BMW K100 Cafe Racer

EF Ian

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EF Ian
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2,879
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Portrush
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EF & 260Z GT-R
That looks amazing. Superb work.

That looks so cool very jealous
Thanks.

I have this mostly because of how it looks, but I was pleased to find its pretty nice to ride as well.






I saw this sitting in that spot on Port promenade about a month ago, really cool wee bike, I love it. You need to get a helmet and gear to suit though, thon helmet looks out of place. šŸ¤£
Thanks

Its true, but money. I have bike jeans and leather boots now, but couldn't afford the new helmet, gloves or jacket, I do plan buy to buy them though. Was looking at a Shark Spartan GT Carbon.




Your bike makes me want to get my bike test. I would love a k100 cafe racer in Bristol Grey to match my 2002tii. :heart_eyes:
Do it, you won't regret it, and a matching K100 would be cool.

Nothing better than being able to go for after dinner ride to unwind. Short rides often end up longer though as I am having to much fun and take several detours on the way home because I don't want it to end.



Once the RB-Z is finished and back on the road I plan to buy another buy for a full project. Chances are It will be a 16V K100RS although I am also considering a CX500, CB750 or R100.
 

EF Ian

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EF Ian
Messages
2,879
Location
Portrush
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EF & 260Z GT-R
looking forward to having this out again in couple of Months. I did a lot of work and maintenance on this over winter so it should its fully ready to go when the time comes.


You would think a 500cc bike would be smaller, but the CX500 looks bigger than this. It will be a while before the CX looks anything as good as the BMW. But once done it won't be recognisable.


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First Job was a redesign of the left rearset:

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Yet another change from how it started, but I wanted it to match the right side better.

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Its just in regular satin black paint, I also repainted the right side. They will need done again as my boots rub off the paint on the edges, once I have my blaster setup in my garage I will be doing them in Cerakote, hopefully that will have enough wear resistance.

I also changed the steel peg pins for stainless ones while I was at it.

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I'm happy with the look now. My stand also got attention, it was a bit floppy, so I used my TIG to get it red hot and then bent it together enough to make it a tighter fit, it got a new bush, bolt and spring and repaint and its now working acceptably. I also replaced the rubber cap and fitted a rubber block on the end to limit the lean angle of the bike. I will likely Cerakote the stand at a later date.

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While on the stand I made a bracket to stop the stand from hitting the tyre when retracted. I had good fun making this from some scrap stainless I had lying around, the bumpstop is adjustable by threading it in or out. Threading the 5mm stainless took some patience but got there in the end and of course since its stainless it would have been a crime not to polish it. Waiting on getting a blaster setup before tackling the stand mount base.

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Next was the plate holder, originally it was just the triangle shape with just the shock bolt holding it, I found that no matter what I did it would move and the plate holder would rub on the final drive. So I added another arm to it, I think thicker steel would have been better, but I used what I had available. Hopefully it works.

Fitup
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The fuel rail was looking scruffy and the head of the engine was needing painted. So removed the rail, cleaned the injectors, cleaned up the throttle bodies and painted the head before re-assembling.

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I don't like how the stainless bolts for the fuel rail stand out, so I'll cerakote them black sometime. I also plan to change to new multi hole injectors soon.

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I rebuilt my shocks along with stiffer springs, I hope this improve the front end feel as it was always a bit mushy before, was well due judging by how dirty the fork oil was:

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As with anything I have yet to touch myself on this bike the bolts had been overnighted and the heads stripped, I got this side out with a remover set but the other side I had to weld on nut onto. They were replaced with titanium items with tef-gel applied, should be no problems in the future, everything has either tef-gel or copper grease applied to it, and I torque everything to spec.

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I painted front side of the engine, fitted a radiator cover and changed all my brake lines to custom Venhill lines

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Made a huge improvement:

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I didn't like the mess of cables sticking out over the headlight

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So I got a custom choke and throttle cable made by Venhill and tidied them up the best I could.

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I found my rear brake reservoir just looked too big, so I made up a bracket to mount a smaller Brembo reservoir from a Ducati. At the same time I rebuilt the rear brake cylinder and re painted it.

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You barely notice it now.

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Other work carried out:

  • Painted Alternator
  • Detailed and waxed the wheels
  • Coolant flushed and changed
  • New thermostat fitted
  • New air filter fitted
  • Battery tray repaired, retaining bolts changed to stainless steel and mirror polished
  • Headlight set for MOT
 

EF Ian

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EF Ian
Messages
2,879
Location
Portrush
Drives
EF & 260Z GT-R
Thanks guys. I am enjoying this build, I can sit and stare at it and even after over a year now I still think it looks so cool.

Pretty sure I am not hooked on building cafe racers. My car building days are probably done, bikes are a lot cheaper in comparison and I can be a lot more creative with the style.
 

domo gti

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Belfast
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6n2/PoloGTI+
Such a cool build, im sure its nice to ride somewhere on a nice sunny day and then just stare at the coolness of itšŸ‘
 

EF Ian

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EF Ian
Messages
2,879
Location
Portrush
Drives
EF & 260Z GT-R
Thanks for the nice comments guys.


Such a cool build, im sure its nice to ride somewhere on a nice sunny day and then just stare at the coolness of itšŸ‘
Thanks. I have to admit I am guilty of doing this many times.
 

EF Ian

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EF Ian
Messages
2,879
Location
Portrush
Drives
EF & 260Z GT-R
Been using the bike as much as I can.

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Love to explore up roads and lanes where I have not ventured before, part of the fun on a bike, plus its a great way to see the country.


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Got some custom bags for the frame, they don't hold much, but better than having nothing.

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I was having to repaint my rearsets every winter as my boot rub through the paint.

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So I redid both sides in cerakote along with some other parts, shouldn't have to touch them again now. Drop me a PM if you want any bike parts done in Cerakote.

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800 miles and down and not a sign of wear.

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Had a great time around the NW200.

Over at the pilgrimage at Joeys bar the Thursday before the race.

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And the vintage bike show that evening.

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Getting ready to set off on the Cavalcade








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Got the callipers to rebuild sometime soon, need a new gasket on the fuel cap so I will cerakote that at the same time and my cam cover gasket needs changed.
 

wbrown343

RMS Regular
Messages
61
Drives
D2 S8
These bms are class done cafe style, this is a great example!

Whats your thoughts on cerakote now after a while? Looking at it for brake calipers and unsure if its worth the extra
 

EF Ian

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EF Ian
Messages
2,879
Location
Portrush
Drives
EF & 260Z GT-R
These bms are class done cafe style, this is a great example!
Yes, I love them, I plan to do a second one once my car build is done, in a different style to this one.




Whats your thoughts on cerakote now after a while? Looking at it for brake calipers and unsure if its worth the extra
I find it great on brake calipers as its completely unaffected by brake fluid. And on my rear sets there still isn't so much as a mark from my boots.



 

EF Ian

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EF Ian
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2,879
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Portrush
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EF & 260Z GT-R
Did 33 Hours riding this year, not too bad for a non touring bike.

Longest ride in 1 day was around coast and hills roads, did about 110 miles.

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Not many jobs done over summer, don't like to have it off the road during the good weather.



Must have got too enthusiastic shifting as I broke my shifter.

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So had to get a new one and polish it up.

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The mount bobbins for the battery tray are just bonded onto the metal insert, anyhow, they break off and this one was locked solid, so it required drilled out and re tapped.

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I put most bolts in using Tef Gel on my cars and bikes so shouldn't get issues again.

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Refreshed my fuel cap, the finish was looking bad and it needed a new seal anyway.

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Winter plans are:

  • Service
  • Replace cam cover gasket and re paint cover in cerakote while its off.
  • Probably do the same with the crank cover
  • Replace headlight mount bracket (One side has a crack)
  • Hopefully design a CAD rear mudguard to look like the current one but bigger, then 3d print this to use as a mold for a carbon one.
  • Full rebuild on front calipers
  • Would like to re cushion the seat a bit thicker, its starting to squash in on the edges.
 
Last edited:

wbrown343

RMS Regular
Messages
61
Drives
D2 S8
I keep coming back to this bike for inspiration, its a credit to you

Interesting to note on the cerakote thank you, do you just use the air cure version?
 

EF Ian

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EF Ian
Messages
2,879
Location
Portrush
Drives
EF & 260Z GT-R
Thanks. Already looking forward to building another once my RB-Z build stops taking every penny I earn.



It depends on the application, generally I use the oven cure as much as possible, its more wear/scratch resistant, however it, unlike the air cure is not fully UV resistant, so if its something that will be in the Direct Sun most of the time then I recommend air cure. Won't matter on most bike parts because they are rarely in the sun all year round. I am yet to notice any UV fading on any of my cerakote parts.

So any parts that have something rubbing them a lot, definitely better with oven cure. Also has the benefit that once its cooled down after its 2 hour bake then its fully cured, the air cure doesn't reach full hardness for 5 days.



Brake Calipers in Gloss Black:

 

wbrown343

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Messages
61
Drives
D2 S8
Im gonna give you a shout in insta about the cerakoting! Have 8 calipers to do, youll maybe do me a black friday deal! :joy:
 

EF Ian

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EF Ian
Messages
2,879
Location
Portrush
Drives
EF & 260Z GT-R
Im gonna give you a shout in insta about the cerakoting! Have 8 calipers to do, youll maybe do me a black friday deal! :joy:
Sure, get in touch. My pricing is not high anyway, though keep in mind some coatings cost me Ā£180 per litre.



love the simplicity of this bike !! proper back to basics biking
Yes, it is pretty much just an engine with a seat and two wheels and not much else.
 
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