K11 Owners Group

[Glawseagle]

I have had my 1998 K1100LT 2 years and have covered, 20,000 more or less trouble free miles. It now has 80,000 miles on the clock. Only one other owner and its been looked after.

The bike is an excellent work horse and covers the 40 mile commute to work easily. Hence, I have decided to keep the bike ….. forever.

I have read reports on this forum of serious high mileage K1100LT’s …..200,000 miles for instance…..

http://www.k11og.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8272

So, advice please?

What tips can you give to extend the longevity of my K1100LT and get it up to the 150,000 mile mark?.

Obviously change oil very regularly …. But any others?

Thanks in advance
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"Lovely stuff" ...Not my words Michael... the words of Shakin' Stevens.

[Flying Duck]

Regular maintenance and don't beat the snot out of it.
_________________
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

[Ted]

There are a lot of maintenance items that get forgotten and will affect the reliability of a high mile bike, things like brake fluid, valve adjusts, fork fluid and coolant. Also, perishable items that can degrade over time. Motronic is great in that it can compensate for a lot of little issues that creep up, the downside is that you might finally find out about them when something becomes too much of a problem for Motronic to work around. The biggest culprit of this is intake system rubber like the little breather hose.

I have already vowed that once my K75RT hits 75,000 miles I will go in and do an extensive service and while I am at it replace the breather hose, the rubber around the throttles, and the coolant hoses. While I am at it I will probably also do the monkey nutz, battery tray mounts, swingarm rubber boot, and inspect, clean and treat all the electrical connections. Probably also worth changing the fuel pump mount collar, fuel lines, and give it a full spline lube replacing anything that looks suspect while I am in there.

If all of this should happen while I am for some reason riding right by Drake's place, well that would be pure coincidence
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Ted
KOG#1

[Ernie-NH]

Hi Ted.....

Let me know when that "coincidence" is about to take place and I'll ride out there with you... ie: six hands are better than two !

Glawsegle:....

For what its worth... my old '76 R100/7 is now over 180k and with regular maintenance and good lubrication at all times... it will do another 180k with no problem. My K1100LT, though new to me last year, is approaching the 70k mark, has always been maintained by its one previous owner, and other than the strange "sounds" will easily outlive me IF either of us gets to 210k ! Airheads ( ie: old R-bikes ) and K-bikes are two of the most durable and robust motorcycles ever designed and built. Its us that have to do our part to fulfill the promise of the machine !

Good luck, ride safe and ride often!........// Ernie-NH
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AMA,, American Deaf Bikers
Airhead Beemers Club
'11 G650gs
'95 K1100LT
'76 R100/7

[Glawseagle]

Thanks chaps ….

So I guess it’s all to do with administering tender loving care?

Servicing isn’t a problem, although, and I don’t know for sure, the valve adjustments may be difficult.

All the fuel lines have been cleaned and the main rear wheel bearing replaced. I have also taken to riding with more due care and attention ….. and to within the speed limit

I will start looking out for perishables like the air intake, air filter etc ….

I was going to trade her in for a newer R1150RT … then I realised, with a little bit of tidying up, what a fantastic bike I have …. I just need to keep on top of the little jobs and she will last forever …. Hopefully!!!
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"Lovely stuff" ...Not my words Michael... the words of Shakin' Stevens.

[Ernie-NH]

Good morning "Glaws...."

Re the "valves".... since you've got 80k on her now, why dont you have a BMW shop inspect the valves and bring everything back to spec.. so a few $ now will save you from having to worry about that for at least the next 60k. That way you can focus on the perishables and forget about the engine for a good while to come !

Good luck..........// Ernie-NH
_________________
AMA,, American Deaf Bikers
Airhead Beemers Club
'11 G650gs
'95 K1100LT
'76 R100/7

[Phil Marvin]

Hi, Glawseagle,
I bought my '96 K1100LT with 14299 miles on it, and sold it in 2005 with 124k on it. It now is still running with over 150k on it. I checked the valve clearances every once-in-a-while, probably every 20k or so. Adjustments were done at 32k and 84k miles, It is easy to check clearances yourself. To adjust the valve clearance, however, entails removing one or both camshafts and changing the buckets. I could probably do it, but I didn't; I had it done.

Change oil and filter regularly. I did mine every 10k miles with 15w50 synthetic oil and BMW filter. Check air filter yearly. I cleaned mine every year or two, but only changed it once or twice in the 124k I had it. In your area, change brake fluid yearly. Change gearbox, final drive and fork oils yearly. Check clutch adjustment at least yearly and grease both ends of the cable at the same time. I did the clutch spline lube at 32k miles - only - and had no further problems. That was ME; I would advise YOU to lube the splines every 40k miles, minimum. Take care of any leaks as soon as you discover them. Again, my advice is free, so you know what it's worth.
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Ride Safe,
Phil Marvin in El Paso, TX
'94 K75A/3
'95 K75RTP

[Glawseagle]

Thanks again for the advice.

it may be a good idea to get the valve clearances looked at and checked, now I am doing 425 miles per week.

Going by the brilliant advice given the valves are the only thing I wont be able to check myself.... the rest is all common sense.
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"Lovely stuff" ...Not my words Michael... the words of Shakin' Stevens.

[Freedom45]

Seldom do I trade or sell vehicles. 91 Plymouth Acclaim, 212,000 miles, 92 F150 284,000 miles, 97 K1100K, 388,000 miles, 96 K1100RS 1,112 miles (just got it a few months ago). I did sell an 85 K100RS with 196,000 on it.

My opinion is that high mileage on Ks are probable if:

1. The BMW maintenance plan is followed, Inspections 1 & 2 plus annual
and Periodic
2. BMW parts are used (oil filters, air filters, plugs, etc)
3. Synthetic oils are used in engine, trans, final drive
4. the engine is kept from low rpm
- I seldom allow RPM to fall below 3,500 and prefer to keep it in the
5,000+ range
5. one buys good quality gasoline
6. one learns to shift properly (saves lots of wear and tear on the clutch
tranny, U joints and final drive) by matching gear to rpm upshifting or
downshifting.

None of my Ks have ever had the head removed, although I have replaced a tranny and one final drive with another one rebuilt. I have had to replace two rear main seals and two clutches.

I have used Microlon in all the aforementioned vehicles and I do believe it has been a factor. It certainly helps with smooth K bike shifting and it is a one time treatment. Somewhat expensive, but, IMO it has been worth the price.
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1996 K1100RS SE, K1100K, K75S, Laverda 1200
MOA 9900
IBA #70 NRA

[Phil Marvin]

Hi, Glawseagle,
Valve clearance is not hard to check. If you have never done it, find a friend who has. Have a new valve cover gasket available as well as a tube of Dreibond, Permatex Ultra Grey, Hondabond, Yamabond, etc. You can probably reuse your old gasket after cleaning the old sealer off, but having the new gasket available makes sure you won't be stuck without a gasket until you can get to the local BMW supplier. Also, when reattaching the valve cover, the bolts take a low torque value. Sealing is done by the rubber grommets, not tightening the bolts tighter. Once the bolt shoulder contacts the head, you really can't tighten any more, and DO NOT strip the threads! If you do so and the threads can't be helicoiled, you'll be buying a new cylinder head!
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Ride Safe,
Phil Marvin in El Paso, TX
'94 K75A/3
'95 K75RTP

[Glawseagle]

Thanks for all the advice.

She has now 81,000 miles, (yes I know, a mere youngster), and is really going well.

I intend to keep it that way.
_________________
"Lovely stuff" ...Not my words Michael... the words of Shakin' Stevens.