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Help, stuck in in Denver with a 1993 R100GSPD.

R

Rick del Monte

Member
I have just flown to Denver from Asheville to pick up a bike that I bought sight unseen from a ‘master mechanic’ and an Air Marshall. I am a naive idiot, and was taken advantage of, but I just want to focus on where to go from here. I am now in a hotel room, in possession of this bike which I had planned to ride back to North Carolina. Despite rough condition and sketchy maintenance it runs, but the biggest issue is that the throttle is stuck and returns slowly or not at all back to idle (he told me it was a feature that worked like cruise control). I need a mechanic in the area that can help me fix the throttle and give the bike a look to determine if I should attempt a 1,600 mile trip on it. I have the anonymous book, and I may start calling in the morning.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, because I don’t have the skills or tools to attempt to fix this in a hotel parking lot, and I don’t feel confident trying to get across Western Colorado and Kansas on it. My email is rickdm@swbell.net

Thank you.
Rick
 
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I think you should dive into the anonymous book and see if you can get some help. Of course, the dealers will be closed on Monday. If Brook Reams should drop by this thread and he has the time, he would be an excellent resource. He lives in Arvada which is not too far from you. Try sending him a PM - https://forums.bmwmoa.org/member.php?18574-brook-reams
 
Woke up this morning with a clearer head, and the story just keeps getting richer. I got out his scribbled service records. The bike has 83,500 miles.

-the last oil change was at 80,240 miles in 4/12, transmission and rear drive oil change at the same time.
-the last noted valve adjustment was at 51,656 miles.
-air filter at 30,020 miles.
-the brake fluid is a dark brown, when I asked him about it he said it was a sealed system and didn’t need changing.

I think I may need to take care of a couple of the minor issues, then ship it home so I can start going through the whole bike. I got the bike so I could learn how to wrench on an airhead, but I was hoping to start at the shallow end of the pool.

Rick
 
Sorry

Oh man I feel so sorry for you to be hit with previous owner's disease and far from home to boot. If I were in the area, I would be there to help for sure but I am not.

I can give you a bit of a heads up regarding the slow throttle return, and that may be a simple fix for now. On the throttle, there is a (oh how do I describe it?) an threaded or knurled nut that when tightened or twisted one way serves as a friction lock on the twist grip, hence acts like a mechanical cruise control. The knurled part is just about the size of a quarter in diameter. Loosen that up and hopefully the throttle will work as it should.

Too bad you live in NC, as I am in NY, a bit too far to lend a hand in the future. Anyway, don't be discouraged, and welcome to the airhead family. St.
 
Thanks for the suggestion. The owner took the throttle screw out, but it did not seem to help the situation. It may just come down to taking the twistgrip off and cleaning and lubing it. I am also concerned about riding very far on a bike with the last valve check 30,000 miles ago and a clearance of .001 on the intake and .0 on the exhaust.

Rick
 
Rick
It sounds like to me you need all the oils changed, valve adj and brake fluid changed.
Only 2-3 hrs of work for someone who knows how to do it.

Try Matt Parkhouse in Colorado Springs: 719-636-3633

He has a shop at his house and he's all things airhead.
How old are your tires? do you know how to read the date of manufacture?
If it were me I'd try to get the bike up to snuff in Denver and ride home.
It being running is a helluva start.
Alot of shops are closed on Mondays -bummer
Call Matt let us know how it turns out
Nick
1978 R80/7
 
Well

So yes if the screw is out, the culprit could be a dry sticking twist grip assembly as well as shot cables. I agree, riding with valves in an unknown setting is not a good idea, I doubt you would have any kind of catastrophic failure if you did but, the bike won't run worth a darn with them out of adjustment.

So to quit dwelling on the negative, how does the rest of the bike look, work? St.
 
Even old cables can kinda work. Check routing. A tight hard binding turn of the cable can defeat the throttle action. We’re all just guessing. :)
 
Thanks for the suggestions. It turns out a mechanic named Pokie was only about 20 minutes away. We went over the whole bike. Despite the lack of documentation, the fluids seemed fine, at least good enough to get me home. We adjusted the valves which were a bit loose, and I got some personal tutoring on how to do it properly. As far as the throttle, the gear drive was completely dry, so we greased the gears and oiled the cables. Now it returns properly but is still quite stiff. Pokie suggested lighter springs on the carburetors. After going over the bike, all I can say is that these are tough bikes. Despite the spotty maintenance, the bike was in surprisingly good shape.

So I rode three hours into some crazy wind to Limon, Colorado grateful for the great BMW community. I hope I can pay it back some day.

Rick
 
Pokie is also active on the airhead forums on advrider.com. You should join as it’s a great resource for owner-mechanics.

Doug
 
Rick
I know this is of no use to you at this time, but I also live in Asheville and would be happy to help with your GSPD when you are back. I'm no master mechanic, but I have owned and maintained many airheads through the years - the latest being a '91 GSPD. You could contact me with a PM on this forum.
Mike
 
Well, just to finish up the story. I did not make it all the way home, just got to KC. However it was not the bike that broke down, it was me. Particularly through easter Colorado there were heavy wind gusts and even small dust storms that I had to ride through at 75mph. My throat started to hurt and by KC I couldn't even swallow. The strep test turned out negative, so the conclusion was that my body had an allergic reaction to all the dust and pollen. With steroids and other medicines it still took me about three days to get over it.

I got the bike picked up and shipped home, should be here in a week. I started ordering some of the cosmetic parts that need replacing, but mostly it's going to be elbow grease and cleaners to start. I was thinking of selling it, cutting my loses and getting a better example, but I think it's going to be more rewarding to work on this one.

Rick
 
Darn

Boy I hate when my body is the weakest link in a ride, it happens more and more often the older I am getting. At least I am still able to ride.

You made a good distance, better than I have done in a long time. Enjoy the wrench and restore. St.
 
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