K bike on a budget

[Luca]

A couple weeks ago while scanning Craigslist I found a 1986 K100RS for sale with less than 50k actual miles listed for $450.  I've been looking for a classic K bike to take on a cross country trip, so I called up the guy and without any haggling on my part he said he'd take $400 for the K.  Had previous lookers not tried to kick the tires the bike probably would have been sold before I got to go see it.

After rebuilding the stuck fuel pump and lapping the parts together to restore reliable operation, I was able to get it to run.  Fuel was fed from a mason jar since the tank is an absolute mess inside (but aluminium--no rust!).  The white thing on the bottom of the pump is a Bunn coffee...  erm... flat bottomed fuel strainer.  I poached a brake caliper dust seal for an antique mini cooper from the shop to reseal the top of the pump housing.  It won't last long in gasoline, but it was a free way to get a listen of the engine running.  With vacuum leaks I later found on 3 of the 4 throttles, the bike idled poorly.  However, with a few grand of revs in her the engine is smooth and healthy sounding.  Great, time to tear it apart!

Now I have the fairing and transmission off for a spline lube and clutch inspection.  Unfortunately the clutch cover was seriously stuck to the flywheel.  I got the cover off by tapping and prying, but I bent the friction plate in the process.  Shoulda just left it alone    I'll probably source a used clutch assembly.  Even at around 40k miles the plates seem to have around half of their life left.

The K will need a few rubber bits, mirrors, turn signals, etc. but so far there is nothing alarming.  Total cost so far:$400 and about 12 hours of futzing.

[montmil]

Perhaps Mike "Benght Phorqs" Crenshaw will chime in on his bargain K-Bike purchase.

Those nekkid K's look pretty sporty. [smiley=beer.gif]

[marcmax]

Luca. I have a K75s and love it. Here is a link to a guy that has just about anything you are looking for when it comes to a K bike. He also has a great LED instrument replacement set. Really easy to install and makes the bike a pleasure to ride at night. Without it the instruments are hard to see.  http://www.kbikeparts.com/

I also have a couple of CD's worth of Haynes and BMW manuals that cover the K series and just had a VHS tape of the K75/K100 10k service transferred to a dvd. PM me and I can make a copy of them for you.

[Adrian]

Good luck with it all mate. I'm in the process of rebuilding my R65 while I'm not well enuf to ride. I find it so much fun restoring the old back to a good working - good looking unit. I hope you enjoy the process even if it frustrates you sometimes  

[Luca]

Thanks Adrian.  I'm doing my best to keep a cool head with the K.  I'll clean her up a bit as it will be easy with so many parts off the bike, but I'm really trying to avoid the "while I'm in there" mentality.  For example, the rust on the frame will be scrubbed off and then the offending sections "tipped" with Rustoleum (tipped is a fancy word for brushed!).  Hope you're well enough to ride the R65 soon.  My LS is in good running order, so I'm not afflicted with motorcycle fever as I freshen the K.

Thanks for the offer Marcmax.  I'll take you up on that, and keep an eye on the K bike parts list.

And Monte, the K will have the fairing put back on.  One of the reasons I bought the bike is because it is faired and has a windscreen.  Right side has a little damage and the black paint job isn't so hot, but for now that's fine.  It might even end up being a good thing as she doesn't have a whole lot of curb appeal at the moment.

Work on the K is currently halted, however, while I do some repairs on the Miata.

[Tony Smith]

Nice purchase, funnily enough I am in the market for a K100RS myself. I'd take a hard look at the rear splines, the 85 through 88 models are apparently known eaters of drive shaft splines.