1
'85 basic K100 Fri Aug 25, 2023 5:28 pm
jbt
![jbt](https://2img.net/u/4211/29/48/93/avatars/4473-85.jpg)
Life time member
![Life time member Life time member](https://i.servimg.com/u/f80/11/71/56/74/bmw-5s10.gif)
Hey...I've been there for 7 years and never took the time for a post about my basic K100!
It's not a terrible bike, but I like it as it is: simple, efficient, reliable.
I specially appreciate its neat and balanced design, so often slaughtered by wanabee custom makers...
Here it was when I bought it:
!['85 basic K100 K100_310](https://i.servimg.com/u/f86/13/49/48/64/k100_310.jpg)
Good average condition for a 40 years bike, a nice patina on the black painted parts, a very thin layer of rust. And, sadly, some very large scratches on the top of the tank. The seller told me it was its cat who made them. Come on, man...you should own a tiger to make such scars!
I first converted it to a light racer, just with the optionnal BMW sport seat and an Ohlins shock.
!['85 basic K100 K100s110](https://i.servimg.com/u/f71/13/49/48/64/k100s110.jpg)
And a pair of rare case savers, probably french made by Bottelin Dumoulin or Rid Jouvin. In case...
It was suprisingly efficient. I was astonished with its sport abilities, even if I had been riding Ks for a long time, its lightweight and its manoeuvrability was easily challenging the K1 on mountain roads. The only flaw was the rear suspension sometimes dribbling in optimistic curve preliminaries...mostly solved with first a WP, then an Ohlins.
Then...I sold it to a friend, with the opportunity to receive as a part of payment a BMW R100R (bad idea, it was one of the sadest bike I had). I kept aside the goodies, and kept in mind the idea to make a sport K100 2V one day, that eventually gave birth to the eighties K100 racer some years later.
My friend is the slowest sluggish biker I ever seen. He never stresses its bike and rides veeeeeerrrrrry geeeeeeeently. By the way, he does not only has the same pace, but he actually looks like a sloth with very long arms and legs, no neck and something in its gaze evocating the animal. But he doesn't hang under the engine when riding, phew!
He's so delicate with motorcycles that I'll give him my daughter's hand with no hesitation (if he was not looking like a sloth, of course. Though...they could save money on cradles by hanging the babies on the curtain rods).
Yet he managed to break the gearbox.
On a K100.
I've seen the hardest abuses applied by the less painstaking cops on K's, but never saw a gearbox intermediate shaft broken. Crusing at 60 km/h...
!['85 basic K100 20160914](https://i.servimg.com/u/f97/17/42/59/28/20160914.jpg)
Well. I bought it back anyway, as he was disappointed about the K100 reliability and I was missing this bike, fixed the gearbox, fitted a new seat, a top box, a Fournales air suspension instead of the Ohlins promoted to the 80S racer, and mounted the optionnal windshield. I wanted to fit also a Telefix stabilizer, but discovered that these first series of K100 forks had stanchions a little bit thicker than the later ones so it won't be possible to fit it.
Then I randomly used it as a commuter bike, perfect for november to april rainy days with slippery roads, when I'm not in a world speed record mood to go to work or when the weather condition do not justify to use the pullman K1100LT.
This bike is easy and natural. That's why I like it: you forget it. It remembers me the experience I had riding a R75/6, just flying above the road, never switching gears, never braking, just cornering left and right and left and right until the tank is empty...
But.
Every time I was sitting on it...the bloody scars were facing me. I tried to hide them under a tank cover. It tore itself. The scars reappeared. (maybe they were not made by a tiger but a sloth afterall, the claws are matching).
So, this week being so warm that I could even not ride a bike, I decided it was a good time for a paint job!
I ordered color matching paint sprays at the local shop, sanded the tank, sprayed, varnished...and now I have a nice silver K100 with no sloth marks on it.
!['85 basic K100 K100_r10](https://i.servimg.com/u/f71/13/49/48/64/k100_r10.jpg)
I like this bike.
It's not a terrible bike, but I like it as it is: simple, efficient, reliable.
I specially appreciate its neat and balanced design, so often slaughtered by wanabee custom makers...
Here it was when I bought it:
!['85 basic K100 K100_310](https://i.servimg.com/u/f86/13/49/48/64/k100_310.jpg)
Good average condition for a 40 years bike, a nice patina on the black painted parts, a very thin layer of rust. And, sadly, some very large scratches on the top of the tank. The seller told me it was its cat who made them. Come on, man...you should own a tiger to make such scars!
I first converted it to a light racer, just with the optionnal BMW sport seat and an Ohlins shock.
!['85 basic K100 K100s110](https://i.servimg.com/u/f71/13/49/48/64/k100s110.jpg)
And a pair of rare case savers, probably french made by Bottelin Dumoulin or Rid Jouvin. In case...
It was suprisingly efficient. I was astonished with its sport abilities, even if I had been riding Ks for a long time, its lightweight and its manoeuvrability was easily challenging the K1 on mountain roads. The only flaw was the rear suspension sometimes dribbling in optimistic curve preliminaries...mostly solved with first a WP, then an Ohlins.
Then...I sold it to a friend, with the opportunity to receive as a part of payment a BMW R100R (bad idea, it was one of the sadest bike I had). I kept aside the goodies, and kept in mind the idea to make a sport K100 2V one day, that eventually gave birth to the eighties K100 racer some years later.
My friend is the slowest sluggish biker I ever seen. He never stresses its bike and rides veeeeeerrrrrry geeeeeeeently. By the way, he does not only has the same pace, but he actually looks like a sloth with very long arms and legs, no neck and something in its gaze evocating the animal. But he doesn't hang under the engine when riding, phew!
He's so delicate with motorcycles that I'll give him my daughter's hand with no hesitation (if he was not looking like a sloth, of course. Though...they could save money on cradles by hanging the babies on the curtain rods).
Yet he managed to break the gearbox.
On a K100.
I've seen the hardest abuses applied by the less painstaking cops on K's, but never saw a gearbox intermediate shaft broken. Crusing at 60 km/h...
!['85 basic K100 20160914](https://i.servimg.com/u/f97/17/42/59/28/20160914.jpg)
Well. I bought it back anyway, as he was disappointed about the K100 reliability and I was missing this bike, fixed the gearbox, fitted a new seat, a top box, a Fournales air suspension instead of the Ohlins promoted to the 80S racer, and mounted the optionnal windshield. I wanted to fit also a Telefix stabilizer, but discovered that these first series of K100 forks had stanchions a little bit thicker than the later ones so it won't be possible to fit it.
Then I randomly used it as a commuter bike, perfect for november to april rainy days with slippery roads, when I'm not in a world speed record mood to go to work or when the weather condition do not justify to use the pullman K1100LT.
This bike is easy and natural. That's why I like it: you forget it. It remembers me the experience I had riding a R75/6, just flying above the road, never switching gears, never braking, just cornering left and right and left and right until the tank is empty...
But.
Every time I was sitting on it...the bloody scars were facing me. I tried to hide them under a tank cover. It tore itself. The scars reappeared. (maybe they were not made by a tiger but a sloth afterall, the claws are matching).
So, this week being so warm that I could even not ride a bike, I decided it was a good time for a paint job!
I ordered color matching paint sprays at the local shop, sanded the tank, sprayed, varnished...and now I have a nice silver K100 with no sloth marks on it.
!['85 basic K100 K100_r10](https://i.servimg.com/u/f71/13/49/48/64/k100_r10.jpg)
I like this bike.
Last edited by jbt on Thu Aug 31, 2023 2:39 am; edited 1 time in total
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That fills our fairest day.