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New Member...

F

Fourcats

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Hi all, just checking in. After being out of BMWs for 12 years {have over 100K on /5s & /7s} I recently picked up an Airhead {? '84 R100} as a project...really glad this site is here. It has already doubled my "favorites" list . :D

Ebay/photo purchase...The bike had set for awhile with well over 100K on the speedo, knew that. Didn't know the frame, engine & carbs had been touched up with rattle cans.
Charged the battery and got it started, carbs were out, leaking.
Started pulling it down, tank, seat, battery box , air cleaner, cables and exhaust system. I really thought the air box was black plastic.
The rear brake needs work.
It has the new parts listed in the ad...including two plug heads.
Bad part, there are NO VIN #s on the frame and the #s on the engine don't match the title.
The good part, it has a home {next to three Harleys}and will only get better in my care.
The carbs were painted silver, bowls were clean, had a pinched diaphram, mixture screws were "wierd".
Need kits & floats. Will need to make up some "balance bottles" also.

Been reading up on the '84, {actually more about '81 and newer. not much on the '84} Seems the mods I was anticipating {flywheel, ignition, oil pan, swing arm, BMW has already done...:groovy
1/16...pulled the rear m/c, brake line & caliper. Got the m/c piston to move after some work. Believe I will assemble it all, add the dot4 and see what I get.
Was working on a cold, wet cemet floor {swept with a fan going to help it dry}. It must be the humidity, never did dry. Won't do that again. {the problem was any drop of oil/WD spread accross the floor, making it a slippery mess to walk on and track into the house}
Breakfree & WD on the clutch cable has worked, not perfect but usable for sure.
1/22...ACE Hardware has a good selection of metric bolts, washers, ect. and is 50 miles closer.
Got the kit for the carbs...when it warms up.
1/29...Picked up 20' of 3/16 OD tubing {to fit into the 3/16 ID tube at the carbs} for the "balance bottles". Also got a qt alcohol, will use this to test the rear brake assy, when I get it back on...43* is to cold for me to be working on the bike. Things {inclding me}"work" better when its warmer.
2/8 ...keep thinking about putting a single carb on the bike :idea{there is a 40mm w/ accelerator pump on the shelf}.
4/3...Did some more tinkering, pulling off some more pieces {licence plate bracket, rear turn signals}. The previous owner did a good job wirering the LED tailite. All the "trash" must be from before him. Not to the "turn around" point yet.
4/16...Did some Navel Jelly on the battery box, did not work as expected. Looking to Ebay for another....got one $10.
4/24...More tips! the "Sure Foot" side stand to replace the welded up stick I have now. And the "easy clutch" or a simular design of my own.
7/30...Cleaned the shed and rigged up a work lite. Got to work on the petcocks, a little gummy AND no gaskets to the tank. Cleaned & lubed them with 3-1 oil, will get a gasket at ACE.
8/1...Ace had the gaskets, $1.19. Regot the kits for the carbs....needed the diaphrams. {216}
8/16...put the kits in the carbs, but got 32mm sleeves to the heads, $25 shot.
8/17...went to the auto parts, found 2" hose to work for the intake sleeves, $10{221}
8/21...installed the rear brake hardware, the caliper doesn't release all the time and the disc is cracked. The front has got two, one to many IMO. Will be looking into a single setup in front to replace the rear disc. The disc #s R the same!! Pulled the Wheel & R caliper, removed the disc and used my Dremel w/cutoff wheel to shorten the bolts 1/2".
8/28...Went to ACE, got $8 of hardware. Swapped out the rear disc {noway the wheel is coming off the bike with the tire inflated}. Worked on the rear brake some more, its better. The pads off the right front seperated from the backing plate, strange. Worked on the bars & levers, rerouted the front brake line {it had no washers at the m/c}, the clutch lever feels nice. Mounted the air box & battery box PIA.
9/4...Went to ACE got some hardware, DOT4 & some gas line. Installed a SpeedBleeder in the rear caliper, bled the brakes w/dot4. The front brake bleeder screw was plugged up with corrosion, swapped it out with the previous rear piece, bled the brake w/dot4. The pads are comming off the backing plate.
Installed/fit the 2" rubbers for the carbs. Installed/fie the carbs, cables, adjusted them "close". The throttle is a little notchy at the grip. Installed the clamps for the intake sys. Need to staighten the rear Tsignal bar. 229
Whats the plan?...The plan is to get the bike running to the best of my abilty {& to my liking}no cosmetic stuff. If it runs as well as the Sportster, I'll be happy.
PM...straightend the Tsignal bar & remounted it. Put the Gas tank on, mounted the petcocks...Forgot the vent line. No worries the tank is comming off so to tiddy up the wiring and such.
9/5....Charged & installed the battery. Installed the 2-1 exhaust. Cranked the engine with the plugs out {& grounded}. Finished the wires, clamps, fuel lines & filters, added 1 1/2 of high test. Turned the petcocks to reserve, no leaks. Hit the starter with a small amount of choke and it started up as it should. Smoked from the exhaust nuts & fittings {they were well lubed for assy}. After about thee min there was a drip from the rt carb, then both fuel filters started leaking...PISS! The idle was 1200 with good throttle response. So...need gaskets for the filters {or cheap new ones} and look into the rt carb.
Balancing is going to be the simple method, a vacuum gauge Tee'd to the carbs. Pinching the tube to read the gauge for each side.
...swapped the filters for just fuel lines. After a couple of min running it started poping like it was low on gas, a dirty fuel system. AND when it warms a bit the oil lite is showing up unless its at 1500 rpm. Not good at all.
11/13/11 Spoke to the BMW parts guy in PTLD {awhile ago} about the oil lite thing. Looks like the oil gets drained, the pan pulled and the oil pickup gets inspected. The oil filter compartment gets checked, must have the "white Oring in place, the filter isn't needed. Reassemble the pan and add oil of known viscosity, fire it up and see whaz up. All this will be done as a "just to be sure" measure.
The next thing will be run a new wire for the oil pressure switch, then a new pressure switch. AND finally pull down the back end to look at the oil pump...
First, maybe I'll borrow a pressure tester to verify oil pressure at the switch.
All this will happen ...when it gets warmer. 256
2/3/12...Charged the Sportsters battery and it fired right up...The Beemer is still dripping gas and its MT. Four carbs in the garage and two of them drip {guess which two?} 291
 
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Welcome aboard! Great to have you back on a Beemer. Keep us posted on the progress of your project! Take care and ride safe!!
 
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