Oh bloody hell, what have I done?
I was after a cheap commuter as I have a new contract and don't want to trash my 1100SS and an R1100GS came up at the right price in deepest darkest Cornwall
I did everything you shouldn't do (and I should know better!) and drove down, got there after dark & bought a very tired looking GS from a (nice) bloke in an industrial unit in the dark & rain!
The battery was goosed & the paralever bearings need adjusting of replacing, the front of the casings, bars & rear subframe have been hammerited and, whilst it has new pads all round, the brakes are spongy & crap. There are no ABS rings (but it is an ABS bike) and the tank (plastic) is bubbling
It is supposed to have had a recent clutch & gearbox re-build and the fact it has a black gearbox which looks much cleaner & newer than the rest of the bike suggests this may be true
Its showing 40K but the last MOT (in 2010) shows 118K! (checked online)
It was Cheap enough though and went OK on the 300 yd run up and down the industrial estate, all of the gears are there & it seemed smooth enough.
I then had that funny / horrible moment where my head was saying "its too far gone" while my heart was handing over the cash and tying the mutt to the trailer!
Once I got it home I had another look this morning in the cold light of day.....
Rear tyre is badly cracked and needs replacing, the rear preload adjuster came off in my hand , loads of the loom heatshrink has perished, there are a couple of suspect bullet connectors here & there and when I took the tank off to get the battery out I noticed there is a fiberglass repair on the underside of the tank (above where the ABS module sits) I don't yet know if this is leaking as there wasn't enough fuel in it to know!
My immediate plan is to sort the rear tyre, blead the brakes properly, give it a full service then chuck an MOT on it & see how it goes.
Its one saving grace is that the previous owner (who traded it in a while ago to the guy I got it off) had had it for 8 years and put loads of the mileage on it so (should) have looked after it mechanically at least?
If anyone has any old R1100GS bits lying in the back of the shed & wants to help out an impulsive fellow GSer please get in touch as I am sure any bits you have will be in better nick than the ones fastened to my new mutt!
I know it is a long shot but if anyone has an old dented tank that still holds fuel could you also get in touch as the only thing really worrying me is the fiberglass repair to the tank, dont want fuel dropping onto the hot engine if it lets go!
I will get some pics of the horror show up next weekend (I work away so I am not with the bike at the moment) and may do a bit of a "photo diary" for you all to laugh at as I try to salvage a half decent commuter from this pile of crap!
Why didn't I buy the 95K RT I saw which was in much better condition but just wasn't a GS!!!!!!!
I was after a cheap commuter as I have a new contract and don't want to trash my 1100SS and an R1100GS came up at the right price in deepest darkest Cornwall
I did everything you shouldn't do (and I should know better!) and drove down, got there after dark & bought a very tired looking GS from a (nice) bloke in an industrial unit in the dark & rain!
The battery was goosed & the paralever bearings need adjusting of replacing, the front of the casings, bars & rear subframe have been hammerited and, whilst it has new pads all round, the brakes are spongy & crap. There are no ABS rings (but it is an ABS bike) and the tank (plastic) is bubbling
It is supposed to have had a recent clutch & gearbox re-build and the fact it has a black gearbox which looks much cleaner & newer than the rest of the bike suggests this may be true
Its showing 40K but the last MOT (in 2010) shows 118K! (checked online)
It was Cheap enough though and went OK on the 300 yd run up and down the industrial estate, all of the gears are there & it seemed smooth enough.
I then had that funny / horrible moment where my head was saying "its too far gone" while my heart was handing over the cash and tying the mutt to the trailer!
Once I got it home I had another look this morning in the cold light of day.....
Rear tyre is badly cracked and needs replacing, the rear preload adjuster came off in my hand , loads of the loom heatshrink has perished, there are a couple of suspect bullet connectors here & there and when I took the tank off to get the battery out I noticed there is a fiberglass repair on the underside of the tank (above where the ABS module sits) I don't yet know if this is leaking as there wasn't enough fuel in it to know!
My immediate plan is to sort the rear tyre, blead the brakes properly, give it a full service then chuck an MOT on it & see how it goes.
Its one saving grace is that the previous owner (who traded it in a while ago to the guy I got it off) had had it for 8 years and put loads of the mileage on it so (should) have looked after it mechanically at least?
If anyone has any old R1100GS bits lying in the back of the shed & wants to help out an impulsive fellow GSer please get in touch as I am sure any bits you have will be in better nick than the ones fastened to my new mutt!
I know it is a long shot but if anyone has an old dented tank that still holds fuel could you also get in touch as the only thing really worrying me is the fiberglass repair to the tank, dont want fuel dropping onto the hot engine if it lets go!
I will get some pics of the horror show up next weekend (I work away so I am not with the bike at the moment) and may do a bit of a "photo diary" for you all to laugh at as I try to salvage a half decent commuter from this pile of crap!
Why didn't I buy the 95K RT I saw which was in much better condition but just wasn't a GS!!!!!!!
