K11 Owners Group

[BB]

Wondering about going naked on a "93 LT. I've had enough heat to last a lifetime. I've done all the mods except 3 core radiator, and am thinking about selling or going naked. Any thoughts? Anyone out there done this, and would like to share pros,cons, photos or opinions? Thanks BB
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93 K11LT
74 R90/6
78 R80/7 In "RS" Clothing
1957 NSU Superfox

[Scott_Anderson]

Well, I can say that my '95 is 1/2 naked at the moment. I have all of the fairing lowers and side panels off.

Here's the link for my winter work thread.
http://www.k11og.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7995&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

The 1st couple of pics could give you an idea what it looks like now. Just imagine a gas tank on it.
_________________
Ride safe.



1995 K1100LT 0302044
2017 FLHTK Ultra Limited
Garmin StreetPilot 2820
Garmin Zumo 550
Garmin Zumo XT
"One who does not ask questions is ashamed to learn" Danish proverb
1997 K1100LT 0302488(R.I.P.)
1997 R1100RT ZC62149(sold)

[Off the grid]

Not trying to piss in your cornflakes, but it would be much cheaper to sell the LT and buy a Speed Triple, FZ1, Bandit, BMW R-bike, Buell, etc etc. Any of the bikes mentioned will be bulletproof-reliable and can be had for a song nowadays.
_________________
Bane of your existence since July 2006
2007 Triumph Tiger ABS. "Sabertooth"
2009 Husqvarna TE610. "The dirty Italian mistress"

[BB]

Go ahead and piss all you want OTG. Thats what I'm after. Honest opinions accepted. By the way i did say I was considering selling.
I have 2 other BMW Airheads I ride most of the time, but the K11 has been a great bike except for the heat issue. Best long distance bike I have ridden. Thanks Scott, I'll take a look at what you've got going.BB
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93 K11LT
74 R90/6
78 R80/7 In "RS" Clothing
1957 NSU Superfox

[SugarHillCTD]

BB,

Heat has been an ongoing battle for a lot of us. It does make a GREAT cold weather MC- I am in northern N.H. and last fall I was able to ride into December at temps of about 25F.

But otherwise the "johnny blanket" and the manual fan switch are your best bet for hot weather riding- lots of info on these if you use the search feature.

John
_________________
John & Cathy

'92 K100RS4V Pearl White SOLD
'04 K1200GT
IBA Several-SS1k, BBG, 50CC NYC to S.F.

[Mystic Red]

All it takes is some nice highway pegs to get your legs in the breeze, for me anyway. OTG called them "uglier than Madonna's" special place but I love them.
_________________
Scott Hespelt, '94 K11LT
K11 OG #466

[Flying Duck]

Have you tried Baker Air Wings?




Linky: http://www.bakerbuilt.com/bbairwings/k100aw.html
_________________
93 LT (x2)
94 RS
86-97 K75F(K75/100/1100 Frankenbrick)
86 K75C w/paralever, hi perf cams,TURBO!
91 & 92 K75Ss
91 K1
86 custom K100
14 WR250R
IBA #17739 (SS1K, BBG, 50CC)
Buy parts HERE

[Flying Duck]

Or an adjustable thermal fan switch to make the radiator fan kick in sooner? They're easy to install.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/FLX-31147/
_________________
93 LT (x2)
94 RS
86-97 K75F(K75/100/1100 Frankenbrick)
86 K75C w/paralever, hi perf cams,TURBO!
91 & 92 K75Ss
91 K1
86 custom K100
14 WR250R
IBA #17739 (SS1K, BBG, 50CC)
Buy parts HERE

[BB]

Thanks all. Have already done the johnny blanket mod, the fan switch mod, made my own wind wings attached to the crash bars (at the heads). By the way they help alot. Guess I'll just ride something else when it gets over 80. May try pulling the lowers sometime to see what thats like.Thanks,BB
_________________
93 K11LT
74 R90/6
78 R80/7 In "RS" Clothing
1957 NSU Superfox

[RAL88]

I don't get much heat on my legs. I went a different route than the Johnny blanket. Rather than let the heat stay under the tank and reroute it out the back past your legs I used closed cell neoprene foam insulation sheet like you use to insulate water tanks. It comes in sheets and different thicknesses. What I did was to use the foam and close up any openings to the underside of the tank where the fan blows and I also closed up the area where the air can get to the radio box and glove box. What this did was redirect the air that blows through the radiator out through the side vents (where it is suppose to go) instead of under the tank. This has made a huge difference in the amount of heat that gets to me. When the fan comes on you can really feel the air blow out the side vents.

I actually haven't put on my fan switch because with putting in the neoprene and putting on a 3 core radiator I haven't felt like I needed the switch.
_________________
Rich

"If it ain't broke, take it apart and make it work better"
*************
'96' K1100LT-SE
'97' R850GS-R

[6899]

RAL88

Where did you get the 3 core radiator - a used K100 or was the orig radiator rebuilt custom?

I'm debating that route.....

Remember that if you cant stand the heat get out of the kitchen!

I have the LT all apart and will consider adding more material to redirect the heat out to the side vents.

Crazy Civvie from Bagram Airfield
_________________
1996 K1100LT, 73K (bought at 61K on 2006)
1977 R100/7, bought new, rode 97K in 29 yrs before parting out
1970 R50/5, bought used, rode 40K & sold

BMWMOA #6899 since 1976
Indy BMW Club since 1975

[AUSBRICK]

Yeah the heat thing is the biggest letdown of the lt's. Ive been working on this for a while .I don't like the idea of long hauls without some sort of fairing and have tried several variations .I've found it's not easy to change the lt set up to a naked as the large square headlight is hard to mount &sits out a long way forward and looks crap also the high swept back bars don't suit .If you went for the round light & shroud off a standard naked as in the[ k1200 done] in the pictures section also look at my shots of my lt in[k1200 wheel on k1100]. This is my latest effort at keeping cool. The windsreen has had a major trim and I picked up an old top fairing for very little and did a chop .I now realise its to severe would advise anyone to cut it further back buy about 4 " will hide the wires and look a bit more natural. Having said that the cooling aspect has worked a treat I now get full air flow over my legs and lower torso but enough protection of chest and helmet to make long rides comfortable.Have fun with the rebuild get a little radical maybe.Cheer ausbrick
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92k1100 lt with sidecar. 93K1100 CAFE..86K75C.95 k1100lt

[RAL88]

I got the 3 core radiator off of e-bay. If you hold out you can usually find them cheap and in good shape. I just checked ebay and if you search on "K100 radiator" you will find a lot of cheap ones.
_________________
Rich

"If it ain't broke, take it apart and make it work better"
*************
'96' K1100LT-SE
'97' R850GS-R

[AUSBRICK]

I've done the three core rad and it does not make much difference to the rider comfort when it comes to the heat problem. It will make your bike less likely to overheat under heavy riding in hot temps but the thermostat will still open at the same temp . Its more about the lack off clean air behind that large fairing and the heated air from the motor& rad rising up to cook you. The air deflectors look like a good idea without any major changes .cheers AUSBRICK
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92k1100 lt with sidecar. 93K1100 CAFE..86K75C.95 k1100lt

[Ragman]

Duck>

I like your idea of the Baker AirWings. They look good on your LT.

I noticed you have the upper wings attached. Does that help with the heat on my left shin?

Do you know the best set-up - Upper or lower or both?

Thanx,

Ragman
_________________
"When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty."
~Thomas Jefferson

1995 K1100LT
1980 Hadley Giggleson FLHC

[Flying Duck]

I don't think they have them in lower for the K11LT, only K75/100 LT/RT.

That's the bike I just bought. It's doesn't get here until March sometime.

I did score some Baker wings on FleaBay a while back. However, I've been hesitant to install them as the heat isn't too much of an issue in the PNW and the opening for my bikes between my car and the wall is rather narrow and I fear they might hit my car or the garage door opening.

I"m also waiting to find a decent spare left inner knee panel for cheap on eBay. I've already got a spare right. That way I've got a my original undrilled knee pads if I don't like the wings.

Now that the blue bike is on it's way, I may swap the knee panels and try the wings out on my green LT.

I've got the Swisher LT highway pegs installed when it gets hot which helps.

The three core radiator makes it take a bit longer for the bike to heat up so would be useful for short trips/errands in the summer.
_________________
93 LT (x2)
94 RS
86-97 K75F(K75/100/1100 Frankenbrick)
86 K75C w/paralever, hi perf cams,TURBO!
91 & 92 K75Ss
91 K1
86 custom K100
14 WR250R
IBA #17739 (SS1K, BBG, 50CC)
Buy parts HERE

[Ragman]

I agree that the that problem is not extreme here in the PNW.

I am in southern Orygun and it does get hot here for a couple of weeks, but no big deal. I'm always on the prowl (sp?) for farkles but, I think I'll shelve the idea.

Thanx for the input,
Ragman
_________________
"When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty."
~Thomas Jefferson

1995 K1100LT
1980 Hadley Giggleson FLHC

[Flying Duck]

I also plan to try the aftermarket fan mod like Larry has done.

I bought one on FleaBay on 1/16 but it hasn't shown up. This thread reminded me of that so I emailed the seller today.

If anyone's interested, the seller accepted my offer of $14.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120452947113&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWNX%3AIT


I may experiment with push vs. pull on that fan as well. Maybe pushing the air out of the front will help at low speeds/stopped.

Edit: Another thought might be to have the polarity/direction of the fan reverse if the bike is in N. Would be easy to do with a DPDT relay.
_________________
93 LT (x2)
94 RS
86-97 K75F(K75/100/1100 Frankenbrick)
86 K75C w/paralever, hi perf cams,TURBO!
91 & 92 K75Ss
91 K1
86 custom K100
14 WR250R
IBA #17739 (SS1K, BBG, 50CC)
Buy parts HERE

[RAL88]

Yes the 3 core radiator doesn't change the amount of heat coming off the radiator(180F is 180F when the fan comes on), but it does make a difference if it's blowing on your legs for 20 seconds or for a minute or longer and that's where the 3 core helps because it cools the bike faster.
_________________
Rich

"If it ain't broke, take it apart and make it work better"
*************
'96' K1100LT-SE
'97' R850GS-R

[6899]

Guys,

I just got the tranny out of the LT today and the clutch comes out tomorrow. I do have a engine oil leak so ...

Anyway, I did find in my LT that the left bottom foam part is missing, letting heat in from the left side. I'll be finding some hi temp foam to plug that hole.

I would be interested in a 3 core rad only to extend the life of the bike to prevent overheating..

Martin
_________________
1996 K1100LT, 73K (bought at 61K on 2006)
1977 R100/7, bought new, rode 97K in 29 yrs before parting out
1970 R50/5, bought used, rode 40K & sold

BMWMOA #6899 since 1976
Indy BMW Club since 1975