K bike BOYS! Callout! 85 K100RS questions

[Sniper X]

A buddy wants to buy this locally for sale 1985 K100RS. I went to see and ride it yesterday for him. It runs GREAT, handles very stable, looks generally in good shape but is dirty. Here's the list of what I noticed.
Gear indicator shows wrong gear, and is intermittent but always shows a gear indication, but it is always wrong.
Neutral lamp is non functional.
Right front turn indicator has a ground wire broken loose.
Needs a front tyre.
Has a slight oil grunge on the belly, and the rear wheel shows signs of brake dust and or what looks like chain lube which can only be sling (very slight) from the rear diff?

That is about it, it is in great shape and shows signs of never being thrashed or ridden hard. It has not been sitting for more than about 6 months since the Original owner got too sick with Parkensons to ride and sold it to the guy who has it now. He wants 3K. I think he will negotiate, and should sincs it needs a new tyre and some work. RUN towards it or AWAY from it?

Oh, 41K and all documented service history from dealer.

[MightyChosen1]

Seems about a 1000 too high. Early K bikes just dont seem to bring the money that other BMW's of that era.

How does the speedo work? the first couple years were known for failures.

Miles are low , These bikes can easily make it to 100k miles with a little care but parts can be a little on the expensive side.

[Sniper X]

Whilst perousing the service history, I see it was replaced under warranty in 1986. It works, and does everything in the cluster except the gear indicator as stated, and the Nuetral light.

[Sniper X]

What is known to go wrong, and what should be looked at with earnest?

[Sniper X]

Just got a call from the buddy interested in this K-Brick. He says he has 2 ChiCHopprs, and 2ChiSCoots the guy who has the K bike wants. He says the K bike guy will trade the K100RS for the ChiCom bikes and $1500.00. Not only has the buddy been having one hall of a time getting rid of the Chicom bikes, he REALLY wants them gone. So I think it is easy out for him to get rid of the ChiBikes and get a nice rider in the deal. What say you?

[H96669]

Wow...and Alaska Blue!! Darn I put more milleage than that on mine in the first two years, 85/86. Best bike I ever owned. I may have one of the improved Ks now but sure can't beat that one for toughness and ease of maintenance.

Can't see from your pic, seems to have an aftermarket fork brace, good thing and so are better front springs, the OEMs are way too mushy for proper handling.

And apparently the "first year Ks" like that one have the Euro cam. Much more torque.

Darn I missed one just like that last year by a day or so, same milleage at $2,800 CA, I would have bought it.

Buy it (or your buddy) then I can dump the sales brochure on you guys....lots of Jpegs!

[Bobmws]

Sounds like a reasonable bike given the service history. $2500 would be a better deal. The gear indicator switch usually goes wonky from moisture. It's on the bottom back of the tranny,have to pull the swingarm to get to it. This would be a good bargaining point.
The oil/water pump is on the bottom front of the motor and has a weep hole. Check that for possible oil leakage causing the grunge.
There is a rubber boot on the clutch pushrod that coud weep/leak and maybe throw oil to the rear. Early K's do not have a history of final drive failure. Look at the vent on the final drive for signs of leakage.
There can be issues with the rear brake switch, and the rear reservoir can fail from UV exposure. Later models moved it out of the sun, I think it can be upgraded.
Seat and tailpiece are unique to the early models, a later seat will require a later tail piece. I don't think any of these are cause for concern, just things to be aware of.
Check the IBMWR tech pages for lots of early K fixes.

It's 12:38, he hasn't bought it yet?! Good deal on the trade.

[Sniper X]

Originally Posted by Bobmws

Sounds like a reasonable bike given the service history. $2500 would be a better deal. The gear indicator switch usually goes wonky from moisture. It's on the bottom back of the tranny,have to pull the swingarm to get to it. This would be a good bargaining point.
The oil/water pump is on the bottom front of the motor and has a weep hole. Check that for possible oil leakage causing the grunge.
There is a rubber boot on the clutch pushrod that coud weep/leak and maybe throw oil to the rear. Early K's do not have a history of final drive failure. Look at the vent on the final drive for signs of leakage.
There can be issues with the rear brake switch, and the rear reservoir can fail from UV exposure. Later models moved it out of the sun, I think it can be upgraded.
Seat and tailpiece are unique to the early models, a later seat will require a later tail piece. I don't think any of these are cause for concern, just things to be aware of.
Check the IBMWR tech pages for lots of early K fixes.

Every one of those mentioned possibly seep places are spot on! I did notice the one on the front but didn't know it was "supposed" to be a weep point! The rear resivoir is fine as is the front one. I'll have a lok at the clutch pushrod. Bummer on the sender for the gear indicator although I will tell him to cover the lcd so he can't see it is wonky since he doesn't need to know what gear he is in from an lcd anyway.

[Sniper X]

BTW when I rode it it felt pretty fast to me although this is the first tie I ever rode a K bike. Shit, now I WANT one for myself. I hope he gets it and hates it so I can buy it cheap in the spring!!!

[Lornce]

K-Bikes are good machines, Snipe. Very economical way to cover big miles in a hurry. The RS is the one to get, imho. I had an RT years ago and while I loved the motor and chassis, I could never get used to the heat trapped by the fairing. An RS would have worked much better for me.

All known issues are covered to death on the net. On the whole there's nothing to be shy of and used parts are available very reasonably from ibmwr.org and etc. I've seen people give K-bike motors and parts away.

[knary]

The rear main seals leak. There's a weep hole down between the tranny and engine. It will be wet. So long as it isn't gushing, it can be ignored for a long while.

[Sniper X]

Sounds good then. I'll tell my buddy it seems like a good deal for the CHiBikes and some cash.

[Sniper X]

Originally Posted by knary

The rear main seals leak. There's a weep hole down between the tranny and engine. It will be wet. So long as it isn't gushing, it can be ignored for a long while.

where exactly is said weep hole so I can inspect it?

Thanks all!

[Sniper X]

Originally Posted by Lornce

K-Bikes are good machines, Snipe. Very economical way to cover big miles in a hurry. The RS is the one to get, imho. I had an RT years ago and while I loved the motor and chassis, I could never get used to the heat trapped by the fairing. An RS would have worked much better for me.

All known issues are covered to death on the net. On the whole there's nothing to be shy of and used parts are available very reasonably from ibmwr.org and etc. I've seen people give K-bike motors and parts away.

Cool, I'd personally love to have one after riding this one yesterday. Seems like a great bike for little money.

[Sniper X]

he got it. Traded the ChiChoppers and Scooters for it. He had about 2k total into the chicom bikes so really got this for 2 grand. I will have it for a month or so since I told him I would detail it and if he bought the parts I'd do all fluids and have a new front tyre put on it. Pics to follow.