BMW K bikes (Bricks)


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1Back to top Go down   Steering very stiff Empty Steering very stiff Thu Jan 23, 2014 2:24 pm

Trickster

Trickster
active member
active member
Ive just MOT'd this bike after its been standing for 2 years.  I thought Id pretty much sorted everything out but it failed on over-stiff steering.  Having never ridden a K ( or a BMW....or in fact anything this big), I just assumed it was part of the deal.  The guy who tested it took it for a ride and nearly fell off twice at slow speed.  Hes suggested that, at best, the bearing grease has gone hard and at worst the bearings have gone.  He did admit that he knows too little about the BMs to be 100%  There is no play in the forks at all, and the movement side to side (although stiff) is as smooth as anything, no 'lumpiness' or 'notching'.  I wondered if there was another way to adjust the stiffness??  Cheers in anticipation  Smile

    

2Back to top Go down   Steering very stiff Empty Re: Steering very stiff Thu Jan 23, 2014 3:08 pm

MikeP

MikeP
Life time member
Life time member
There is.

Look beneath the crash pad on the handlebars and you will see a large knurled thing on top of the steering stem. That's the adjuster.

Remove the crash pad and there's a 19mm nut with a 32mm lock-nut.

Loosen the lock-nut, then slacken the 19mm nut one or two turns.

Raise the front of the bike and turn the adjuster ring until the steering loosens up a little. The steering should just fall to one side or the other (allowing for any resistance from the control cables) when the bars are moved from the straight ahead position.

Tighten the 19mm nut to the specified torque and then the 32mm lock-nut.

Check that the steering still just flops slowly to full lock from the straight ahead position.

TBH, I'd strip the steering stem out and check the bearings for wear and re-grease if it were my bike.


__________________________________________________
1992 K1
1993 K1100R (used to be an LT)
    

3Back to top Go down   Steering very stiff Empty Re: Steering very stiff Thu Jan 23, 2014 3:21 pm

Trickster

Trickster
active member
active member
Thanks MikeP.  My thoughts exactly about stripping it down.  I'll adjust it initially, then get it MOT'd.  With the pressure off, I'll take my time and (try) to do a decent job.   Very Happy

    

4Back to top Go down   Steering very stiff Empty Re: Steering very stiff Thu Jan 23, 2014 3:52 pm

duck

duck
Life time member
Life time member
I'd take the fork trees off and repack the bearings.


__________________________________________________
Current stable:
86 Custom K100 (standard fairing, K75 Belly pan, Ceramic chromed engine covers, paralever)
K75 Frankenbrick (Paralever, K11 front end, hybrid ABS, K1100RS fairing, radial tires)
86 K75C Turbo w/ paralever
94 K1100RS
93 K1100LT
91 K1
93 K75S (K11 front end)
91 K75S (K1 front end)
14 Yamaha WR250R
98 Taxi Cab K1200RS
14 K1600GT
http://www.ClassicKBikes.com
    

5Back to top Go down   Steering very stiff Empty Re: Steering very stiff Thu Jan 23, 2014 6:20 pm

GTJos

GTJos
Silver member
Silver member
duck wrote:I'd take the fork trees off and repack the bearings.
+1 ! Mike's advice / tips about loosening the bearings can be done first, but to my opinion the grease has dried out completely (Trickster mentioned earlier that his bike had been standing around for some years.)
Back in 1993, when I bought mine, the issue was the same: stiff steering, no 'pitting'. My bike had not been used for about 2 years also...

Simply cleaning and regreasing the bearings after checking their condition did the job. I remember the old grease had turned into some brownish, chiplike stuff.. It took a while to get most of that rubbish out. Ever since then: the bike runs fine.
Happy MOT'ing... Very Happy 
Jos.


__________________________________________________
Steering very stiff Deutch10Ich bin enge Kirchröatsjer jong; adieë wa ?! Steering very stiff Deutch10
                                1992  K1100LT 6458188
                                1987 K100LT (RS-fairing) 0170844 + sidecar EML GT2001
                                1986 K100RS 0085647 + sidecar Velorex 562
                                1985  K100RT  0027026
    

6Back to top Go down   Steering very stiff Empty Re: Steering very stiff Fri Jan 24, 2014 5:54 am

Trickster

Trickster
active member
active member
Thanks Guys.....im on it!  Dismantle and repack of bearing grease it is.  Was going to adjust it loose first but why not do it right first time eh?

    

7Back to top Go down   Steering very stiff Empty Re: Steering very stiff Fri Jan 24, 2014 6:01 am

TacKler

TacKler
Life time member
Life time member
And you will need to replace the lower metal seal, as it will be damaged removing the bearing.


__________________________________________________
Red 1991 K75S
    

8Back to top Go down   Steering very stiff Empty Re: Steering very stiff Fri Jan 24, 2014 8:42 am

Rick G

Rick G
admin
admin
You can get the bearing off without damaging the metal seal you put a very thin knife edge under it and hammer it in and the bearing moves up with the seal then use a slightly thicker wedge and then a couple of thin levers and its off.
After I mangled the first one I figured it out.


__________________________________________________
"Man sacrifices his health in order to make money.
Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health.
And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived."   Dalai Lama


Bikes 1999 K1100 LT with a Big Block 1200
    

9Back to top Go down   Steering very stiff Empty Re: Steering very stiff Fri Jan 24, 2014 11:28 am

MikeP

MikeP
Life time member
Life time member
I can't see why there's any need to disturb the bearings at all.

Just degrease and repack them where they are, the upper attached to the adjuster and the lower attached to the steering stem.


__________________________________________________
1992 K1
1993 K1100R (used to be an LT)
    

10Back to top Go down   Steering very stiff Empty Re: Steering very stiff Sat Jan 25, 2014 2:12 am

TacKler

TacKler
Life time member
Life time member
RicK G wrote:You can get the bearing off without damaging the metal seal you put a very thin knife edge under it and hammer it in and the bearing moves up with the seal then use a slightly thicker wedge and then a couple of thin levers and its off.
After I mangled the first one I figured it out.

Thanks Rick, next time I'll keep that in mind. 

Mike, I like to remove the bearings, clean, dry, inspect and then repack them.  Just that I have done them this way over the years.  They had been in for a while, so for peace of mind removed them. 

Dave.


__________________________________________________
Red 1991 K75S
    

11Back to top Go down   Steering very stiff Empty Re: Steering very stiff Sat Jan 25, 2014 2:17 am

MikeP

MikeP
Life time member
Life time member
Okay.

I've just never seen the lower bearing removed from the steering stem without destroying it.


__________________________________________________
1992 K1
1993 K1100R (used to be an LT)
    

12Back to top Go down   Steering very stiff Empty Re: Steering very stiff Sat Jan 25, 2014 2:21 am

TacKler

TacKler
Life time member
Life time member
Point taken Mike.  Although I did replace them at the time with new ones.


__________________________________________________
Red 1991 K75S
    

13Back to top Go down   Steering very stiff Empty Re: Steering very stiff Sat Jan 25, 2014 2:47 am

duck

duck
Life time member
Life time member
MikeP wrote:I can't see why there's any need to disturb the bearings at all.

Just degrease and repack them where they are, the upper attached to the adjuster and the lower attached to the steering stem.

+1 (unless they're notched)


__________________________________________________
Current stable:
86 Custom K100 (standard fairing, K75 Belly pan, Ceramic chromed engine covers, paralever)
K75 Frankenbrick (Paralever, K11 front end, hybrid ABS, K1100RS fairing, radial tires)
86 K75C Turbo w/ paralever
94 K1100RS
93 K1100LT
91 K1
93 K75S (K11 front end)
91 K75S (K1 front end)
14 Yamaha WR250R
98 Taxi Cab K1200RS
14 K1600GT
http://www.ClassicKBikes.com
    

14Back to top Go down   Steering very stiff Empty Re: Steering very stiff Tue Feb 04, 2014 5:01 pm

Trickster

Trickster
active member
active member
Thanks for all the inputs guys.  Been working away for a while but just got back and got stuck in a couple of days ago.  Had a few problems removing one of the front dampers...(why dont people/manufacturers use copper anti-sieze!) Once all the nuts came off the top of the steering, the Yoke just fell away no problem.  The grease was more like half-dried Araldite.  Tooth picks, an old tooth brush and plenty of WD40 soon got them spinning again.  Fortunately, no play in the bearings and no wear in the bearing races.  Re-packed with grease and put back together.  Steering is as smooth as silk now.  Passed its MOT and taxed it.  Went for a good long cruise today, lovely machine....Happy days!

    

15Back to top Go down   Steering very stiff Empty Re: Steering very stiff Wed Feb 05, 2014 9:04 am

GTJos

GTJos
Silver member
Silver member
cheers Cheers mate ! Happy days indeed...
Gives you 'goosebumps', this bike, doesn't it ?

Enjoy !
Jos


__________________________________________________
Steering very stiff Deutch10Ich bin enge Kirchröatsjer jong; adieë wa ?! Steering very stiff Deutch10
                                1992  K1100LT 6458188
                                1987 K100LT (RS-fairing) 0170844 + sidecar EML GT2001
                                1986 K100RS 0085647 + sidecar Velorex 562
                                1985  K100RT  0027026
    

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