R100RS center stand

[tleonard]

My brother recently gave me his 1977 R100RS. I have 1000 questions, but first thing - I would like to find a stock center stand as the one on the bike leaves both tires on the ground. (a ride off stand?) And find a Haynes or shop manual.
Any help with the first efforts on this bike would be appreciated.

 

[20774]

Nice bike! The '77 models are sought after bikes. Yes, you have a Reynolds Rideoff stand. Some like it, some don't. I personally think it's good think. As for a replacement center stand, you might want to put an ad in the Marketplace link at the top of the page. Haynes manuals are generally available, you'll just have to browse various places...there's currently one on ebay.

It appears that your valve covers are on the wrong sides...no harm in operation. Those lines on the outside of the cover should create a general straight line from the intake tube on the carb to the exhaust port on the other side...also they tend to be somewhat level with the ground.

 

[fmdualexhaust]

Nice Brother!
I had to buy mine.
After my research clymer seemed to be the preferred manual.
I ordered mine from these folks.

https://www.themotorbookstore.com/bmw-r50-r60-r65-r75-r80-r90-r100-r100gs-pd-repair-manual.html

 

[stevenrankin]

Very nice

LOL I wish someone would give me a bike like yours, it is pretty nice looking.

Yes, the center stand is a Reynolds ride off stand and was an aftermarket item. I must admit I have these stands installed on both of my bikes and I far prefer them to the stock center stand.

My positive comments are as follow. First, the Reynolds stand is far more stable when the bike is up on it than either the stock center stand or the kickstand. The Reynolds stand is far less likely to dig into soft pavement or whatever and to be honest, since I started using them 30 years ago, I have never had a bike fall over. Whereas the stock stand used to be unstable on all but mostly perfect level hard pavement, the Reynolds works on less than ideal surfaces better. LOL, they are not 100% fool proof but far better than stock

So yeah, not having a wheel off the ground is a pain but if I need to check tires, I just put a board under the stand. If I have to remove the rear tire for a flat, I lay the bike on its side. LOL, I haven't had a flat in a long time and the last time I did, it was with the stock stand and to be honest, it was just about as big a pain in the ass to take the wheel off with the stock stand as the Reynolds.

I think the original first year RS is the prettiest bike BMW has ever made. I owned a 78RS until I totaled it in an accident in October. The spoke wheels are so much better looking than the snowflakes. The drum brake on the rear is so much better than the disc BMW changed to in 78.

St.

 

[barryg]

70HP stock means this is probably the fastest stock oem Airhead BMW sent to the states. Nice bike.

 

[k1200lt00]

I have to take a look over the weekend as I parts a complete one out about 6 yrs ago.

 

[tleonard]

Thanks for the info. I see you point on the stability of the solid bar on the bottom of the Rideoff. It is hard for me to lift the bike up on it, but also the bike doesn't roll forward and drop down like a regular stand would retract it. I guess you get used to and familiar with it.

Also, would you mind taking a look at the handle bars? I removed the steering damper? knob to try to install a plastic cover that snaps on to the bars and covers up most of the bar and bar clamp area. It is not close to fitting. Are those the stock bars? They must be rolled up too high as the levers hit the sides of the fairing on sharp turns? Thanks.

 

[stevenrankin]

Handlebars

Oh, I am sorry, I can't tell if they are the stock bars or not. LOL. I would have been happy to go out to the garage to compare them to my RS bars but alas, my bike is no longer with me, it is totaled and now at a friend's shop for parts.

There are two of the handle bar covers, one for the RT bikes and one for the RS bikes. If you have cut outs for switches on your pad, it is the wrong one and is for the RT bikes. The RS pad has no cut outs. They look kind of similar but are different.

As for hitting the fairing, well, they are not hard to adjust if they are the stock bars it takes a bit of fussing and an extra pair of hands helps. The clamps can be accessed with a small ratchet and socket. Once the bars are set, the control levers can be adjusted as well. They have an Allen bolt for that. LOL, like anything, all the nuts and Allen bolts are hard to see a good flash light helps. Good luck. St.

 

[stevenrankin]

Where are you

Where are you located, if near me, I am happy to help. I am in the Spencerport, (Rochester) NY area. I have a small shop for my own use, and access to a dedicated airhead shop forty miles from me. St.

 

[robsryder]

When I obtained my 77RS Re-Psycle BMW was very helpful with parts and information.

https://re-psycle.com/

Following are links that may be of interest (These are likely duplicates of a list kept somewhere on this forum, but I can never seem to recall where to find this info.) -

https://ibmwr.org/rs77/

https://www.cyclechaos.com/wiki/BMW_R100RS

https://ibmwr.org/

https://www.pbase.com/dwerbil/bmw_motorcycle_r607r757_r1007_r100rs_owners_manual

https://vintagebmw.org/library/?model=R100RS

https://www.motorcycleid.com/haynes-manuals/motorcycle-owner-s-workshop-manual.html?urlId=130004214

https://www.motorcycleid.com/clymer/bmw-motorcycle-manuals.html?urlId=130004214

https://www.carlsalter.com/download.asp?p=919 This is not exactly for the R100RS, but many of the airhead procedures are the same across models
https://www.carlsalter.com/download.asp?p=930

 

[melville]

Your bike has a couple spacers under the bar clamps. The damper knob probably doesn't clear the bar for that reason. Also, there should be two sets of holes for the bar mounts on the upper triple. RS should use the forward set. Looks like PO wanted to sit a bit more upright.

None of those things should cause the controls to hit the fairing, though. Your bar looks flat like an RS bar, but how wide is it? My RS has a bar that's 22 1/2" across the ends of the grips. It's installed with the grip portion sloping down a bit on each side and there's plenty of room lock to lock for everything.

Oh, mine is a 1979 and I think I have the same grips as you.

 

[brook.reams]

There is a bolt that fits in a tab on the steering stem. It's there to limit the turn angle to prevent the handlebars from hitting the fairing. Take a look to see if your bolt is removed.

 

[tleonard]

Thanks for all the advice and offers of help. I'm in Northern Utah. I see Bavarian Motorcycle Workshop and Rootsman Restoration listed as independent BMW shops. Bavarian is closed. Not sure on Rootsman. Any feedback on them or other active airhead folks around me? Thanks again.

 

[stevenrankin]

Anonymous guide

Utah is a bit far for me to travel, lol. As for local members, check the Anonymous Guide, it is a start. Others suggest joining the Airheads club or BMW Vintage club. Good luck on your hunt. St.

 

[lkchris]

Some notes regarding ride-off stands ...

If your bike is '81-'84, you're for sure bending the frame tabs using a ride-off stand.

The "official" BMW procedure for taking the bike off the centerstand is to do so standing next to the bike. (Probably not the single-side swingarm bikes)

The Airhead centerstand is designed for use for maintenance. Yes, consider correcting an empty fuel tank situation maintenance. It is otherwise not the correct support for your bike anywhere except in your garage except in field maintenance emergencies.

Yes, BMW realized many owners didn't understand or care for this, and for the single-side bikes finally installed a heavier, stronger centerstand. Next generation bikes became even heavier ... even top boxes were permitted and you didn't need bungee backup to hold your saddlebags on.

If your bike is earlier, you've got what you've got. Nothing about the design process for these bikes was influenced by American culture. Nothing is made of iron. You adapt. Bringing expectations from the culture inherent in other bikes will seldom be successful. You adapt. It's fun.

 

[oldcamper]

Bringing expectations from the culture inherent in other bikes will seldom be successful. You adapt.

+1
Owners quickly learned they could not expect the stock center or side stands of early airheads to support the weight of both the rider AND the bike. For many, adapting meant a Reynolds’s center stand and a Brown side stand, or leaning the bike against a nearby tree if one was available. Almost no one trusted the stock stands, at least not for long.

 

[stevenrankin]

Ride off

I was told by my dealer back when I bought my first BMW bike the "proper" way of using the side and center stand. That is get off the bike first before using either. In the case of my 84 RT, with it's quick retracting side stand, getting off the bike and ensuring the stand is properly deployed and the bike has settled on it means I don't suddenly have the stand retract when trying to get off the bike. This I see happen all the time with fellows who put the side stand down while on the bike then try to get off. The solution to the issue if you want to remain on the bike and put the side stand down was to by a Brown stand or another variant of it.

As for the center stand, you have to be off the bike to put the stand down which never was a problem as I always get off the bike to put the bike on to either the side or center stand. The ride off stand made this much easier to do.

The rumor or story is the Reynolds ride off stand was designed for some police agency to allow "ride off". On both my 78 RS and my 84 RT, I can easily ride off the center stand. Putting the bike up onto the stand requires I get off the bike as with the stock stand and put the bike up onto the stand. The ride off stand is far easier to get up onto the stand than the center stand.

In my other post, I commented on the positive and negatives of the ride off stands. I have been using a ride off stand on my 84 since 86 with just about 200000 miles and love it.

Oh by the way, the 77 to 81 bikes are the bike with the tabs that bend on the center stand. They bend with the Reynolds ride off OR the stock stand. BMW changed the mounting system with the newer bikes. My 78 RS had bent tabs on it when I bought it with the stock stand. When I installed the ride off stand to ditch the stock stand I did have problems for a couple of weeks getting the bike up onto the new stand and off. Once we straightened the tabs, the ride off stand was a breeze.

Airheads are almost perfect motorcycles but not 100%, in some cases like Reynolds, that level of perfection comes closer to the 100% mark as do other companies which made after market parts for our bikes. LOL, I have my RT at a high level of perfection, in my riding world, and had the RS at just about the same level only to total it in an accident. Then again, I have only long term owned two BMW bikes. I did trade in my 77 for my 84, and that was to get electronic ignition and a factory beautiful fairing. I bought the RS because as I have written, they are the most beautiful BMW. St.

 

[oldcamper]

In the case of my 84 RT, with it's quick retracting side stand, getting off the bike and ensuring the stand is properly deployed and the bike has settled on it means I don't suddenly have the stand retract when trying to get off the bike. This I see happen all the time with fellows who put the side stand down while on the bike then try to get off. The solution to the issue if you want to remain on the bike and put the side stand down was to by a Brown stand or another variant of it.

I did trade in my 77 for my 84, and that was to get electronic ignition and a factory beautiful fairing. St.

Those self-retracting OEM side stands claimed many a beautiful BMW airhead fairing. I’m surprised you still use it on your ‘84. I remember an aftermarket “C” shaped plate with a couple of springs that disabled that self-retracting functionality. Of course, then there was always the concern one would ride away with the stand down, but probably no different from a Brown in that regard.

 

[stevenrankin]

side stand

I very rarely use the side stand since I installed the ride off stand. As I have said, the ride off stand is FAR more stable than either the stock side stand or the stock center stand. If I do use the side stand as stated, I get off the bike, deploy the stand and make certain the bike is settled properly on the stand. I have never had the bike come off the side stand except a few times when I was in a hurry and didn't settle the bike. As I was there to catch things, I have never dropped the bike.

Now the side stand sinking into pavement or soft ground on a hot day, that is another story, many was the time before the ride off stand I would park with the side stand or the stock center stand and come back to the bike to find it just about ready to fall over either due to the side or center stand sinking.

Honestly, looking at the Brown side stand I could see this being a problem. That one reason I never installed one along with the fact the ride off stand works so much better. St.

 

[pglaves]

Now the side stand sinking into pavement or soft ground on a hot day, that is another story, many was the time before the ride off stand I would park with the side stand or the stock center stand and come back to the bike to find it just about ready to fall over either due to the side or center stand sinking.

I was riding across Nebraska one hot summer day and stopped for gas at a convenience store. There was a small dual-sport bike leaned against the wall. I went in to pay for the gas and the kid behind the counter asked several questions about my bike. And he told me about his bike, leaning against the building. He led me outside to an orange cone in the parking lot next to the building. The sidestand for his motorcycle was there, sunk into the asphalt. He had parked in the late afternoon the day before and the stand slowly sunk into the soft asphalt. But by the time he was off work that night the asphalt had cooled and he couldn't get the sidestand out of the pavement. He had unbolted the sidestand to ride home, and was now waiting for the asphalt to get soft enough that he could pull the sidestand out of the asphalt.