I've slacked off since my intro post about a month ago, and figure it is time to start a thread on my ongoing 1979 R100T project.
The bike, no name yet - we'll just call it the pit for now, was running and in use when I bought it last fall, but had definitely seen better days. Apparently the previous owner(s) must have thought that the dirt and oil congealing on everything added character or reduced wind resistance?
I had been obsessing with getting an older BMW for months and immediately fell in love with the pit's potential. The After a bit of haggling and an exchange of $ for title, I was able to drive the pit the roughly 40 miles home with a friend following in my car... It was a ride not without its trials and tribulations and included numerous stops, luggage that wouldn't stay closed, and almost losing a bar end mirror that wasn't tightened properly.
That ride home represents 98% of my time in the saddle of a BMW airhead! The other 2% being the short test ride before purchase. (yes... I bought the first one I looked at.)
So the moment the bike was home and in the garage I started to take things off of it. I was pretty enthusiastic and not very organized so the documentation at this stage is sparse. Unfortunately that means little photographic evidence of the mess I've cleaned up to date. I am sure this will result in a few "Where does this wire go?" forum questions somewhere down the line. Luckily I did manage to get most parts into little labeled zip lock bags to keep the future head scratching to a manageable level.
This is my first real project bike (though not my first bike project!) and it quickly brought me to the realization that something was missing in my life... That something was a part cleaner. This realization turned into a lot of internal debating and research which derailed progress on the pit for a short time. I wanted to avoid flammable or harsh chemicals in the house, and am really limited on work space as well.
What I ended up with is a cheap plastic Harbor Freight table top parts washer full of Simple Green. It's probably not as fast or efficient as a large solvent washer, but it fits nicely on my table saw and has gotten the job done so far!
Anyhow... cut to a month and a half after purchase and I was finally down to an empty frame. It was time for refinishing... I rushed out to the local powder coating shop with the frame, center stand, and luggage rack and had them finished in Solar Black. It's a satin finish with a bit of a sheet to it in sunlight.
Seeing how good the frame looked made me reevaluate all the bits I'd skipped thinking I would just paint them later; including a swing arm, battery tray, headlight bucket and a few smaller bits. Needless to say I now have a pile building up for "Powder Coat round 2".
Further reinforcing the bike's working name of money pit I also started looking for possible upgrades over the past several months and have ended up ordering a number of tasty parts. These include but are not limited to: 1 billet top fork clamp, 1 used braced swing-arm, Race-tech springs and emulators for the forks, some very nice shocks from Works Performance (to hopefully match up nicely with the Race-tech bits up front), reconditioned valve covers, a stainless steel hardware kit (lots of nuts and bolts!), replacement tank badges, various bearings, seals, gaskets, etc.
Here's a shot of the shocks...
That brings the project pretty much up to date! It's slow progress with the pit, owing mainly to my having a busy work schedule and also being a relatively new dad. (Unfortunately the munchkin isn't at the "hand me a wrench" stage yet!) I'll try to add more updates and photos as things progress. You can find a few more photos I've taken over here:
http://www.vintagebmw.org/v7/node/8334
Please feel free to offer advice, ideas, and if necessary, criticism.
Thanks!
- Mike
