Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Double overhead camshafts are driven by a roller chain w ith an automatic tensioner. Valve adjustment shims are easily interchangeable. co ntem porary 900- 1100cc fou r to wa rds zero . Also in th e elec trica l th eir fairin gs aga ins t h igh-frequen cy cylinde r motorcycle. dep artment, th e sta rter so leno id ga ve engine vib ration - a nd th erefore are Shi fting is a nother iss ue - n ot up th e ghos t arou nd th e 7000 mile smoo the r th an a sta nda rd KIOO. U lti th at th e KIOO is bad , but th at o the r mark , and we learned th e KI00 was mat el y, an en gine co u nterbala nce r m o torcycles a re bett er. It 's easy to easy to bump-start in seco n d gear. (as used by Kawa saki and Yam aha in come up with false neutral s between Th e rear sh oc k was' worn out within th eir stressed-member frame designs) the gears; our test un it had a particu5000 mil es, a ll owi n g th e KIOO 10 would so lve th e vibratio n problem larl y bad no tch bet ween fourth and bounce through severa l cycles when rather th an rubber-m ask it. fifth gea rs. Clutch engage me nt is hitting a bump or clearing ra ilroad By mod ern bike sta ndar ds, mainsmoo th a nd sur e, a nd (the real ) neutrack s. Handlin g precision dimiten ance o n a K HIO is easy. All co mtral is easy to locat e. Driv eline lash is ni shed as th e miles ro lled up, due to ponents necessary for servici ng are co m me nda bly sma ll, a nd with th e th e loss o f rea r shoc k damping. well ou t in th e ' open; the gas tank precision o f th e fuel injectio n system Th e rea r view mirrors co u ld stan d needs to be removed on ly for cha ngth e KIOO responds p recise ly to th rotto be large r. As it is, th e sta ndard ing th e a ir cleane r. Wi th a sma ll co ltle in p ut. KIOO h as a huge bl ind spot over th e lection of valve sh im s and th e corresGa s mil eage wa s average for a rider's right shou lder ; in fact , big p onding sh im tool , th ere's no reason mot or cycle in thi s di spl acem ent class. enough to h id e a n en tire ca r. The th at th e a verage weekend tinkerer Combined co m m u ting, stea dy-speed wide handlebars a nd ge ne ra l-p urpose co u ldn' t handl e all th e mainten ance freeway work and occasio na l blasts n ature of the KIOO wo u ld make larger necessary for th e K100. dow n back roads returned milea ge m irrors a n easy step - o ne th at H ow ever , in o ur case , th e KIOO figures in the low 40s. O ne wildl y wo u ld en ha nce safety witho u t co n coped well with lack o f service. In th e illega l tri pl e-di g it das h across th e co u rse o f 8000 mil es. the oi l was seq ue nce to styli ng . desert nett ed a predicta ble 32 mpg Our test bike was a sta ndard mod el cha nged o nce . T ha t's it. T he bik e fig ure. On the rare occasion of a KIOO , bu t perhaps th e m ost sig n ifireceived none o f the routine servici ng steady 55 m ph cruise, fue l co ns um pca nt of the KlOO's teeth in g p roblem s ca lle d for in th e ow ne r's manual , tion wo u ld nudge the 50 mp g mark . has ap pea red o n th e full y-faired RS o ther than dail y in sp ecti ons a nd an Wh ile the 5.8 ga llo n ta n k gives th e and RT ver sions. On th ese bik es, th e occasiona l chec k of th e tire pr essures. fue l tank is shrouded from direct ai r KI00 a calcu la ted 240 mile ra nge, the T here are no exc uses, a nd this sort o f fue l warning lights burn menaci ngly flow. All KlOOs feature an a lu mi n u m negl ect is not recommended - but a t th e 150 m ile mark , enco uraging gas tank, a nd th e bottom of th e tank o ur test bik e didn 't seem to m ind. the rider to tank u p or go bl ind. is su bjected to a bl ast of h eat thrown H ow well did BMW acKieve th eir o ff by th e radiato r. The alu mi n um p erformance goa ls for th e K IOO? O verall handlin g? T he KIOO ca rth en co nd ucts this h eat th rough out Acco rding to BMW, th e horsepower ries its weight d own low , wh ich th e su rface o f th e gas tank . As a result, is righ t up th ere: 85.5 bhp @ 8000 shou ld mak e th e bike feel light a nd o n a hot da y th e tank quickly becomes rpm. Wh en su bjected to the quarter nimble. No t so . First of a ll , th e KIOO too hot to touch . For a su m mer rid e m il e cloc ks o f Carlsbad Ra ceway, th e is tall : with a 3 1.9 in ch sadd le height, across th e desert, th e rider must physKIOO wa s a handful, with a gra bby it 's a long wa y to the gro u nd . For ica lly prop hi s legs away from th e wh at ever co m bi na tion o f reaso ns , th e clutch co m p lica ti ng a hi gh-rpm ta n k. T h is isn ' t a minor co m p laint; K100 feels like a tall and pon dero us · Ia u nch. In th e end, th e KIOO turned BMW is well aw ard of th e problem, in a best time of 12.12 @ III mph motorcycle. While th e lat est crop of a nd is currently expe ri me n ting with cl ose to th e l l -second bracket desired mega -bik es feel lighter a nd more agile a n a lum inum-lined as bestos heat by BMW 's board of director s. than they ac tua lly are, th e KIOO feels sh ield under th e gas tank. Earl y in th e test , we ran the KIOO like a very h ea vy 500-pou nd m ot orWh ile on the topic o f th e gas tank , on th e racetrack a t Willow Springs. cycle. th e K100 gas ca p lat ch es down into a The bike was sta ble, pr ed ictable a nd With the weight lo w a nd forward, recess in th e top of th e tank. This handled well. Our rider described th e and with th e 18-in ch front tire, th e design is handy when fitting a ta n k bike as having a taut, coh esive feel KIOO steers slow ly by co ntem pora ry bag, bu t wa ter can acc u m u la te in thi s sta ndards. Cornering becomes a decieq ua lled by few o th er motorcycles. recess when rid ing in th e ra in. Pop sive ac t: wh ere o the r mach in es are But on th e tra ck , th e bik e sim p ly ran th e ca p o pen wh en the recess is full, out of p ower, a nd with th e KIOO's qu ick a nd effo rt less, a lmost fligh ty a nd severa l ounces o f wa ter will drain in co rnerin g, the KIOO is sta ble and modest top spee d th e lap tim es were directl y into the tank. A redesigned slow. Speakin g of sp eed, th e KIOO's responds so lely to rider in p u t. While ca p is on th e dr aw ing bo ards for n ext so me motor cycles insp ire co n fide nce speedomete r indicated 30 mph for an year . acutal 27.98 mph , a ndTnd ica ted 60 and enco u rage riders to extend their Few m otorcycl es ha ve spent so mph for an actua l 57.5 mph. a bi lities, th e KIOO is docil e and pasmuch time in th e development stages, sive. When push ed hard it will perOff th e track , the engi ne do es proform . At othe r ti m es, it is th e two a nd few hav e been so eagerly a wa ited duce passable horsepower - a bo u t by m ot o rcycle ent h usias ts. But o verwhee led in carnation of rnilque-toast, th e sa me as a 1979 Suzuki GSIOOO a ll , o ne word sums up th e KIOO expe(a no th er two-v alve, one-liter in -line In th e co u rse o f 8000 mi les, we~d fo ur). Th e to rquey nature of th e rien ce: un remarkable. In th e fin al little trouble with th e K100. In credi engi ne m akes the bike easy to live a na lys is, BMW ha s gon e to grea t bl y, th e stoc k rear tire is sti ll in fine len gths to crea te a motorcycl e with with , and will be a p p recia ted by rid shape - a fter 8000 m iles o f co mm u ters who are reluctant to downshift avera ge handlin g , a tall sea t, a buzzy ing service, with a dragstrip and race engine with onl y moderate pow er , before accelerating. But wh ile it will track sessio n th rown in. T he electri and a notch y but workabl e transmiscall y-triggered speedom eter develo ped perform well in a top gear roll-on, sion . T he Brem bo di sc brakes p roa n in ter m itte nt co n nection , wh ich the KIOO will be left far beh ind in a caused the .. : .: .. -: occasiona • v. . t.h!~~g~ : tJ1.e:ge.aH .sPor!!]! .witlt. ~~Y •• ...... .•..• . needl e to.= -- _ . . .. .lly div e - - . _ iQe p'1 ~l} ty_of_stqp'~ i_~~ po~ver .~i ~ 1! !l• • ~ . - . .. - :-.-' -:: . ~'." ~ ~:.~f4 ~ -" 26 ' ", ; Underside v ie w of c ylinder head sh ow s D -sha ped com b ustio n c ha mber and o ffset valves. S p a rk p lug is centra lly located t o resist detona t io n . ~.- good p rogressive feel - as do all mod ern motorcycl es eq u ipped with Brembo brak es. Comfort is acceptabl e, th e sea ting position is o kay, and th e co ntrol layout is awk ward but passable. O f co ur se, this is o n ly th e first m odel year for th e KIOO. T he maj orit y o f th e R&D money went into p ro ducing th e en g ine / tra ns m issio n / sw ingarm package, a p at ented unit that BMW ca lls th e Compact Dri ve System . With a n en gi ne co u te rbal an cer a n d a n im p roved tran smi ssion, this pa ckage co u ld be the eq ua l o f an ything o n th e market. With a lo wer sea t height, an adj us ta ble sus pe nsion and a n effective a ntidiv e front su spe ns io n, th e K 100 mi ght fulfill th e p rom ise o f bein g a dazzling new m oto rcycle. As it is, BMW has ' spe n t seve n yea rs and a ton o f money . . . to crea te a mot orcycle tha t is a bo u t five years behind th e tim es. Performance, handl in g , co mfort and quart er mile times a rc all co mpara ble to J apan ese m otorcycles circa 1979. With a suggested retail pri ce of $5995, there's no argu ing th at th e K100 is a pricey motorcycle. For th ose wh o judge m oto rcycles by th e quality of their mat er ials and th e cra ftsm a nsh ip o f th eir co ns tructio n, th e KIOO ha s few peers. But th ere are o the r co nsi dera tio ns for BMW m otorcycles. First of a ll.v a dedicat ed deal er n etw ork is in pl ace, with parts a nd sp ecia l service tools a lrea dy in stoc k. In a touring co n text, th is minimizes th e ch ances of getting stra nded in th e middle of Nowhere, Nebraska, waitin g for a back-ordered a lterna tor blivi t (or whatever ). BMW motorcycles are backed by th e best warranty in th e bu siness: three years, unlimited mileage. T o own a BMW m otorcycle is to join a unique frat ernity; to be welcomed to BMW ra ll ies h eld th roughout th e world, and to sha re and exchange information with other BMW enth us iasts. And BMW owners are, as a group, the most ent h us ias tic en th usias ts in a ll of motorcycling. To su m it up, th e KIOO will not a p pea l to a ll riders. It certa in ly won 't a ttrac t the serio us sport rid er in search of th e lat est multi -megat on weapon to do battle in m otorcycling's horsepower war s. Nor is it intended to. BMW has crea ted a taut, pr ecise handling , reli abl e and easy -to- r ide mach in e; a ge nt lema n 's motorcycle - just like th e Box er twins th at preceed ed it. Ma ybe BMW motorcycles a re exem p t from direct co mparisio ns . .a .r '!,II.• , • • • • •••••••••••••. ,.fte - f!

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