Greg's "Finest Year" BMW K100RS - SOLD!!

The Story

Yes, I did. I bought a BMW K100RS. Because I wanted to, that's why.

I used to have a Honda CB550K which I enjoyed driving around locally, but after my father's trip from Louisiana to Connecticut to visit me, I thought about buying a bike that I could tour around on. After asking his advice, he told me a BMW would be a good choice.

I began a search in earnest, and decided I liked the K "brick" engine a lot. Nice, modern technology. Using the Internet BMW Rider's web site, I started reading and learning. I narrowed the search to a K100RS, a K100RT, or a K75S. Due to costs, I narrowed it down to 1985-1987.

Believe it or not, I found one on eBay at a good price and bid on it. The bike was in Virginia, very near to Gaithersburg. After talking to the owner, we agreed that my bid would not be binding until I had a chance to look it over. I won the bid.

Through the IBMWR mailing list, I found a lister that lived near by (Gerry Barton), and he offered to go look at it for me. His resultant review email was very promising, and the bike was at a good price, so I bought it sight unseen. Wait, it gets even more strange...

So, here I am, a new owner of a bike I had never seen before. I asked the now-previous owner to take it to a local BMW dealer, Rockville Harley-Davidson in Gaithersburg to have it checked out. It turns out that Rockville H-D is literally 1/2 mile from the Gaithersburg airport; my plan was to have the bike looked over carefully for brake problems (that Gerry commented on), check the bike out overall, and I would have a friend drop me off at the airport and I'd drive it home.

Rockville H-D ended up replacing the front pads, bled the brakes, and rewired a headlamp problem, all on 10/29/99 at 40625 miles. I was ready to roll!

So, I had a friend of mine fly me to GAI, we had lunch, and I literally walked over to Rockville H-D to get the bike. We verified everything was ready to go, and off I went, having never met the previous owner at all! Bizarre! Everything was handled by email and FedEx!

To this point in my riding career, I had never ridden over about an hour. Now, I was about to tackle a 300-mile, 7-hour drive in some of the most congested parts of the country. But that's another story...

Purchased 10/99 at 40600 miles

• 10/22/99 Purchased Spartan full-body suit, tank bag, new helmet faceshield, balaclava

• 10/29/99, 40625. Replaced front brake pads, bled all brakes, adjusted rear brakes, repaired headlamp wires (Rockville H-D)

• 10/29/99 Purchased and installed Olympia gloves and gel grips to try and cure vibrations

• 11/20/99 Purchased K75C bars and K75 speedo cover, all used (didn't use the cover, wouldn't fit)

• 11/06/99 Purchased and installed bar ends

• 11/06/99, 41200. Did the following maintenance myself, all parts purchased new from Lindner's Cycles:

  • Replaced fork oil with Spectro 10W

  • Replaced engine oil and filter

  • Replaced trans gear lube

  • Replaced rear diff lube

  • Replaced spark plugs

  • Replaced oil filler cap

  • Replaced fuel filter

  • Replaced both tank emblems and rear emblem

• 11/24/99, 41315. Had Lindner's BMW do the following work:

  • Spline lube

  • Valve adjustment

  • Replace all coolant hoses

  • Replace all fuel hoses

  • Replace coolant neck (damaged)

  • Replace all intake hoses

  • Replace all vacuum hoses

  • Replace air filter

  • Replace crankcase vent, upper and lower

  • Replace front fork seals (leaking)

  • Install new fork to fairing rubber boots

  • Replace steering head bearings

  • Replace rear tire (ME55)

  • Synchronize throttle bodies

  • Retorque all frame bolts

  • Remove front tire, flip around and re-balance (it was mounted backwards)

  • Install stainless steel brake lines

  • Replace exhaust manifold bolts and nuts

• 12/02/99 New Dow Guardian cover from Competition Accessories

• 12/15/99. Tried to install C-bars and/or barbacks. Found out that the front brake line and the cables were too short. Put it all back together and called Lindner's...

• 02/02/99, xxxxx. Had Lindner's BMW do the following:

  • Installed K-75C handlebars. Had to replace upper brake line, throttle cable, clutch cable and they installed factory bar end weights for me

  • Completed throttle recall

  • Combined parts between a used K1100RS instrument cluster and my damaged cluster (gear indicator, trip odo, fuel lamps) so that everything works (and I pulled the bulb on the higher-value low-fuel-warning lamp)

  • Replaced clear instrument lens cover with a brand new one

• 08/30/00, under 42000 miles. I wish I had more time to ride it. What a year this has been...

• 09/27/00, 41555. Installed barbacks, new top brake hose, bled brakes, and oil and filter change.

• 10/25/00, 41652. New BMW battery and I bought a Battery Tender to go with it. While it was apart I decided to service starter per IBMWR.ORG Tech article (it didn't need it, but it was an easy job).

• 11/01/00, 41825, Installed factory engine guards and changed the oil and filter for the winter

• Sold 08/05/01 at 41,950 miles

So, why for sale?

So, why am I giving very serious thought to trading this cherry K100RS?

Bottom line: I just didn't have the time to ride it. It's a great bike in excellent condition, but like my old 1991 200q20v I knew that it did it no good to be driven every once in a while when I felt like it. I'd rather have seen it go to someone else who could ride it and care for it than let it rot in my backyard 'cause I "wuz gonna git aroun' to it" some day.

Too bad, as I'll miss it, but there's always the future...