How to butcher a 1993 K1100RS

.

When we met by chance in the summer of 1999, she was a one owner commuter; garage kept and well cared for. It was a love at first sight that would change my life forever. I named her Ichimokusan but a year later I would start calling her The Shop Whore because she like to be on her back on a lift letting the mechanic f*** with her. She didn't blink a headlight as I forked out almost $10,000 over 18 months and what?s worse, neither did I. Who knew you could have a S&M relationship with a motorcycle? She kept hurting my wallet and I kept coming back for more. She owned me.


After 181,000 miles shared together, making her carry WAY more than her makers ever designed for and trying hard as hell to convince her she was indeed a dirt bike and just needed more practice, the toll was too great. I put her out to pasture in hopes that one day I would have the time and money needed to do a full restoration.

Instead, one day never came and years pasted and she became an edifice to my desire exceeding my resources.

Last week as I looking for ways to save or create funds to make ends meet, I thought I could sell her for parts because she was worth more dead than alive.

It was killing me to think about it. I stared at own failure to honor my trust to take good care of her. I felt guilty for sitting on the potential resources she could provide for my family.



I was crying while trying to pulling The Shop Whore apart but a little Jim Beam eased my pain...for a while.


You can't know what this bike has meant to me and you can't know how deeply I have loved it. I don't expected anyone to understand how I feel about my K11's not even my husband. He dose try though, or at least doesn't dismiss my feelings.

The next morning we talked and it was agreed we would find the money somewhere to make ends meet.



This has been her sad tomb for over three years













After skinning her, I started gutting her.




I disemboweled her.




Bleeding it out should best done before gutting, but in my distressed state of mind I forgot this.




Next hang it up but I would suggest not using suboptimum string, even if it?s all you have laying around; smashed fingers will delay proceeding



Now It's mostly apart




And the wiring harness is mostly intact.






Remember the bleeding before gutting part,just sayin?



This week I'll start cleaning, bagging and tagging parts and making a shopping list.




Tomorrow I'll mount the engine.





My basement aka workshop when I last saw it.




After the New Year I'll start by powder coating the frame dark blue.


Anton has always been so kind to me and supportive of my wrenching. When I spoke with him this week he offered to help show me how to do a complete top end, rings and water/oil pump rebuild.

I'm glad to be owning my responsibility to The Shop Whore and I hope with the extra hours I'm working at the hospital and possible second part time job I could be done in 1 year.



.

.


So I got all the parts kinda organized.

I skipped cleaning anything and I only labeled a few things. I may regret that later, but what the hell, I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

Here's all the small parts.



And here's all the big parts.































.

.

Next, get the engine off the floor.

Using the intermediate housing bolts hole for the engine mount seems natural however the bracket I'm using is for car engines. That is to say it's real big when compared to the back side of a k1100 transmission housing.

I took some measurements and determined I needed (4) 8M x 1.25 x 80 bolts.
Ace Hardware, Auto Zone, Advance Auto and Lowes didn't have any but NAPA did.




Steve showed me how to use washers to provide a good contact surface, shim the bolts and help center them in the bracket.

After 30 min. of trying several combinations of bolt locations I found one that would work. I didn't want to use the mounting pin locations but found I had no choice.



So I shimmed it with a pair of washers to help transfer the force to the housing.











I did much better using this home made lifting system this time and things went smoothly. Especially considering I've never done anything like this.












.

.

Next, remove everything from the frame.




The red circles are to help me remember where these parts go later.


























The BMW Service Manual said to mark these so I did. The Clymer did not.
Can anyone tell me why?




This needs 'splainin'.




I could not loosen the nut on top of the steering head with a ratchet or a ratchet AND a hammer. I kept doubting myself and read and re-read both the Clymer and the Service book.





So I used a ratchet and the pipe for leverage to turn the nut and a crescent wrench to hold the big nut.

I'm sure now I still did it wrong.

What I was calling a 'nut' (number 3) was in fact a screw. I think I was supposed to hold that screw still and turn the real nut (number 4) below it.

Oh well, I'll deal with that later, what is done is done.





I had no problem tapping out the lower bearing race and the top was a SERIOUS PITA.


I've done steering head bearings and races before so this was not my first rodeo. But after 2-1/2 hours I gave up. I knew I did this without a race puller but I think the difference was that I didn't have the weight of the bike to help.


When Steve came home we went to the basement. He flipped the frame upside down and using a slide hammer to hook the race lip he used a real hammer to strike the slid handle.


In the future I'm going to get this awesome tool.

http://www.cycleworks.net/index.php..._id=64&zenid=dd24e28b80aabab215b09df4b355fbec


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBdC8IkwfL4

.

.

I know I set HM VII (May 2014) as the dead line but Steve and I talked about the reality and the depth of this project last night.

If I only had $200 a month, that's only $2400.
The truth of the matter it will cost several thousand dollars.
Steve estimates $6000

Let me break it out as far as I understand this process.
(just off the top of my head)

1. Powder coat frame - Cobalt blue

2. Powder coat all of the following black.
Final Drive
Drive shaft housing
Intermediate housing
Exhaust protection plate
Exhaust bracket left
Both foot peg brackets (black with cobalt blue raised areas)
Transmission housing
shift lever
Triple clamp
fork tubes
handle bar (minus where the controls attach)
Clutch and brake handles
rear brake lever
brake caliper housings
"H" bracket
Rims with cobalt blue pin stripe
Center and side stands
alternator housing cover

Satin Black Velvet Ceramic coated exhaust headers

ChromeX bright polished aluminum ceramic coating exhaust can

Black Gloss Ceramic or powder coating the following
Engine block
Oil sump
Oil pan cover
Timing chain cover
Crack case cover
Cylinder head cover with cobalt blue stripe


Assess every nut, bolt, washer and screw for stainless steel replacement

New wiring harness (I'll make this from scratch)

Rebuild the water/oil pump

Rebuild the top end

Rings and assess cam tolerances

Create functional crash/drop bars for front fairing

Create functional crash/drop bar for panniers

Replace panniers with NEW ones

Repaint the entire bike (color yet to be chosen)




Keep in mind to paint power train (front to rear) they will have to opened and gutted so there'll be a mess of one time use things that'll need to be bought.


Anton said he would help me with the deep engine work.

Since making one from scratch would be madness.

I'll making something like this, but not as fancy and using the old harness to mirror the new one.





I like this guys pegboard idea a LOT!

http://www.motoiq.com/MagazineArticles/ID/1706/PageID/2642/Project-Miatabusa-Part-6--The-Wiring-Job-From-Heck.aspx


All I'll be doing is making a mirror image of the busted one I have minus messed up parts.

.

Wow Gwen,
There is a part of me that wants to hold my breath on this. Somehow I sensed the immensity of this task and it washed over me leaving me a bit breathless.

So many decisions about what to do, what are alternatives, choosing a course of action and beginning that journey are written about, implied, and then all those emotions you put between the lines. Its all pretty over whelming

The best in this, to you and yours and the whore.

I will be following this.

NCS

Looks like a great start to an epic project! I look forward to following along.

One VERY small detail; BMW tried using black brake pedals in 1988. They immediately switched back to silver in '89. They found that the high concentration of wear on the points of the pedal surface would wear through the black, leaving the bare aluminum underneath exposed on the peaks. This gave a rather shabby worn appearance. If you really want the pedal black, you might consider masking off the top part of the pedal that your foot touches (where the peaks are) and doing the rest in black. Or maybe todays powder coating is better than what BMW did back then.

Thanks Stephen.

Thank you Lee.
Since I've never done anything like this I really appreciate any advice and pointers.

Great Admiration

I am like NCS, overwhelmed at the enormity of your project. HUGE! Looking at your to do list, this will be one beautiful bike when you are done. I envy you the opportunity to do such a project. But, I know myself too well, I would have had to part it out and be done with it. Just getting to where you are now is quite the mechanical journey and quite a learning experience. I really wish you all the best and smooth sailing as you work your way through this. You truely will have a beauty when you are done, and a wealth of knowledge/experience that only a few owners really have of their bikes.

(PS: when I started reading the issues you had, I wondered if it was my old black '93, but, I traded her in Jan of 2000....)

Subscribed. Thanks for posting.

Nice all the way around Nice to see the work on a K-Bike.
OM

Thank you, but I'm a VERY long way for being worthy of admiration.

Prehaps after I have a running bike.


I have drive and mechanical understanding coupled with no fear but I truely have no idea how to get from "X" to "Y".

Any thoughts on the process, what's first, what's last, pit-falls and experience I am ALL EARS!


.

Where would I start? I truly hear that you are working to honor the household budget and make that stronger without creaking another drain on it. I would settle in and make this a very deliberately scheduled, pay as the money becomes available project. Two disciplines, getting the money and doing the work regularly over a long period of time without neglect to either.

The biggest expense I would think would the be engine and drive train. Your engine has a lot of miles on it but then many report far more miles on their engines than yours. Yet yours is a smoker in a world where smokers are banned everywhere. Hard habit to break. Perhaps it is something simple like valve seals, perhaps much more.

I would consider that a sub project within the bigger project. Fix or replace. Both have great unknowns.

I would look around for an engine that could be had pretty cheap. Look around (not buy yet)... get an idea on cost of one. I would also talk to folks on here and your K bike buddies like Duck on what the $$ amount is for a full rebuild, even if you are doing the muscle work on this. There would for sure be an unknown of is a found engine with 40,000 miles going to be equal to a rebuild. By looking around you get an idea of the cost of each of these discussions. Meanwhile, expand it to would you do a replacement transmission if the deal was right or leave yours as is or rebuild it. Again, you weigh out what the costs (more than just dollar amounts) of each choice are. I know you have done much of this in making choices in life as well as in your profession. Just expand your awesome experience to this as it is so similar. Once you decide then you commit to it, be it a year or five. Perhaps you might even locate a parts bike from a wreck or being abandoned.


Other things, begin to clean up parts, begin to play around with colors of the new rebirthed professional show girl. Take this time to play with the vision of what could be. It is the time of dreams that you then begin to let take shape.

Make this a long term fun project.

NCS

Check out eyedragaknee (inmate) http://www.2wheelconnection.com His before, process, finish images are what you are about now. Good stuff.

Thank you NCS.

Yes, I agree...if I'm willing to extend the completion date to greater than 16 months, the financial burden will be softened. I'm also trying to work as many extra shifts at the hospital as possible.
Anton has offered to help to rebuilding this engine, so that's what I'm going to do.
This transmission is in great shape, so I'm not going to open it up. I have a transmission open on the bench right now I can play with as time permits.

This is where I stand as of today.

I've got the frame ready to go to powder coating, I just need to wait until after Christmas.
I've been cleaning and inspecting parts and making a list of things that need replacing due to age or condition.
Since I want to replace all nuts, bolts, screws and washers with SS, I'm making a separate list of those.

I have a very special need and I'm hoping someone out there might be able to help me.


I've given up trying to fine a non-BMW alternative pin release tools.
I'm going to make one last ditch effort and post in all my threads to see if someone has them I can borrow or lease.



This is what I need.
Sparks has the best prices, but they are still pretty damn spendy.

These are the kind of tools that are so narrow on size tolerances that the wrong ones can make this already tedious project a real PITA.



http://www.sparks-shop.lv/v3/index....id=845&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=7&lang=en

1501+1511 = $45.28

1504+1514 = $51.79

1502+1512 = $49.90



************

This is the OEM supplier for BWM with part numbers and all.


88 88 6 611 131
Stahlwille 1501+1511
Kabelex Round Pin Release Tool, Small. Pin release tool for round receptacles with locking tongue and contact size of 1.5mm. Bushing size 2.9mm inside, 3.3mm outside. This tool has an ingenious feature to protect the tip. A sliding cover is built into the handle. Also used on BMW, Mercedes, Fiat, Opel and VW-Audi. (Note: the factory tool can be marked number 610 301).
Special Order $73.55


88 88 6 611 132
New Number: 83 30 0 495 385
Stahlwille 1504+1514
Kabelex Round Pin Release Tool - Medium. For contact size 2.5mm, Bushing size 4.0mm inside, 4.4mm outside. With sliding cover.
Special Order $84.31


88 88 6 611 133
New Number: 83 30 0 492 708
Stahlwille 1502+1512
Kabelex Round Pin Release Tool - Large. For contact size 3.5mm, Bushing size 4.4mm inside, 5.0mm outside. With sliding cover.
Special Order $79.99


I started building a wiring harness table/board yesterday and will finish it today. Then I'll pin the OEM harness to it and start splitting and labeling it.
This process will teach me how to read and understand the wiring schematics in the manual.

.

Shoganai said:

I have a very special need and I'm hoping someone out there might be able to help me.

I've given up trying to fine a non-BMW alternative pin release tools.
I'm going to make one last ditch effort and post in all my threads to see if someone has them I can borrow or lease.

Click to expand...

These are the tools used to R&R the pins in the connectors? (Took me a while to figure out what they were..) If you can find the critical measurements, some work with some drills and a lathe might make ones that were serviceable for you, without spending hundreds of Euros..

I started building a wiring harness table/board yesterday and will finish it today. Then I'll pin the OEM harness to it and start splitting and labeling it.
This process will teach me how to read and understand the wiring schematics in the manual.
.

Click to expand...

Not knowing the condition of your harness - but having built some K bike harnesses myself - I'd suggest taking all the tape off the existing harness and assessing the actual condition of it. If it's a case of hacked wires - you might consider doing a professional splice (with the correct soldering of the connections and shrink wrapping) to repair them. Repairing the harness will be much easier than reproducing it, and you'll have all the correct wire colors - trying to find purple with a gray pinstripe wire will be almost impossible.. (just an example..) Troubleshooting down the road with a home-made harness where the colors don't match the diagrams will be quite frustrating.

Or you might consider putting feelers out for a good used one. If you're patient these sort of things sometimes show up very cheap (I picked up a spare R1200R harness - complete and with 2 O2 sensors for $75 off ebay..) When I had a bad harness on my K75S (it caught fire.. not fun, too many un-fused wires in too tight a package) - someone on the IBMWR sent me a replacement, and refused to take any money for it.

Just a thought - there are sometimes other ways to skin a feline..

Thank you for the advice and pointers.

For the reason you mention about proper colored wire, I have found a company that will make custom colored tracers for not much more than stock.

Keep in mind this projects goals is more than just making it look new, it's a learning / teaching tool for me.



Since I have neither a proper drill press nor lathe, it would still be cheaper both in time and money just to bite the bullet and buy them.
I hope not to but will if there are none that I can borrow.

PM sent

Although I own no old K bikes I know I'm going to enjoy watching and learning from this thread as you progress. Admire your efforts!

Today I finally get the wiring harness board put together and hung.

This is the original 1993 fuel injection harness. I found a couple of holes and a cluster of cut wires.

I don't have a clue what those cut wires went to, but I'm sure I can find out. Clearly the bike run fine without them because these were not cut by me and I've had it since 1999.