The end is nigh

[Dustybin]

Thanks for the welcome, will get my self organised in a few mins regarding my profile and signature but just as a bit of background about myself.- I followed my brother into the RAF as he was having too much fun, and ended up doing a 22year stint which is longer than Steve  managed...... I think by that time I was having too much fun. Anyway as you get older the military life gets a bit harder and more repetative, so I retired and went to work for Honda in their factory down the road. So I now spend my life investigating engine related problems for them , which is good as it gets me out and about now and then.
Hobbies include field archery, airgunning and motorcycles as well as the odd scale model when the telly is crap. I have dabbled in sailing in the past but now that I am back inland it has lost it's charm as I never liked skimming around puddles, much better at sea.
mArried to Amanda with a 12yr old son robert who tests me daily. I am not new to BMW airheads asI have owned a 1991 r100gs for 14 years.

[clonmore1]

Welcome Tony,

Is that Honda "Swindon"?

If so, I lived in a number of places in and around the town and used to work at Skurrays way back when. Some fond and not so fond memories.

Enjoy the bike and don't forget to hassle the PO if you get any problems post acquisition... 8-)

[Dave 2]

Hi Steve and Tony, Welcome Tony, I will look forward to seeing how things work out on the bike. Steve your work on your bike was part of my inspiration to do the work on mine. I could never tell from the pictures that the paint job was not good, so it always looked good to me. I'm sorry about the loss of stability in your life, but I think you will find that you can "reinvent" yourself and find yourself refreshed in your new pursuits. I love your 1000 just the way it is. At first I wanted to do a major change on my R65LS, but as I slowly took it apart I began to really respect the original design. I ended up just using color to satisfy my need for change. Good luck, and I look forward to your continued inspiration. Dave2

[steve hawkins]

Yes Tony,

The R100 is a difficult one.  I painted it and put it into its current configuration.  It is still a good 'all-rounder' and it has been suggested to me that since I now have only one bike, I should be careful on what I do with it - not that that stopped me when I originally started mucking around with the R65.

However, I do like the look of Monte's R100, It is stripped down without losing its essential riding position and 'BMW experience'.  I will have to give it some careful thought.  I also have to pull the heads this winter and take a look at the valves seats and guides.  The bike has some miles (90k) on it and I have no evidence that it has ever been stripped. Depending on that outcome, I will know if there is any money left over for fun.

So put a picture up Monte!

I will try and convince Tony to log his strip and rebuild in the appropriate section.  We should be starting this weekend, whilst it is raining outside.

Cheers

Rev. light

[montmil]

... So put a picture up Monte!

Since you asked...



Above photo: As purchased, there were a few issues that had to be resolved:
   Left front ATE brake caliper had to be replaced due to an extremely boogered bore in the caliper body. Three different pistons tried -no joy.
   Instrumentation consisted of a tach. No mas. TrailTech Vapor installed.
   No horn. Got a honker now.
   No mirrors. New BMW OEM 'Bumm" mirrors from Motobins.
   No side panels. I decided not to fit the bulbous OEM panels. fabricated flat aluminum covers that mostly block the view of a cluttered area on the bike.
   Replaced a failed brake light switch and added an LED 'Stopper" light bar on the bottom of the Texas Antique Motorcycle license plate. The LED unit is helpful as the OEM tail light is tucked way up under the seat's tail cowling.
   Tuned up the poor trim on the rear fender.



The R100S runs an upgraded fork brace and a billet aluminum upper fork clamp. Aftermarket headlight brackets. Dyna ignition, Works Performance suspension upgrades -front and rear and a Motorrad Elektrik electronic VR. Note that not all the changes are shown in this photo. Chassis, fuel tank and a few bits are powder coated.

I continue to experiment with fork fluid weights/volume plus tire pressures. It is a hot rod and a real pleasure to ride.




      

[Dave 2]

It is a hot rod and a real pleasure to ride.

Only in my dreams! a very cool ride [smiley=bmw_smiley.gif] Dave2

[steve hawkins]

Cheers Monte,

I need to look at my tank, I want to make the bike look sleeker, but rather than change the tank, I might have it painted to create the illusion of sleekness, I.e. paint a 'framed' side panel in lighter colour, surrounded by a darker colour. Alloy fenders as well

Orange might be a thing of the past - as might the nose fairing and the seat unit, side panels, etc.

Later dudes!

Rev. Light

[Justin B.]

Maybe an overall light color on the tank and then the bottom of t he tank matte black like the LS bikes.  I think this was to make it appear sleeker...

[steve hawkins]

Indeed, but to take this effect further, I am looking at painting the top as well.

But for the moment I am going to do some light polishing, and I might 'age' the bike as well, it already has spoked wheels.  some round rocker covers, etc.

Lets see where this goes.

Cheers

Rev Light

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

and I might 'age' the bike as well,

Are you going to beat it with a chain?

[montmil]

Are you going to beat it with a chain?

Oh! That reminds me... Tonight is Halloween. Bring it, ya little buggers.

[tvrla]

Sorry to hear about the job loss. I went through that several years back, couldn't find anything comparable, did temp work for a while, odd jobs, and for a lot of that time - fixed airhead gauges.

There were some lean times, and it took some getting used to not having disposable income, but eventually it all worked out. I'm still not rich, but at least money isn't totally scarce and I'm enjoying what I do much much more than ever before. Just wish I could have been setting this all up when I had money to spend.

Sorry to hear about your letting the 650 leave the garage. My first 650 got sold as well a year or so after losing the job. And I missed it, but eventually replaced it two or three years later with something even better - a hot-rodded LS for cheap (lots of sweat equity).

Things will open up again.

As for your R100 - I think it's a great looking bike. Love wire wheels and the S livery. Paint can make all the difference in the world.

Good luck Steve - and do a good job transitioning! Can't plan for everything so it's gonna be awkward at times - but flow with it.

[steve hawkins]

The company, in its infinite wisdom, has decided to keep me on for another year.  So now I am getting the chop, along with all my colleagues, this time next year.  Well, that's nice.    
Plenty of time for planning, I suppose.  But we are all hanging in there, as we all have more than 10 years service, so there is a bit of a payout to be secured for most of us.

Its death by 1000 cuts, as it has been for the last 13 years, but at least its time to get my house in order.  Not sure I want to stay in the type of work I am currently employed.  Time to look and see what's on the horizon.

More importantly I can now look at the one bike I left and make a little project out of her.  Gone is the air box, and top cover - one of them Motorworks engine covers now takes its place.  I have also fitted the pod filters Tony took off my old R65.  Even fitted a brass wing nut for the rear brake actuating arm

I want to age her - make here look more 60/70s, than 80s.  That's not necessarily BMW of the 60s and 70s, just generally.  I want to lose all the acres of plastic.  And I want to brighten her up a bit.

Next on the list is to fit a set of R65 triple trees to my R100.  I have been mulling this over for some time.  As the increased fork offset will increase the wheel base and rake, but reduce the trail.  If I reverse the forks it will put the leading axle behind, and thus increase the trail again, but probably by more than I lost, and also reduce the rake again.   The brakes will then be on the front of the forks, like later models.  I might have to lose the nose fairing as well.  might go for that trail look, with a set of Renthals, or something.  Jury still out.  Coould just Café racer it.......Doh!

I would not mind putting a short R65 swing arm in place of the long R100 item......It will almost be an R65!  Or at least a short wheel base R100, anyway.

Lots of things to think about, whilst I have some money, or more importantly, the time. But I do have to keep a lid on it.

Cheers

Rev Light

[Barry]

I would not mind putting a short R65 swing arm in place of the long R100 item......It will almost be an R65!Or at least a short wheel base R100, anyway.

Just out of interest I recently found some BMW documented evidence that the post 81 R65 swinging arm is 10mm longer than the early model.
You have to wonder why they bothered with 10mm.

[steve hawkins]

Probably because the r65 was always consider a bit 'flighty' - when compared to the R80/100.  It was supposed to be a sporty commuter.

Perhaps they had a few complaints about the early models, and decided to calm things down a bit.  

I seem to recall, in the dim and distant past, about steering dampers being fitted to R65 in particular.

Before I fitted the larger front wheel to my bike, I seem to remember my 1979 R65 wagging its head in mid corner when I first converted it to a café racer.  I put it down to poor set-up on my part, but it disappeared soon after.  And the only thing I can think of, was the larger spoked wheel, even if I tried to compensate by lifting the fork legs through the yokes by half an inch.


I think we are going to have to put this one to bed.  I will measure my brother's 1979 R65 swing arm - just the 'tube length' not the mount plate or the stub axle tube.  From the side that can be viewed on the right. if you get my drift.

Rev Light