MKL's 1977 BMW R100S Airhead Maintenance Log

 

October 16, 2011 - 40,841 Miles: I gave her a fluid change to prepare for winter storage.

August 28, 2010 - 40,278 Miles: The final drive began weeping at the crownwheel seal, so I removed the unit and sent it to  Tom Cutter's Rubber Chicken Racing Garage. Cutter returned the FD with brand new inner and outer crownwheel seals and a re-shimmed crownwheel bearing, and I then reinstalled it. The FD looked like this prior to spline lubrication with Honda Moly 60 and final installation.

May 5, 2010 - 40,117 Miles: I gave her a fluid change and replaced the marginal Yuasa wetcell with an Enersys Genesis XE16 we had lying around at work.

May 30, 2009 - 39, 382 Miles: Replaced both fork tube filler cap gaskets, which were leaking. They were leaking because they were incorrect - somewhere along the years, someone had placed rubber o-rings where the aluminum gaskets should have been, and once disintegrated, they began to leak.

April 25, 2009 - 39,254 Miles: The old wheezing stock horn was replaced with a new low-tone FIAMM on a 40A relay at the spectacular 2009 PA Spring Tech Day.

April 10, 2009 - 38,717 Miles: The R100S got some new goodies to firm up the handling. The Paioli rear shocks were replaced with some tasty new YSS shocks, while the front end received a racy CCP fork brace. Klaus Huenecke of EPM Performance Imports set up the rear shocks to my liking, and they feel great!

July 9, 2008 - 38,140 Miles: One of the Martek ignition's sensors went bad, causing the bike to misfire under load as the engine got to normal operating temperature. To address this and some other issues, I took the bike in to Tom Cutter's Rubber Chicken Racing Garage. Cutter's reputation as an Airhead Guru is well deserved, because now that he finished with it, it finally runs like an absolute dream. Tom replaced the old Martek with a new Dyna III Electronic Ignition I had lying around for my R75/5 project, adjusted the valves, carburators, cables, and steering head bearings. Finally, he came up with an ingenious, effective and cheap solution to my shorn steering stop boss problem, by drilling and tapping the existing boss with some buttonhead screws, which now effectively function as extensions of the boss. If only I had discovered Tom Cutter earlier, I could have saved myself alot of headache and expense!

June 12, 2008 - 37,547 Miles: As usual when buying a bike this old, I've been tinkering more than riding lately! I broke the right hand switch control housing by overtightening after adjustment, I added some sweet sounding Epco Stainless Steel "Sport Mufflers," replaced the mirrors with new Napoleon Bar End models, replaced the stock thin grips with thicker aftermarket models, and had the carbs rebuilt with all-new brass as well. All mixing tubes, chambers, jets, and needles were replaced with new OEM equipment of stock size.

May 10, 2008 - 37,440 Miles: I removed the final drive and had the stripped driveshaft oil drain retapped to accept a standard Oilhead final drive oil fill plug, since I had an extra laying around for my R1150RT. Everything went without a hitch and the FD is totally leak-free now. I also had Klaus Huenecke of EPM Performance recharge the rear Paioli shocks, which had totally empty reservoirs. The R100S rides very nicely now! All that's left is the clutch and steering stop boss, both of which can wait until winter.

April 2008 - 37,388 Miles: Black 1977 BMW R100S picked up with 37,348 original miles. It includes some tasty extras, such as the pristine Lester mag wheels and Paioli gas-charged rear shocks. The bike is on its second 1.144-3.09 speedometer, as the first one gave out at 35,290 miles. This S is cosmetically good, but required some TLC mechanically, as shown below. Still left to do: The original driveshaft oil drain is stripped and now occupied by a makeshift plug, the clutch is nearing the end of its life, and the steering stop boss on the frame has worn away, allowing the S-Fairing to hit to the frame on full stop. We will address the oil drain plug shortly, and the steering stop boss over next winter.

 

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