K1

[Skylinechili]

Hello all, I recently inherited an 89' K1 with just under 6500 miles. The bike has been sitting in storage for about 10 years. Looking for some advice on steps to get her back on the road, first steps ect. Thanks in advance!

[schrader7032]

These were an amazing bike from BMW! I think one would tackle all the usuals such as fluids, filters, and likely get the tires replaced. Bleed the brakes. The bike as ABS and at some point I'm sure the system would need to be serviced. I suppose you could assume it works OK but then maybe do some parking lot testing by stomping on the rear brakes only and see if the wheel locks or just slows down...never had had to do something like that so I'm only guessing. I wonder if the electronics has any fault codes that you would need to research.

[Skylinechili]

Thank you for the reply! I appreciate your advice.

[WeinerWarner]

Congratulations on finding a K-1 with low mileage they are truly one-of-a-kind futuristic motorcycle. I have a 1985 K100 RS that I thoroughly enjoyed and maintain for 37 years. It is probably my favorite bike over my other 5 BMW motorcycles. But with age you can have problems that you may not suspect. Just this past week after bleeding my brakes I decided to check on the brake pads and found out that the 2 front sets of pads that are high quality aftermarket HH pads had rusted on the backside up against the caliper piston. I've ordered rebuild kits I just hope the caliper pistons are not rusted. It's fairly simple to pull your brake pads check and clean them and even flat sandpaper the brake pad surface. Reinstall them with new high-quality break and caliper grease. I'm using CRC breaking caliper grease that is safe to use on the rubber brake caliper seals. I'm so glad I checked and found there was an issue I'm planning to ride to the MOA International Rally in Springfield Missouri about 1,000 miles away next month and I will have confidence that my brakes will work fine. Your fuel system is another area of concern you may want to run a fuel injection cleaner additive to your fuel like Chevron Techron. The early K bike series have a large flat area on top of the motor between the air filter box and the radiator that is perfect place for mice to build a nest, I've had that also. Good luck with the K-1, hope to see on the road someday.

[rockers]

WW

You must not have rode your K1 to the MOA Rally? Maybe due to the heat. Good idea. Mine (Ketchup/Mustard) was the only one I saw at the rally and I rode down from northern Wisconsin.

The heat from the weather and the bike was bad and I even formed some blisters on the back of my legs.

Bob Alexander