Getting to the first ride stage.

Owning a BMW K100RS is a bit like a car that I once owned, a Citroen XM diesel. They are both technically very advanced, not easy to work on, fantastic to drive, and a bit long on the tooth now.

Back on topic! Various bits were repaired, repainted or replaced to get the bike back to a condition where I could take him out on the road to see what was seriously wrong with him. I had a large package delivered from Motobins in the UK with things like a seat lock, indicator lenses, etc. Cans of gloss black paint had made the plastic look a little better and a set of wheels were bought from a chap in France complete with brand new Michelin Pilot Road 3 tyres, these were sprayed gold. The wheels are a different size to other K100s and a different 3 spoke design too, they fit the wider 160 rear tyre.

The first time that I started him up with my helmet firmly on my head was a very daunting time. After slipping him into gear and finding that the 80W140 gear oil and MSO2 had made the gearbox as smooth as a Jap bike, I let the clutch out and was pleased to find that all of the ABS warning lights extinguished. That was working then!

The second ride out with my wife on her F800ST as my wingman, showed a few more things that will need sorting, but there was nothing major that would cause me to abandon the project. That ride showed that a new rear shock was needed, it felt dreadful, we called it a pogo stick! There was also some setting up needed on the fuel injection system as the power delivery was not smooth, although it pulled like a diesel (reminded me of the Citroen XM again).

The rear shock was ordered from RAM (http://www.realmengineering.com/page15.html). I phoned them and spoke to a nice chap who spoke with a Brummie accent and reminded me of my dad. After giving him my weight, and some other information he charged £300 to my debit card and sent me a shock. Only an ex-engineer would see the beauty in a bit of metal the way that I do, but even my wife commented that it was “nice”.

This has transformed the bike! It has a infinite adjustment adjustment for the spring pre-load and a knob for adjusting the damping. After a 20 mile ride I had it set up just how it suited me . As the bike was now definitely a good one I also ordered the front brake discs from www.bikes.ebcbrakeshop.co.uk/ who have been very helpful over the phone and supplied what must be the the cheapest brake discs on the net. Having said that they were not cheap, just cheaper than anyone else.