My Winter Project (I must be nuts)

Well after hanging with a lot of my friends in their local vintage bike club,
and stopping by the airhead rally in Tellico this year I decided it was time to find something old to spend some time and money on.

I found this.














I'm not sure if it was a smart thing to do because this bike is ROUGH.
It started life as a 1982 R100RT. It was sold locally, and serviced by the dealer for a good part of it's life. Somewhere something happened and it just wasn't loved anymore. It almost looks like it sat in a barn for a bit. It did not have any of the fairing but it did have the bags. I probably wouldn't have re-used the fairing anyway. (I'm thinking S or CS for a finished bike.)
The bike was advertised locally so I first got some pics and made arrangements to go look at it. The pics didn't do it justice, it looked a lot worse in person. It did run and I rode it around the block so I bought it at what I think is a fair price.

As of a couple of weeks ago I am here.























On wednesday I had a bare frame, wheels, and a box of various brackets and mounts. I dropped all of it off at the powdercoaters for a fresh coat.

Just think of how cool it will be when your done (are we ever really done?).

Done? You have been!

No seriously, I think its cool that you can doo so much yourself. Its a brave man that meddles under the surface of those teutonic beasts! Good luck!

Simplicity has it's merits.

You'll have a fun and reliable bike that's easy to modify and screw around with. And tougher than hell, too. It could be a cafe bike one year, a tourer the next, even a "poor man's GS" if you wanted. All pretty much bolt-on, too.

Looks like a fun project.

There's nothing better in my opinion than tearing into a new, unknown project. An the best part, you become an expert on that particular bike. If anything ever happens to your or another, you know exactly what happened and how to fix it.

Keep us posted with your progress.

any idea on mileage?

! ! Keep us posted!

Thanks for the replies guys. I will post updates and pix along the way. I think original mileage is at 54,000. I don't think I will worry with or do anything to the bottom end. I will most likely pull the heads to check the valve guides and seats. They could propably use freshening up and that will give me an opportunity to replace the push rod tube seals.
This bike is a return to simplicity for me too. I previously had a 1988 R100RS (my first Bimmer) that I put a little over 50,000 miles on. Loved that bike and wished I never sold it, you know how it is.
I haven't really decided on a final color scheme but leaning towards the stock red smoke. The wheels wil be done a gold/titanium powercoat along with the rear brake stay and bracket.(if I don't like the way the wheels look I may go to a dark gun metal color) The frame and most bits will be satin black with a few things done in gloss black.

Mike

Nice bike! I got the 83 version with more milage, and the fairing but no bags.
I found that the splines in the rear hub where the wheel goes have been worn so much that half of the hub splines are GONE! That is, half of each spline is worn away. The wheel splines look good, though. Keep us posted on your progress. I've got the red smoke paint job and I'm not sure I'm going to keep it.

Robin

I have been thinking the same thing latley,That I need a airhead project bike.looks good.Hey,how do you like the element,auto or 5spd? Thinking of replacing my 88 trooper with one.

The nice thing about old airheads is you can find them in about any condition. It just depends on how much you want to spend initially and how much work you want to put into it.
Love the element. Automatic trans. I get around 25-26 mpg in it driving easy. I work out of it and put anywhere from 20-200 mi a day on it. Put another way, if it was wrecked I would buy another one in a heartbeat.

Mike

Hey Mike, Looking forward to seeing how you progress with this refurbishing of the bike! Looks as if you have made a Good Start. Keep us posted with Pics and details! and keep an eye OPEN for the dates for the "Spring Fling" for Airheads, in Tellico Plains, TN this April.


Boojum!

Will Do Booj,

I was down there this fall for part of the day on Saturday, saw troutrider, he recognized me from a previous GPS thing in the nooga. Don't know if I'll have this one done by then but I still have a couple of other bikes I can ride.

Mike

Well as time goes by things are progressing. This is the slowest part of the process I'm in now. Most everything has been disassembled with major parts having gone to powdercoat and some returned already.









Swingarm ready for driveshaft installation. I need to borrow my friends press again for this.







Some pictures of the finished frame and forks installed. The frame and most brackets are done in a satin finish. The fork lowers and a few other things are done in a gloss finish.
I still have some minor things to disassemble and have powdercoated like master cylinders for the brakes and handlebar switchgear/throttle housing.
The brake calipers are getting coated now and last I checked the coating for the wheel had not made it in yet. I expect the wheels to be done any time now. It would be nice to have a roller to move around in a crowded garage.
Other things in process are engine disassembly and evaluation.


























Cylinder heads, valve seats and faces have typical wear for a 50K mi motor and will need to be reconditioned. Cylinder wear looks negligible and I will probably just hone and go with it as is.
Clutch is worn in last pic and will be replaced.
Some time being scheduled for machine work. Lots of web surfing for pieces and parts,(love the on-line micro fiche). I also have a ways to go in cleaning up major components like the final drive and transmission.













I have plenty to keep me busy for a while. Hope everyone has a Merrry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Mike

I WISH i had half of your aptitude and mechanical ability! good luck and looks great. looking forward to updates!

+1, Oohhh, If only!

Nice Job, Mike! That frame and forks is looking good. Keep up the good work, keep us posted, and we ALL look forward to seeing this bike sometime in 07, at an Airhead Event or some twisty road!!!!


Boojum!

Please keep the updates coming.

especially since i seem to be developing a worsening case of "airhead-itis"! :eek1

where can one find the online microfiche? edit: AHA! awesome...

I Believe MaxBMW has a good one.