What a 'mare

[Mad_Accountant]

My r100r

The list of what I've had done to this bike just goes on and on....

In the last two years I have had to have a gearbox rebuild (new bearings etc) then I had a nasty vibration that made me worry the gearbox had failed again. Dealer thought not, that it just needed a good service as it was "running horribly". That was done, the bike ran a lot better but the vibes were unchanged. Further investialgation revealed a shot drive shaft and a cracked gearbox cover. After they were done bike fine, running smoothly and as it should be. Then I realised it was dropping engine oil onto my newly paved drive. That was the crankshaft oil seal? (I think?) but certainly gearbox off again.

Little bastard.

I hate to think how much this bike has cost me now but my problem is I absolutely love riding it and I really can't give up on it now. It's probably worth about 1/3 of what I've spent on it and it is rather my fault for owning such a bike whilst being unable to spanner it myself.

It has just tipped 50,000 miles and I would love to run it for another 50,000 miles and I'd probably spend another fortune but who knows? The dealer has been superb and are mortified at the bad luck I've had with this bike, nothing that has gone wrong has been in any way their fault, it's all due to the bike having been badly stored for too long by a previous owner.

Hey ho.

 

[Fanum]

Get yerself down to Halfords and buy one of their 'pro' socket/spanner sets, a manual for the bike and then sit and watch loads of You tube vids on maintenance.

There are lots of specialists around, and that, along with a decent tool kit, is where I'd spend my money on this bike.......most small specialist guys will be more than happy to have you watch them work and will answer questions......just take a big box of doughnuts and the right attitude

Don't let anyone dissuade you....if you love the bike, just do what you need to keep it fettled and enjoy it

 

[Dakar]

I have one of these..Bought last March... And hope to have it finally on the road in about 2 month.. Spent a small fortune on it, about twice its actual worth.. But it’s an airhead (at least that's what I keep telling myself )

 

[Mad_Accountant]

Thanks for the vote of confidence Fanum.

I have an excellent toolkit but I know my limitations and little of what I've paid for was within my skillset.

I also run a 2013 GSA Triple Black but I somehow love the r100r more. To me (and I am probably deluded as well as Mad) the r100r was my favorite airhead, I owned one back in '96 and loved that one, sadly an independent "so called" specialist destroyed the bike in front of my very eyes during a very simple repair (the bike was so damaged, and I was so demoralised, I decided to sell it). It took me years to find another one.

I feel sure that I can keep this bike viable for another 10 - 15 years, something I wouldn't consider with the GSA (would you ride an Adventure when you are 80?) so really it is a keeper

I am at Staines near to Heathrow, who would you recommend as an Indie specialist near to me?

Regards

Phil

 

[Mad_Accountant]

Good luck with yours Dakar - they are great bikes.

 

[DrFarkoff]

How long have you been involved with Beemers

There are others but this chap has a fairly good reputation (apart from occasionally being Grumpy)

 

[Mad_Accountant]

I've been around Beemers since 1991, I bought my first BMW (a K100RS 16v) brand new in August '92

Although I have recently been tempted by a Moto Guzzi Breva that would only be an option if I relinquish the r100r - they do very similar things but the r100r does it a whole lot better.

 

[Mad_Accountant]

From memory now

Tyres
Steering head bearings
Rear shock
Front discs and pads
Starter motor
Front fork seals
Push rod tube oil seals
Pannier mounting frames
Gearbox bearings rebuild
Gearbox cover
Drive shaft
Crankshaft (something or other) oil seals (gearbox off again)
Plus new BMW full screen and touring panniers (bike bought without these essential items)

Quite a list ??????

 

[Rob Farmer]

All accountants deserve all the grief in the world. Now buy some spanners and do some real work for a change

 

[DrAlf]

I owned one back in '96 and loved that one, sadly an independent "so called" specialist destroyed the bike in front of my very eyes during a very simple repair (the bike was so damaged, and I was so demoralised, I decided to sell it). It took me years to find another one.

That sounds like an interesting story - what exactly did they do?!

Are you getting all this work done at a BMW dealer?!?! As above, Steptoe is your man. AFAIC the only reason to visit a BMW dealer for service work is to maintain the warranty.

Got a photo of the R100R?

 

[markjackson]

You call that a list?

When I were a lad….. etc

In fairness, the sum of parts on the list would not have been much more expensive than a typical exhaust system to get 3bhp more on a modern bike, but I bet the labour bill was a lot bigger, particularly when gearboxes must come out.

While I wouldn't be confident to rebuild the gearbox, the rest could be 'home-mechanic'd' with enough time, tea and a place to do it, which would bring annual costs well below the cost of servicing a modern equivalent at main dealer prices.

A few nights at a night class might be enough to give a confidence boost with the spanners? I did this to learn to weld/braze/fabricate stuff. I'm still dreadful at welding but it gave me the confidence to not care

Or why not buy and old scrap cheap thing, and take it apart to practice on? Choose wisely (any 2 stroke, I reckon) and it may be worth more by the time it gets back together

Good luck!

From memory now

Tyres
Steering head bearings
Rear shock
Front discs and pads
Starter motor
Front fork seals
Push rod tube oil seals
Pannier mounting frames
Gearbox bearings rebuild
Gearbox cover
Drive shaft
Crankshaft (something or other) oil seals (gearbox off again)
Plus new BMW full screen and touring panniers (bike bought without these essential items)

Quite a list ??????

 

[Mad_Accountant]

I left off carbs rebuild (and probably other stuff)

Yes it's been done by Vines, actually by one of their master technicians and I think the parts made up a big chunk of those bills.

I'm reluctant to entrust it to anyone else, they look after my other bikes as well (k100, GSA twin cam and my C1s) and I'm very happy with the outcomes.

 

[Mad_Accountant]

All accountants deserve all the grief in the world. Now buy some spanners and do some real work for a change

I'm retired

Real work? Would that include St John Ambulance volunteering and SERV blood running?

 

[ianboydsnr]

From memory now

Tyres
Steering head bearings
Rear shock
Front discs and pads
Starter motor
Front fork seals
Push rod tube oil seals
Pannier mounting frames
Gearbox bearings rebuild
Gearbox cover
Drive shaft
Crankshaft (something or other) oil seals (gearbox off again)
Plus new BMW full screen and touring panniers (bike bought without these essential items)

Quite a list ??????

Quite a list, but some of it is maintenance and personal want,

and only became expensive because you paid someone else to do it,

Tyres they wear out or get old,
Head bearings don't last forever, but only cost £30 if you can do them yourself,
rear shock's eventually wear out, probably less often than Jap stuff,
Discs and pads, well they last ages, but eventually wear out, warp, or need new pads, though pads are a maintenance item possibly so are the discs,
Fork seals, don't go very often, usually the bike sitting unused on the centre stand then when it does come off the stand it destroys the seal,
push rod seals, are either leaking or will be leaking very soon, only the amount and when your in there makes it worth while to fix,
pannier mounting frames, are because you wanted panniers, hardly the bikes fault,
gearbox rebuild, happens eventually but keep the lube free of water and changed regularly and it should last a hell of a long time,
gearbox cover, that's not usual, I guess it was fixed when you had the box rebuilt,
drive shaft, well they last ages on the 100R, much longer than the Gs which is much more common, buy a rebuildable one rebuild it when it needs done,
crankshaft oil seals, about as common as on cars, not that big a job, if your in there already to do the clutch or lube the input splines,
full screen and panniers, because you wanted them,

and although other things can go wrong, it should have many years of use on the stuff that you have had repaired!

 

[cookie]

I'm retired

Real work? Would that include St John Ambulance volunteering and SERV blood running?

no.

..

 

[Mad_Accountant]

I left off clutch as well

 

[Mad_Accountant]

I do appreciate your kind advice and I'm not totally mechanically inept, I used to service my daughter's cars but I'm really don't have the time or knowledge to take this on.

I have been unusually unlucky with this bike but I bought the bike for £1,350 and expected some fixing up costs. What I had not realised was that the bike had been stored for a lengthy period by some previous owner, maybe even the one I bought it from. I'm sure that some of the bills are caused by seals drying out. Some issues are known with the r100r, the rear shock runs at an acute angle which stresses it. The front discs are floating and the bobbins wear causing an ungodly rattle.

I may have paid out something in excess of 7.5k but that would only buy me a second hand f650gs/ f700gs / f800gs and I was trying to have this bike instead of my 1200gs. It's strange to compare it with a 1200gs but if it's as enjoyable to ride, although very different, then why not?

It's an interesting subject for discussion but I don't think motorcycle ownership should be limited to those who can repair their own machines. I wouldn't dream of touching my GS Adventure, or my car , or my camper van -they are all way too valuable but I'm very VERY touchy about who I do let near them.

I shouldn't really have got involved with the r100r but it's always tempting to think that's it's all fixed now. I'll only find out by riding it loads but I suspect it will require constant fettling, strangely my last r100r didn't.

Here's hoping

 

[markjackson]

Someone really should make up some stickers to put on our bikes' flanks, with gearboxes/batteries/clutches/valves etc crossed out, like the 'Kills' on the side of some WW2 aircraft.

All the bikes I remember most fondly would have loads, so don't lose heart

 

[Mad_Accountant]

What a brilliant idea!

I really am a huge fan of BMW bikes and there certainly is a charm to the airheads.

I'm not likely to give up on this bike

 

[Mad_Accountant]

I was out on the r100r this afternoon, I will be again this evening and tomorrow evening.

It's worth every penny I have spent on it

I'll report back in 25,000 miles time !!!

Cheers everyone