’05 BCR Rescued and Rebuilt

[BMWR502]

First… A big thanks to everyone on this forum who I purchased parts from, or reached out to for technical advice. No question, this project would not have been such a success without this forum (and eBay!).

A year and a half ago, I got a heads up from a fellow St. Louis Pelican about an ’05 BCR w/ 31k miles that Gateway BMW was trying to sell quick & cheap. The bike was in no condition for them to display with their used motorcycles, as it was partially disassembled and there was a known drivetrain issue making it unrideable. While inspecting the bike, I noticed some very shoddy main wiring harness repairs, and the dealer didn’t give me a ton of confidence when they refused to throw a battery in it to let me hear it run. But, one of the service guys said he heard it run, and that it sounded healthy to him. Given the asking price, I was pretty confident I wasn’t going to lose my a$$ whether or not there were more and/or larger problems that weren’t known (worst case scenario… part it out).



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The good news was, all the BCR panels and bits were present, and for the most part in decent shape. And it did have the dealer installed BCR Laser cans (but w/ stock cat converter). So I bought the bike, threw it in the back of a truck, threw all the bits in my car, and took her home. To my surprise… some fresh gas, a battery, and a little ether was all it took to get it to start. Idle was strong, but off-idle revving was pretty rough. I dropped it in gear and let the clutch out... It didn’t even attempt to move so much as an inch. But there was no metal-on-metal type noises and no grinding, so I was fairly certain the trans input shaft and clutch hub were still engaged. At that point I figured it was highly likely that the clutch disc was completely saturated in engine, trans, or hydraulic oil.

[BMWR502]

Having now heard it run, I determined it was worth my time/money to attempt to bring her back to her former glory. That weekend I got it torn down to just the engine/front frame/forks. I was astonished to find that not only was the clutch disc bone dry, but the input shaft and clutch hub were not trashed. In just 31k miles, the previous owner somehow managed to wear the friction disc material down so far that it nearly wore the heads off the clutch hub attach rivets (I have a funny feeling alcohol and an attempted burnout may have played a role in this). Unfortunately, the dreaded trans input shaft fretting was worse than I was comfortable with, even with a clutch hub spacer installed.



So the bike sat in that condition for the better part of a year while I slowly acquired all the parts I knew I’d need, and of course… some unnecessary ones. After noticing tiny teeth marks on the trans vent, I assumed mice had chewed through the wiring harness, which was the reason there were splice repairs all throughout. Not wanting to deal with fixing someone else’s botched repairs or electrical issues during reassembly, I sourced a used main harness from a fellow Pelican. I scored a 31k mile (total coincidence) trans on eBay with mint input shaft splines. Got the complete extended hub clutch kit from BBY (since Cele001 quit selling his hub spacer). And placed a “Brake My Wallet” order at Max BMW for all the OEM parts that were either trashed or missing.

[BMWR502]

I drilled the weep hole in the trans case, threw in the new clutch kit, used trans (splines lubed), new BBY slave cylinder, and got the clutch bled. Pivot bearings actually looked really good, and there was no evidence of a final drive leak at the input shaft or wheel hub. I routed and secured the used main harness, then slapped the rear frame, paralever, and final drive back on.





Having made good progress on the mechanical end, I decided to spend the next couple weekends getting the wheels, body panels, and exhaust cleaned up. It was painfully obvious that this bike had spent a good majority of its life stored outdoors (which was later verified by the P/O’s address on the title). The P/O had removed the word Cup from the Boxer Cup decal, so both decals got replaced. It was also fairly obvious that the bike was bottomed out while being loaded onto a trailer at some point, as the front belly pan mount was mangled and the leading edge of the belly pan itself had some nasty damage. I ended up spending a borderline embarrassing amount of time getting all of the painted parts polished/waxed, and polishing the exhaust from header to muffler, but I still feel it was time well spent considering how good everything turned out.

[BMWR502]

Once the cosmetic stuff was complete, I rebuilt the fuel supply system with BBY pump kit, and had the fuel injectors ultrasonically cleaned (shop said one of them was barely spitting/sputtering, but both cleaned up and were balanced). Cleaned the TB’s, BBS’s, and replaced all the o-rings. Primary stick coils were replaced and 4 new spark plugs were installed. After installing the starter and changing the engine oil, it was time to do a “Zero = 250” on the TPS, and attempt a start. That’s when I ran into the exact kind of issues I was hoping to avoid by throwing the old main wiring harness in the garbage and putting in a known good one. I was reading 5V at locations that should have been 0V, the GS-911 was throwing codes for open/short circuit at the Intake Air Temp and the Engine Temp sensors, and TPS upper/lower potentiometer out-of-range. After running continuity checks between the old harness, new harness, and my ’03 S, I found one wire common to all three of these sensors, but did not find a single shred of damage to the harness. After double and triple checking every single connection, and thoroughly cleaning all the grounds, the problem was still present. Even though I thought it wasn’t the smartest idea, I threw the single spark ECU from the ’03 into the ’05, and Bingo! I no longer had the crazy voltage problems (but I did not hook up the GS-911 to read codes). Decided at this point there was no risk involved in cracking the ’05 ECU open, and upon doing so, I found one trace on the back of the board that was completely burned out. Ended up finding a twin spark ECU on eBay, threw it in, and had the correct voltage readings everywhere and no codes via the GS-911.



I got her running for the first time in 16 months this last weekend. With valves and rocker arms properly gapped, Zero = 250 on TPS, TB’s balanced, plugs, coils, new fuel pump/filter….. she is running like a dream! After a successful 3 mile test ride around the neighborhood, I threw the tupperware back on, and had a couple celebratory adult beverages.

[BMWR502]

Only have a few small remaining items to finish up. The original windscreen has some pretty bad UV damage, so I am going to attempt to polish it up and may end up tinting it. If it turns out like crap, I’ll probably pick up another MRA screen, as I have been pretty happy with the one I put on the ’03. I bought used hand controls and heated grips to add to the bike (and new Progrip hand grips) that still need to be installed. I also need to figure out why my low fuel and low oil pressure idiot lights in the instrument cluster are nonfunctional. After searching the forum, I should have been able to get the oil pressure light to light up by jumping the single wire in the connector to ground, but no such luck. I am going to plug the ’05 cluster into the ’03, if I’ve got neither light at that point, I know it’s the LED’s themselves or the little circuit card in the cluster is shot.





With R1100S prices where they are these days I’m sure some of you think I am insane for buying such a basket-case of a bike, and dumping that much time and money into it vs buying a nice one. Maybe I am a little crazy for having done it, but even if I knew then what I know now, I’d still do it again. I really had no good reason or interest in buying a second complete/nice BCR, I bought this one because I knew it would be a challenging and fun project. I also feel really good about having saved her from being killed (parted out on eBay) and giving her a second chance at a life full of twisty Ozark roads!

[buzzerbee]

Well done! And, you're now quite knowlegeable about the inner workings of the R1100S.

[BMWR502]

Originally Posted by buzzerbee

Well done!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by buzzerbee

And, you're now quite knowlegeable about the inner workings of the R1100S.

Unfortunately.... this wasn't my first complete teardown/rebuild, it was just a bit more extensive than the first one.

Worn splines through starter hole w/ video

[tic105]

Excellent work Dan - great to see another BCR put back on the road!

[Chris Canning]

Not sure to laugh or cry reading this well done for time and hassle as anyone who has ever retro fitted original heated grips knows their are as many options as rear shock lengths for the S,but jeez all that effort just to get one to the original starting point but hey it does look good.

[BMWR502]

Originally Posted by tic105

Excellent work Dan - great to see another BCR put back on the road!

Thanks Tom!

Originally Posted by Chris Canning

Not sure to laugh or cry reading this........but jeez all that effort just to get one to the original starting point but hey it does look good.

It was a lot of effort, but I still contend it was worth it. I didn't do it to turn a profit, nor did I expect it to only take a few hours to fix. It was a challenge that required a lot of patience, but now I get to enjoy the payoff for all that hard work.

[Mitch1100]

Top job..thanks for sharing

[R1100S-Slick]

Yes,

Thank You ! That was very illuminating and interesting. Well Done! Now go out and slay a few apexes!


Slick...

[wswartzwel]

Congrats Daniel! Enjoy seeing your talent and hard work payoff. Saw the images on your FB feed, and am glad to see you posting here.

[BMWR502]

Originally Posted by wswartzwel

Congrats Daniel! Enjoy seeing your talent and hard work payoff. Saw the images on your FB feed, and am glad to see you posting here.

Thanks Bill. After a local ride or two, I'd like to get her down to Arkansas for a couple day trip. I'll give you a heads up before I head that way and see if you're available to join in on some of the fun.

[wswartzwel]

[Chris Canning]

Originally Posted by BMWR502

Thanks Tom!



It was a lot of effort, but I still contend it was worth it. I didn't do it to turn a profit, nor did I expect it to only take a few hours to fix. It was a challenge that required a lot of patience, but now I get to enjoy the payoff for all that hard work.

My point was(poorly made)now you are back the start point all you need is some aftermarket sus,Lennies Induct/SJ filter some means of adjusting the fuelling,a decent seat and then you really will be heading in the right direction

[BMWR502]

Originally Posted by Chris Canning

My point was(poorly made)now you are back the start point all you need is some aftermarket sus,Lennies Induct/SJ filter some means of adjusting the fuelling,a decent seat and then you really will be heading in the right direction

Thanks Chris. I may not have taken the most cost effective approach on this one, but having gone through it to the extent that I did, there's little in question about the condition of the bike. I've got Ohlins installed on on my '03, and have been searching for a used set for the '05 for the past 6 months with no luck. AF-XiED, SJ filter, and stainless brake lines are also part of the longer term plan. For the time being... I want to get some miles on the bike, and ensure I am not throwing mods on to mask any unknown issues.

[BMWR502]

Heating elements, hand controls, and grips got installed last night. Heat works very well, going to be a nice to have on those cold fall mornings.





I'm planning on plugging the instrument cluster into the '03 tonight to see if the low oil pressure light and low fuel level lights work or not. Having already tried grounding the oil pressure connector, I have a suspicion the LED or circuit board in the cluster is no good. The low fuel light could be a stuck float in the tank, the harness at the pump plate, or once again... the circuit board in the cluster. If any one knows of any additional tests I could do to pinpoint my issues, I'm all ears!

[Chris Canning]

Originally Posted by BMWR502

Thanks Chris. I may not have taken the most cost effective approach on this one, but having gone through it to the extent that I did, there's little in question about the condition of the bike. I've got Ohlins installed on on my '03, and have been searching for a used set for the '05 for the past 6 months with no luck. AF-XiED, SJ filter, and stainless brake lines are also part of the longer term plan. For the time being... I want to get some miles on the bike, and ensure I am not throwing mods on to mask any unknown issues.

Hey your talking to the wrong guy about money and logic I paid $250 for a Ti front wheel spindle and probably half of the nearly 20 years i’ve Owned the dam thing I have hated it with a passion that’s the bike not the spindle

[Chris Canning]

Originally Posted by BMWR502

Heating elements, hand controls, and grips got installed last night. Heat works very well, going to be a nice to have on those cold fall mornings.





I'm planning on plugging the instrument cluster into the '03 tonight to see if the low oil pressure light and low fuel level lights work or not. Having already tried grounding the oil pressure connector, I have a suspicion the LED or circuit board in the cluster is no good. The low fuel light could be a stuck float in the tank, the harness at the pump plate, or once again... the circuit board in the cluster. If any one knows of any additional tests I could do to pinpoint my issues, I'm all ears!

I’d work backwards change the filter in the tank and check inside is ok before going the electric route.