Hello all

[mikeyboy]

Interesting approach, I am interested in what would be necessary to recommission rather than refurb. I see the logic in checking things out before trying to start it after such a long lay up but I have not done a pretty extensive strip down to recommission. Don’t get me wrong it’s the safest way but it was put away as a fault fault free runner and I was thinking more along the lines of fluid changes, sump drop, filters, bore scope, carb clean/rebuild. Run it and see what’s what. Are BMW’s more susceptible to deterioration during lay up than other brands necessitating such a strip down?

Any particles in the oil will have dropped out of suspension and may be sitting in the sump as a thick sludge.
The piston rings may be rusty.
The cam and cam followers may have rust.
All of which will end up in the sump on start up,to be passed through the oil pump unfiltered.
Which may damage the pump and housing.
This is why I take this approach.
For the cost of a gasket set and a days work I prefer this method.
If something is found to be amiss it can be rectified.

 

[firecat]

Any particles in the oil will have dropped out of suspension and may be sitting in the sump as a thick sludge.
The piston rings may be rusty.
The cam and cam followers may have rust.
All of which will end up in the sump on start up,to be passed through the oil pump unfiltered.
Which may damage the pump and housing.
This is why I take this approach.
For the cost of a gasket set and a days work I prefer this method.
If something is found to be amiss it can be rectified.

Makes perfect sense when you say it like that it just seemed like a lot of work at the time. I like working on bikes but I must admit I have mainly spanned on jap and Italian ones so this will be a new experience. The engines seem straight forward enough. Thanks for your input I appreciate it. Cheers

 

[Mad Hatter]

It's not difficult to strip the top end of an airhead motor and pull the sump and timing chest off as Mike suggests. It'll get you familiar with the bike very quickly. It's nothing like pulling a jap motor apart. Just like a meccano kit really. If you enjoy spannering like I do it's therapeutic

 

[firecat]

It's not difficult to strip the top end of an airhead motor and pull the sump and timing chest off as Mike suggests. It'll get you familiar with the bike very quickly. It's nothing like pulling a jap motor apart. Just like a meccano kit really. If you enjoy spannering like I do it's therapeutic

Simplicity is what I am after so I can spanner more effectively. The opposite end of the spectrum compared to a v4 multistrada.

 

[Bubb]

The airhead motor is easy to work on. Also, as it’s German engineering, everything is well made.
All gaskets and most parts are available. Only a few special tools needed for things like rear main seal replacement, and removing alternator ( which you’ll need to do to check/replace timing chain.)

If you enjoy working on engines, it’s all simple if you follow the manuals…

 

[APHezzer]

Hello all,

Following on from this post I am revisiting after 14 years. I was surprised my user name was still active! I went for the 800xc in the end! Then turned to the dark side and to multistrada’s.

The reason for coming back on here is that I have an opportunity to buy an R100GS, one owner (family member) full bmw service history up to being parked up in 2012 with 50k miles on the clock. I believe it is a bumble bee.

Can I ask what issues I am likely to have to deal with if I were to buy this, I want to pay a fair price as it is family but also want to be realistic about what to offer and how much it might cost to recommission. It has been stored in a dry garage and was turned over infrequently during this storage period but not in the last few years. Sadly its owner now has dementia, has fleeting lucidity and consequently no ability to give details of how it was laid up etc.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance and a Merry Christmas!

Hanging around 'here' on a regular basis, watching bits and pieces on ebay and getting completely immersed in owning one of these fabulous machines ... best of luck

 

[timeandtide]

Thanks for this, they look to be a quality outfit.

They absolutely are!