand or so to get it into good condition/restored, its better than dropping 1k to 2k or more for a mystery on two wheels.

[Vespa no more]

My bike is an 84 K100RT

In doing some research, I ran into youtube Chris F-Bomb Harris. Splines were "a deal breaker etc etc" but managed to get a good second hand one for about $50. they are out there so don't let that put you off (too late now obviously). Don't forget to do the other end of the spline.

I look at some bikes online and they are clean and sorted. Too much so. My bike is still sporting a 30 year patina - something I like (and loathe). But they are the best of puzzles (never could do the rubics cube) when finished they don't just get packed away into a wardrobe.

I can see you cheering once into your first proper ride.

Keep the posts coming

good luck

and remember "all mechanical problems are finite"

GF

[iiXioM]

Watching Mr. F-Bomb's video on getting to the clutch splines were a huge help, and always comical. His videos coupled along with this forum and its assortment of helpful people are a goldmine of information, and highly appreciated. With that said...Updates!

I decided to go all in and pulled the final drive, drive shaft, swing arm, and transmission to get to the clutch/splines. Obviously to no one's surprise, there was absolutely no lube on the clutch splines. On the other hand to everyone's surprise, the splines seem to be in near perfect shape (from what I can tell, anyone want to chime in?). I don't see any 'mountaining' effect, no metal shrapnel, etc.
The side of the transmission that connects to the clutch is extremely dirty and you can tell in the pictures below I started to get through the grime. Nothing a bit of water and some apple cider vinegar can't get through. I'm making sure it doesnt get to any seals though. I don't think vinegar will eat rubber but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Again, sorry for the messy place...No garage and I'm working with what I can. it's normally 100+ degrees outside and heart condition inhibits me from working in such heat.


Final drive and drive shaft is pulled!


Drive Shaft



Decided to drop the motor on it's side for clean-up and getting to the oil sump underneath in the near future


Clutch!


Splines


Grimy Exibit A


First pass at cleaning off the dirt/grime/clutch dust. I didn't know it was actually grey underneath...



I just ordered a container of blue magic metal polish, some 0000 steel wool, and a few other cleaning materials. Once I'm done cleaning the transmission piece, onto the engine block itself. Hoping to get to the throttle bodies and injectors. Any tips on cleaning those?

Thanks all!

[Vespa no more]

What a glorious mess. Married? If so she seems to be understanding. Probably knows there's a great ride ahead.

If you want to DIY the injectors - check on youtube - there are a few suggestions there which might work. See my response earlier re: removing injectors (or type it into search). A service for 4 injectors cost me $120 dollars (Australia) - so that's probably uhm... $15 each in USA.

Re: splines: to me, it looks like the teeth at 7 & 8 O'clock are stepped. Hopefully not.

Is anybody else out there alternately cringing, silently cheering this project on as well as watching - interested in the spillage of "K" viscera? Remember the first few pics of this bike - swamp monster. Keep it up. Would love to think you get it on road without any major issues apart from cleanup and perishables.

Regards

Guy

[iiXioM]

Negative, not married as of yet. Though all of this work is being done at my parents' house (my dad has a ton of tools).

I read about Mr Injector for the injectors and fairly cheap so I may go that route.

I rechecked the splines, they don't have any mountaining effect to them.

It's definitely a beautiful disaster right now, but it's going to start ramping up soon. I dropped off the frame to get powdercoated, should be done by next week. Went to maxBmw and made a huge wishlist of parts i need to either get or replace (all rubber components essentially) which hit a fairly high price range (pfft. bmw...) but i'll more than likely order soon. Currently researching options to get all the nasty grime off the engine block itself and going from there. Can't decide on if I'm going to bother painting it or not.

[Martin]

Once you have the injectors clean it pays to run a bottle of Caltex Techron through your fuel system once or twice a year depending on mileage. I run half a bottle per full tank twice in a row. It's one of the few additives that seem to work.
Regards Martin.

[jjs1234]

Seafoam always seems to make mine smoke

Sent from my HUAWEI MT7-L09 using Tapatalk

[Shiny]

Negative, not married as of yet. Though all of this work is being done at my parents' house (my dad has a ton of tools).

I read about Mr Injector for the injectors and fairly cheap so I may go that route.

I rechecked the splines, they don't have any mountaining effect to them.

It's definitely a beautiful disaster right now, but it's going to start ramping up soon. I dropped off the frame to get powdercoated, should be done by next week. Went to maxBmw and made a huge wishlist of parts i need to either get or replace (all rubber components essentially) which hit a fairly high price range (pfft. bmw...) but i'll more than likely order soon. Currently researching options to get all the nasty grime off the engine block itself and going from there. Can't decide on if I'm going to bother painting it or not.

Let us know what you decide about the grime. My brick has an unpainted engine, tranny and swingarm that's pretty heavily oxidized.

[iiXioM]

Been a few weeks since I got my hands on the brick. Time for a small update. Warning! Picture heavy!

I've decided to not paint the brick or motor parts. A thorough cleaning gets most of the grimeout. Industrial Simple Green, Dawn, and tons of elbow grease makes parts halfway decent.

I finally finished cleaning up the transmission and got my hands on the actual motor. First order of business was to remove the air box and throttle bodies for cleanup. Nothing some Dawn detergent, Simple Green Industrial, and a wirebrush can't handle. As expected, the rubber parts are all falling apart. There's a local shop that will sync the TB's for me so I got lucky there.














As a bonus, I got my frame back from the powder coaters. It looks amazing and picture doesn't do it justice....




I've also decided to restore/convert this bike into an RS. Thanks to Revrdmark for the entire set of plastics. Complete with peace-skull on the tail piece.






When i pulled the TB's off, the top of port 3 seems corroded/crusty yellow. Anyone have any clue what it may be from? Perhaps water? I'm going to take a picture of it the next time i get my hands on it. From here, i need to pull all old rubbers, clean all the things, order replacement parts, and put it all back together! The forks will be fun to deal with but I think i can manage.

[Revrdmark]

Yeah!! glad they showed up ok!  I hope my blue painters tape "tab A fits in slot A" system makes a little sense  :dunno2:

 I think i used every packing peanut in Spokane to ship that thing! The guy i bought the bike from was a retired military airplane mechanic and not the type i would have associated with the "peace skull" sticker but it takes all kinds huh?  Great progress on the bike buddy!

- Mark

[iiXioM]

So I haven't posted in a while (damn the whole life thing and trying to finish school). Bit of progress has been made since August.  Throttle bodies have been cleaned, all rubber boots/hoses/worn pieces replaced. All splines lubed and transmission/final drive bolted back up. Threw the frame on, painted the center/side stand with some cheapy rustoleum paint. Currently in the progress of figuring out the wiring and getting blinkers/brake/head light functioning as it's supposed. PO fried all the cables so I'm stuck recovering what i can. Wheels are at a local shop to get tires and front bearings replaced, and the bottom race of the triple tree removed. So much muck and grime cleaned off this thing!



Old clutch boot/worn spring vs new





Powerrrrr!




Issue I'm running into right now is all wiring, but the open road is in sight!

[iiXioM]

Still working on this! Everything is starting to come together and nearing completion. Snagged a nearly new tank off Ebay and hooking up brake lines.


Speaking of brakes... I have stripped one of the threads on the yoke tube/brake tube that goes from the steering lock nut and splits into two. I figure this would be a good time to upgrade to stainless steel lines. Does anyone know if there is a kit that skips the tube? Will i have to replace the tube anyways if i got stainless lines? I can't seem to find any info on this.






So this is how the Frakenturd sits at the moment:

[Laitch]

Still working on this! I can't seem to find any info on this.

You can rig it like a K75S maybe—a line from the brake lever to the right front caliper, a metal brake line bridges from the right caliper to the left caliper. Grommets in the two-piece fender of a 75S damp vibration of the metal bridge. Look in the K75S Brake section of MAX BMW's parts fiche.

[iiXioM]

Well, I ended up snagging a fairly cheap brake tube from Ebay for $50, along with 2 very good condition brake calipers. Win-win for me here.

Now I'm running into a new yet weird issue. When I put in the throttle cable its short by like...half an inch or so. I was putting in a new cable so I thought i got the wrong cable. I compared it with my old cable and they're the exact size. Any insight on what is possibly my fault? Would it be a routing issue? I have messed with the adjustment on the cable to allow the most slack. It's almost as if the cable isn't long enough from the holder-notch thing on the throttle body, to the actuator. Hope this makes sense.

[Martin]

Check the alignment marks at the throttle, there are marks under the cover. Or the chain could be snagged.
Regards Martin.

[Laitch]

Are you installing the cable on the actuating cam chain on the handlebar control first before installing it on the throttle body cam?

[Vespa no more]

There is a definite sense of joy once machinery runs properly (speedo aside - love how the speed climbs as the revs do). But what is that whine? Mine does it... they all seem to do it - normal apparently.


Looks like the tank has been bogged up along the bottom edge. There are frequent tanks available so you might want to trade up.


What's the accent? Kiwi? Brit?


Enjoy riding it - maybe to the tune of "everybody's talking" (Harry Nilsson) seeing you are in Florida.


Regards


Guy

[The Mighty Gryphon]

The whine that K bikes are famous for is probably from the gears that drive the output shaft of the engine combined with their anti-backlash spring.

[BrickMW]

That makes sense... As, to me, it sounds exactly like a small block V8 with a geared timing set... AKA - sans chain..

[Inge K.]

Now I'm running into a new yet weird issue. When I put in the throttle cable its short by like...half an inch or so. I was putting in a new cable so I thought i got the wrong cable. I compared it with my old cable and they're the exact size. Any insight on what is possibly my fault?

The throttle cable have been changed two times...first version have a adjustement sleeve ~halfway length,
second version have a black plastic collar at the lower end...third version have a white plastic collar.
All inner cables have different length and a different lower bracket.....which can't be mixed.