Preferred Manual for K100

[godzilla]

I have no doubt that this question has been asked previously, so please excuse me for that gaff...

Which repair manual do all ya'all prefer and why? I know there's a Clymers and a Haynes...

The reason I ask is because I would like to start doing some of my own maintenance. My mechanic is going to completely retire one of these days and the nearest dealer is down in Louisville, which require me to take a whole day off for service. And God forbid should the old gal break down and I have to transport her to the Louisville Hospital! Specifically, I want to work on my instrument cluster (see previuos thread on that one) this winter.

I have a 1985 K100RS, by the way. Thanks for the input!

[jdiaz]

I like Clymer a lot.

Unfortunately, none of them are going to help with the speedo cluster. Just save your money for a used unit with the gore-tex membrane in the back.

[godzilla]

I like Clymer a lot.

Unfortunately, none of them are going to help with the speedo cluster. Just save your money for a used unit with the gore-tex membrane in the back.

That's probably what I'll do for the speedo, but I figure if I can use some of the advice I have gotten about the problem, it might be fun to goof around with it to see if I can fix it. If I can't, or if I destroy in the process, I can go with Plan A, which was to replace it. I know the Clymer's wouldn't help for tearing the cluster apart, but I'd think it'd at least help me take it off the bike.

In reading through this forum and talking to other owners, working on the old K's isn't rocket science. I've just been too chicken to try my hand at it. My brother told me to get a book and go for it. He said K's are the easiest bike he has ever worked on and he's been at it for almost 40 years, owning Triumphs, Harleys, UJM's, dirt bikes, scooters as well as his K and a few R's.

I'd like to keep my old girl on the road even if I ever can afford a new(er) BMW.

[jdiaz]

I'd rather work on an old K than anything else.

[Kayseventyfive]

I have no doubt that this question has been asked previously, so please excuse me for that gaff...

Which repair manual do all ya'all prefer and why? I know there's a Clymers and a Haynes...



I have found one to better one time and the other another time. Sorry, this is not an answer that helps you choose, but each different task for your year could be better in either manual. Spend the money and buy both. Considering what a dealer charges for shop labor, manuals are money well spent.

[tricyclerob]

Hi all, I have watched discussion here as well as other places regarding Haynes and Clymer manuals. No one ever seemed to mention the factory BMW manual. Is this due to it's cost? Up until a few weeks ago, I was almost under the impression that BMW did not make one for the K bikes, or did not make it avail.. I had even mentioned this to a parts guy at "Bob's BMW". He said "well, there's Clymer and Hayes", but made no mention of the factory manual. Again, cost? It almost seems the factory book is a secret? Well, I ordered one and rec'ed it. Seems fairly well organized, ok photos. My biggest beef w/BMW is the small size, with small print. Hard on the trifocals! It's a great size for packing, but they should give the choice of a work bench size, or a "packing" size. Only other gripe w/all factory shop manuals. Have they ever looked at a Honda manual? They should! In fact all the manuf.'s should look at a Honda manual. Great instruction, frequent and large photos, torque values for everything next to the photo, a "joy" to work with. Ok, done beefing. rj

[roy]

I have all three manuals and here is my two cents worth.

Clymer: Very large book with decent pictures, usually easy to follow instructions. Sections are well laid out.

Haynes: Not near as large as the Clymer and not as informative on some of the procedures. Pictures are usually better than Clymer.

Both of the above manuals have some torque specs that do NOT agree with the factory manual.

BMW Manual: This is written for a BMW trained mechanic and sometimes leaves out some of the steps. I.E. removing items to access the next item. This manual is very detailed but like previous post it is small and the pictures are usaully very detailed but also small. This manual also states that you must use BMW tool part number xxxxxxxx for each procedure.

I use the Clymer & BMW manual for the vast majority of repairs on my 85 K100 RT.

If memory serves me the BMW manual is around $90.00

For the money I would probably by the Clymer first and then add the BMW and or Haynes if you desire.

Do you have any friends that would let you look at them before spending the money?

Roy

P.S. I agree with J. Diaz, the old K's are much easier to work on than the new K's.