Author Topic: 1985 K100RS Renovation  (Read 60750 times)

Offline propav8r

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Re: 1985 K100RS Renovation
« Reply #50 on: October 11, 2017, 09:49:37 AM »
If you can't rant to your Brick Brothers then who can you rant to?? I read the whole piece! Sometimes it helps to just get it off your chest! You'll get there. Give us photos of the Kawi!! I had a '73 350 triple....my first real ride.





It doesn't look like much now, but it's 90% complete. The only major pieces I'm missing are the expansion chambers (which, it looks like, are going to run me $1k minimum) and a rear fender. I have all the bodywork, front fender, oil tank, plumbing, intake, and other associated doodads in a couple boxes.
  • Franklin, NC
  • 1985 K100RS, 1978 GL1000, 1972 Kawasaki H2 750

Offline The Mighty Gryphon

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Re: 1985 K100RS Renovation
« Reply #51 on: October 11, 2017, 10:47:22 AM »
Now that is what I consider a real starting point for a cappuccino racer.  Proper wire wheels and tank lines that will blend properly with an ironing board seat.
  • In my garage in Marilla, NY
  • '91K100RS White/Blue
Current:
'91 K100RS16V "Moby Brick Too"

Past:
'94 K75RT "Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS"
'92 K100RS16V "Moby Brick" (RIP, deceased in a vehicular assault)
'94 K75S Special Edition Dakar Yellow "Cheetos"
'89 K100RS Special Edition "Special Ed"

Offline Laitch

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Re: 1985 K100RS Renovation
« Reply #52 on: October 11, 2017, 10:56:10 AM »
It doesn't look like much now . . .
I think the earth-tone treatment of the metalwork looks pretty good.
  • Along the Ridley in Vermont.
  • 1995 K75 89,000 miles
I wept because I had no radials until I met a man who had no splines.
https://tinyurl.com/RillRider

Offline propav8r

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Re: 1985 K100RS Renovation
« Reply #53 on: October 30, 2017, 01:44:33 PM »
I tried my hand at wrinkle paint for the first time last night. Came out pretty good, IMO.

I still have to do the crank and cam covers...hopefully I'll get those knocked out tonight.

Cleaned and scuffed the cover...



Self-etching primer...



Counterintuitive, but you lay on three heavy coats in quick succession...



The instructions said to bake it in the oven, but the wife was home, so I hit it with the heat gun instead.



  • Franklin, NC
  • 1985 K100RS, 1978 GL1000, 1972 Kawasaki H2 750

Offline propav8r

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Re: 1985 K100RS Renovation
« Reply #54 on: November 09, 2017, 02:11:46 PM »
So my bodywork should be ready to pick up from the painters next week. Looking forward to that, big-time. I did a little more work on my crank cover to make it really pop. I haven't decided if I'll give the ribs on the valve cover the same treatment or not.



  • Franklin, NC
  • 1985 K100RS, 1978 GL1000, 1972 Kawasaki H2 750

Offline The Mighty Gryphon

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Re: 1985 K100RS Renovation
« Reply #55 on: November 09, 2017, 04:39:17 PM »
S-W-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-T...
  • In my garage in Marilla, NY
  • '91K100RS White/Blue
Current:
'91 K100RS16V "Moby Brick Too"

Past:
'94 K75RT "Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS"
'92 K100RS16V "Moby Brick" (RIP, deceased in a vehicular assault)
'94 K75S Special Edition Dakar Yellow "Cheetos"
'89 K100RS Special Edition "Special Ed"

Offline propav8r

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Re: 1985 K100RS Renovation
« Reply #56 on: November 09, 2017, 04:42:04 PM »
Got a call today that my bodywork should be ready for pickup next week. Very exciting...
  • Franklin, NC
  • 1985 K100RS, 1978 GL1000, 1972 Kawasaki H2 750

Offline beemuker

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Re: 1985 K100RS Renovation
« Reply #57 on: November 10, 2017, 12:10:46 PM »
Nice find. You could sell the luggage for more than you paid. I bought an almost mint bike but am going to have to buy some rubber bits, including the 15 old tires that 'look' new.
  • Panama City, FL
  • '00 R1100RT,’92 K75 RT,past tense:'83 R80ST, '93 K1100LT,,94 R1100RS K75s, Honda NC700, Suzuki Bandit 1200, bmw R75/5 Honda 750

Offline rbm

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Re: 1985 K100RS Renovation
« Reply #58 on: November 10, 2017, 04:28:24 PM »
Sorry to hear of your troubles propav8r.  I had issues with my painter as well when I was modifying my bike.  It took him weeks and weeks more than originally estimated.  In the meantime, he had gone out of business and taken all the parts to his house where he finished the work.  I also was glad to have them back but the workmanship was highly variable.  I wasn't a happy camper.  Fast forward four years and some of the paint is starting to peel.  I'll have to have those redone this winter.  Seems shoddy workmen are endemic everywhere.
  • Regards, Robert
Toronto, Ontario

1987 K75 - Build Blog @http://k75retro.blogspot.ca/

Offline propav8r

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Re: 1985 K100RS Renovation
« Reply #59 on: November 12, 2017, 10:36:42 AM »
I got my valve cover finished up, so the motor is buttoned up again.




And I spent an hour cussing at my new radiator hose trying to get it in...I folded it, lubed it, tried everything I could think of. No luck.

I finally got pissed enough to start rummaging through my parts bins. I found a new lower radiator hose from a Volvo 240. After cutting 4.5" off the end, it fits perfectly. It's slightly smaller diameter makes it much easier to get through the cover... And it's $53 cheaper than the OE BMW part.





  • Franklin, NC
  • 1985 K100RS, 1978 GL1000, 1972 Kawasaki H2 750

Offline propav8r

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Re: 1985 K100RS Renovation
« Reply #60 on: November 13, 2017, 10:20:05 AM »
Swingarm and final drive went back on yesterday evening...it's starting to look like a motorcycle again.

  • Franklin, NC
  • 1985 K100RS, 1978 GL1000, 1972 Kawasaki H2 750

Offline propav8r

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Re: 1985 K100RS Renovation
« Reply #61 on: November 20, 2017, 11:15:14 AM »
The first batch of parts came out of paint the other day...



  • Franklin, NC
  • 1985 K100RS, 1978 GL1000, 1972 Kawasaki H2 750

Offline propav8r

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Re: 1985 K100RS Renovation
« Reply #62 on: November 30, 2017, 06:14:35 PM »
Baby steps...

Last night, I decided to have the wheels powdercoated instead of painting them as I originally planned. Since I don't have a blind bearing puller (but this bike inexplicably came with a spare front axle), I just did this.



Going to pick up my fairings and bodywork this Saturday. I'm pretty excited. A kind member sent me the fuel cap retainer I needed, and I have a rebuild kit for that on order.

Got some tires on the way too...won't be long.

  • Franklin, NC
  • 1985 K100RS, 1978 GL1000, 1972 Kawasaki H2 750

Offline propav8r

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Re: 1985 K100RS Renovation
« Reply #63 on: December 04, 2017, 10:25:12 AM »
I picked up my fairings and bodywork from paint on Saturday, and I'm absolutely blown away. The color is incredible, and the work is very, very high quality.














I'm stoked. At this point, all I really have left is to redo the fuel lines, wait on my wheels to come back from powdercoating, and bolt the fairings back on.
  • Franklin, NC
  • 1985 K100RS, 1978 GL1000, 1972 Kawasaki H2 750

Offline propav8r

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Re: 1985 K100RS Renovation
« Reply #64 on: December 05, 2017, 09:33:53 AM »
Noticed last night that it's time for steering bearings too. It feels like the grease has just dried up. I'm gonna go ahead and order a set of steering bearings just to have them on hand in the event that my current ones are roached.

Kinda bummed I have to disassemble the brake lines to get to everything. My least favorite thing in the world is bleeding brakes.
  • Franklin, NC
  • 1985 K100RS, 1978 GL1000, 1972 Kawasaki H2 750

Offline Martin

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Re: 1985 K100RS Renovation
« Reply #65 on: December 05, 2017, 02:21:22 PM »
You need to get a vacuum bleeder, makes life a lot easier. Even easier is you have a compressor and a Nescafe Mk2 bleeder.
Regards Martin.
  • North Lakes Queensland Australia
  • 1992 K75s Hybrid, Lefaux, Vespa V twin.

Offline propav8r

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Re: 1985 K100RS Renovation
« Reply #66 on: December 05, 2017, 03:22:37 PM »
Can I pop the upper race out with a chisel from the bottom or do I need to cobble a tool? I have an idea for a tool, but if there's a lip to catch, there's no need to bother.
  • Franklin, NC
  • 1985 K100RS, 1978 GL1000, 1972 Kawasaki H2 750

Offline Martin

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Re: 1985 K100RS Renovation
« Reply #67 on: December 05, 2017, 03:39:34 PM »
I split my race by grinding a groove carefully most of the way through. Then hit it with a hammer and cold chisel it then split. I put the new race in the freezer heated the headstock up a bit with a hot air gun. I made up a tool consisting of a long threaded bolt and  two thick washers just slightly smaller than the race and wound the bolt to pull them in. Be careful to pull it in square.
Regards Martin.
  • North Lakes Queensland Australia
  • 1992 K75s Hybrid, Lefaux, Vespa V twin.

Offline propav8r

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Re: 1985 K100RS Renovation
« Reply #68 on: December 06, 2017, 11:11:02 AM »
So I figured I'd go ahead and disassemble the steering head before I ordered bearings just to see what I was working with. When I got everything apart, it was very obvious there had been water ingress issues, which rusted the bearing and dried up the grease. Aside from being ugly, the bearings and races looked okay. I spent a few minutes with some kerosene and emery cloth, and managed to bring them back.







Steering is nice and smooth now...




For reference, here's what it was like before:




Sure, new bearings aren't prohibitively expensive, but these have pleeeeenty of life left in them.
  • Franklin, NC
  • 1985 K100RS, 1978 GL1000, 1972 Kawasaki H2 750

Offline champ7fc

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Re: 1985 K100RS Renovation
« Reply #69 on: December 07, 2017, 04:29:45 PM »
Beautiful paint job, I am in the process of a complete rebuild/ restoration of a 1985 K100 RS. I plan to have all the plastic repainted and after viewing the parts in the car was wondering if you could give me an idea as to the cost for repainting all those parts. The estimate would help me determine how much I needed to save for the project. Thank you, Craig
  • Staffordville, Connecticut
  • 1987 K75S, 1985K100RS

Offline propav8r

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Re: 1985 K100RS Renovation
« Reply #70 on: December 07, 2017, 05:10:27 PM »
Beautiful paint job, I am in the process of a complete rebuild/ restoration of a 1985 K100 RS. I plan to have all the plastic repainted and after viewing the parts in the car was wondering if you could give me an idea as to the cost for repainting all those parts. The estimate would help me determine how much I needed to save for the project. Thank you, Craig


Total, the repair to busted panels and paint ran me $750. That's more than I hoped to spend, but it is very well done. I took the parts to a few local shops, and nobody wanted to touch it for less than $1,000. Repairing and painting motorcycle parts is low volume, tedious stuff. Most body shops stay slammed with insurance work, and don't want to take the time to do something non-standard.


The guy who did the work is a friend who manages a shop outside Atlanta, and that helped a little with price.
  • Franklin, NC
  • 1985 K100RS, 1978 GL1000, 1972 Kawasaki H2 750

Offline The Mighty Gryphon

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Re: 1985 K100RS Renovation
« Reply #71 on: December 07, 2017, 09:12:10 PM »
When I did my RS I had quotes from $1000 to $1500 for the paint job on all the parts for a K1100RS.  By spending some time with Bondo, a bunch of wet or dry paper and high build primer I was able to get the job done for $500.

Prep work is very time consuming but requires little real skill beyond patience and a good, fussy eye.  If you need to save money on a project this can be a good place to do it.
  • In my garage in Marilla, NY
  • '91K100RS White/Blue
Current:
'91 K100RS16V "Moby Brick Too"

Past:
'94 K75RT "Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS"
'92 K100RS16V "Moby Brick" (RIP, deceased in a vehicular assault)
'94 K75S Special Edition Dakar Yellow "Cheetos"
'89 K100RS Special Edition "Special Ed"

Offline Chaos

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  • Mars needs women!
Re: 1985 K100RS Renovation
« Reply #72 on: December 07, 2017, 09:21:43 PM »
that Lufty brought back memories of when I was running one.  I got so tired of repacking it I just ran it unpacked.  And the time the baffle shot out the back on the highway..... :yes
  • sw ohio
1987 K75S    VIN 0231
Original owner, Original litter
200,000 miles (plus or minus) and 5 paint jobs
sold 6/23
2023 Ural 2WD sidecar (BMW's bastard step child)

Offline propav8r

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Re: 1985 K100RS Renovation
« Reply #73 on: December 11, 2017, 10:58:03 AM »
Well I feel right stupid. I spent hours of my weekend chasing an electical issue...

I noticed that my front parking lamp wasn't working, and since that's where my aux water temp and oil pressure gauges are wired into, I had to track down the source of the failure.

So I cut all the old, mangled wiring out and added a nice twisted pair for power and ground to each gauge, and the gauge lighting. I turned the key on, and patted myself on the back when I got 10v (I chalked this up to a low battery) at each terminal).

I put a parking lamp bulb in, and...nothing. I put a tiny tic-tac bulb for the gauge lighting in, and...nothing.

Wtf?

Pull the meter back out, and I can only read .2vdc at the bulb, with the bulb plugged in. After some headscratching, I noticed that I had +10v with the bulb out, and .2v with the bulb (any bulb, parking or gauge lamp) plugged in.

I thought that was strange, but everything else seemed to work just fine.

I grabbed my tail section and plugged that in...the brake light worked, the turn signals worked, but the rear running light did not. Strange.

I noticed that circuit was doing the EXACT same thing as the circuit at the front...10v with no bulb, dropped to .2v with a bulb plugged in.

I went to my wiring diagram and started looking...everything led back to the Bulb Monitor Unit. I thought that must be going out, but before spending $50 on a replacement, I found bypass instructions on the forum.

Tried that, no change. Damn.

Wired everthing back up, and went to bed for the night. I sat there for an hour rolling over in my head why these damn lights weren't working...

Came back the next morning, poked around a little more. Briefly considered rewiring the front and rear lights to just bypass my issue, then snapped out of it.

"It has to be something stupid" I said to myself. "What haven't I checked?"

The fuses.

No. It can't be a blown fuse. Can't be.

Guess what it was...yep, a popped #2 fuse. All that fussing and head-beating, and it was the simplest possible answer.

I replaced the 7.5 amp fuse with a 5amp, and it seems happy thus far. The PO had wired in a large, three lamp rear running light. I suspect the fuse was blown when he did that, which explains the extra relay just laying in the tailsection that took unfused power directly from the battery. That's all gone now, and we're back to a functioning, stock electrical system.
  • Franklin, NC
  • 1985 K100RS, 1978 GL1000, 1972 Kawasaki H2 750

Offline propav8r

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Re: 1985 K100RS Renovation
« Reply #74 on: December 12, 2017, 12:01:14 PM »
While I'm waiting for parts to come back from third parties, I decided to occupy my time a bit last night with a piddly project.

I live in the mountains, and over a day of riding, I'll go from 1,500' to 6,000', to 3,000', to 5,000' and back again. Stopping every time to fiddle with the altitude plug would get tiresome.

I had a spare heated grip switch I wasn't using, so I hooked that into the altitue plug wires, and repurposed an old car meet decal to show what the switch is for.

It's a little detail, but hey, kinda neat imo.



  • Franklin, NC
  • 1985 K100RS, 1978 GL1000, 1972 Kawasaki H2 750

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