Things to look for when looking for first Airhead

[jps357]

Hi Gang,

I apologize in advance if this has already been covered, but I could not find it in the forum and I am new here.

Does anyone have a list or guide to things to look for when buying my first Airhead. I have my eye on a couple locally and it would be greatly appreciated if I can get the inside scoop.

Thank you very much.

 

[20774]

Welcome to the forum! Can you give us a few details about what you're looking at locally? That might start the conversation off on the subject.

Here's one website which lists some of the differences:

http://bmwmotorcycletech.info/models.htm

Basically:

- 1970-1980 are full flywheel, points/condenser ignition (some points-in-a -can), twin rear shock models
- 1981-on has electronic ignition as well as clutch/carrier which is a lightened flywheel-clutch combo
- 1981-1984 has poor valve seat metallurgy that results in potentially premature reduction in valve clearances; fixed 1985-on
- 1985-on has varieties of single rear shock suspensions...paralever is in there as well
- ~1985-~1994 has a circlip removed from the transmission that seems to point towards bearing movement in the transmission

It will be interesting to hear what you're thinking of buying.

 

[jps357]

Wow - that's a lot of useful info. Thank you.

I'm looking at a 1984 r100. It appears to be mostly stock, but one never knows (I have not seen it in person yet, but hoping to see it today or tomorrow).

 

[20774]

I should have also said that 1981-on, the cylinders are Nikasil lined, no longer having the usual iron liners. Nikasil results in virtually no wear on the cylinder walls and future overhauls might only need a replacement of compatible rings.

For the '84 R100, it will have the poor seat metallurgy which didn't conduct heat well to the head. The result was that the heat ended up being retained in the valve face, resulting in deformation over time. The larger engines tend to produce more heat, thus they're more susceptible to the issue. All one has to do is monitor the valve clearances and when they begin to close rapidly, the fix is to replace with new seats/valves.

 

[m_stock10506]

You should add to your profile, your location. This might bring out other local Airheads that might be able to help you with normal maintenance or look at one of the bikes you are considering.

Ask the seller if the valves on the bike have been redone. Ask to see all maintenance records. If they can't produce proof that the valves were redone, assume they weren't. But, 33 years after coming out of the factory there is at least a decent chance that the valves were done on that 1984 R100.

I ride an 84 R100. It has 128,000 miles. The valve seat were fixed before I bought it. The transmission on it got rebuilt at 111,000 miles. I have owned this bike for 19 years.

 

[jps357]

Thank you very much. This is all useful information for when I go look at the old gal.

I actually thought that my profile had my information in it, since it asked when I signed up. Sorry about that.

I'm in Northern New Jersey. I have had 5 motorcycles up to this point, but this will (hopefully) be my first BMW and I have been looking for an Airhead for years.

I am handy, but not a mechanic, but fortunately, I have 2 buddies that are willing to take the lead on the big stuff.

 

[20774]

Do you know about Tom Cutter and his shop in Yardley, PA? One of the gurus on the east coast.

http://rubberchickenracinggarage.com

 

[ccolwell]

First check for a cylinder on each side. Sorry, I couldn't help it. My '84 R100 was the best rider of the three airheads I had.

 

[jps357]

Do you know about Tom Cutter and his shop in Yardley, PA? One of the gurus on the east coast.

http://rubberchickenracinggarage.com

I do now! Thank you!

 

[jps357]

You should add to your profile, your location. This might bring out other local Airheads that might be able to help you with normal maintenance or look at one of the bikes you are considering.

Ask the seller if the valves on the bike have been redone. Ask to see all maintenance records. If they can't produce proof that the valves were redone, assume they weren't. But, 33 years after coming out of the factory there is at least a decent chance that the valves were done on that 1984 R100.

I ride an 84 R100. It has 128,000 miles. The valve seat were fixed before I bought it. The transmission on it got rebuilt at 111,000 miles. I have owned this bike for 19 years.

I spoke to the seller. He's had it for 8 years. Has not done a valve job. How big of a job is it on these bikes?

 

[20774]

IMO you want a competent Airhead mechanic to do the work. Pulling the heads off and giving them to the mechanic is the better way to go. Oak Okleshen, recently passed away, but his estate is still selling the top end manual for this work. It doesn't deal with modifying the valves/seats but walks through the process of removing all the parts and reassembly. The manual is $30 can be ordered at 22637 Ridgeway Ave, Richton Park, IL 60471.

Note it's not necessary to do this work right away...unless the engine has say 100K miles on it. But if it's less than that, nothing really wrong with bringing the bike back to mechanical health and then gage how the valve clearances hold up.

 

[jps357]

IMO you want a competent Airhead mechanic to do the work. Pulling the heads off and giving them to the mechanic is the better way to go. Oak Okleshen, recently passed away, but his estate is still selling the top end manual for this work. It doesn't deal with modifying the valves/seats but walks through the process of removing all the parts and reassembly. The manual is $30 can be ordered at 22637 Ridgeway Ave, Richton Park, IL 60471.

Note it's not necessary to do this work right away...unless the engine has say 100K miles on it. But if it's less than that, nothing really wrong with bringing the bike back to mechanical health and then gage how the valve clearances hold up.

It looks like the bike has about 60k miles on it. I actually spoke to Tom at Rubber Chicken Garage and he scared me a little (in a good way). Is there a way to test / check the valve clearances for now, until the work is REQUIRED.

 

[20774]

Sure, just set the valves to the proper clearances, which should be 0.15mm intake and 0.20mm exhaust. Then after you've ridden the bike say 500 miles, recheck the clearances. If they're substantially less, then reset them another time...recheck after 500 miles. If they continue to close, then you need to think about the head work. If they hold steady, then back off the checks to 1000-2000 miles. If you don't hear the tappity-tap of the valves, then they've closed up and it's time to check.

You should check the head bolt torque first. Back off each head bolt (6 total) one at a time...then retorque to 25 ft-lbs...the spec is 29 but we don't need to go there!! Then is a criss-cross pattern, do the others. Then do the valve clearances. Retorquing only needs to be done every so often...maybe 25K miles???

 

[happy wanderer]

Two of the best things one can do to learn and participate in the airhead experience are:

Join the Airheads club and receive the monthly newsletter with info on tech events in your area.

http://www.airheads.org/join

Join the AirList at micapeak.org for some of the best airhead support on the planet.

http://lists.micapeak.com/mailman/listinfo/airheads

 

[C172MyP51]

Caveat Emptor

Keep in mind that you're looking at an antique, and I don't mean that in the charming, HGTV way.
These bikes will NOT run forever. Beware the owner who tells you "I've had mine since it was new and have put 200,000 miles on her!" Yes, and he probably maintained the **** out of it too, and bikes do tend to run better right after they're built. What guys like you & I are getting now are bikes that are on their 3rd or 4th owner, with one of those owners probably just riding it with no maintenance, or even worse, parking it for year(s) at a time, with gas still in the tank.
I really like my airhead, and I think I made the right choice ('86 R80RT) but I also wish I would've listened to all the owners telling me to take it slow & wait for the right bike...not the first bike I could afford.
KEEP IN MIND, that your new-to-you airhead will cost you $5-6K. If you got 'lucky' and paid $2,500, that's cuz you've got $2,500+ in maintenance costs ahead of you to make it right (unless you like riding a bike that will leave you stranded at some point).
Tom Cutter is a name that is floated around on the forums quite a bit.
These bikes are incredibly popular right now, and with good reason. I think the $ we put into them will help them hold their value so we'll at least break even when we sell (or our next of kin sells).
Best of luck to you!

 

[SCBuckeye]

What ever you decide on, no matter what, be sure to change ALL liquids including brake fluids, AND re-grease all grease items - especially wheel bearings! I thought those things were done on my purchased '78 R100 because I trusted the P/O - I had an almost fatal front wheel disaster, and when I dis-assembled I don't believe those bearings had ever been greased from the time the bike was new! Drier than a bone! Had to totally replace front bearings and one front fork tube. Boy, was I lucky!

 

[jps357]

Keep in mind that you're looking at an antique, and I don't mean that in the charming, HGTV way.
These bikes will NOT run forever. Beware the owner who tells you "I've had mine since it was new and have put 200,000 miles on her!" Yes, and he probably maintained the **** out of it too, and bikes do tend to run better right after they're built. What guys like you & I are getting now are bikes that are on their 3rd or 4th owner, with one of those owners probably just riding it with no maintenance, or even worse, parking it for year(s) at a time, with gas still in the tank.
I really like my airhead, and I think I made the right choice ('86 R80RT) but I also wish I would've listened to all the owners telling me to take it slow & wait for the right bike...not the first bike I could afford.
KEEP IN MIND, that your new-to-you airhead will cost you $5-6K. If you got 'lucky' and paid $2,500, that's cuz you've got $2,500+ in maintenance costs ahead of you to make it right (unless you like riding a bike that will leave you stranded at some point).
Tom Cutter is a name that is floated around on the forums quite a bit.
These bikes are incredibly popular right now, and with good reason. I think the $ we put into them will help them hold their value so we'll at least break even when we sell (or our next of kin sells).
Best of luck to you!

I appreciate your insight. I agree - it's been a tough pursuit. I did find a bike after all this time. I will be picking it up this week. I will keep all of this in mind. Thank you.

 

[jps357]

What ever you decide on, no matter what, be sure to change ALL liquids including brake fluids, AND re-grease all grease items - especially wheel bearings! I thought those things were done on my purchased '78 R100 because I trusted the P/O - I had an almost fatal front wheel disaster, and when I dis-assembled I don't believe those bearings had ever been greased from the time the bike was new! Drier than a bone! Had to totally replace front bearings and one front fork tube. Boy, was I lucky!

This sounds like great advice. P/O recently had the tires replaced. I'm not sure if the dealer did anything with the bearings and I'm not near the bike now (won't be for a few more days). Is there a way to check this?