Bigger jugs has swayed me from the true path

[steve hawkins]

Just bought a 1982 R100........nekkid - but with a small screen rack and panniers.

Twin shock, light flywheel, brembo brakes, etc.

This one has Koni's, a surefoot, pfm cast iron discs up front, stainless steel brake lines and exhaust ...all the sensible mods.

And some crash bars....hmmm

82,000 miles........for £700.

She's a little bit worn, with a scratch here and there, a little light corrosion and a small dent in the tank.  But I think she'll scrub up well.

Shell do to run alongside the cafe racer - when I have a passenger or do not feel like clip-ons.......

Don't worry still like small jugs....

[Justin B.]

Cool!  But, that mileage is about when I had to do the valves on my '81 R100.  All-in-all, though, it sounds like an excellent deal.

[nhmaf]

Post some pics when you can !!

BMWs of all sizes are still very nice to look at.

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

Congratulations, Steve.  For a second there, I thought you were going to graft some big jugs on the café  

Glad to hear you have become a two-bike shed!

[steve hawkins]

Good point.  

I am aware that a valve job might well be in order at this sort of mileage, but I am not going to rush into it quite yet.  I am not expecting to do a huge mileage, or do any long runs, for that matter, on this machine, any time soon, so I will take the opportunity to have a good look around the machine and look to factor it in in the next 8 to 10,000 miles.

I expect this work to be in the order of £300 for exchange heads, but we'll see what comes along.  I have some work to do on the R65 which has a higher priority.

I will initially restrict myself to some cosmetic details on the R100 that could be dealt with at low/no cost to generally spruce her up (removal of crash bars, screen, luggage and the fitting of euro bars if I can).  If she is going to be a keeper, then I will invest a bit of money in her.

The boss is not too impressed with me buying this bike, so to immediately spend this sort of money on a the top end rebuild would not be a good thing to.  Need to let the dust settle first.

Kids will love being able to sit on the back though....

Cheers

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

You might want to find a sitter for the kids, and take "the boss" out for a romantic evening...  

[scuba]

You might want to find a sitter for the kids, and take "the boss" out for a romantic evening...  

We saw nice r100 in the street and my "boss" said "It looks very comfortable. And it is not THAT large as you say. Maybe we should sell r80 and buy r100.  You like it, I like it, so...? And maybe we can make longer trips, perhaps go for a lunch or for the night out. And you'll look good on deep red metalic bmw".

So much about "board of directors". 80 is not large enough for the night out. Now we need 100 (but I'll look good on it)

[steve hawkins]

Saturday:

1.  Clean new bike - lots of degreasant
2.  Remove luggage - sell to a neighbour for his R75/6 who is touring scotland next week - hard luggage a dream come true for him - I get all his rear indicators that I need into the bargain.  Money going to be very useful and although he got them cheap, it saved me the hassle of putting them on ebay...or storing them.
3.  Remove crash bars.
4.  Remove windscreen.
5.  Remove and replace high touring handle bars with the spare set of 'euro bars' originally from my r65 Cafe Racer.  
6.  Replace clutch cable with a old but servicable spare from the R65.
7.  Start removing the wiring 'extentions' that have been spliced in to accomodate the tall handle bars...done most but run out of heat shrink! so one side still to do.
8.  Clean the bike again....going to need a lot of cleaning

22 pairs of latex gloves and I still have grime under my finger nails!

Bike Named Gertrude - 'Diry Gerty' from number thirty.....etc

Evening - Go for a ride........must look into the wayward handling - most of it down to a squared of rear tyre, front not much better, but forks need looking into.  Bike tracks in groves on road - indicative of a squared off rear tyre.  A bit of a barge when compared to my R65, which is a well honed blade in comparison.

Sunday:

1.  Check tyres and pressures, both tyres are legal but both pressures are low - 2 or 3000 miles left in them if I want to push them to the limit.
3.  Drop the fork oil out of the right leg - plenty there and looks quite recent.
4.  Do the same for the left - very little comes oil and what does is very contaminated - ALARM BELLS START RINGING!  Why no fork oil?  If there is no oil in the fork - then the MOT tester will not find any leaks.....
3.  Remove clamps for fork boots only to find that there is pitting on both fork stantions - higher up the legs it has to be said - but its there.  Evidence of oil on the right stantion.  Basic mistake - and an obvious check had this not been an ebay purchase....Ho hum - clean legs and refill with SAE 5.  
4.  Go for a ride again - see how the forks hold up - handling improved but tyres will be needed to finally sort it - forks do not seem to be leaking - in the short term - so I have some slack.  The worst stantion is that on the right - but in the short term it looks like I will get away with it - I might firm up the front with a small spacer inside the fork keep the seals away from the pitting by limiting the travel by an inch and further improve the handling.  Have till March next year to sort this.
5.  Look to balance the carbs - can't remove the balance screws on the carbs
spray with release agent and walk away - bike is not that far out anyway, and I do not want to break them off.

Will have to monitor for fork leaks and look into temporary repairs - replacements are £70 a leg - and that is too much too soon.

Time to make a list - No/Low cost repairs first.......
Plenty of paint - satin black for the frame and cycle parts, aluminium for the wheels - both of which could do with a blow over - will do this just before I change the tyres - save me masking them

Does not sound too good - but the bike is eminently usable, if a little grubby.  Much of the work that needs to be done is only cosmetic - this could be done profesionally if money was no object - but this bike is not a /5 and therefore is not worth a huge amount of money even if in excellent condition, on this mileage - must keep it real and do only what is necessary -  and just do a little bit at a time.....a running restoration project....

Toodle pip.

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

But I suppose £700 still ain't bad, for a runner!  Plus you got some money for the bags.  I love those win/win deals, when both parties are happy!

Too bad about the fork.  Is rechroming an option?

[steve hawkins]

Rob

Rechroming will be the ultimate fix - Motobins/Motorworks/James Sherlock etc all do it on an exchange basis.  £70 a leg.  Which is not bad.  But I need tyre/s soon and some other bits and bobs and am looking to raise money for that.  I am also selling some unwanted spares to Motorworks for a credit note - easier a quicker than ebay - won't get as much though - although I wont have to pay any fees.

So its out with the old epoxy bodge and a new fork seal for the time being - just to keep things on an even keel.  

However, it will on my 'to do' list along with many other little things.  We did also mention valves - now there is a £150 in parts alone (valves, guides, springs).

But I must remember I have work on my R65 to carry out...New brake front disc, rear wheel and look into my gearbox/drive shaft issue.

Here is the list for the next 6 months - one job at a time without taking the bike off the road for any length of time:

1.  Repaint mirrors (satin black - got some - cheap) - in progress
2.  Finish removing wiring extensions for left handlebar switch gear - in progress
3.  Clean up and paint headlight/ears - satin black (still cheap)
4.  Buy and fit small rear carrier/grab rail (£40 odd) that was once fitted as standard - I have the holes to prove.
5.  Touch in frame where required - satin black (you guessed it - cheap)
6.  Buy new switch blanks for crash pad (pennies)
7.  Clean up and paint rear subframe minor surface rust....satin black.
8.  Remove and repaint Koni springs - gloss back - tricky but dampers ok.
9.  Repaint seat base - satin black! - put in a little bit more foam - its sagging a bit.  A little project in itself.  But seat base is otherwise good as is the cover.
10.  Bodge stantions - inc new fork seals.
11.  Tune up - when I can remove the screws to balance carbs!
12.  Blow over both alloy wheels with aluminiun paint.
13.  Tyres - a pair of touring deep tread conti's....

Hear are the big ones to be carried out next year:

14.  Fix fork stantions properly (£140).
15.  preventative valve job. (£150 - £300)
16.  Look into painting the tank/front mudguard and seat surround myself - basic non-metallic using rattle cans - if and when I have plucked up enough courage.

cheers

Steve

[steve hawkins]

Looked at the R100 again this weekend with my twin brother - who has a r100gs.

I stripped the saddle as there was quite a bike of loose paint with rust underneath.  And I also think that the foam at the front of the saddle is past its best.   Once I got the glue and paint off the seat base it did not look half bad - the rust was only on the surface and the base looked otherwise solid.  So I coated it with a 'cure rust' treatment and then primed it up.

It was only when the primer was on, that I noticed 2 small cracks emanating from one of the hinge arms - where it fixes to the seat.  Not having any access to welding equipement - I am unable to do much about it than keep an eye on them - they are both less than a cm long - but I am aware that this might be an area of weakness as I have seen one or two broken ones on ebay....ho hum. :-?

I hope to have the seat back together by the weekend - with a new bit of dense foam at the front and the satin black painting completed.  I will just have to be careful with it regarding the cracks - although if I bolted a plate above hing arm(between the topside of the saddle and the seat foam) - it might strengthen it enough.

We also looked into the forks again as I was thinking of fitting a 2cm spacer in the top, above the springs to firm things up.  I had already put some fork oil in them last week, but had not yet actually been inside them.  

After having bought the required 36mm socket to get the top off the fork leg I was dismayed to see the state of the inside of the left hand fork leg - the spring was covered with a muddy deposit - This was consistent with my earlier findings - however they we easily cleaned up with a rag and most of the sludge from the bottom for the fork was also cleaned out with a long stick and rag followed by a flush through with some fork oil.  

We did find, however,  that the springs we progressively wound, which was a bonus.  The right leg was fairly clean.  As the springs were progressives I decided against the spacers, so we just put them back together with new SAE 10 fluid instead of SAE 3 or 5.  This will be a roadster rather than a long distance tourer and I prefer my bikes to be a bit on the firm side

I was however very suprised at how flimsy the yoke (triple tree) arangement was on these bikes - although it is well documented.  Without the forks being clamped to the steel pressing that is an excuse for a top yoke, they still move around a bit, even with the wheel and the bottom yoke secured.  I wish I could have fitted the R65 yokes instead - no wonder there is a whole industry created to replace the top yoke with a billet item.  

I am now wondering whether firming up the fork action will just highlight the shortcomings of the yoke arangment...

We put in the missing switch blanks on the crash pad, fitted the newly painted mirrors and the second hand carrier/grab handle is also fitted- so at least we are making some progress....So far:

1.  Repaint mirrors (satin black - got some - cheap) - Done
2.  Finish removing wiring extensions for left handlebar switch gear - in progress
3.  Clean up and paint headlight/ears - satin black (still cheap)
4.  Buy and fit small rear carrier/grab rail (£30 odd) that was once fitted as standard - I have the holes to prove - Done
5.  Touch in frame where required - satin black (you guessed it - cheap)
6.  Buy new switch blanks for crash pad (pennies)  - Done
7.  Clean up and paint rear subframe minor surface rust....satin black.
8.  Remove and repaint Koni springs - gloss back - tricky but dampers ok.
9.  Repaint seat base - satin black! - put in a little bit more foam - its sagging a bit.  A little project in itself.  But seat base is otherwise good as is the cover - In progress :-/
10.  Bodge stantions - inc new fork seals.
11.  Tune up - when I can remove the screws to balance carbs!
12.  Blow over both alloy wheels with aluminiun paint.
13.  Tyres - a pair of touring deep tread conti's....


Yesterday - I rode the R65 cafe racer into work - forgotten how well she handled compared to the the 'old barge'.  Must not forget Ruby...thats what I call her.

Cheers

Steve

[Jon_P]

i still love Rudy and even though you are having a fling with something with big jugs i will chaulk it up to a mid life event   funny thing steve is i am looking at a r45 so i am going the other way.

[steve hawkins]

Jon,

You are going to have to remove alot of metal to make an R45 exiting....

Your can always upgrade to an R65 - pistons/bores/heads etc

Still, if it local and cheap - that is half the battle.

That was why this R100 came my way - on ebay - but less than a mile form work and only 4 from home.

Actually saw an add for the R100 in this month's Classic Bike magazine.  It was up for £1200.  Looks like the previous owner needed the money a little quicker than most - must have been disappointed with £700.  But I would would have been disappointed paying any where near 1200.  Hope his phone has not been ringing off the hook!

Still it is near the going rate for a good runner - which gives you some idea of the slack I have - which is about right when I factor in what needs to be done.

Good luck

Steve H

[Justin B.]

How about a before picture?  This is a before ( I had already started degreasing) of my '81 R100RT which is now a black R100T...

[steve hawkins]

Justin,

I am afraid yours looks cleaner than mine.  Although it looks like you had far more to get rid of!

It is difficult to tell with this picture as it is the one grabbed off ebay.  But it gives you a clue.

The luggage, screen and crash bars are gone and the tall handlebars.

Steve H