I had the fairing, front fender, side covers and gas tank painted in a two tone paint scheme, code 130, used on the RS bikes; the colors are Dunkel Blue and Hell Silver. In this scheme, the seat cowl is painted Dunkel Blue but I chose to use Hell Silver instead. And in tribute to the first year 1977 RS, I had matte clear coat applied instead of gloss and a single white pin stripe applied.

This shows how I do the work and a short video showing some of the assembly details.

• 52 BMW 1983 R100RS Assemble And Install Seat Cowl & Seat

VIDEO: 1983 BMW R100RS Install Seat Cowl and Seat

Here are the parts.

I installed a combination grab rail/parcel rack.

The hinges on the later seats are designed to slide over the hinge pins and the seat is secured on the rear pin with a clip.

All Done.

 

I’m converting the original RS fairing to an RT. I had the fairing, front fender, side covers and gas tank painted in a two tone paint scheme, code 130, used on the RS bikes; the colors are Dunkel Blue and Hell Silver. However, in tribute to the first year 1977 RS, I had matte clear coat applied to all the silver areas including the gas tank and gloss clear to all the blue areas. My painter was up for the challenge of painting the gas tank. The slight ridge between the clear and matte clear coat on the gas tank is hidden by the wide red pinstripe.

Here is what I started with:

NOTE:
Due to the poor lighting, some of the dark blue parts appear black in the photo below.

The RT fairing includes side storage boxes that attach to the inside of the upper side panels, but I do not plan to use them as they fit too close to the gas tank for my comfort.

And here is what I ended up with.

Here is a link to the details of how I did this work and a summary video showing the highlights of the work.

• 46 BMW R100RT Assemble And Install Fairing & Windscreen

VIDEO: 1983 BMW R100RT Assemble And Install Fairing & Windscreen

The first engine start is always a major milestone on a project. I usually perform this earlier in the build than I am on this project. But, my gas tank and the other parts that I had painted have been delayed coming back, so I’ve done everything else I can do until I got the gas tank in hand. This Friday, I picked it up and installed it.

I made a detailed check list prior to starting the engine so I wouldn’t forget something and improve the likelihood the engine will start.

Here is a link to the procedure I followed to prepare for the engine start, and how I performed the all important initial bedding in of the new piston rings with the new Nikasil coated  cylinders.

• 11 BMW 1983 R100RS First Engine Start

I also made a summary video of the procedure and recorded the engine start.

VIDEO: 1983 BMW R100RS/RT First Engine Start

 

I show how I remove the carburetors and airbox in this write-up.

• 13 BMW 1983 R100RS Remove Carburetors & Air Box

Since I am converting this RS model to an RT, the handlebar throttle and choke cables have to be longer and I show how to change the handlebar cables in the Bowden assembly. I installed them when I installed the handlebar perches as shown here.

• 32 BMW 1983 R100RT Install Handlebar Perch Assemblies

I had the air box powder coated. Although the carburetor rebuild was a couple years ago, I rode the bike less than 1,500 miles after the rebuild and they have been off the bike for about two years. I inspected the o-rings and found they are in good condition so no need to do another carburetor rebuild.

Since I modified the engine to boost compression from 8.2:1 to 9.5:1 and had the heads bored for dual spark plugs, I have to change the carburetor jetting. This engine has the same configuration as the engine in my 1977 R100RS that has the CFO (California, Florida, Oregon) configuration, so I use the same carburetor jetting.

When I first got the bike, I rebuilt the carburetors and “updated” the pulse-air system that fed air to the exhaust ports as shown here.

• 13 BMW 1983 R100RS Rebuild Bing 94/40 Carburetors & Karcoma Petcocks
• 13 BMW 1983 R100RS Update Pulse Air System

Here is how I did the work.

• 13 BMW 1983 R100RS Install Carburetors, Cables and Air Box

And this is a video summary of the procedure.

VIDEO: 1983 R100RS Install Carburetors, Cables And Air Box

Here are a few pictures from the write-up.

 

I am not using the stock side stand for three reasons: the bushing and bolt are trash, it’s in an inconvenient location hidden by the cylinder and lower fairing panel when extended making it hard to deploy, and the bike came with a Brown’s side stand which mounts further back on the frame so it’s easy to deploy. The left exhaust header bracket is secured to the Brown’s side stand bracket so I installed the side stand when I installed the exhaust system.

I had the center stand repaired and powder coated. I replaced the pivot bolts and bushings due to wear and tear.

Here is a link showing I do this work.

• 46 BMW 1983 R100RS Install Center And Side Stands

I take the bike off the lift test out both stands. It’s nice to have it on the center stand again 🙂