Another BMW K100 followed me home

[bomber737]

Thanks subforry, I know the GSX was advertised as sport touring but in my opinion it is a pure sport bike with more power than the GSX-R and softer less adjustable suspension. I have ridden 2 GSX's, a 750 and my 1100 and I will tell you they sit way more forward than the K.

I have a RT and an RS and I went with the RT bars on the build bike. I will be using the RS bars on the next BMW K build this summer. The GSX has what amounts to clipons for the controls.

What the GSX has over the GSX-R is the electric windshield which actually moves air over you when it is fully extended. I wish I could find a GSX-R to compare mine with. I might be dating myself here but there is no way I would ride the GSX on an extended trip like I would with my GS1000E or the K. I guess I am to old to be hunched over all day. The GSX does have descent suspension with the addition of progressive springs. The stock rear suspension adequate.

I am really looking forward to riding my K this summer, when I got it there was already snow on the ground so I didn't get a chance to try it out yet. Speaking of the K, are you going to ride yours to the international BMW rally up here in St. Paul MN this summer? I just saw the flyer on the BMWMOA web site.

 

[subforry]

Speaking of the K, are you going to ride yours to the international BMW rally up here in St. Paul MN this summer? I just saw the flyer on the BMWMOA web site.

That would be a blast but I wont have the free time, also quite a long ride. I was hoping to take a camping trip in March but my weekends are already full.

 

[bomber737]

Finally got around to working on the K, I had ordered a rebuild kit for the gas cap and got it installed. This gave me a chance to clean and lube all the moving parts. There was a little corrosion in there so I am glad its lubed and cleaned up.

I decided to use the fuel pump from the low mileage bike and I replaced the fuel filter and got some new submersible fuel line so at least I know I wont be pumping crap through my fuel system. The tank was very clean but there was some really old gas in there so out it went.

I got he tank hooked back up and installed on the bike but I didn't get a picture of that yet.

 

[bomber737]

Since it go cold out again I decided to tackle a few other projects I wanted to address. I was not happy with how bright the tail light was while the bike was sitting there so since we have so much room in the sides I decided to add some lights. I originally purchased some off of Ebay but I was not happy with how small they were. So I went to the local parts store and low and behold they had what i was looking for. They weren't giving them away but I am happy with how they look.

I also finally got all the LED bulbs for the gauges and got them installed. I got the small ones from a web site, superbrightled.com and I am hopeing they will never require replacing in my life time. They cost me #$1.39 a piece and you will need 8 of them and 2 of a twist in type. We will see how they look when I get the gauges back in the bike

 

[bomber737]

I finally got back to the K. I wired up the new running brake lights. I did this by soldering the 2 leads from the new lights together with a 3rd wire as a pig tail. I crimped a male connector to each set of 3 wires and pluged them into the wires that used to go to power the light. I crimped female connectors to the pig tail and attached them into the light bulb socket.

I really like the way they look and I think I am more visible with the light cluster like it is now. I think I will start looking for some strip lights to add to the brakeing light.

I had some time so I got the rear diff oil changed and the engine oil. I still need to do the trany, maby tomorrow but it is supposed to be 70 up here in da nort so I might be riding one of my other bikes.

I also got the power cord for my battery tender installed and mounted. So now I wont have to pull it next winter.

 

[bomber737]

I have been away from the project for some time now and I finally got the time to get some final things done. I filled and checked all the fluids and made sure there was new lube in the diff, trany, and engine. I also filled up the anti-freeze so I know that at least that has new stuff. I have been thinking about the problem with the rear view mirror falling off with a good jolt is I have engineered what I hope will be a viable solution. On my snowmobiles they mount the rear view mirrors with a threaded rod and spring on the back side so if you hit something it lets the mirror lay back against the hood and all you have to do is snap it back upright and it goes back in place. I figure this should work on the bike as well. I drilled a hole in the thickest part of the mirror housing and I put a cable through it. I also drilled a hole through the mount. On the back side I put a spring, washer and cable clamp. Here are all the parts I used.

I got it all at the local hardware store and I think I spent 5 bucks in all. The end of the cable is secured with a cable crimp and you just hammer it tight then I used a screw driver to make sure it was clamping well.

I used springs that are not the stiffest so they should have some give in them and not brake the mirror if it gets hit. I think it should work great. Now I will be taking the bike out side for the first time and firing it up so keep you fingers crossed it starts. I will also be syncing the throttle bodies.
I also got the seat mounted, not so sure I like it but time will tell if I go back to the stock one of keep this corbin on the bike.

 

[bomber737]

It lives, I just got took it outside and after a few moments of cranking it fired right to life. It sounds great and it didn't require much choke at all and no choke a few minutes after that. I synced the throttle bodies and the thing idles like a champ. I did notice that when you rev it up the levels are not even.
One thing that has changed is the bike is not charging and it did before I tore it down. Any suggestions where I should start to fix that problem? I do not have the gauges on the bike yet. My father just got home and I will be calibrating the spedo on monday. I will post the link to the youtube video of the 2nd start later tonight.

I figured out the not charging thing. It turns out in BMW's infinate wisdom, there is a charge light in the gauge cluster that the system must sense extinguish before the computer will tell the alternator to start making electricity. So I figure that once I get the cluster re-installed my charging problems will magically correct themselves.

 

[bomber737]

I did find that the ignition is a little flaky. I have to turn the key just right so the lights are on brightly or the bike does not want to start. Once its in the right spot it fires right up with no problems. So I will be getting a new ignition in the near future.

I got it all put together and took it out for it's maiden ride. I have to tell you it is very very nice ride. With the progressive springs in the front and progressive shock on the rear it rides like my friends new Harley. It holds the road very nicely and corners very well. I have also installed a fork brace so that might help it handle better than stock. I did notice that it is a little buzzy but I really think that that could be addressed if I set all those compensation screws the same and adjust the butterfly valves. When I synced the throttle bodies I did notice that they are not all even at around 5000 rpm so I am assuming that that is the cause of some of the buzz. But I will be putting some miles on the bike before I mess with it any further. I am very pleased with how the bike turned out and I do appreciate all the help I have received from members on this forum. Next will be to see how far off the spedo is and deal with a flaky LED in the cluster. So here are some pictures of the first ride. I did decide that I will definitely be looking for a different seat. I really do not like the way this one holds me put and I can't move around at all. I will also be looking for some highway pegs.