The Great BMW K100RS 16V Engine Swap Project of 2019
My '92 K100RS 16V with 123,000+ miles on it started significantly consuming oil and fouling plugs. It started smoking dramatically on deceleration as reported by Duncan. A compression test and leakdown showed a variance of more than 20% between the cylinders. My best guess is that two things failed in concert: the thermostat stuck open and the temperature gauge did not read accurately. As a result, the theory goes, I ran the bike too cold for probably too long and that caused it to fail.
I had picked up a spare identical bike because I wanted to swap out the fairing since mine had started looking pretty rough. The donor bike is actually in much better shape and a saner man would just have attempted to transfer parts from my bike over. But as it turns out the donor bike also needed the water pump rebuild, the rear main seal, and other work including cleaning up evidence of some monkeying by previous owners.
As a result, I made the decision to disassemble both bikes and create one decent machine from the best parts of both bikes. We made short work of the disassembly but then with distractions the project has lingered. Time is getting tight as Bruce is going to be flying into town and the three of us hope to go on a multi-day ride. If need be I'll ride my DR650SE but ideally I'd like to have my Beloved Blue Oil burner back in service before then.
To make the job of coordinating parts, tasks, information, and documentation, I've taken a few days away from banging my head against the mobile app development wall, and built out a project/build feature which months ago I had discussed with Mike. It's super rough at the moment but it presents the beginning of a place to thoroughly document one of these big projects along with all the associated rich media that goes with it. My hope is that it's going to be useful.
K100RS Crankcase Breather Modification
The "cyclonic separator" in my '92 K100RS 16V is well past dead. I've been researching various PCV valve solutions. This project encompasses that research.
K100RS 16V Steering Head Bearings Replacement
As part of the great engine swap project, I need to replace the steering head bearings on my '92 K100RS. I've never done this job before so this project is a place to collect all the parts, tools, notes, and info I need to learn how to do this job.