1996 BMW R1100GS

Well it is three and a half hours away and I am making the trip in the morning. Guy said he will hold it for me (had not had any hits on add) so here is hoping.

I will post some pics of it if and when I get it. It could be a dead pig or the side of the bike I can't see in the pics might be trashed. If so, I will not buy it and enjoy the nice winter drive home...empty. I hope the seller is a good person and is selling it with good intent.

No title, the owner walked on it and purchased another BMW.

 

Look for any signs of the engine rear main seal leaking. Replacement requires splitting the bike in two (basically).

 

k-moe, thanks for the heads up. I am still waiting for the full story from the guy, but for the price if I have to I can make it up in parts, not that I want to. My off road riding days are coming to a slow halt. I love my KLR650 but I think if I can get the R1100 running I will like the power better. The KLR will move down the road this spring if this all works out.

Thanks again!

 

-18 this morning when I left, windy as heck but she is in my stable.
DSCN0160 by Tim Brown, on Flickr
DSCN0159 by Tim Brown, on Flickr
DSCN0162 by Tim Brown, on Flickr
DSCN0161 by Tim Brown, on Flickr
Older guy had it, dropped it in a parking lot, broke the wind screen and right side HID light off. Need to run through the fuel system and check all the fluids and safety bits. Really nice shop owner took it in on trade for a Concourse he had it on hand.

Don't mind that white stuff in the background, it is a figment of our imaginations here in Wisconsin. It will go away if we just pretend it is not there

 

Jeez look at the snow Scotland is warm compared with Wisconsin. I like the look of the BMW's never tried one but mabe one day. I would be interested to hear how you get on getting the machine fixed.

 

After removing the rest of the snow off the roof, got to work on the bike today. Removed the broken HID light and some some epoxy going, should be okay to remount. Removed the wind screen side that was broken and the holding plate from under the headlight. That along with one of the engine guards will need to be welded.

The battery is so old and frozen that I don't know if it will take a charge? I will check it in the morning as to see if I can crank the bike. Took a look in the tank and the gas look clear and good, was happy about that.

Got to do the relay puzzle today, the guy I got the bike from was using my bikes relays to test other BMW's in his shop. Took a bit but all the lights came on and the fuel pump pressurized and stopped.

I have a feeling that the battery will be toast and that will need to be replaced. Just the price of looking after older bikes. Really hoping this bike just fires up it has enough battery power behind it to turn over.

Need to future out a way to get them spark plugs out, hoping I do not have to get a BMW spark plug tool.

 

Got the tank drained and off the bike, wow does that tank hold a lot ofgas. It was not clear as I thought but a little tan. I think it is a good thing I drained and will use new. The battery did not take a charge, it is a BikeMaster Gel, thinking that the gel somehow froze and just will not take a charge again. All the local stores do not have a replacement, so ordered on line, waiting on mail.

Removed the HID AUX lights and wiring, if I use them I will move the relay, fuse and excess wire to a more user friendly location. I can see no reason to ever pull the gas tank again unless the battery goes bad. I noticed when the bike was charging the little power swx LED was on. I guess the PO wanted to hit those lights without the key in the bike. I always try to run all the AUX stuff on a bike with swx power only. That way you don't have a dead battery out in the middle of no mans land just because you missed or bumped a button or swx.

 

I have been reading up on dead gel batteries and if they can be brought back to life? I guess they can. If you have a gel compatible charger, or if you run the gel battery in series with a led acid battery and us a conventional charger, it will work.

The battery in this bike was sitting in a steel transport shed for 3 yrs, hot and cold temps along with with a constant small drain on the battery killed it. I could tell when I brought it into a warm area, the gel was frozen. At first my charger (conventional) said it was "bad" but then after it warmed up a bit and trying it a few times, it started to take a charge. Putting it on a battery tender type charge seemed to do the trick.

It will not go back into the bike, but it is nice to know it can be revived, although I have not yet tested it to see how the DCV and or amps hold up.

 

Got the battery in, K&N filter cleaned, dried and new oil. Put the tank back on and add a little high octane gas. Turned the key on and system pressurized hit the key and well, she turns over, spark @ the plugs but no engine run. I have it a little starter fluid and it did try to run. I will pull the fuel injectors tomorrow and give them a good clean. Still have the wire and battery setup from the K100 I worked on a yr ago. Hoping that will be it, then I can put it on the lift and work on the side stand issue. Needs to be either tightened or re-tap the hole that is there and put in a bigger bolt. I think I will extend the side stand too, don't like it when the lean so far over.

 

Careful with lengthening the side stand. The GS bikes carry their weight up a little higher than an XJ does. Wouldn't want to see her tip over from the wind.

 

k-moe thanks, I think it is a common issue wit the R1100's that the side stand comes lose. I have to get the bike on the lift so I can take a better look at it. I know its moving much more than it should. I think that one of the bolts is stripped and or hollowed out.

Top heavy, wow I guess so. I know my KLR will even make you guess now and then if she will be tipping or not. This thing has a huge gas tank, so I am sure I will have a issue or two riding it the first few times. Will be interesting to say the least. With the price and being fuel injected, I could not pass it up.

 

She is alive!!! I took care of the plugs:
DSCN0163 by Tim Brown, on Flickr
They were Bosh and could be original.
The valves were out of spec on both intake and exhaust on both sides:
DSCN0164 by Tim Brown, on Flickr
Put her on the lift so I could take a look at that nasty side stand:
DSCN0170 by Tim Brown, on Flickr
There was the issues, one of the bolts has come out, so the side stand was able to move and or tilt the bike much more than is should. I took the other bolt out, cleaned both holes with carb cleaner and compressed air. Put some blue thread lock on both of them and torqued them down.
I don't have any original turn signals for this bike and the left one was missing. I had two LED running and turn lights so I slapped them on. Mounted the head light and it looks okay.
DSCN0172 by Tim Brown, on Flickr
Still waiting on the oil filler cover parts and I am missing the rail light cover. I am also having a issue with the right rear turn signal. I think I might have to swap out the one of took off the front to the rear. Will have to wait a day or so as other things are getting in the way.

 

Got the four parts in the mail for the oil cap. Interesting little setup for that. It went together well and is now stopping the oil from blowing out of the filler hole. Got all the paper work and check sent off in the mail to the good old WI DMV for the bonded title. Normally takes about 6 weeks to get that back.

Syncing the carbs will be on the plate today along with checking that rear ABS sensor, only light that stays on when she is running and all the "checks" have been done by the on board system. I have been thinking of removing the ABS system all together. It would save some weight and I have never ridden on a bike that had one. Not saying I could not ride with it, just thinking if I can't get it working correctly I don't want that light in my face all the time.

 

What a nice day! Yes above 40 in Wisconsin! Okay I am good now. Started the R1100GS today and it started much better. Sounds good but the ABS was or is still flashing. I have to do a little more reading to see what else I have to do. I don't know if the lights will go out without moving the the wheels? If the wheels don't move then how do the ABS sensors know what is going on?

Here are some pics of the dirty sensors back and then front.
DSCN0187 by Tim Brown, on Flickr
Here are the shims ..
DSCN0186 by Tim Brown, on Flickr
A very dirty sensor.
DSCN0188 by Tim Brown, on Flickr
Here is the front one, this was more or less welded in by junk. The shims on both the front and back had to be cleaned so they would go back on and not be thicker than they should be.
DSCN0190 by Tim Brown, on Flickr

 

There is a huge BMW section on ADV Rider.
I'm sure that dozens of people there will be glad to help you diagnose the ABS.
GSpot

 

k-moe,
thanks for the point, I more or less forgot about that site. I am a member for my KLR and yes they have way too much info, good info though. I do think I have the fix for it thanks. I also got all the lights to work, just corrosion on connections and lights.

Need to change out the tail light, the old one words but I am missing the lens for it. I have seen many universal tail lights out there that I think will fit. Need to more shopping.

 

Got the brakes bled, seat back on and rolled her off the lift. I think the front ABS sensor is working and as soon as I ride her, the back may re-set as well. Now to wait on the paper work...fun times. We still have 8" of snow in the woods. I ski now and then, plenty of snow out there to ski on for a while yet.

 

Took the BMW down the road for a short trip, the ABS system warning lights all went out, that is the good. Underwhelming is my first thoughts for the ride. I thought the BMW with a boxer type engine would have a little bit of pep to the throttle. I was wrong. I will sync the throttle bodies to make sure that it the are both pulling the same. As for now, thinking that I will not keep this bike, but that was just the first ride.

The speedo cable is broken as well as the neutrel light swx not sending power to the light. The first gear is also so high, I can see why people tip this bike on take off until they get used to the clutch and the high first gear.

 

Got the correct "O" ring for the oil filler cap. That is just a odd filler cap to have on a motorcycle. The "N" light was just disconnected under the seat, I like easy fixes. As for the throttle bodies, not too sure if I need to rebuild one or both of them. The right one shaft does seem to move when the she is running. I am guessing that is why I had a heck of a time getting the TB's in sync. I got them very close and the bike does seem to run much better. This bike is a cold blooded beast! Once it warms up it really seems to run like you would think a BMW should.

Will order the Speedo cable and keep that part of the bike apart until it is fixed.

 

Speedo cable came in Get that on and see if I can get her back down the road. Hope this next trip down the road is better then the first time.