R100/7, with my Son, visiting my past

Nelson's 1977 R100/7, best $1,000.00 ever spent

2008-06-11T17:49:00.000-07:00

My 1977 R100/7

The reason or many reasons why I ride old BMW airhead Motorcycles

A thousand dollar m/c that made many sharpie lines on my map.My brother & ! were seventeen years old, with one thousand miles total riding experience we departed Oklahoma City to attend Duquesne Univ. in Pittsburgh PA. never again on a T100C

One of my favorite trips, two real S's my fake S wandering around the
Pennsylvania mountains.

My thousand dollar basket case on Cadillac Mountain, Maine, watching the sun rise.

With the exception of the 1967 100C run from Oklahoma to Pittsburgh and the outer bank loop these trips were ridden on my 1977 R100/7. When I bought it it was a great touring bike that had not been ridden in six years. It had a full Luftmeister fairing which I ripped off three hours after I got the bike home, the fake S/GS took a while

My fifth time to deals gap, first year that I had the bike I did deals gap twice, once during the Morganton NC rally and then again in September the same year.

Riding the /7 south out of Magnetawan, Ont. Canada,
the year of the great Black Out

My third time, second time on my /7 in Tobermory, Ont. Canada. The first time we were noshing on smoked white fish and Algonquin Dark Ale while a fellow was in the corner singing Neil Young songs with the appropriate Canadian accent/
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I am hoping to extend the map to include, Quincy IL, and N.E. South Dakota

2008-06-10T17:16:00.000-07:00

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I have a Dream

Not the same as MLK's, mine is a bit more selfish, two (2) weeks, two (2) BMW motorbikes and a trip to my past with both of my sons.
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I have two perfect sons, one is a writer the other is a video-blogger. Both great at what they do. With fathers day approaching, it would be great if we could plan a trip into my past with both. One , writing about a dad, an under archiving pop, filmed by the other video blogging son.
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Dreams

I have two old (1977 & 1978) BMW airhead motorcycles. Both will be ready for a father son trip in the summer of 2009, on the eve of my Sept. sixty's birthday.
.....the above is my 1977 R100/7, I call it a fake S/GS. It has one problem in the two amber lights with 1157 bulbs in same. It is illegal to run amber tail lights in the rear of a vehicle. The BMW clock was replaced with a S&W Hobbs gauge, which gives my engine hours.

I am rectifying the tail light problem with LED lights from an Internet web site.
http://www.superbrightleds.com/
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I am forced to buy three (3) lights for each side, one brake, amber turn and red tail lights. These lights will make the rear of my /7 "street legal"
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The aluminum panniers were made at "Duerr Equipment" a Pittsburgh, PA heavy equipment truck equipment Mfg. Nice alum work.

My thirty-one (31) year old motorcycle is down for repairs, more like an update. New Dyna Ignition, new alternator rotor. Rick Jones can help you with anything BMW electric, see
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http://www.motoelekt.com/; ask for Rick Jones, he knows BMW electrical systems in & out and has all of the parts necessary for repair.
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Two (2) into one luftmeister exhaust. Dual plugs, Dyna Ignition, Lester mag wheels and a 336 BMW hot-rod camshaft. It is like a high-school friends 1957 Chevy Station wagon, it ran a 327 C.I. V-8 backed by a four (4) speed transmission, he described it as a 57 Chevy with an extra gear.
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the S fairing is mounted solid to the frame with an RS bracket & RS flat handle bars.

My 1978 BMW R100RS, found in a shed south of Butler PA as a true basket case. It is finally ready for the road.
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The final piece of this puzzle is for my sons, one a great writer and the other a world renown video blogger to document a two week trip into my past, documenting everything for their knowledge of their father past.

This is important to me as my father died when I was twenty two (22) years old and I knew nothing about his past.
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I cannot think about a more perfect two (2) weeks to spend with my sons just before my sixtieth birthday.

Nelson's BMW Airhead Motorbikes, Trip to my PAST with my Son

2008-05-03T18:18:00.000-07:00

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I have two (2) BMW airhead motobikes, great machines,
#1) 1977 R100/7 Fake S/GS. I bought this M/C in 1994. It was a full out BMW touring bike with a Luftmeister fairing. A great old fellows m/c/ But I was not ready for a full Luftmeister. But I was ready for a great /7 & I got one. sweet.
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This photo was taken at the top of a gravel road some where in western N.C. gravel and nice, tough on the future of an 1978 R100RS....In the rear is a great little cabin that would be sweet for week-ends on top of the mountain. Western Virginia is a perfect mountain area, pitch a tent @ Hungry Mother State Park and ride about. Great Mex in Marion VA. great 4-5 days getting lost. The price of gas is toning down my aggressiveness for long days on the road.
The following photo is me departing south out of Magnetawan, towards Toronto. I had lunch with my X-girlfriend and separated, She was flying. The electricity went down around 1600, I got a room shortly there after. Bought flat-meat sandwich's an hour later and had dinner b/4 the sun-set.
Departing Magnetawan about 7 hours before the sun-set. I love this photo, Canada is just like another country..
POP
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It would be wonderful to spend three (3) days on motorbikes with my great writer son.....

Nelson BMW Airhead motorcycles...Campingg & Musings of an Old Man

2007-11-28T16:30:00.000-08:00

Motorcycle camping, do not camp with two tarps, one on the ground and one above you it is not comfortable, I have gone soft with the advent of the thermorest.. Great weekend, story to follow, But the best night M/C camping was at an mty PA. state park, hugh pile of firewood, radio, Ice, Bullitt Bourbon and a crystal glass. With good company it is a great night. Jim Beam makes a plastic fifth, after the Beam is gone, wrap it in duct tape and fill with a high grade of Bourbon & one is ready to go.

I was going to work & stopped into a wee C-store (convience store) and a young man was starting his day with two (2) red bulls and a pack of smokes. That was not what shocked me, the down side, other that the warnings in the U.K. on a pack of smokes, the coffin nail...er tobakka lobby must not be very strong in the U.K. was that the above pleasure things cost the kid $12.67, W.T.F.
Just some musing from an old man.

POP

As my 1977 R100/7 fake S-GS sits

2007-11-24T18:44:00.000-08:00

New touch, two into one Luftmeister exhaust with heat tape.

The engine is a stock 1000 CC BMW with dyna ignt, dual plugs, BMW 336 cam, balanced connecting rods and pistons. new motoelec rotor & thinderchild diode board on solid mounts.

I removed the BMW clock and replaced same with a Hobbs guage. It only runs when the enging runs.
BMW S fairing solid mounted to the steering head with a RS bracket, Toaster tan billit triple clamp and flat RS handle bars.

I get my /7 finished this winter

2007-11-24T18:27:00.000-08:00

All of the parts are perched and in a plastic box ready to be taken to the secret location where my /7 awaits. I just cleaned off my dining room table so the carbs can be rebuilt as soon as I eat the dozen eggs, freeing up the egg container to hold all of my wee carb parts in an orderly manner.
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the engine has been cold for two (2) years, I need to get it working as it is casting a bad mojo on my gold RS. I have a friend who nicknames his motorcycles, he names my /7 "road dog" and during a wicked rain day in Laurel Springs he had an art teacher friend paint it on my aluminum panniers. It was easier to let him paint it than resist.
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But dog spelled backwards is GOD I I do not need him or my /7 to get pissed off and begin to cast an bad mojo over me & my gold RS, this winter it is.
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If I can talk my son into taking two (2) weeks and riding into my past it would be a perfect summer.
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POP

Nelson's 1977 R100/7 Fake S/GS

2007-06-08T09:25:00.001-07:00

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My airhead BMW's a 1978 R100RS, new to me, only 187 hours on it's Hobbs guage. a wanderful motorcycle
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1977 R100/7 fake S/GS, bought in 1995, it's Hobbs guage show that I have ridden it 926 hours.
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the /7 is apart needs, ignition, charging system, I need to rebuilt the carbs, install luftmeister 2-1 exhaust system and reinstall the aluminum panniers with new & improved brackets, it is a greatr motorcycle.

2008 to Atlantic Canada.

Repair plans for the 1977 BMW R100/7

2007-03-03T14:37:00.000-08:00

The /7 was down all last summer and is sitting in a good friends garage waiting for me to give it a wee bit of attention. I had it out once in the last 1.5 years and the miss drove me nuts, after removing the Dyna p/u plate the back of the plate with the printed circuit was shorting out to the engine causing the miss.
I need to get the machine ready for this summers shakedown runs and the planned 08 trip to the Atlantic Provinces. What are my plans for this old machine?

Charging system. Replace the rotor, http://www.motoelekt.com/
Diode board (with a Thunderchild) http://www.angelfire.com/ca2/thunderchild/
Solid diode ( http://www.motoelekt.com/) mounts and the five (5) rubber mounting bolts on the battery box. I also bought a new battery strap & plastic nuts to finish the under seat area
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Ignition System; The cause of this mess. Install new Dyna Ignition system, also from Motoelekt and cam oil seal. Also I am going to clean and use dielectric grease on all of the electrical connections under the gas tank.

Carburetors; Rebuild with new Bing kits, new cables, petcocks and fuel hose and a like new gas tank in great condition.

Exhaust system; I do not need to replace the Luftmeister mufflers (they sound great) but I found a 2-1 luftmeister on the internet for fifty dollars. I am going to wrap it in exhaust heat tape and see how it sounds. The old 2-2 system and my 336 BMW hot rod cam made the BMW sound like a Norton.

I have new turn signal stalk rubber bushings and need to install bottom support brackets on the bottom of my aluminum panniers connecting same to the passenger foot-peg mounting holes and connect the top backs together so that they hang evenly.

Wheels; Get the wheel bearing cleaned, shimmed and greased.
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This will get the 1977 R100/7 ready for the road. It has been down since my Bar Harbor, ME three week trip two years ago. The one photo is sunrise on the top of Cadillac Mountian, the other is cleaning my carbs at NASCAR at the Glen, Watkins Glen, NY when I thought the miss was fuel related. An easy summer running out the bugs and in 08 the Canadian Atlantic Provinces and Lobster.

It will be nice to get all of the work finished and hit the starter button.

Packing list, what to take?

2007-02-10T09:09:00.000-08:00

Pirsig and Chris on a Honda 305 Superhawk on the left. My BMW R100/7 on the right. Both loaded for long trips.

What to pack for a trip, I usually walk around my house with a laundry basket and try and remember everything. Sometime an item forgot leads to an interesting adventure. Camping in a 43 degree Canadian night will force you to always remember your sleeping bag. burr.

I borrowed Pursig's list from chapter four of ZAMM and added my own comments to update some things with the advancement in lightweight camping equipment. My comments are inserted in bold & italics and are not critics of any ones methods, just my haphazard procedures.

'I got so tired of forgetting things on trips like this; I made this up and store it in a file at home to check off when I am ready to go. I should make list of about everything that I do, but I do not an I have screwed some things up that I should not have and these errors have sent my life careening in unexpected ways.
Most of the items are commonplace and need no comment. Some of them are peculiar to motorcycling and need some comment. Some of them are just plain peculiar and need a lot of comment. The list is divided into four parts: Clothing, Personal Stuff, Cooking and Camping Gear, and Motorcycle Stuff. I agree, if I was predisposed to list.
The first part, Clothing, is simple: This is easy, depending on the season I pack a pair of jeans, heavy Carhart work shorts, gym shorts and a T shirt for every day. I sleep in tomorrows T after my campground shower.
Two changes of underwear.
Long underwear.
One change of shirt and pants for each of us. I use Army-surplus fatigues. They're cheap, tough and don't show dirt. I had an item called "dress clothes" at first but John penciled "Tux" after this item. I was just thinking of something you might want to wear outside a filling station. I do pack a nice golf shirt, Pirsig might have listed it as a “banlon”
One sweater and jacket each. My Aerostich “Darian” jacket with a long sleeve fleece to wear if cold
Gloves. Unlined leather gloves are best because they prevent sunburn, absorb sweat and keep your hands cool. When you're going for an hour or two little things like this aren't important, but when you're going all day long day after day they become plenty important.
Cycle boots.
Rain gear. My Darian is watertight and my pants are Belstaff wax cotton, somewhat water tight
Helmet and sunshade. Full face helmet
Bubble. This gives me claustrophobia, so I use it only in the rain, which otherwise at high speed stings your face like needles. See #8
Goggles. I don't like windshields because they also close you in. These are some British laminated plate-glass goggles that work fine. The wind gets behind sunglasses. Plastic goggles get scratched up and distort vision. See #8
The next list is Personal Stuff:
Combs. Billfold. Pocketknife. Memoranda booklet. Pen. Cigarettes and matches. Flashlight. Soap and plastic soap container. Toothbrushes and toothpaste. Scissors. APCs for headaches. Insect repellent. Deodorant (after a hot day on a cycle, your best friends don't need to tell you). Sunburn lotion. (On a cycle you don't notice sunburn until you stop, and then it's too late. Put it on early.) Band-Aids. Toilet paper. Washcloth (this can go into a plastic box to keep other stuff from getting damp). Towel. No cigarettes but I do carry a plastic lighter for the cigars purchased at gas stops. No T-P, I do very little outdoor squatting. I should carry a washcloth & do a towel
Books. I don't know of any other cyclist who takes books with him. They take a lot of space, but I have three of them here anyway, with some loose sheets of paper in them for writing. These are:
The shop manual for this cycle. Agree
A general troubleshooting guide containing all the technical information I can never keep in my head. This is Chilton's Motorcycle Troubleshooting Guide written by Ocee Rich and sold by Sears, Roebuck. No wonder the sack behind chris is so large, I carry a cell phone and my good friend mechanics telephone numbers` Along with the BMWMOA's anonymous book, which lists members by city and phone number and SAME for BMW dealers and aftermarket suppliers, only for when things go wrong, and it works.
A copy of Thoreau's Walden -- which Chris has never heard and which can be read a hundred times without exhaustion. I carry a well worn copy of Pirsig’s “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”
I see Chris is sleeping over there completely relaxed, none of his normal tension. I guess I won't wake him up yet.
Camping Equipment includes:
Two sleeping bags.
Two ponchos and one ground cloth. These convert into a tent and also protect the luggage from rain while you are traveling. Canoe dry bag, and a small nylon backpack tent, I wrap my tent & sleeping mat in a small green plastic tarp which doubled as my ground cloth
Rope.-NOPE
U. S. Geodetic Survey maps of an area where we hope to do some hiking. NO
Machete. NO
Compass. NO
Canteen. YES, it is a round, flat cowboy canteen with blanket sides. Wet the sides and it cools the contents
Two Army-surplus mess kits with knife, fork and spoon. Basically
A collapsible Sterno stove with one medium-sized can of Sterno. I have a Coleman dual-fuel backpacking stove, a thoughtful Christmas present from my son Nate.
Some aluminum screw-top tins. For lard, salt, butter, flour, sugar. A mountaineering supply house sold us these years ago. NO, buy cheese and crackers, wine, canned beans or eat-out.
Brillo, for cleaning. I should but I do not, toss dirty tins,
Two aluminum-frame backpacks. W.T.F.? the whole rear of my BMW is a backpack.
Motorcycle Stuff. A standard tool kit (yes the BMW kit is great) comes with the cycle and is stored under the seat. This is supplemented with the following:
A large, adjustable open-end wrench. A machinist's hammer. A cold chisel. A taper punch. (W.T.F.?) I am not working on a Flathead V8 ford. A pair of tire irons. A tire-patching kit. A bicycle pump. YES A can of molybdenum disulfide spray for the chain. BMW has a drive shaft, many time Pirsig starts his morning adjusting his chain,(This has tremendous penetrating ability into the inside of each roller where it really counts, and the lubricating superiority of molybdenum disulfide is well known. Once it has dried off, however, it ought to be supplemented with good old SAE-30 engine oil.) Impact NO driver. A point file. Feeler gauge. NO electronic ignition, no points. Test lamp. YES
Spare parts include:
Plugs. Throttle, clutch and brake cables. Points, fuses, headlight and taillight bulbs, chain-coupling link with keeper, cotter pins, baling wire. Spare chain (this is just an old one that was about shot when I replaced it, enough to get to a cycle shop if the present one goes). I have an extra clutch cable and various relays supplemented with a credit card, a camping site and overnight delivery
And that's about it. No shoelaces.
It would probably be normal about this time to wonder what sort of U-Haul trailer all this is in. But it's not as bulky, really, as it sounds. If the problem is insurmountable, rent a truck for one of the many agencies and truck it home. I also have a tank-bag and tank panniers that will be covered later.

Getting the 1977 BMW R100/7 ready

2007-02-04T18:54:00.000-08:00

I found this 1977 R100/7 in a garage in Milvale, PA. It was set up as A full touring rig. Luftmeister fairing, fibreglas rear box and Krauser bags, all painted to match.

It took me about 2 days to replace the touring gear with an "S" fairing mounted solid to the frame with an extra RS bracket that was hanging in my rafters. Flat RS handle bars replaced the standard hi-rise touring bars and the fibre-glas rear box was soon to be sold with all of the surplus touring gear.

Since 1995 it has taken me from the Nanchez Trace parkway, to Cadilac Mountain, high above Bar Harbor ME to watch the sun jump out of the Atlantic Ocean on an early summer morning. From picking the bike up after dropping same on a dirt road leading from a wonderful turn of the century house on Ahmic Lake to the mountain of George and the Great Smoky Mountains.

On my return from Maine it developed a sporadic miss which I mis-diagnosed as a fuel related problem when it was an ignition problem. I want to take this machine on a two week 2008 trip to Canada's Atlantic Provinces so some work must be done and bugs worked out during the 2007 summer. The photo on the left shows me cleaning out the jets in the left Bing carb. I thought it was fixed but the miss returned shortly after pulling out of the NASCAR race at Watkins Glen.

This is not one of the around the world epic journeys that are the subject of most blogs, but a trip well with in the means of the average person with regular money and vacation avalible. I need to replace the diode board with a Thunderchild Board, rebuilt the Bing Carbs, new Alternator rotor, remount the aluminum paniers along with some other matters that will become apparent as the work progresses.