Hey! Thanks for the advice. I'd replaced the battery, and the starter would not disengage. I was about to throw in the towel and waste serious money when I found your video. A tap or two on the relay and I was off to town. Keep it up, you are a serious resourse for old guys who love old bikes.
You're the man, Chris! My 1986 K75C suddenly didn't want to start. I found that I had a short circuit between positive and negative, and that the supply to the strat motor was constant. When I unplugged the feed to the starter, the short circuit stopped. Now it remains to be seen if changing the starting relay will fix it all. Fingers crossed
I just ordered those two clips because they were missing from my “new” K75. Let’s just say I’m not putting them on....😂 thanks Chris! And thank you for all your videos! Amazing the amount of wisdom and knowledge I’ve learned about these K bikes from you.
You, sir, are a K-bike owner's best friend (aside from the bike itself). Thank you for your rich explanation of the C-clip hazard and the antidote to the dreaded welded starter relay, especially in cold climates where it's the dreaded price you pay for battery neglect. What's next, of course, is a clip highlighting the prevention or a fix for that PITA stuck sprag clutch, provided a K75 or K100 comes in requiring that repair. Thanks for all you do for this community, Chris. You rock.
Thank you. Use the proper oil and the sprag isn't a problem! Some day a video perhaps but that job sucks and I'd rather be holding hand grips than wrenches.
Another thing I would like to add, is that I stopped using acid batteries on motorbikes that doesn't require a lot of capacity out of them (turning on radio while motorbike off, turning the grip heaters on while the bike off...) I made myself a LiFePo4 battery, which doesn't catch fire as opposed to their brothers Li-Ion, or Li-Po. 0 cold problems starting, and they are 12v just as the stock acid-lead battery! If you even push it, they will start a car engine without even blinking if needed! Keep the great job Chris! You make our day everytime you upload one of those videos!
love your videos Chris had the same problem with my 90' k75 10 years ago when I got it lol knew right away what it was grabbed a wrench for the neg. lead asap love the videos educational and love the old k bikes!!! keep videos coming thanks from Nebraska where the start of every long trip is boring as hell!!!
hi chris yet another fantastic video from you full of fantastic useful advice what would we BMW bike owners do without you. keep up the good work chris and all the best from the BMW motorcycle owners of the uk. God bless you lad.
Thank you so much for your video, I thought I destroyed my electronics! I have the issue described and am hoping with a new relay my k bike will be back to normal!
Had a K100 that had all sorts of crazy electrical things happening, everything weird, signals, lights, starter, and it was a shunt in the starter, electricity finding a crazy path due to worn brushes, debris, etc.
I would love to add something. If for any emergency situation, you don't have any of those relays at hand... get a screwdriver and smack the side of the box where the relay is, not too strong, but a good tap. With some luck, it will stop trying to turn on by itself and you can get home. But, as Chris said, replace them as soon as you can. Regards!
Which, coincidentally, I had to do last Friday! By the time I got in there the contact had opened so I cleaned it up with emery paper (it didn't seem to need it though) snapped it back together and it ran - even on an obviously end-of-life battery. Got a Yuasa AGM replacement coming tomorrow so fingers crossed the pesky ABS lights go out and life can continue as normal :-)
If you're in a head on collision, I'd argue that you're already pretty unlucky! Lol, I guess being on fire would be worse though. Thanks for the tip, my k1100rs didn't have those clips when I got it. I was going to replace them, but now I won't. Thanks for another informative video!
Thanks Chris, I was ready to walk away! I also discovered the starter-button internals werent making proper contact and tapping this would also 'sometimes' stop it Self-Cranking. Could this be another underlying problem, causing the relay to crap-out ? My relay looked new, ie, replaced, and my battery was a bit flat, but not that old. Thanks again, Dave. NZ
Hey Chris, is there a way to reduce to likelihood of hitting this issue? What is the root cause ? My son just bought a 1998 K100rs and we were told of the possibility of having this problem, he even directed us to your youtube video. As soon as we got home and started the bike we hit this problem. smh. I would like to figure out if there is some underlying problem that needs to be fixed. Thanks. great video.
You need a strong battery. A weak battery allows the relay to fail leading to the continued engine cranking until the battery is dead. Good luck, Chris
Hi sir i need some help please, my bike wont start after reparing the starter when i try to turn it on i can only hear the starter running and nothing else , before that i could hear the fuel pump running and a clicking relay , do you know what it might be?thanks
Hello Chris..what's going on, there aren't many of your videos about K100 anymore, when will you post anything..they are very instructive. And I need another piece of advice on how to set the idle speed on the K100 RS (1985) tnx ...
That is because old K's don't need as much attention! I will have more but things take time and funding. Set your idle with the mixture screw on each throttle body.
@@ChrisR.Harris Too many turns for idling, i know..the engine lasted 12 years, I cleaned all the contacts, injectors, replaced the gas pump and fuel lines and the engine started..probably someone tried to fix something before..so the only way to reduce rpm is with the mixture screw on each throttle body? huuh :(
Hey Chris, I love your videos. I have a couple of K bikes and you've been a huge help keeping these f**kers going! I had the relay on one of them fail and the starter kept going until it burned up the battery cable. Not that I didn't try to get it disconnected but I wasn't quick enough. What is your opinion of installing a battery disconnect switch? Keep up the great work and antics!
Hi Rodney, I don't feel it necessary as the starter relay is only at risk with a depleted battery. The disconnect adds another link in the complex K electrical chain so I'd refrain from that mod but thank you for asking, it was a good idea, Chris
I changed the starter relay, fully charged the (new) battery, and it turns over as soon as I touch the negative connector. (Key out of the switch) Any ideas?
Hi Chris, I have a bmw k75s 1991 and i was playing around with the carbs (like a idiot) it cut my bike out while running. I've replaced the battery and the starter motor as both had gone, what would you recommend now if the bike still does not start? I would appreciate your help as you have the knowledge we all are looking for! Thank you.
Hi Ryan, being fuel injected they are actually throttle bodies but what did you do to the 'carbs'? I can get a better picture of your dilemma if I had more information. Thanks, Chris
Chris Harris thanks so much for replying Chris, I was trying to find the best idle point by twisting each equally, however it stalled my bike and also killed the battery, after trying start the bike several times like a idiot. I also killed the starter relay, i now have a new battery and starter relay the bike powers on, however I turned all the throttle bodies completely shut. I haven’t tried starting the bike, how many turns should I try and start with on the throttle bodies to get the bike going again without damaging anything?
@@ryanwilliams-iv6vv There's nothing to damage so back them all out 1 turn and see if the engine will start. Use a Carb-Tune II or such to dial the throttle bodies in after you get it running. Good Luck, Chris www.beemerboneyard.com/carbtune4col.html
Any chance of getting a video to check the throttle position switch and fuel pressure regulator ? Trying to keep an 84 k100rs on the road that is already causing enough grief.
I've purchased 94 BMW K75 with 16500 miles on it. Only $1500 I know someone who went to Alaska from Chicago on similar motorcycle. He has 300000 miles on it and still riding. I've heard that those motorcycles least forever. What are your thoughts about them? Have a great long time off. Enjoy.
K75 is very reliable. Check rear drive pinion / driveshaft spline wear. Cooling fans seize from lack of use; these run much cooler than the bigger displacement in-lines do. You generally can't go wrong buying a running K75 for $1500, especially with such little mileage. Enjoy.
Chris Harris thank you for your time. I've been watching your videos and you telling a lot about those bikes. I was bor and raised in Poland. I've been a lot in Germany. That is why I prefer BMW. I've always liked them. They have a style.
If you throw those tank clips away on an S, C or standard then the rear of the tank can creep up and your battery covers will escape. DAMHIK. And if you crash hard enough to rip those posts off of the tank then you're probably going to be pushing up daisies anyhow.
No, I've seen those rear mounting posts sheer off with a low speed impact where the rider didn't even fall off the bike. Those clips are dangerous. Use fresh grommets and the tank stays down with all but a trip around the MX track. Thanks for writing, Chris
hello criss like you videos! I have a k100rs abs 92 . I changed the startamotor brushes and checked that it ran and put it back in bike! Got it back together prest the button and it sorted out big time rev counter going mental lights hole shabag . frying the batter! I checed the relay is working. the cables all seam fine and I have gone round all the earth! any ideas? the gold clips are now in the bucket!
for got to say turn key off out still shorting! couldn't get batter out quick anuff. dident think I could fuck up that bad in the startmotor!. I do get a strait throw beep we a multi meater?
I feal silly. the batter shorted itself in side it's self! just a bad timeing. for it doing sow. bmw are fun. to work on! Cheers Chris looking forward to more vidios
Depending on which model K bike you should have enough room to raise the rear of the fuel tank enough to get the lid off and the relay exchanged. If the fuel hoses are too short to lift the rear of the tank you'll need to disconnect at least the rearmost fuel hose. See my Patreon channel for my new material: www.patreon.com/user?u=25101320 I wish you luck, Chris
