K11 Owners Group

verybiased

Hey everyone,

I recently became the proud owner of a 94 K1100LT in black. 92 thousand ks on the clock and, while not in perfect condition, a good 'honest' bike as described by my engineering and bike purchasing adviser.

Anyway, during my maiden voyage (1400kms over 4 days in the australian winter) the fairing suddenly became a bit wobbly. On my return I removed some of the fairing and low and behold the upper fairing bracket is broken.

Furthermore, it looks like it has been broken and welded once before.

Anyway, I was hoping for any guidance or tips. At the moment i have sent some queries to wreckers about getting a replacement part. I'm wondering if i can get the braket welded 'in situ' or how much effort is required to extract this part for repair or replacement.

I know that Saltcreek and Off the Grid have had this problem but I will post my progress in this thred with photos and suchj for future reference.

Part 8 Is the Bracket in Question

And that is my baby. She needs your help Very Happy

endoman100 · Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2009 5:16 am Post subject:

Welcome to the board verybiased. You will make a lot of friends here. good luck with your bracket
_________________
In the words of the stones
Time Is On My Side
Yes It Is
1993 K1100RS

verybiased · Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2009 5:42 am Post subject:

Thankyou very much, I haven't frequented any forums for a while so it'll be nice to make myself at home here. I don't see too many K bikes around where i live but when i do its all very exciting. Last time, i saw a K100rs on the Hume highway and we blasted through to the capital at immediate loss of license speeds before going our separate ways. That is the connection i love about motorcycling and i'm glad there is a strong k11 community here on the internets.
_________________
Rhyseph
'94 K1100LT (Black)
'98 PX200e (Black)

John S · Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2009 6:16 am Post subject:

Welcome aboard verybiased. Don't know if this will be of much use. I had a similar bracket break on a K100RS which I fixed using thick fibreglass tape and epoxy. If my memory serves me correctly though all this bracket held was the horn. That was some four years ago and its still together.

Others will no doubt have some other ideas for you. Very helpful this site.

Cheers
_________________
1984 K100RS 1994 K1100RS 2008K1200GT

Saltcreek · Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2009 8:37 am Post subject:

Welcome VB! What would you like us to call you?

Nice looking bike. I think I like the black ones best.

I suspect a lot of us have this problem and don't know it yet. I looked at a 97 LT for sale in a shop and peeked behind the fairing and saw the cap screws that hold the bracket on way loose. I think this is the precursor to it breaking. It gets loose and vibrates and is pretty light weight for what it's expected to do. The bracket is available used for $75- $100 if I remember right. I had mine welded for $40. The guy did a great job but added so much reinforcement that it interfered with the ignition switch (IIRC) when turning the bars. I had so cut some off and repaint. It's been fine for 2000 miles so far.

I would not weld it in place. The good news is that removing the fairing turned out to be a pretty good way to get to know my relatively new bike. Flying Duck has a good tutorial somewhere on fairing removal. It's daunting the first time but I wouldn't hesitate after doing it once. It's also a good oportunity to check out the windscreen mechanism for damage and lube it.

Good luck. It's not a tough fix and it makes a huge difference.
_________________
Jim

1994 K1100LT Mystic Red, bfd, 37000 miles, sold Sad

2009 Wilderness Systems Zephyr 155 ST
2002 Litespeed titanium

beemeerr11 · Flying Brick Rider Joined: 05 Mar 2006 Posts: 168

Flying Duck · Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2009 10:43 am Post subject:

Fairing removal and re-install isn't that hard. Here's a link to where some really smart guy documented how to remove a K75Rt fairing. It's very similar to the K1100LT:

http://www.ibmwr.org/ktech/rt-fairing/k75rt_fairing.shtml
_________________
93 LT (x2)
94 RS
86-97 K75F(K75/100/1100 Frankenbrick)
86 K75C w/paralever, hi perf cams,TURBO!
91 & 92 K75Ss
91 K1
86 custom K100
14 WR250R
IBA #17739 (SS1K, BBG, 50CC)
Buy parts HERE

HoosierStu · Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2009 11:49 am Post subject:

Welcome!

I had the misfortune of dropping my K1100LT recently after acquiring it a few years ago. The drop bent the fairing bracket. I ended up finding a replacement (used) one at beemerboneyard.com.

I don't see one on their site at this time. You might want to call them to check and see.

Replacing the bracket is not hard just takes some time.
_________________
"Still can't find 6th gear" 94 K1100LT

verybiased · Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2009 11:08 pm Post subject:

Thanks everyone for your advice. I had a go at partfinder.com.au but haven't heard from anyone with a bracket yet. I rang Discount Motorcycle Wreckers in melbourne and they wanted $290 for a second hand bracket. Holy dooley!

Anyway, if i don't find a reasonably priced one soon i will just get it re welded. I only had preference to a replacement because I'd like to get this over and done with in an afternoon. I want to ride my new bike Very Happy

Saltcreek · Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2009 7:23 am Post subject:

beemeerr11 · Flying Brick Rider Joined: 05 Mar 2006 Posts: 168

Hey,
Get use to Holy Dooley, cause it doesn't stop there? BMW remember!!!

But then again, mine is about to clock over 193,000Km's and I've owned it since it had 50,000 and I havn't in actual fact done all that much Holy Dooling besides a clutch replacement and some minor things!!!

Man,,,,
I've had some fun and seen a hell of a lot of this beautiful country side in this amazing place we call Australia.

Lou
95LT

Tim (Midland Section) · Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2009 5:51 pm Post subject:

I found mine cracked & red rusty. Removing it was straight forward, once you realise that the bottom half of the fairing can remain. Best to have an assistant, otherwise you will scratch the tank DAMHIK.
Once off I found a piece of tube of a similar diameter, to act as a jig to appease the welder. Because of the proximity of the steering lock, any attempt to beef up the bracket will cause the bolts to foul. There is however room to put a good thick run of weld. I asked my geezer to do all corners, as a preventative measure.
When refitting, pay attention to adjusting (smacking with a hammer) to ensure the plate sits snugly against the headstock. The better the fit, the less likely it is to fracture again. When refitting the fairing, insert all the bolts loosely to allow it to find it's natural position without stress, before fully tightening.
HTH
_________________
Regards Tim,

Grey haired riders don't get that way by pure luck
1996 Guzzi Cali3 LAPD
1972 750 Commando
G6HRN
#485

Off the grid · Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2009 6:16 pm Post subject:

My bracket was broken and re-welded twice in 3 years. I just got it done for the new owner.

Like the Elect windshield, it's one of the "Achilles heels" of the bike.
_________________
Bane of your existence since July 2006
2007 Triumph Tiger ABS. "Sabertooth"
2009 Husqvarna TE610. "The dirty Italian mistress"

Jim · Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2009 7:29 pm Post subject:

verybiased · Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2009 10:35 pm Post subject:

Off the grid · Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2009 11:30 pm Post subject:

beemeerr11 · Flying Brick Rider Joined: 05 Mar 2006 Posts: 168

verybiased · Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 9:34 am Post subject:

Ok Update Time:

My boss gave me the day off and it was sunny so off with the fairing.

Getting the fairing off enough to extract the bracket took a bit over an hour. I expect it would have taken less time if the wiring was standard. However one of the previous owners have installed aftermarket heated grips (hot grip) and done some aggressive fiddling with the wiring and switches.

Once the front was off it became apparent why the bracket has snapped so drastically twice in its lifetime: the steering stopper which limits the range of motion of the front wheel has snapped! As such the steering is free to turn to the extreem left and right which crashes into the fairing and frame.

I suppose that explains why there is a bit of damage to the faring screw holes and such (cracked and snapped plastic etc).

The previous welding looks a bit dodgy.

At least the girl looks good naked, i'm seriously considering converting it to a standard.

So whats next... I'm going to a few metal shops to see if any would be willing to fabricate a replacement for the steering columb side of the part. Maybe see about including a section that drops down lower to act as a steering stopper. Failing that i suppose I will have to get a simple welding/reinforcement job unless a cheap part comes up somewhere.

I'll let you guys know what happens as it occurs.
_________________
Rhyseph
'94 K1100LT (Black)
'98 PX200e (Black)

Saltcreek · Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 10:17 am Post subject:

You need a new bracket.

I checked mine with a light yesterday to see how the repair is holding up. Some of my local roads are pretty bone jarring and I could imagine it vibrating itself into failure again. But it looked fine. I realized it's pretty easy to reach in with a wrench (8mm I think) and make sure the four bolts holding it to the column are snug. I still believe loosenes here is a precursor to metal fatigue failure.
_________________
Jim

1994 K1100LT Mystic Red, bfd, 37000 miles, sold Sad

2009 Wilderness Systems Zephyr 155 ST
2002 Litespeed titanium

Flying Duck · Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 10:19 am Post subject:

Where is the steering stop broken? On the frame or the fork tree?
_________________
93 LT (x2)
94 RS
86-97 K75F(K75/100/1100 Frankenbrick)
86 K75C w/paralever, hi perf cams,TURBO!
91 & 92 K75Ss
91 K1
86 custom K100
14 WR250R
IBA #17739 (SS1K, BBG, 50CC)
Buy parts HERE