Formal Introductions From a New Airhead

[Major Softie]

Yeah, even if the dealer guy is right in a practical sense about just watching for cracking, I can't imagine someone putting their dealership in jeopardy that way: tremendous liability in suggesting you not participate in a mandatory recall.

[Ken in Oklahoma]

My '78 R100 S has that original recalled wheel. At the time I lived hundreds of miles from the closest BMW dealer and just didn't get it changed out for free. However I did buy a used post-recall snowflake because I knew there would be a time when I would want one. (The '78 R100S has, in effect, been on display for several years. My main 'riders' are my '77 R100S and my '77 R100/7.)

I'm a little fuzzy about what fits what on airheads nowadays (too little wrenching) but I believe a spoked front wheel will interchange nicely. That might be an option for you. Same thing would hold true for the rear wheel, though there is no problem with the rear snowflake wheel. I personally prefer the look of spoked wheels.

By the way, since you're apparently new to airheads, in the carburetor department you should be aware that the floats will soak up gas over the years and get 'heavy'. One is tempted to re-adjust the float level to suit, but that didn't work for me the three or so times I tried it. You can adjust the gas level in the bowl sure enough, but you still have a 'heavy' float. I was constantly readjusting the float level only to have the leak keep on reappearing. In other words, with the heavy float I was running out of acceptable float level headroom.

New floats aren't cheap, but the frustration of old floats is expensive to the psyche. I keep a new set of floats in my spares stock, knowing that I'm going to need them someday. (Psst! you also need to keep a new set of coils in stock as well. Oh yeah, and new carb diaphragms.)

Ken

[Duane Ausherman]

Are you Phillip Miller? Don't mess around with parts that have been sitting around that long. Instead, ask for the list of stuff that should be replaced as a matter of course. Ken's list is a good start. Ken keeps spares of everything, well, almost everything.