MKL's 1977 BMW R100S Airhead Maintenance Log

 

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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