Anyone ever rebuilt an R1100S Engine?

[bcolins]

Bought a 99 R1100S today at an auction. The seller I should probably not try to jump start it (dead battery) as it had a bad oil leak............Bad oil leak sounded strange to me,....I looked at the sight glass,....it was overfilled..........so thought perhaps it was pushing oil out of a vent somewhere due to overfilling. got it home charged the battery, drained the oil out.....new BMW filter and Castrol 20-50. Also drained the old fuel and refilled the tank with fresh premium.

Turned the key.............and good lord!!!!!!!!!!!! What a noise..............sounds like big ball peen hammers rapping around inside the engine. I let it idle for a minute to see if it would pass..................it did not. shut it off,.....restarted..........there is definitely something loose, bent or broken in the motor.....maybe a rod bearing,....or ???????? Main bearing????

My guess is the guy at the auction knew it was bad, and didn't want me to start it until I had left.


So, now my options are, 1) sell it as is and move on,..........2) rebuild it, which I would probably try to do myself. Anyone ever attempted this? I don't have an engine stand, but would consider buying one (Harbor freight).....I am open to any input.

I have built a few automobile engines.........years ago......but probably wouldnt attempt this unless it could be done for $500 in parts and a couple of weekends of work.

Any thoughts?

Brian

[AntonLargiader]

It's almost definitely rods. If it was run long enough the crank is toast which really changes things. If the crank is OK, you're looking at new rod bearings and possibly rods. You can price them online. Figure half a day to get in there far enough to measure the crank and a full day to reassemble.

It's quite possible that only the rod bearings are bad, but it's obviously a crap shoot.
Hopefully you paid 'non-running bike' value for it. If you have to split the case, I think you'll end up deciding to get rid of the bike.

Overfilled with clean unused oil and "don't start it"... you had to see that one coming!

[captainasty]

What extra's, details, and price. I might be able to take off your hands. I need another project.

[foobeemer]

Make sure the throttle body cables are BOTH properly seated before you declare it internal.

[SergioK]

Unseated throttle cables don't sound like ball peen hammers going at the internals.

[varmint]

was the bike shaking as well? or just noise?



beemerboneyard. i see used engines going for around $800.

[Bigred455]

I would also be interested in it, if you decide to dump it.

[bcolins]

Bike is a 99 with 33K on it. New Michelin Pilots. right side valve cover has a few of the usual scratches. Silver and Mandarin two tone................the best one in my opinion.

[bcolins]

Bike was smooth....just very noisy. I have bought oilheads in the past with an unseated throttle cable.....they were rough,....but no ball peen hammer sound......but...............I will go check them.

just checked.............seated on both sides

brian

[bcolins]

Bike is for sale on Austin Craigslist. Sure would like to fix it...........its my favorite color combination on the S; but not a good time to be spending time on a project bike for me.

Here's the Craigslist link;

http://austin.craigslist.org/mcy/807600279.html


Brian 512-913-3969
bcollins7@sbcglobal.net

[roger albert]

that is crazy expensive for a bike with a motor in that condition.
Could be a good project for someone, but considering runners are only a couple thousand more, this would make no sense for anyone to buy.

[bcolins]

Might be to you, but for someone who has a good engine or access to one for a reasonable price ($500-1000) and some time for a project,....this bike still makes sense. They are in the bike under $5000 and have a bike that is somewhat rare and the pride of having rescued a classic from the scrap heap.......they could ride the bike indefinitely and still sell it for a profit..................assuming that like myself,.....when they twiddle on project cars and bikes.......they dont assume an hourly rate for their time.

Just a different perspective that you might not see since you do it as a business.....its just about numbers for you.................for enthusiasts like myself.....their is a much bigger picture.

I spent 13 years doing a nut and bolt restoration on an Austin Healey 3000,.....a labor of love for me.

That price just breaks me even on the bike.....actually a bout a 500 hundred dollar loss if I count the trailer rental, gas for 400 miles of driving and a day off from work

If I dont get that for it,.....I will just buy an engine from Beemer boneyard for $800 if I cant find one locally and make it a winter project. come spring time.....I have a beautifull and desireable S bike that is worth more than I have in it,....plus I get to ride it for free until I sell it for a profit.

Again, for a guy like you who is in the motor cycle repair and resale business,...the numbers and time required to do this sort of thing.....just dont make sense................to others in the world.............it can make perfect sense.

[Bigred455]

Is this brian collins that works at BMW Austin?

[bcolins]

Hi George,

I left BMW about a year ago. I've been slowly working my way back in to real estate (I've been a licensed realtor for several years). If you want to visit further. call me at 512-913-3969

[captainasty]

I think you have missed the boat on this one. I'm a enthusiast and still would not give that kind of money for a 10yr old bike with problems, unless I knew for sure what the fix was. There is NO profit in your project unless you have free parts and labor. Even with a used motor, it needs to be check throughly. I wish you well my friend.

[Peter Parts]

I think we're beginning to cross the line between tech arguments and berating a person's values.

I recently posted about the time I spent trying to make a Luftmeister 2-into-1 exhaust behave on an Airhead. That didn't "cost" me anything. On the contrary, that was worth the price of a university course in learning new stuff and trying to accomplish something hard. Brought a whole lot of complementary activities and skills into my otherwise sedate professional life. My best fun is doing switcheroos with carbs - go figure that in dollars-and-cents terms. One of these days, I just might put a superior air-mass TB/EFI on the R1100S.

We all can pick and choose our challenges. But there have to be few challenges as engaging and plain risky that you kids can still do at home without the cops visiting as an Oilhead engine making clanging noises. Love it. Lucky guy.

[ckcarr]

I remember when we would worry about a tiny chip in the fiberglass front fender...

[bcolins]

Originally Posted by AntonLargiader

It's almost definitely rods. If it was run long enough the crank is toast which really changes things. If the crank is OK, you're looking at new rod bearings and possibly rods. You can price them online. Figure half a day to get in there far enough to measure the crank and a full day to reassemble.

It's quite possible that only the rod bearings are bad, but it's obviously a crap shoot.
Hopefully you paid 'non-running bike' value for it. If you have to split the case, I think you'll end up deciding to get rid of the bike.

Overfilled with clean unused oil and "don't start it"... you had to see that one coming!

Anton,

It sounds like from your post that I might be able to pull the cylinder barrels , pistons and rods with the engine still in the bike. Is that the case?

Do you know of a turtorial online for this procedure??

Brian in Austin.

[bill pierce]

I would make sure it's not a clutch spline issue. These bike have a known to have a problem with that and can make similar bad sounds.

Get the rear wheel off the ground, put it in high gear and turn the rear wheel. Whats it feel like?

[markjenn]

Failed clutch splines, bad cam chain tensioners, and unseated throttle cables do not make ball-peen hammer noises. It is walking like a duck and quacking like a duck - I bet it is a duck... rod knock.

- Mark