Hi everybody,

Recently puchased my first ever BMW, a 1990 k100rs 16v and what a ride, smooth, quiet, powerful..... for 50 miles (no comparison to my ER500)
but now she's in bits, exhaust broken-usual place at the welds now a 4 piece, and a tiny little oil drip from a small hole that was hidden by the belly pan. I'm now stuck on options for exhausts and where to go from here .

I've got some mechanical skills as i've found the air filter and unseized all the refill bolts -engine, gearbox and final drive, just started a list but that stopped quickly, i didn't want to get depressed!! £££ .......... i just wanna ride.

Welcome to the funny farm captainK.
Sounds to me that you have a leaking seal at the oil pump, it sits right behind the water pump and they have a common drain hole.
They are not difficult to deal with and there is a thread on this forum about doing the job. It's a good idea to do the water pump at the same time as it is most likely going to fail not far down the road.
I know how you feel about the exaust I have the same problem on my K1100 they crack just in front of the collector and are a real pain to fix.

There are quite a few options and most involve new parts like staintune etc.

I intend to make a new system of pipes from mild steel and have a clamp on collector so as to get some give at that point to prevent cracks, then an after market muffler like a Laser or similar and it will sound better without being too loud which I hate.
Anyhow persevere with it because you have certainly got a great bike to start with, probably the pick of the bricks.

Welcome aboard captaink from down the road in Launceston, Cornwall - maybe we will meet up at some point. Also you could join our forum - we have quite a few members in Somerset - link below:

Westcountry Rideouts

welcome aboard .....captaink ....
my advice is to work throught the immediate lubrication suggestions found in here, refurb the oil/water pump and the fracture that you have found ....
many folks do get totally browned off that there is so much to be done , but i dont see that as an issue .....were trying to do all the things that have been neglected ..usually for a long time ...whilst learning about our steeds .


i agree... get your baby on the road and plan for things as you go along ... this way youll get a feel for whats right and what is next to do .

If all I had to do on my K's when I first found them was exhaust repair and oil leak I'd be laughing. Can you not have the broken welds rewelded? It's stainless so you'll need the right welder, but shouldn't be too overwhelming. And the oil/water pump repair is a bit tedious but not hard, from what I've read (I gotta do mine too, but I'll let it drip a little and keep riding for now).

Hi captain K, welcome to the forum have a read around the forum and you will find lots of info on the topics mentioned.

BIG D

Thanks everybody for inspiring me to stick with it, update on exhaust - found sombody who can repair stainless and also got offered a second hand remus..... whats everybodys veiw, repair existing or go with remus?

captaink wrote:Thanks everybody for inspiring me to stick with it, update on exhaust - found sombody who can repair stainless and also got offered a second hand remus..... whats everybodys veiw, repair existing or go with remus?

I seem to remember reading on the forum that apparently the performance is better with the standard exhaust - or did I dream it ?

There two types of exhausts for K1100s the ones that are cracked and the ones that are about to crack. Mine has been welded 3 time from what I can see but maybe more. I will be replacing mine as soon as I can do it.

Welcome aboard captaink good to have you around, exhaust cracks can and do happen to the 16 valve k exhausts and can be welded up by a competent welder. I have seen a couple of dyno tests of aftermarket silencer and as said above they were worse than standard.
Regards,
K-BIKE

greeting, captaink, from wiltshire. also have the 16v (1992) and this has been welded up at the joints, quite common,but a very good job done . dont be put off by the work, parts are cheap for these bikes, and there are many good suppliers near you. i have been using james sherlock, who is down your way, and found the service to be fantastic.