1994 R100RT Annual Inspection/Maintenance

[cubflyer]

Folks

I recently purchased a 1994 R100RT. In a former life I owned a 1985 R80RT. Dropped it and rebuilt it. BMW MOA thread here....
https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthrea...ld-or-Part-Out&p=315306&viewfull=1#post315306

After a significant life event I sold it and have been on the fence since. So.....basically I am back in the game.


The bike is in good shape. I found it in Nashville TN and rode it home to Sandpoint Idaho this fall. It was a great ride, 2500 miles, but I did have some things show up on the ride home that I need to work on and fix.


I had problems with the Alternator/battery, and also I think the weights are sticking in the bean can as sometimes it would not return to idle, unless I loaded up the engine and even then it sometimes would not idle. I am guessing it has sat a lot in the last 10 years. It has 49K miles on it



I am in the process of doing a really thorough annual inspection, clean-up, fix up etc.



The Pulse Air system was removed and it looks like it was well done, except this line was not plugged. I will do that. The emissions stuff was also removed and it too looks like it was well done.



I am guessing this is the electrics that were reconnected after the solenoids were removed.


If you see anything that is not stock please let me know. Other than the dual plug coils.


One of the things that can be very challenging with a new "Old" bike is figuring out what is stock, what has been modified, and what is missing. Again if you see non standard stuff please let me know.



I definitely want to replace this cap. I don't know why it was changed. Is this an improvement? Sure is unattractive to me.


So I am thinking of the EDL4Li alternator, EarthX battery, and possibly the EDL- IGNS system. That would give me the latest in Alternator, Ignition, and battery. I already have the Enduralast Starter. The weight savings would be about 26.1 pounds, over the stock stuff. Not huge but all that weight is up pretty high so I am thinking it might help a little with handling. Yes, I will load the bike up for long trips so you could say why bother, but the reality is MOST of my riding will be day trips with very light loads, and under those circumstances it should help. Yes.....I know....... I will invest more than it is worth. Can you say "upside down"? LOL

I am interested in other thoughts. Is this the best upgrade? Or should I just keep it pretty stock? That would help with cost, but it seemed the alternator was having trouble keeping up even when it was working properly. When I turned on the heated grips and aux lights it went to close to 12 volts so basically providing little excess energy for charging.

Thank you for your inputs. I am sure I will have lots of questions as I go down this road. I will try to post what I learn along the way to help others.

Bill

 

[88bmwjeff]

Nice looking bike.
As far as ignition goes, there's also the Wedgetail system. I don't have it, nor do I have any relation to the company, but I've read some good things. So, you might want to look into it.

http://www.motoelekt.com/ignition.htm

 

[cubflyer]

Jeff - Thanks for the tip. After lots of research it looks like the Wedgetail system is the way to go, even though it is 150 bucks more than the Enduralast.

Also, after more internet research, it looks like the Enduralast PMG alternator is a pain in the arse to install. I am going to have to rewire the entire bike, to include (not included in the 600 dollar kit) a relay that has to go in there somewhere. Then..... reading the install manual for the EDL is NOT simple or easy.

I am now researching the Omega system.

Thanks

Bill

 

[syvrider]

What's the component circled in blue?

That's not on my '88. Or...at least not in that location.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[cubflyer]

Thank you. I don't know. I will look into it. That is exactly the info I am trying to get. To figure out what I've got

Bill

 

[stevenrankin]

WT and O

I have the 600watt Omega system on my 84 R80RT now, going on four years and 25K miles. I recommend it highly. Easy to install, no added or cobbling of the stock wiring. IF anything goes wrong, it troubleshoots exactly like a stock system. Runs heated grips and electric pants and jacket no problem.

I had just installed the Wedgetail system on my now late 78RS. While this bike had points, the Wedgetail system installation even with the points wiring did not require any special wiring, all bolt, plug and play. With your 88, it would be a piece of cake to install.

On the 78, I did notice a slight gain in performance with easier cold starting. I must admit, I can't say for certain It is any better than the stock ignition on my 84RT. Sadly I only had 5K on it before I totaled the bike so I can't say anything about reliability.

As for the circled (relay?), do you have factory installed hazard flashers? It will most likely be the relay for them, sorry I can't tell for certain in the picture.

Nice bike have fun with it and enjoy the riding. St.

 

[RPGR90s]

Having owned a brand new '93 RT, the exhaust system isn't stock. The stock unit uses a collector under the tranny. Although, what you have looks much nicer.

 

[Darryl Cainey]

Folks

I recently purchased a 1994 R100RT. In a former life I owned a 1985 R80RT. Dropped it and rebuilt it. BMW MOA thread here....
https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthrea...ld-or-Part-Out&p=315306&viewfull=1#post315306

After a significant life event I sold it and have been on the fence since. So.....basically I am back in the game.

View attachment 90731
The bike is in good shape. I found it in Nashville TN and rode it home to Sandpoint Idaho this fall. It was a great ride, 2500 miles, but I did have some things show up on the ride home that I need to work on and fix.

View attachment 90732
I had problems with the Alternator/battery, and also I think the weights are sticking in the bean can as sometimes it would not return to idle, unless I loaded up the engine and even then it sometimes would not idle. I am guessing it has sat a lot in the last 10 years. It has 49K miles on it


View attachment 90733
I am in the process of doing a really thorough annual inspection, clean-up, fix up etc.


View attachment 90734
The Pulse Air system was removed and it looks like it was well done, except this line was not plugged. I will do that. The emissions stuff was also removed and it too looks like it was well done.


View attachment 90735
I am guessing this is the electrics that were reconnected after the solenoids were removed.

View attachment 90736
If you see anything that is not stock please let me know. Other than the dual plug coils.

View attachment 90737
One of the things that can be very challenging with a new "Old" bike is figuring out what is stock, what has been modified, and what is missing. Again if you see non standard stuff please let me know.


View attachment 90738
I definitely want to replace this cap. I don't know why it was changed. Is this an improvement? Sure is unattractive to me.


So I am thinking of the EDL4Li alternator, EarthX battery, and possibly the EDL- IGNS system. That would give me the latest in Alternator, Ignition, and battery. I already have the Enduralast Starter. The weight savings would be about 26.1 pounds, over the stock stuff. Not huge but all that weight is up pretty high so I am thinking it might help a little with handling. Yes, I will load the bike up for long trips so you could say why bother, but the reality is MOST of my riding will be day trips with very light loads, and under those circumstances it should help. Yes.....I know....... I will invest more than it is worth. Can you say "upside down"? LOL

I am interested in other thoughts. Is this the best upgrade? Or should I just keep it pretty stock? That would help with cost, but it seemed the alternator was having trouble keeping up even when it was working properly. When I turned on the heated grips and aux lights it went to close to 12 volts so basically providing little excess energy for charging.

Thank you for your inputs. I am sure I will have lots of questions as I go down this road. I will try to post what I learn along the way to help others.

Bill

Do you want to sell that aluminum gas cap?

 

[syvrider]

Where you have an arrow pointing in the air box...yes, block that hole. But it had a tube running to a vent hole riser in the block left of the starter. Make sure that vent hole is also blocked.

Not sure why people remove these solenoids. I like having the fuel shutoff. Avoids the inevitable carb bowl leak in the garage after the inevitable forgetting to shut the fuel taps.

I did remove the pulse air system. Bad design. Bad for exhaust valves.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[pauls1150]

Cubflyer, yes, sell that tank cap. Or even better, just toss it.
Darryl, don't buy it!
I know of at least one instance (ok, not enough for statistical analysis) where, in a crash, a raised cap caused quite a bit of "soft-tissue damage" to the rider's tender bits.

 

[pglaves]

Cubflyer, yes, sell that tank cap. Or even better, just toss it.
Darryl, don't buy it!
I know of at least one instance (ok, not enough for statistical analysis) where, in a crash, a raised cap caused quite a bit of "soft-tissue damage" to the rider's tender bits.

Yes, but anything to add about a quart to the fuel capacity of the tank.

 

[cubflyer]

Thank you all for your help. I will try to address each in order.....

Steven - Thank you for the input on the Omega system. I scoured the internet today and I think that is what I will do

syvrider and Steven - That circled thing in blue. I do have flashers and that seems to be the likely relay. But the manual also specifies later models have a "Load Shedding Relay" that shuts off accessories to provide max voltage for the starter. So that might also be a player. All the wires into it come directly from the factory wiring harness so it is not an afterthought. But I can't establish the colors from the wiring diagram in the Haynes manual.


This is what I think I have identified. If you guys see otherwise please let me know. Edit to add.....the relay labeled "Unknown, Load Shedding Relay?" is in fact the Hazard Relay.

Darryl - If I can get the gas cap off in good shape you are welcome to it. I will keep that in mind when I get to that part.

Thanks again folks

Bill

 

[stevenrankin]

Schematics

I have two copies of the Haynes manuals, one is from the 80's the other only a few years old. The newer version has the schematics in color. Still as I said, the EME schematics are so much better.

LOL, with a side note that should be a front note, the new Haynes manual does show variations between US and UK wiring, something the EME schematics don't. It may not be an issue unless you have a Euro spec bike like I did then it could save some confusion.

The more wiring schematics fro various sources you can have the better. St.

 

[cubflyer]

Thank you very much Steve. Based on that wiring diagram it is the Hazard Relay. Unfortunately I can't figure out how to edit my photo above, so.......to all interested......the relay labeled "Unknown, Load Shedding Relay?" is in fact the Hazard Relay.

Another Scooby Mystery solved.

Ordered the Omega 600 Alternator. Not too sure about the Wedgetail. Still researching that.

More to follow I am sure. Thanks again folks....

Bill



The ride from Nashville to Idaho was awesome, especially Glacier National Park in September.

 

[stevenrankin]

Other things

One thing to check when you have an idle problem is for a vacuum leak.

The stock ignition system is pretty good on you bike as far as most of the parts go. I don't know how handy you are but perhaps you can remove the bean can and do a bit of cleaning and lubing of the weights? While I don't have a website handy off hand, I do know this topic has come up before in the MOA and Vintage BMW forums. A web search might turn up instructions or even a video on how to repair.

It would save the cost of replacing the whole system. I only installed the Wedgetail on my RS because it was originally a points bike and I HATE points. The first point replacement system was a Dyna system and to be honest it was OK. The Wedgetail write ups promised better performance with factory style wiring etc. So I jumped on it and installed. As I wrote, it lived up to the hype LOL, for at least the 5K I used it.

I don't know but I doubt I will change over the stock system in my 84 R80RT, as it works pretty good for 100K plus miles. I have never had a problem related to the ignition system over the years other than spark plugs and spark plug leads conking out with age.

Just a ramble, enjoy the riding. St.

 

[lkchris]

Another thing that can create a won't return to idle situation is significant variation in compression between cylinders. On the older bikes this was a sign of valve recession.

 

[cubflyer]

Update

The bike is back up and running. I took it pretty far down and did the following.

Installed the Omega 600 Alternator and Diode board
Installed a new battery
Painted the battery tray
Removed the transmission and greased the splines
Checked the clutch plate, throwout bearing and clutch disc
Greased and adjusted the swing arm
Checked rear and front brake pads
Cleaned a lot of the electrical connections and used dielectric grease
Cleaned and inspected lots of stuff
replaced fluids in the trans, shaft, and rear drive

Still have a bunch of stuff I would like to check on and maintain


Tranny out and swing arm also out



Omega 600 alternator


Things to note. The alternator did not come with any install instructions. I dug around on the internet and found some info but it pertained to a much different year and model. That took a lot of extra work to figure out what was what, and where it was supposed to go. I am not a full time mechanic but I am fairly mechanically inclined and it was still a bit of a challenge. I rebuilt the bean can electronic ignition as well.
I had to remove the starter to get the diode board in. Not that big of a deal really and it allowed me to clean all the contacts.

Fixed the gas tank cap.

Thinking of a ride up the BC coast, into Haines and Skagway and back this summer. Maybe. I have spent a lot of time in that part of the world in another vehicle type and would love to see it from a different perspective.

Thanks for all you guys inputs and help

Bill

 

[stevenrankin]

600

I believe the Omega 600 system to be the best choice, I have one in my RT and had one in my late RS. Be thankful you didn't pick one of the more radical to install charging systems or ignition systems. While there may not be the best instructions with the Omega system (to be honest, I don't remember my installations), they are very much the same as the stock systems with a couple of extra ground wires. I find now I have all kinds of power for lights, heated grips and clothing just the thing for winter days.

You said you fixed the ignition? What did you find? Did it solve the idle problem or was that caused by something else.

I finally got my injuries healed and the weather cooperated for me to start riding again, rolled another thousand miles on the RT yesterday just puttering around the area. Love riding, enjoy riding, it is the best thing in life, almost. St.

 

[cubflyer]

Steve

Great to hear you are back up and riding. On the bean can it was mostly just cleaning and re-lubricating. I polished the posts the weights are on and re-lubed them. I have not ridden enough (still cold here, but more important, LOTS of sand on the roads) to see if that fixed the intermittent idle issue.

I plan to borescope the cylinders and also run a compression check this week just to see what I have. It seems to run well and does not use much oil so I don't expect anything bad but it will be fun to check it out.

Mostly I just want to know what I have (new to me bike and unknown maintenance history) and I want to be confident before I start on a long ride this summer........Lord willing.


Near Libby Montana this past September

Bill

 

[stevenrankin]

Miles

At the mileage you have indicated unless it has been around the dial once, it does happen, BMW got smart and added another number to the odometer, I bet your compression will be good. Not sure if you will see much with at borescope, Nikasail cylinders don't wear like cast iron ones.

Yeah sand in the roads, I get that on some of the roads south of me, sand and salt mix. Fun stuff to ride on, makes cornering interesting. St.