What did you do to / ride to with your Beemer today?

CDNolddude said:
Nice. You have a 78 550/4? Bought new one back in 78. Great bike but had bad valve guides twice. Kept it till I got my new 85 wing.
Got a pic?
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Sans tank emblems while chasing pinhole leaks, but it always fires right up and likes to scream through the gears.
 
510 miles of gravel smiles interspersed with requisite tar and a couple hours of slab, particularly to get home after dark. Maybe the last chance this year to see bluff country of SE Minnesota and the great expanse of the Mississippi south of the Twin cities. Took the Bavarian stone crusher, aka R1100GS out since temps weren't much below freezing at the beginning/end of the day to warrant a full RT fairing. Each time I get on a different Beemer there's a few German phrases ringing between my ears that equate to "Fahrvergnugen". And today neither myself, another driver nor the Bavarian engineers got a full throated "Du Arschluck!" All was lovely. Save the good language for tomorrow when I peel back the fairing of an airhead RT and do the hysterectomy required to exchange oil filters. Perhaps someone across the street fishing in the lake can find that entertaining.
 
centralMN said:
510 miles of gravel smiles interspersed with requisite tar and a couple hours of slab, particularly to get home after dark. Maybe the last chance this year to see bluff country of SE Minnesota and the great expanse of the Mississippi south of the Twin cities. Took the Bavarian stone crusher, aka R1100GS out since temps weren't much below freezing at the beginning/end of the day to warrant a full RT fairing. Each time I get on a different Beemer there's a few German phrases ringing between my ears that equate to "Fahrvergnugen". And today neither myself, another driver nor the Bavarian engineers got a full throated "Du Arschluck!" All was lovely. Save the good language for tomorrow when I peel back the fairing of an airhead RT and do the hysterectomy required to exchange oil filters. Perhaps someone across the street fishing in the lake can find that entertaining.
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My R100 was naked so the oil filter change was no problem but doesn't the two part filter with a hinge make the RT filter change easier?
 
Correct that the hinge helps a lot as exhaust can stay put with a little wiggle and squeeze at the perfect angle. Challenge is to work around the lower fairing half - loosened up but hanging on the crash bar. Perhaps I should buy a long 5mm allen wrench to make this job easier next time....if there is a next time. Only 1000 miles in 1.5 years so it is evidently out of favor but desireable as I get older and have more time to tinker....someday retirement? Of course the headlight connection is loose as of a month ago when I last rode it some distance during daylight. Last week to get an after work ride in and warm the fluids for the fluid change I rode to work holding down the high beam flasher switch with my thumb. One pod light wasn't adequate light here in deer country. Anyone need a 40,000 mile '91 R100RT? Beautiful machine. Maybe it will scrub itself and advertise itself come spring? Until then it will look pretty and supply extra fuel to snowblower, wood splitter, chainsaw, snowmobile etc and thus make lifting the tank easy work.
 
"I never trailer my bikes. But when I do, it's because she had been injured". The injury to her and the rider was not her's or the rider's fault.

Drove up to Knoxville this morning, and picked her up from BMW of Alcoa, a little south of Knoxville. Looked like new :wave1:

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Playing around found I had a right side headlight burned out. Real tricky to get out with out taking all the tupper ware off. When I finally got it out I noticed there was another bulb at the bottom of the housing. Took a while to fish that one out. To my suprise it was a new bullb never used. Works just fine and saved a few bucks.
 
Al st1100 said:
Playing around found I had a right side headlight burned out. Real tricky to get out with out taking all the tupper ware off. When I finally got it out I noticed there was another bulb at the bottom of the housing. Took a while to fish that one out. To my suprise it was a new bullb never used. Works just fine and saved a few bucks.
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Didn’t you have the little “headlight out” icon on the multifunction panel?

In keeping with topic I rode 52 miles to coffee and back home.
 
Rolled it off the trailer, scratched my head again about the rear main seal leaking, then figured out it was a good day to visit friends with family from Portalnd on the ST1100 hack. Turns out they all wanted rides even though 35 and misty was the theme for the weather again.

The longer story is a trailer trip to Kansas City, and on the second day riding the "adventurous" Garmin roads towards west Texas a new oil leak was fragrant on the catalytic converter. Hmmm. Then the clutch slipped whacking the throttle uphill at about 80. Lubbock TX was only 40 miles away. A few phone calls and the options were a Uhaul one way for a grand. Repair at the dealer in Plano was 3 grand. But turning around and easing toward my trailer was the cost of a hotel room, plus gas of course. And the joys of the finest wind protection on two wheels as I was heading into the rains that lingered in the center of our continent for about 5 days - now it's light flurries and still grey. So my wonder is did the rear main seal only leak oil because I overfilled it getting overexcited and hasty to leave, or did some extra pressure push the flimsy looking lip of that seal outward and it will continue leaking like a sieve until my mechanic disembowels the beast. (Fortunately for me, he works for free, all I have to do is feed me and put up with random bouts of swearing and manic evening sessions with the wrenches).... Time will tell. There was less leaking as the oil level lingers now in the top 3/4 of the sight glass. And the clutch never slipped again, even with a surge of 80 mph the last 20 minutes of my return to the trailer.

*update - now that it's all apart and starting to replace seals, it was not the rear main, but the input shaft bearing to the tranny that took a crap. Trying used ebay tranny. So far only failed to properly seat outer rear main seal (ordered another after wrecking it to get it out) and ordered wrong input shaft seal so that's on it's way. Yes, new clutch as well. Should be championship if it goes for a thousand miles over the summer. Try the Christmas trip again next year maybe?

Pictures of departing Minne-barely-snow-ta which is what it looks like again with a dusting of flurries before the sun comes out tomorrow. And taking a break under the shelter of a closed gas station at the Kansas border - having coffee in a very fitting place, Coffeyville.

Looks like the roads today are clear of anything frozen, so maybe time for a GS ride with heated socks. Not so much leg protection on that one. Has good agressive tires to meander down some damp gravel roads. R1150RT depart 2023.jpgCoffeyville coffee.jpg
 
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Wrenched some more on an R1150RT with the tranny issue, then took a proper ride. 100 miles and probably got to the ton on an open stretch ,just because. Seems this R1100GS has the speedometer wrong the opposite way. somewhere between 92 and 95 would be 100 I think. First time since the gravel roads in the shad iced over was there enough melted on the edges to roll through gracefully. Today was 60 degrees warmer than two weeks ago when I was out with a sidecar and didn't have enough traction to make it up my driveway. Today there were enough dry and sloppy slushy mucky gravel roads to be toured that I broke out the hose and removed layers of mud and hopefully any wayward salt. Only a few roads were chalky. Good to be out on two wheels again and in the sunshine!
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Mellow said:
Nice!... very clean
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Thanks. Ohlins front and rear and had pipes Jet Hot Coat in OKC. It had that fiberglass wrap on the headers when I got it. Removed the wrap and it left the header hideous. Could not scrub the burned in pattern off so blast and Jet Hot Coat.
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Without the bags, mounts, and rear pegs. That's the way I have been riding it.
 
Mophead said:
Thanks. Ohlins front and rear and had pipes Jet Hot Coat in OKC. It had that fiberglass wrap on the headers when I got it. Removed the wrap and it left the header hideous. Could not scrub the burned in pattern off so blast and Jet Hot Coat.
11.jpg
Without the bags, mounts, and rear pegs. That's the way I have been riding it.
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Very nice!!
 
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