What I did to someone else's bike today

[MikeP]

Couple of things, how do you clean the switches (what with?) I have an 1100GS and the switches and housings are rough/dirty, and what did you clean the seats with?

Hope you dont mind me asking!

Steve.

Steve, for the switches I use Jif lemon cream kitchen cleaner. God knows how old the stuff is as it's been called Cif for ages and I don't know if they actually produce the same stuff any more. It's quite a coarse creamy texture. I just put a dob on my fingers and rub away, then wipe clean with a damp cloth.

The seat on this bike didn't need anything doing to it but in the past both my R100GS's and my K1 had two-tone black and yellow seats. The yellow soon marked. Back then I used to use a nail brush dipped in Ariel washing powder then washed off with plenty of water. It never worked 100% hence when I bought my 1150GSA new I specified the black seat. There are some vinyl cleaners out there but I can't say I've ever tried them.

Crack on with that 1100.

 

[BlueBird]

And!

 

[Fanum]

The warped 'hump' Mike.....worth making a properly square (or whatever shape it needs) jig out of wood and securing the hump to it, then leaving it submersed in warm water? Maybe even just securing it down on the bike then using a warm air gun/hairdryer would work to de-warp it

Looking great so far......


You'll be proud to know I was inspired by this thread and repainted mine last week......top job on the engine casing and various other bits.....3 minutes 20 seconds with a rattle can of satin black and a hand held square of cardboard

 

[MikeP]

And

Not much to report, just some buffing-up of the rubber fairing inserts, fabricating a replacement bracket for one of them and waiting for the body shop to say the parts are ready for collection.

Then yesterday I popped up to East Devon to look at this:

just delivered from Dublin and will be the next one for this sort of treatment. It needs a partial strip-down, clean and "detailing":

Then of course, as the weather was so foul here yesterday, the 'Turd' needed a thorough clean today.


Bill, I'm waiting until the offside rear panel is back on to check the alignment properly, then it will be a gentle warm up with an air-gun on the inside of the cover, onto the bike and see if that is enough to get the slight twist out of it.

Glad to hear that your Old Nail is getting some attention, even if it isn't all that tender.

 

[MikeP]

Well look at that. No sooner do I post the above than I'm informed that the parts are ready. Just need Mike to do the dirty and I can collect them.

 

[turnipbmw]

great work

going back to HT leads, I bought a nice K100 off ebay - non runner. £250

been sat in the guys garden under a tarp for a few years.

Only took me about 15 mins to realise the plugs leads were on the way 'you would think they went'

even with horrid petrol it started straight up once that was sorted !

 

[luke scott]

Thats a really nice red & yellow K1

 

[MikeP]

Thats a really nice red & yellow K1

I'm worried that it will clash terribly with my bike lift though.

 

[ebbo]

I've every admiration for BMW's K series machines, quality build an all that...

But that K1 was way way over the top for me, maybe that's the attraction

 

[BlueBird]

I've every admiration for BMW's K series machines, quality build an all that...

But that K1 was way way over the top for me, maybe that's the attraction

Thanks for the update Mike I can sleep tonight now

Just looking at that yellow paint on the gearbox and it sez quality.
They have a Blakes seven kind of thing to them if you get my drift
strangely attractive

 

[MikeP]

Well I filled my little car with bits this morning. Here's a little taster:

The front centre panel after a coat of Zymol:

Then re-fitted the re-sprayed mesh and the cleaned rubber seal:

The new offside fairing panel needs painting on the inside to match the satin black OE finish:

As the others need cleaning inside too, I've done that, then given them a coat of tough, heat resistant, Simonez satin black as well.

These need some time to cure properly before I set about slapping it all back together.

There are some more small things to do such as re-fitting the belly-pan anti-resonance pad, the lock in the cubby lid etc.

Not long to the MoT and the grand unveiling.

 

[MikeP]

Thought I'd get a last shot under her frock:

Bloody good job I had a few years learning the knack of how to get the belly-pan to fit properly on my K1:

The new chrome K1 badges are yet to go on (I'll get a coat of polish on first):

The rubber sections where the aux gauges sit still have to be treated to a polish and buffing:

It's a bit of a fiddle to makes certain that all the different parts line-up but worth the effort.

That will do for now. I'll put the new badges on and arrange an MoT at Ocean and then get some outdoors photos.

 

[MikeP]

Wheeled it outside:

Put my hose onto mist and gave it a squirt to be rid of any dust:

Then gave a coat of Autoglym "wet polish" (the stuff like Mer you apply when the surfaces are wet but a lot better than Mer):

Once done, put the new chrome K1 badges on:

Then let the sun warm up the seat hump before re-tightening the fixings. It's almost back in shape.

Tomorrow, MoT (if the weather holds ) and then some proper outdoors photos.

 

[Humbug]

That's a fantastic job you've done there MikeP. It's been a pleasure following this thread and has provided me with lots of ideas and solutions. Thanks.

You could come visit and pay homage To MikeP's work once resident in it's bubble @ Bridgwater next the Parrot ...

I live close to Bridgwater and would love to see it if at all possible?

 

[judge]

Whoa there Mike get it back indoors look at that rain cloud in the last pic

 

[Old Codger]

Well done

Cracking job there Mike

 

[Coolcarbon]

I live close to Bridgwater and would love to see it if at all possible?

No Problem, so long as I actually get it back....

 

[andysdad]

TOP jobs

Well done, Mike!

I say "jobs" because you've taken a lot of time and effort to document the project, a job in itself in addition to the actual cleaning. Much appreciated by all us armchair restorers!

Looking forward to seeing a similar story on the Red/Yellow beastie - or is that asking too much?

Learning a lot of "best stuff for cleaning a...." tips too, many thanks.

A

 

[MikeP]

A lovely day for an MoT:

The staff at Ocean enjoyed looking it over (and snapping lots of photos).

Then off to the body-shop to let them have a butchers at their handiwork before a bit of a shake-down run.

Bloody hell.

This is one smooth bike. Some people say that the four cylinder K-Bricks can be vibey but I've never found the 16-Valve models to be anything but smooth (still not as good as the K75 triple mind).

The clutch, now that everything is well lubricated, is much lighter than any cable clutch has a right to be and the gearbox is a delight. Far, far better than any Oil-Head Boxer I've ridden.

There's a section of the old A38 from Plympton, heading East to where I took the following photos. There's a nice blind, acute left-hander that has a bump right on the apex that you can't avoid. I always used this to determine the suspension settings of my bikes. This K1 just ironed it out.

I'll admit to being a bit wary for the first mile or so through the city traffic because it's a long way from the right peg to the ground but in no time it was just second nature.

After the photos were taken, I resisted the temptation to go for a thrap and contented myself with a quick squirt back down the A38. Kin'ell. The comfort is there, just don't ride with straight arms and you're in a pocket of completely still air. I didn't do anything silly but the few miles just flashed by.

Then there's the warmth. By the time I got home the fan just cut-in after some long stops in the city traffic (mainly caused by gaggles of school buses picking-up the little dears). These bikes are toasty. You don't need a heated seat, if you were to ride in the rain, a short city ride and the warm air from the engine and radiator would dry you out.

That's it. There are a few small things to do that might take the next five yeas to sort out and then I can deliver it back to the owner.

I've really enjoyed doing this and hope when he sees it Mike will think that handing it over to me was worth it.

 

[Davy F]

A fantastic job you've done. Full credit to your workshop/cleaning skills.

















Still looks horrible tho' (you knew that was coming and I didn't want to disappoint ).