R80/7 + a newb = a long road to cafe

so, uh, why is it in a mouth?

Good tips all! I just got a replacement oil pan gasket today, so I'll probably do the oil and filter this weekend:) I'll be ever so gentle on the oil pan screws!

In other news! I joined the Airhead Beemer Club and the BMW MOA so I'll have access to those resources. You can read the MOA forums but not participate or view attached images, but now i'm good to go if I stump you guys

Lastly, does anyone have any experience with the emulators I mentioned in my previous post? I've been reading apt13's fork rebuild thread and was wondering if these are a worthwhile addition to the front suspension?

Thanks again!
Spencer

You'll like Paul Glaves' and Matt Parkhouse's columns. They talk about how stuff works. The Airheads forum on the MOA site is actually pretty good and fairly active. There's some pretty deep knowledge there.

Having access to those kind of information sources is one of the great things about owning a BMW.

And that picture of the ratchet in the mouth is just gross. Don't do that, OK?

Heck, I couldn't find a decent photo of a palm ratchet and this was a bizarre photo that I came across that I had to share with you. Got your attention, eh?

Don't worry a lot about stripping the 6mm (10mm wrench size) bolts, just be aware that you need a light touch. If they do strip, and they will from time to time, helicoil them. No big deal.

When the oil pan is off, be sure to check the oil pump pickup bolts for snugness. And check the bottom of the oil pan for debris. Coppery flakes are eyebrow raisers. A small amount of fine magnetic material and a small bit of black rubbery flakes are normal-ish timing chain/tensioner wear.

I've come to a seriously disturbing conclusion tonight - I need a bigger garage.

Sadly, since the my last post I don't have a lot of progress to report on the bike. But last night i inspected the throttle assembly, and found that I might have to replace some parts there (there is this weird gear assembly completely different from my Honda). But I did some cleaning and re-greasing and put it back together. I was supposed to use some lithium based grease, but i only have multi-purpose stuff. However! A friend and I are going shopping tomorrow! Hopefully we'll be able to pick up a whole bunch of maintenance products and fluids and goos and I'll start getting ready for more projects:)

Tonight I reassembled the exhaust (taken off to fix the center stand) - and found one of the exhaust nuts and the threads on the cylinder head were pretty munged up and covered with some sort of blue rubberish goo. I got it cleaned up and anti-siezed and it threaded together just fine despite it being so ugly - i'll have to get a pic of it next time i take it apart. I had planned to leave the exhaust off until I changed the oil, but I decided I needed the space the pieces were taking up AND! I might get to meet an honest-to-goodness "Airhead" on Sunday (the internet is a crazy place of learning and bringing people together! ((among other things ))). If it works out, I'll ride the bike over to his place, and upon my return home, change the oil while the bike is nice and warm:) We'll see what happens.

I hope everyone has a great weekend:)
Spencer


I don't know what lithium grease is, but this stuff was pretty gunky - I'm going out tomorrow to find some correct replacement lithium grease...


not bad, but some wear on the gears, and on the bottom of the throttle grip is a gouge that seems to be from an adjustment screw (not shown)

Hi! Welcome to Paradise!

I appears as if you're off to a good start. By asking the right questions and joining the Airheads you've demonstrated real promise and in a few years you'll be assembling Bing carbs in your sleep!

About working on your bike...

Do a complete survey of the bike, noting everything that needs to be done. That way you can prioritize your tasks and take care of the most important things first. It also makes parts ordering cheaper if you buy in largish batches. Then, keep notes about everything as you service the bike. I like to include dates and parts changed. I also like to catalog my receipts but thats just me.

If you need parts, Bobs BMW is a good source because they have everything but theyre also pretty expensive. Check with the guys here here for discount sources and also look at IBMR's "marketplace", the MOA flea market, Ebay, Moto Bins, EUBMW and a few other places. You'll find em! Its also sometimes good to talk to Wireworker, Wirespokes, me, and a few other members who either offer services or Airheads related goods. Lots of the members here have been into Airhead BMWs for most of their lives, some of us are professionals and no matter what, theres a wealth of expertise, information and bullshit available here 24/7.

Oh.... And to answer your question, Emulators are after-market cartridge valve systems, that can be fitted to vintage forks (Like the ones on our old BMW's!) that will make them perform more like modern adjustable forks. The conversions are fairly popular and many users have reported good results but the system can be fiddly to get set up correctly. Do a search. Theres plenty of info from previous threads posted here on ADV.

The saving grace of the bike you own is that the /6, /7 ATE type forks are actually one of the better sets that BMW manufactured. If the system is clean and has the correct springs and oil installed, it can be a very nice working front end. The main limitation that you'll run into is the woefully inadequate single disc brake on your bike. If I were you, I'd begin saving my cash and plan on buying and installing a dual disk set-up asap. I'm dead serious. You need better brakes and dual front disks are the answer. Just do it!

PS: And you know that the kick starter is for emergency use only, right? In other words, don't use it. I'm serious!

This may be the first time that the throttle gear has been lubed. General purpose grease will work, but I find that lithium (white) grease stiffens less in cold weather.

The exhaust threads can be a disaster if not anti-seized periodically. If the exhaust nut is really bad, replace that as it can make marginal exhaust stub threads better. But the exhaust stub threads can be repaired (weld and re-tap) reasonably. Make sure that the two sealing rings are there, and properly placed. They are concave and convex (an innie and an outie). The convex one is split and goes next to the head. The concave one is solid and goes next to the exhaust nut. Tighten to a good grunt with the exhaust wrench and slather on plenty of anti-seize.

Hey Spence,

The carbs are actually not as difficult as you may think once you get into them. I have the flat-tops on my 78 R100/7 as well and am getting ready for a complete rebuild from o-rings to floats, to shaft o-rings. Another local airhead and I just purchased an ultrasconic cleaner that I'm dying to try out. If you want, swing by the shop and you can give me a hand and observe some details while I'm doing mine. That may give you some comfort and confidence when you (we) do your own.

Lets try to get together on Sunday if we can and we can do an overview of some things. I also have the single ATE' front disc brake, not the best in the world - and even though they don't get a lot of good reports I've learned from proper set-up and adjustment the R100/7 stops remakably quite well and even needs modulation not to lock the front wheel. Especially after rebuilding the MC. Four finger and fist operation, not two finger. Here's a link to my 14mm under the tank MC rebuild if you ever decide to take that project on.

http://tinyurl.com/3saerp7

And caliper,

http://tinyurl.com/7nf7re7

Give me a shout if you're free this Sunday. Having trouble with my email, so give me a call, you have my info - right? Lots of more knowledgable hedz in the city than myself, so what I can't help with, we can contact those who can.

-Mike V. / San Diego

The latest torque spec I could find for the oil pan bolts is 6.7 ft.lbs. Really just a good snugging as previously suggested.The pan gasket goes on dry if you're going to replace it. Forks are F&S, Fichtel and Sachs, they've been using the same ones since '68 with a few mods during the years.Concerning the carbs,they have the diaphragms connected to plastic rings which make them more expensive to buy than the regular type. Somewhere out here there is a method of removing the diaphragms by boiling in water, that way you can use the available diaphragms and possibly save a buck.

Woodgrain

I could have swore I read in my Clymers to use Hylomer gasket sealer - I'll recheck!

Picked up some white lithium grease today and will be redoing the throttle after a proper cleaning:)

Thanks! and I have no idea how to use the kick start yet, so no chance of me using it in a non-emergency or otherwise

Mike! I'm looking forward to it - will call you in a bit...

For some reason this car makes me think of Laurel and Hardy.

The oil pan gasket has a heat-activated sealant on it and supposedly doesn't need additional sealant. Contrarywise, I usually rub a very faint application of silicone sealant ("Blue Goo") onto both sides of the oil pan gasket. This gives a bit of extra leak protection ("Belt and Suspenders") and also serves as a release compound so that next time the gasket will easily peel off the sealing surfaces instead of having to be scraped off.

Your call.

hey man.
good meeting you and seeing the bike.
I can't get over how clean & original it looked inside the headlamp bucket, should have snapped a pic of that to share here.

let me know if you want a hand going through those forks... it should go smoothly

love that color

It was so great to meet such awesome guys as Renner and Mike V. this weekend. I bow before their knowledge and generosity!

Mike has virtually the same bike as I do (a 1978 100/7 even the same color!) so the moment he saw mine he could see all the little things that were wrong (missing bolts, PO changes, etc), and he knows all the tricks and problems! Then Renner showed up and was kind enough to take my bike for a spin and give me an opinion on it's performance.

Between the 2 of them they gave me oodles of fantastic advice and tons to think about! I can't thank them enough for meeting with me and helping me get started (AND! offering further help!). I was blown away.

Key take away notes: (there was more of course, but I'm focusing on these 2 for the time being)
Mike is worried about my transmission - I'm going to try to change the fluid and check the magnetic bolt this week and report back
Renner is worried about my steering bearings (and boy, after comparing Mike's 100 to my 80, my steering bearings are CRAP) - so I'm going to try to get some parts and get ready for a complete fork/neck tear down...

good times:)
Spencer

A good source for bearings and races http://http://www.allballsracing.com/. I would replace the races at the same time. See if you can borrow a bearing/race puller.

Fifty percent of the time (probably more) the steering head bearings are ok; old sticky grease makes it feel like they're trashed.

A big +10 on that. I wonder how many head bearings have been replaced when all they needed was cleaning and fresh grease.

true.

won't know for sure till we look at the rollers & races.

Good to know. You to wire. What's the best way to clean them? I just blew mine out by over preloading them. Less than a year old. I'm a dumb ass

Clean with mineral spirits/parts cleaner solvent with final cleaning by spray brake cleaner (or carb cleaner) And plenty of compressed air, but don't spin the bearings when dry.