Kick starting...

So, in a manner that felt much more mid-70's Lucas than 1980 Bosch, my recently acquired R100RT apparently can't charge the battery and power the headlight at the same time, even on a 90 minute run at 100 km plus.
Stopped for fuel, geared up, hit the starter.....click click rattle rattle....
Been here, done this, I'll just bump it...hey, wait a minute, I almost forgot, this girl has a kick starter. God, what am I saying. Kick over a hot liter bike? And who laid this thing out? OK, guess I'll give it a shot. Get it on the center stand. Wonder if that clutch interlock applies when kicking? Nah, even a German engineer wouldn't be THAT anal. Let see if we can find compression...yep there it is...now snap it down....
BUDDEN-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick......
Wow! I have lived with a number of thumpers (three SR500 Yammies and an XT600), not to mention a whole herd of Pentons, early air cooled KTMs, and a water cooled '86 400WR Husky. ALL of them were harder to kick over than this Beemer!
I would have lost a lot of beers on the wager...happily, I bet I can now WIN a few.
Love at first kick?
Yep.
Ride safe. ATGATT.

jimbob1960 said:

So, in a manner that felt much more mid-70's Lucas than 1980 Bosch, my recently acquired R100RT apparently can't charge the battery and power the headlight at the same time, even on a 90 minute run at 100 km plus.

Click to expand...

Why not? Even my 1971 R75/5 will keep the battery charged during night riding. Seems you have something wrong there!

BTW, you can save a few watts by changing the taillight to a Beacon LED, but seems you have a bigger problem. Hopefully, just a bad battery.

-Don- SSF, CA

Kick starting....

Pretty sure it is just a weak charging system. Might just be a battery prob, because it is a seriously cheapo battery. Ordering an Enduralast, just in case. Anyway, I am still amazed it kicks over as easily as it does.

I've been riding my '71 R50/5 alot the last few weeks. It had a Westco sealed battery, which was pretty old. After charging it had enough to run the lights and that about it. Wouldn't turn the starter over. Just kick started it, and for the most part pretty easy. But it didn't take long for the novelty to wear off. Went back to the back of my garage and found a Yuasa I bought a couple of years just for this replacement. Serviced it up and installed it. It's good to have electric start again and relagate the kick start back to a conversation piece.

Jim:

Welcome.

Don't know if this is your first airhead, but the electrical system has to be in excellent condition in order to provide sufficient electrons for operation.

Since you just acquired the bike, you will want to review electrical service in the Airheads section, and then do a careful inspection and service. Cleaning of the grounds is critical.

Thanks for the warm welcome! This is my first BMW of any flavor. I have primarily ridden Japanese street bikes, starting with a 1978 XS Eleven Yamaha (STILL not sure how I survived that as a first street bike...at 19). My father and I did lots of early VW resuscitations, and I learned quite a bit about Bosch electrics. The boxer twin is basically half of a VW motor (or so it seems..). I am guessing once I install the Enduralast alternator, and maybe their ignition as well, my issues will all be resolved. In the meantime, kicking it over is kind of fun!

Enduralast

I installed the Enduralast system after finding getting stranded with a dead battery one morning. I find you can run many more electrical items. I still use a Battery Tender, but it only seems to check and then goes to storage setting in a short time.

If you ride at night the extra amount will allow more driving lights, which helps increase the riding season when the days are shorter.