46 BMW 1983 R100RS Remove Rear Fender Assembly

The rear fender assembly includes the license plate bracket with side reflectors, tail light housing, turn signals and stalk, the cowling tool box and the rear wiring sub-harness.

Remove License Plate Bracket and Mud Flap

The license plate bracket includes side reflectors and is secured to the fender with three bolts with lock nuts that are underneath the license plate. This bike has the rubber rear mud flap that is secured to the sides of the fender with three bolts and lock nuts. I remove these.

Rear Tail Light, & Turn Signal Assembly, License Plate Bracket & Rubber Mud Flap

Rear Tail Light, & Turn Signal Assembly, License Plate Bracket & Rubber Mud Flap

License Plate Bracket Secured with Three Bolts (One Missing)

License Plate Bracket Secured with Three Bolts (One Missing)

License Plate Bracket Hardware Detail

License Plate Bracket Hardware Detail

I remove the lock nut from the side reflectors as I am going to powder coat the license plate bracket.

Removing Rear Reflector From License Plate Bracket

Removing Rear Reflector From License Plate Bracket

Rear Reflector Hardware Detail

Rear Reflector Hardware Detail

The mud flap attaches to the sides of the fenders.

Rear Mud Flap Bolts to Sides of Rear Fender

Rear Mud Flap Bolts to Sides of Rear Fender

Rear Mud Flap Hardware Detail

Rear Mud Flap Hardware Detail

Rear Mud Flap Details

Rear Mud Flap Details

Rear Mud Flap Holes in Side of Fender

Rear Mud Flap Holes in Side of Fender

And, the bike still has a tire pump. 🙂

Tire Pump-Maybe Original ??

Tire Pump-Maybe Original ??

Remove Tail Light Housing

The tail light lens is secured with two Phillips screws.

Removing Tail Light Lens Phillips Screws

Removing Tail Light Lens Phillips Screws

Tail Light Lens Detail-Upside Down

Tail Light Lens Detail-Upside Down

Inside, is the reflector with a separate bulb for the parking light (lower) and the stop light (upper). The tail light bulb is a “797” and stop light bulb is a “1156” single filament bulb.

Tail Light Reflector with Stop and Parking Light Bulbs

Tail Light Reflector with Stop and Parking Light Bulbs

Rear Parking Light Bulb "797" Fits in Bottom of Reflector

Rear Parking Light Bulb “797” Fits in Bottom of Reflector

Rear Stop Light Bulb "1156" Goes in Top Hole

Rear Stop Light Bulb “1156” Goes in Top Hole

The back of the reflector housing includes terminals for the parking light wire BLACK-White, the stop light wire, GREEN-Red and the ground wires, BROWN.

Tail Light Reflector Wiring Detail

Tail Light Reflector Wiring Detail

Tail Light Reflector Rear Detail: Top-Parking Bulb; Bottom-Tail Light Bulb

Tail Light Reflector Rear Detail: Top-Parking Bulb; Bottom-Tail Light Bulb

The wires that go to the parking light and stop light come in the bottom of the black tail light housing through a rubber grommet.

Rear Tail Light Wiring & Mounting Hardware Detail

Rear Tail Light Wiring & Mounting Hardware Detail

The tail light housing is secured to the fender with two bolts and a metal strap inside the fender with nuts and a wave washer inside the housing. Someone added some rubber grommets that went between the fender and the housing.

Rear Tail Light Mounting Hardware Detail

Rear Tail Light Mounting Hardware Detail

I remove the tail light housing exposing the a cable with wires going into the housing and the another cable of wires that go to the turn signals through the turn signal stalk.

Rear Wiring Sub-harness Tail Light Wires & Turn Signal Wires

Rear Wiring Sub-harness Tail Light Wires & Turn Signal Wires

Rear Turn Signal Wires Route Through Turn Signal Stalk

 

The rear wiring sub-harness is secured to the top side of the fender with three plastic cable holder loops that fit into holes in the fender.

Rear Wiring Sub-harness Wire Hangers-Two of the Three

Rear Wiring Sub-harness Wire Hangers-Two of the Three

Remove Turn Signals

I remove the two screws that secure the turn signal lens to the housing.

Rear Turn Signal Lens Secured With Two Screws

Rear Turn Signal Lens Secured With Two Screws

Rear Turn Signal Housing Hardware Detail

Rear Turn Signal Housing Hardware Detail

Each turn signal reflector has a single filament bulb and two wires; a BLUE-Black (right side), or BLUE-Red (left side), and a BROWN wire.

Removing Rear Turn Signal Reflector

Removing Rear Turn Signal Reflector

The turn signal housing is secured to the stalk with a bracket that has two screws. I remove this to remove the turn signal housing from the stalk.

Rear Turn Signal Housing Bracket Detail

Rear Turn Signal Housing Bracket Detail

Removing Rear Turn Signal Housing From Stalk

Removing Rear Turn Signal Housing From Stalk

Rear Turn Signal Wires Pass Through The Stalk From the Middle

Rear Turn Signal Wires Pass Through The Stalk From the Middle

Then I carefully pull the four wires out of the stalk through the hole in the middle of the stalk.

Pulling Turn Signal Wires Out of the Hole in the Middle of the Turn Signal Stalk

Pulling Turn Signal Wires Out of the Hole in the Middle of the Turn Signal Stalk

Rear Turn Signal Stalk

Rear Turn Signal Stalk

Then I remove the rear sub-harness that is still connected to the tail light assembly by disconnecting the plug near the left sub-frame mounting bolt. I thread the sub-harness plug through the cable holders as they are easier to remove from the inside of the fender when I get it off.

Rear Wiring Sub-Harness Plug Location

Rear Wiring Sub-Harness Plug Location

Rear Wiring Harness Plug Connector

Rear Wiring Harness Plug Connector

Rear Tail Light Assembly Removed with Rear Sub-harness Attached

Rear Tail Light Assembly Removed with Rear Sub-harness Attached

Remove Fender

The front of the rear fender is attached to the sub-frame at the sub-frame cross-brace the rear of fender is attached through the cowling tool box.

Fender Front Mounts to Sub-frame Cross Brace

Fender Front Mounts to Sub-frame Cross Brace

NOTE:
The sticker next to the sub-frame cross brace shows the paint code, 542, which is Alaska Blue (Metallic).

Rear Fender Mount is Inside Cowling Tool Box

Rear Fender Mount is Inside Cowling Tool Box

Remove Rear Fender Bracket

The rear fender bracket is attached inside the cowling tool box with two lock nuts with wave washers and a metal strap. A second metal strap with a nut, wave washer and large flat washer is inside the fender

Removing Rear Fender Mount Hardware Inside Cowling Tool Box

Removing Rear Fender Mount Hardware Inside Cowling Tool Box

Rear Fender Mount Inside Cowling Tool Box Hardware Detail

Rear Fender Mount Inside Cowling Tool Box Hardware Detail

There is a rubber grommet and flat washer between the top of the fender and the tabs on the sub-frame.

Rear Fender Mount Detail After Cowling Tool Box Removed

Rear Fender Mount Detail After Cowling Tool Box Removed

Rear Fender Mount Rubber Grommet Detail-Has Two Washers But Should Be One

Rear Fender Mount Rubber Grommet Detail-Has Two Washers But Should Be One

In the picture above, someone put two of the flat washers on one of the bolts when there should only be one.

Rear Fender Mount Hardware Detail

Rear Fender Mount Hardware Detail

Rear Fender Mount Hardware Detail

Rear Fender Mount Hardware Detail

NOTE:
In the picture above, the flat washer under the bolt head is smaller (about 10 mm diameter) than the one on top of the rubber grommet (about 14 mm).

There is a sticker on the back of the cowling tool box, a casting number on the inside (not the part number) and two rubber grommets on the bottom.

Cowling Tool Box Sticker

Cowling Tool Box Sticker

Cowling Tool Box-Casting Number, Not Part Number

Cowling Tool Box-Casting Number, Not Part Number

Cowling Tool Box-Bottom With Rubber Grommets

Cowling Tool Box-Bottom With Rubber Grommets

Remove Front Fender Bracket

The front fender bracket attaches to the rear sub-frame cross brace with two locking nuts with flat washers. There is the same rubber grommet between the top of the fender and the bottom of the cross brace. Inside the fender is the same metal strap, the head of the bolts and a wave washer.

Removing Front Fender Mount Lock Nuts on Cross Brace

Removing Front Fender Mount Lock Nuts on Cross Brace

Front Fender Mount Hardware

Front Fender Mount Hardware

Front Fender Mount Rubber Grommet On Top of Fender

Front Fender Mount Rubber Grommet On Top of Fender

Here is the fender with the stickers.

Rear Fender with Stickers

Rear Fender with Stickers

Rear Fender Removed

Rear Fender Removed

Remove Rear Sub-harness Hangers

There are three plastic hangers that hold the rear wiring sub-harness on the rear fender.

Rear Wiring Sub-harness Wire Hangers with Sub-harness

Rear Wiring Sub-harness Wire Hangers with Sub-harness

I remove these using a drift to push them out of the fender from the inside. I don’t use a hammer as I’m careful with these as they are no longer available.

Removing Rear Sub-harness Retainer with Drift

Removing Rear Sub-harness Retainer with Drift

You could also try removing them from the front using a small blade screw driver if you are careful.

Alternative Way to Remove Rear Wiring Sub-Harness Hanger

Alternative Way to Remove Rear Wiring Sub-Harness Hanger

Rear Sub-harness Wire Hanger

Rear Sub-harness Wire Hanger

Here is bike with the rear fender assembly removed.

Rear Fender Assembly Removed

Rear Fender Assembly Removed

2 thoughts on “46 BMW 1983 R100RS Remove Rear Fender Assembly

  1. Thanks for great detail, Dr. Brook. Because my fender on my restored RS from England did NOT have the appropriate decal on it, I had to buy a fender online, paint over the white with black pinstripe, and mount it on the RS–just for that darn decal. Now I have a beautiful R100 fender that needs a home. Guess I’ll try ebay again. cheers!

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