My R100GS tale of woe

If you knocked a thousand pound off the asking price then you haven't got a leg to stand on really.

This should had been mentioned earlier, a grand should easily cover all the NECESSARY engine work, bead-blasting etc was the buyer's choice.
I can't now see what the buyer is complaining about :confused:
 
Bam Bam and liith are really nice people (apart from doing a runner with my input shaft :D)

to correct an earlier post it was Lilith that crashed on Bam Bams bike. Gadgets bike used to belong to Bam Bam. The bike was used exactly as a proper airhead GS should have been used. If you check out the old pictures there are pictures of it in the desert somewhere. Its only recently the rivet counters and spoke polishers have got into airheads and have completely spoilt the scene, upped the price of the bikes to silly levels and produced some ridiculously over restored contraptions.

If you knocked a thousand pound off the asking price then you haven't got a leg to stand on really.

As for the damage:-

driveshaft
Clean the top of the pistons to get the loose carbon off (though most of it would have blown out the first time the engine fired). i've fired up engines with worst crap than that in them and within a few minutes youd never have known there was a anything in there
New oil pump
big end shells/cirlips/gaskets

Around three hours labour

to be honest you just needed to clean the carbs I doubt the rest would have ever been an issue. so that just leaves the driveshaft but you did knock a grand off the price so you are well in.


I bet most of the airheads on this site are in the same condition or worse.

If Mikeyboy has fitted one of the new BMW oil pump outers then the original worn parts will pale into insignificance. Moorespeed make their own for a reason :D



as for all you old/fat/little guys pumping yourself up and saying you'd be knocking on the door. Good luck with that! My moneys will be on Bam Bam :D

The price agreed at the purchase has nothing to do with it, I could ask 10k for mine and agree a sale price of 5k but it doesn't mean then that I'm no longer responsible for the untruths I've told the purchaser regardng things I've said I've had done.

GADGET could have been more on the case and asked for some proof/receipts and possibly should have wondered why, if it only needed a battery, the owner hadn't got it fired up. But it doesn't change the situation that the seller declared the engine had been rebuilt which is not the case.
 
He has lost his money, the sellers if not going to refund anything .......... just leave it

I would have scrapped the Bike and sold the bits with genuine descriptions - the wheels, tank, gearbox etc., would have sold ... plus some other bits

He now has a Bike which has cost him £9k to £10K Bike, at best this Bike is worth £3.5k

In situations like this "your first loss is your cheapest" ........ it just depends when you take it

After all the work etc., his current loss is £6.5k ........ had he taken the loss initially his loss may have been £2,5k, (cost of Bike minus sale of bits)

There is no sentimental value in the Bike, it is not a "special" Bike ...... it is an ordinary R100GS ....... just get "real"
 
Bam Bam and liith are really nice people (apart from doing a runner with my input shaft :D)

to correct an earlier post it was Lilith that crashed on Bam Bams bike. Gadgets bike used to belong to Bam Bam. The bike was used exactly as a proper airhead GS should have been used. If you check out the old pictures there are pictures of it in the desert somewhere. Its only recently the rivet counters and spoke polishers have got into airheads and have completely spoilt the scene, upped the price of the bikes to silly levels and produced some ridiculously over restored contraptions.

If you knocked a thousand pound off the asking price then you haven't got a leg to stand on really.

As for the damage:-

driveshaft
Clean the top of the pistons to get the loose carbon off (though most of it would have blown out the first time the engine fired). i've fired up engines with worst crap than that in them and within a few minutes youd never have known there was a anything in there
New oil pump
big end shells/cirlips/gaskets

Around three hours labour

to be honest you just needed to clean the carbs I doubt the rest would have ever been an issue. so that just leaves the driveshaft but you did knock a grand off the price so you are well in.


I bet most of the airheads on this site are in the same condition or worse.

If Mikeyboy has fitted one of the new BMW oil pump outers then the original worn parts will pale into insignificance. Moorespeed make their own for a reason :D



as for all you old/fat/little guys pumping yourself up and saying you'd be knocking on the door. Good luck with that! My moneys will be on Bam Bam :D

Rob,

Don't know where you got your numbers from, but it doesn't tally with what left my bank account, but never mind:rolleyes:
 
He has lost his money, the sellers if not going to refund anything .......... just leave it

I would have scrapped the Bike and sold the bits with genuine descriptions - the wheels, tank, gearbox etc., would have sold ... plus some other bits

He now has a Bike which has cost him £9k to £10K Bike, at best this Bike is worth £3.5k

In situations like this "your first loss is your cheapest" ........ it just depends when you take it

After all the work etc., his current loss is £6.5k ........ had he taken the loss initially his loss may have been £2,5k, (cost of Bike minus sale of bits)

There is no sentimental value in the Bike, it is not a "special" Bike ...... it is an ordinary R100GS ....... just get "real"

Bill, yes your probably right, but I'll still look forward to riding it and eventually will forget what it has /will cost me, life is too short.....
 
Bill, yes your probably right, but I'll still look forward to riding it and eventually will forget what it has /will cost me, life is too short.....

It won't ride great compared with same an "oilhead"

It's only a bloody R100GS, and not even a PD .......... there are lots of other BM's which are more desirable ........ and some really interesting ones that you can buy for £10k ............ people have just got memorised with the letters, GS, G/S and Basic

Buy a Bike from the 50's or 60's or 70's ...... if you want something special .......... to go with your modern "ride"

you could even get an R69 ......... or even an R69S for not much more money
 
The price agreed at the purchase has nothing to do with it, I could ask 10k for mine and agree a sale price of 5k but it doesn't mean then that I'm no longer responsible for the untruths I've told the purchaser regardng things I've said I've had done.

GADGET could have been more on the case and asked for some proof/receipts and possibly should have wondered why, if it only needed a battery, the owner hadn't got it fired up. But it doesn't change the situation that the seller declared the engine had been rebuilt which is not the case.


I'm with you on this one Chas, which is why I'm not going to let it rest, whether the Seller is a 'nice' person or not, I've taken on 2 well known company's via the small claims court, with their Solicitors and won the day both times, its not an expensive process and if its not found in my favour then I
will at least have tried, rather that than doing nothing.
 
It won't ride great compared with same an "oilhead"

It's only a bloody R100GS, and not even a PD .......... there are lots of other BM's which are more desirable ........ and some really interesting ones that you can buy for £10k ............ people have just got memorised with the letters, GS, G/S and Basic

Buy a Bike from the 50's or 60's or 70's ...... if you want something special .......... to go with your modern "ride"



Bill, I might have given you the wrong impression, I'm not exactly a stranger to airheads, I had a period riding the R100RT and R100RS for work and have owned most variations over the past 40 years, in fact my first 'big' bike after buying a Norton Dominator, on the day I passed my bike test, was a 1962 BMW R60 with earles forks. As for airhead GS's, I've probably owned 4 or 5. Including at least 2 that I have bought off other UKGSer members. Lastly I have no emotional attachment to anything, apart from my Wife and Family, in fact one day I'll probably grow up and give up bikes altogether and buy myself an MX5 or something.:rob
 
Bill, I might have given you the wrong impression, I'm not exactly a stranger to airheads, I had a period riding the R100RT and R100RS for work and have owned most variations over the past 40 years, in fact my first 'big' bike after buying a Norton Dominator, on the day I passed my bike test, was a 1962 BMW R60 with earles forks. As for airhead GS's, I've probably owned 4 or 5. Including at least 2 that I have bought off other UKGSer members. Lastly I have no emotional attachment to anything, apart from my Wife and Family, in fact one day I'll probably grow up and give up bikes altogether and buy myself an MX5 or something.:rob

Daughter in law has an MX5 for sale

you beat me ... the oldest BM I have had was a R60/5 ........ wish I still had it
 
Rob,

Don't know where you got your numbers from, but it doesn't tally with what left my bank account, but never mind:rolleyes:

a full bottom end rebuild from Moorespeed cost me £450 and that included new mains bearings. I'm struggling to see how its ended up as a £9k bike. I'd be seriously pissed off if a repair had come to this but I really dont see how the bike needed more than a few hundred quid throwing at it. The chances are it would have been fine for a clean of the carbs. You'd have been more than welcome to put them in my ultrasonic tank for nothing.
 
My posts have been a little critical but good on John, @GADGET for starting this thread as it illustrates the costs that can be involved with an old BMW

Presumably the Bike is 25 years + old, it's a paralever R100GS ...... lots were produced ........ and there are quite a few reasonable Bikes around and currently for sale for £3,500 upwards.

We now know from the information on here that John's Bike has had a "rough" life and in recent years has been neglected ...... 8 years ago it became a "cheap" Bike to have fun off-road on and it looks as if it had been knocked about a bit.......... visually the Bike certainly looked as though it had seen better days

There is this attraction for anything mono lever or paralever GS ................... it started about 10 -15 years ago and seems to have grown in strength

OK the engine has now been re-built, which presumably was not cheap ............ but then you need to look at the electrical system, the loom, starter, rotor, etc., ...... carbs, the gearbox, final drive and drive shaft ....... switches, paintwork and even small bits and pieces from BMW are expensive to replace ... and if you know that it has been involved in an "accident" you should look at the trueness of the frame, (I had a Bike that was being converted to an HPN special by Jim Cray, the Bike was good, no problems..... did not look at all if it had been involved in an accident ...... but Jim found that the frame was out of true),...... I could go, ........ but my point is ...........if you "restore" an old BM it can be very expensive, especially if you do not do the work yourself.

and my final point - the cost of restoring "ordinary" GS's - (excluding the R80G/S and R80GS Basic), if the work is done by others, (i.e. "professionally") is far greater than the end value of the Bike ....... and John's Bike has only been repaired rather than restored

Old GS's can be "caveat emptor" unless you are mechanically minded ............... but we can all be "wise after the event"

As I said, good on John for bringing this to the forum, as we should have all learned something from his experience, even if some knew the costs involved.

PS - water and ditch has been mentioned ... hopefully water didn't get into the gearbox down the speedo drive hole .. isn't there a bearing in there that can collapse into the gearbox and cause problems .. just something that I seem to have at the back of my mind!! .... hope not
 
All can argue about the how's, whats and wherefore's and what could have / should have been. Its irrelevant now, a point of no return has been passed. Only one thing matters now, will the bike bring the new owner happiness.
I hope that much for you Gadget. I personally, am glad (becuase I'm not paying for it) to see it being kept running and given a new lease of life not broken for spare depleting the numbers of original bikes. I dont often agree with Mr Farmer, I don't personally have a taste for Airheads, but I do very much appreciate seeing older vehicles being preserved for what they are and used for that matter. I feel saddened to see classic bikes butchered in to fashion machines that will date then end up on the scrapheap when no one wants them anymore. So good on you Gadget for not scrapping this one.
 
All can argue about the how's, whats and wherefore's and what could have / should have been. Its irrelevant now, a point of no return has been passed. Only one thing matters now, will the bike bring the new owner happiness.
I hope that much for you Gadget. I personally, am glad (becuase I'm not paying for it) to see it being kept running and given a new lease of life not broken for spare depleting the numbers of original bikes. I dont often agree with Mr Farmer, I don't personally have a taste for Airheads, but I do very much appreciate seeing older vehicles being preserved for what they are and used for that matter. I feel saddened to see classic bikes butchered in to fashion machines that will date then end up on the scrapheap when no one wants them anymore. So good on you Gadget for not scrapping this one.

I think that you are missing the point

here's another that needs some TLC

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-Motor...d=382202941547&_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850

do you fancy "saving" this old BMW?

quite a novel description

"Bought about 10 years ago, tidied it up to use as everyday transport. In the first year valve seat recession became a problem, this was fully sorted by Steve Scrimminger [SED]. I have used and serviced it continuously and it has served me very well, the only problem was a failed ignition trigger at about 96,000 miles. I have Never cleaned it. Still runs very nicely, my aim was to see the mileage round the clock- job done. Its ready for another tidy-up and the next 100k.Buyer to pay cash on collection. For more info. please ring 01476 401243 [Matt], evening best, Don't leave messages."
 
do you fancy "saving" this old BMW?
No thanks, Airheads are not my thing as I said....

The point is Bill, Gadget has gone down a path to get the bike into a running condition at significant expense, now if he gets money back great.
Buying a lemon is bad enough, having salt rubbed in your wounds by the expertise of others make it worse, but then ending up with a bike your not happy with is the final kick in the balls.
I'm not missing the point meerly hoping something good comes of this.
 
Its been a while since I posted on this thread, the bike is still with Mikeyboy and progress has been slow, what with one thing and another and I'm in no rush to get it done. But the latest issue is that the Left carburettor is knackered with internal corrosion, so if anyone has got one lying around spare (or a pair) please contact me with a price. I'm assuming they are the 40mm size. thanks John
 


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