1984 BMW R100RT Rewiring

I recently rewired this bike as part of a frame-up refresh. I had initially tried to find an OEM wiring harness without much luck, so I decided to use the Motogadget m-Unit. After many years of lurking on YouTube and forums, I decided I'd film the process and try to actually contribute something. Maybe someone will find it of use.

So, if you've ever wanted to watch 3 hours of rambling and motorcycle wiring, then this 9-part series is for you. I decided to leave in the errors that I made along the way, just to be honest about the process. I think have everything correct and documented now. In any event, the bike starts and runs, and all the lights, switches, and indicators function properly. I take that as a good sign.

All that said, I'm open to constructive feedback.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKkTzyzikTTLvO_qxCeHpByPjja4nM_TW

Welcome to the forum! And thanks for the link to a rewire "party"! I'll add the link to the other links in the Reference section...someone will likely want to see this in the future.

Wiring change in 85

Thank you so much for taking the time to film this task. It is always a big help to see this on line when it is needed. So much easier to watch a video than to bave it written up or such. Pictures are worth a thousand words, video a million.

Is the wiring harness you installed correct for the 84 RT bikes or is it in fact a harness for the 85 to 95 RT bikes?

I have not actually worked on one of the newer bikes but I do know in some year configuration, the wiring in the head light shell was moved under the gas tank. The wiring harness for the newer bikes was different from from the older bikes. I believe it changed in 85 with the mono shock bikes.

This newer year arrangement is what you seem to have in the harness you have installed in the video.

I am very happy it worked out well for you and I know there is no reason why it should not have worked out because the system is the same just different plug and such locations.

So, the question arises, is there a wiring harness available for the 84 and older bikes? St.

Part source

I forgot to ask where the harness came from. I cannot find it on the Motgadget website.

I see a harness for sale on https://www.euromotoelectrics.com/category-s/1615.htm

I have no idea what it looks like in real life, only the small picture they have posted on the web site. St.

Steve,


The ID Airmarshal builds wonderful wiring harnesses for most airhead motorcycles. His name is Todd Millican. His contact information is 208-697-1976 or brittsandbeemers@gscwireless.net Tell him I sent you.

Michael Friedle
NY AM
ABC BoD
MOA Ambassador
lots of airheads

Harness source

Hey Michael,

It is good to hear of another source for the airheads.

On my bike after 200K miles and lots of rain and road salt, the wiring harness is starting to give me minor problems. I have cleaned a lot of connections with some good results however, my next major overhaul in the winter I might just replace harnesess. St.