K11 Owners Group

yodi · Joined: 06 Sep 2009 Posts: 9

hello, available to me a cherry set of K12 front wheel/fork setup with brakes calipers, forks and a rear wheel. ive read about the work to get the rear K12 wheel fitted to my 93 K1100LT and doesnt sound hard. but my question is what about the front end? could i use the entire front end from the K12 or just the wheel/calipers and such. thanks in advance!!!
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1993 K1100 LT

Rafal · Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 5:38 pm Post subject:

Hello!
Read about K1200 RS more, especially about the Telelever suspension and you will find all the answers regarding your question of K1200 front suspension swap.

Best regards,
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Rafal
K1100RS is a real beast (in Marrakesh Red)
K75S is a real beauty - she has gone Sad

, but not to far Smile

.

SugarHillCTD · Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 7:30 pm Post subject:

Rafal,

I think that the thread is about the brick K1200, not about the newer "wedge" K1200. The brick version had conventional front suspension from what I understand.

John
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John & Cathy

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

Tourdog7 · Joined: 25 Oct 2006 Posts: 20 Location: Illinois

Yodi,

You didn't say whether your "find" is from an LT or the RS.

My K1200LT, a 99 and up to when they quit making them last year ..... has a leading link, A arm with a ball joint attached shock/strut with coil over it. It is simple and strong and works very well. BMW calls it "Telelever".

As you can imagine it iis hugely different from my K1100LT "Marzocki" telescopic forks.

HTH!
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Carl

KLR650
K1100LT w/ECC
K1200LT w/ SC

N9BMN BMWMOA

yodi · Joined: 06 Sep 2009 Posts: 9

i have no idea what model or year the forks are from..but they definately look like early 2000s and are conventional forks nothing like u were talking about with the strut and all haha. probably just gonna stick with stock forks and just go traditional with only the wheel swap even though the newer forks will just sit in the yard Crying or Very sad

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1993 K1100 LT

Rafal · Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2011 2:18 pm Post subject:

K 1200RS/ K1200GT / K1200LT - The Brick up to around 2005 has Telelever suspension front suspension:

Take a look at pictures here:
http://www.bmbikes.co.uk/mechanicalpages/kseriesmechanical.htm
Forks in that solution have only "guidance" role, damping and absorption is made by central element - very similar to R1100 series.
So Yodi if you fond forks with full cartridge (i.e. dumping, etc...) these are not form K or R series! Only possible BMW donor are machines form F series.

Best regards,
Rafal
_________________
Rafal
K1100RS is a real beast (in Marrakesh Red)
K75S is a real beauty - she has gone Sad

, but not to far Smile

.

yodi · Joined: 06 Sep 2009 Posts: 9

wow that is quite enlightening to me..i definately have some 1200 forks but looking at that diagram there is probably no way i can fab those up my my 1100LT lol. i always wondered why the newer cartridges/tubes were so much shorter makes a lot of sense now
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1993 K1100 LT

Beachcomber · Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 6:04 am Post subject:

If all you want is the 5 spoke K1200 wheels fitted, then just keep your existing K1100 forks and 4 pot Brembos and get a new wheel spindle made [ + new spacers ].

It's very straightforward. Cool

The K1200 spindle is 20mm dia. and the k1100 25mm dia. Pity the K1100 spindle isn't solid - you would just turn it down to the 20mm dia !!!

You'll also need a new sleeve for the fork / spindle clamp.

Essentially you want a K1100 dimensioned spindle [ to fit forks] turned down to suit the K1200 bearings.

BTW - I've looked at replacing the bearings for some with suitable OD / ID - a non starter. Oh yes, and you can't use the K1200 spindle with new sleeves and spacers [ if only! ] as it's shorter ! I'm surpeised that BMW went from a 25mm spindle to a 20mm spindle when every other manufacturer is beefing up their spindles ??

I've got a guy here in the UK who will make a new spindle / spacers / sleeves in Stainless steel for around $90.
I've already fitted the rear [ K1200S ] just waiting for my new spindle to arrive to fit the front.

Next excercise is fitting up a set of Wire wheels from an R1150GS - originally this was going to be a Cafe Racer [ 60's style ] project - still might be................... Wink

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Beachcomber '93 K1100RS / '93 K1100LT and several K100's

Allen Nelson · Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2011 4:04 pm Post subject:

Yodi, you've gotten some good information thus far, the only thing I would also bring to your attention is that if your going to install the K12 wheels, you need to also consider machining the fork legs. Here is the information I provided when Ted posted my mod a number of years ago:

I decided to install K12 wheels on my '96 K11RS. The front is a K12LT wheel (picked it because it is stronger then the 12RS) and the rear is a wide K12RS. It requires machining the fork sliders, shortening the front axle and fabricating front and rear spacers. The rear is relatively simple....but does lower the bike when going from an 18" wheel to a 17". We've temporary compensated by lowering the forks about ½".....she looks a little like she's got some dragster heritage at this point. The Fox shock doesn't have adjustment for shock length, so I've ordered a Ohlin to help get the back end up to it's proper height....at which time I will readjust the forks to proper height as well.

You can see pictures here of the final product:
http://k11og.org/modifications/k12wheelconversion.shtml

Good luck on your project....although I'm not so sure I'd want to mess with the early K12 fork set ups...I'm not sure if this is correct or not but there maybe some differences that could end up screwing up the whole mess.....I know because when we installed the K12RS engine in my K11RS, I thought we could take advantage of the K12 6 speed....nope not a realistic option, at least not affordable anyway Exclamation

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REDBRICK, '96RS (formerly owned), K11OG#5
2011 Triumph Sprint GT
Not a turncoat...and do miss my special K

Flying Duck · Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2011 1:58 pm Post subject:

Allen Nelson · Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2011 2:06 pm Post subject:

Flying Duck · Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2011 2:40 pm Post subject:

Allen Nelson · Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2011 2:43 pm Post subject:

Say it again...I dare you.

I don't know that attempting to increase the tire size is going to restore the bikes original geometry....at least not with out losing some of the handling properties of the RS. I wouldn't consider that a healthy solution to the issue. The only acceptable solution, we found, was the Ohlins shock which gave us the ability to restore the original height of the tail end of the bike....thereby restoring the original geometry. That K1170RS hit the twisties with a zing that always put a smile on my face.

P.S.
Something that just came to mind (foggy)....something to do with the K12 front wheel's bearings being significantly different then the K11. Seems to me one of the bearings (left or right?) was double the thickness from the other side. And we used the K11 axle, which was machined to work and ended up being considerably shorter, note in the photos the shorter axle.
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REDBRICK, '96RS (formerly owned), K11OG#5
2011 Triumph Sprint GT
Not a turncoat...and do miss my special K

Beachcomber · Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 5:10 am Post subject:

My K100 project has been on the backburner for almost a year now, but I'm now in a position to get the mock up finalised before year's end.

I'm just finalising the front wheel swap to K1200. There's something seriously at odds with all this info. ?

Firstly to explain - I've fitted the 41.7mm forks from my old K1100 as a starting point. The 41.4mm K100 units were a non starter mainly because of the mounting requirements for the 4 pot calipers / discs.

1. The K1100 spindle [ axle ] length [ o/a] cannot be altered as it still has to fit in the fork leg bottoms in exactly the same way it did before the conversion. As the K1100 spindle is hollow, reducing the main diameter by 5mm could seriously compromise the strength. AND the shoulder length would also have to be machined down.
2. The K1100 and K1200 wheel bearings have totally different ID's - 25mm vs 20mm. You cannot get correct OD / ID bearings to simply swap the k1100 axle in - I've tried ! Anyway - see #1
3."Machine the fork legs" ? Why and where? The ONLY place I can forsee a potential problem [ haven't got there yet ] is the caliper mounts.
4.Rear tyre clearance to driveshaft - 2 shims instead of one does the trick - oh yes and before anyone screams "out of track" - it's already potentially out of track as BMW use the same chassis arrangement / powerplant alignment [ K100 and K1100 ] taking wheels varying by around an inch width. You won't centralise the difference with a 2mm shim.
5. Height / geometry - of SEVEN different bikes I checked when I was developing the RAM shocker, NO TWO were the same. So what's stock?

You can set the geometry up within reason yourself to suit your own riding style by simply adjusting the fork tubes in the yokes / adjusting shock height.

The drawing has gone off to the machine shop and when the new axle returns, I'll be completing the mock up and will take some pix with details of what spacers etc. were required.

The plan at the moment is to use the shoulder of the axle on the r/h side [ sitting on the bike ] to protrude sufficiently past the fork bottom to double up as the r/h spacer and to machine down the OEM K1200 spacer to form the l/h side spacer. You will also need a 25mm od / 20mm id x 53mm long bush to sit in the l/h fork leg bottom mount to accomodate the smaller dia. spindle [ axle ].
Here's a pic showing the difference bewtween the K1100 and K1200 spindles [ axles ]. There's no "perspective" issues with the pix.

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Beachcomber '93 K1100RS / '93 K1100LT and several K100's

Shoganai · Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 10:00 am Post subject:

Beachcomber, I really like reading about the things you do and how you work things out.

Very Happy

_________________
1993 K1100RS aka The Shop Whore
1994 K1100RS aka Blue Streak

The long road is a rainbow and the pot of gold lies there.
So slip the chain and I'm off again,
You'll find me everywhere. I'm a Rover. - JT

Nana korobi ya oki

Allen Nelson · Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 11:51 am Post subject:

Beachcomber.....it's been years ago that the conversion was done to my K11RS, and frankly I don't remember many of the details. I can tell you though, that the machining of the forks was done to give sufficient clearance for the ABS ring....you have to also understand that the front wheel was off a K12LT (got it for the added strength, I'd bent several K11 wheels back then), while the rear was off a K12RS (the wide version). I can also confirm that the front axle was a K11RS, machined to fit the K12LT wheel to the K11 forks (take a look at the pics that Ted posted in the CONVERSION K12 Wheel section...which is of my old bike).

Best wishes on your project.
_________________
REDBRICK, '96RS (formerly owned), K11OG#5
2011 Triumph Sprint GT
Not a turncoat...and do miss my special K

Beachcomber · Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 4:14 pm Post subject:

Hey Allen,

wasn't being picky - just a bit confused !!!!!!!!!!

However - starting to make sense now - I DON'T have the ABS ring, but I can see that it WOULD be an interference fit ! Wink

Yes - again makes sense to re-machine the K1100 spindle / axle to fit the K1200 wheel bearings - however - IMO that makes the side walls of the spindle veeeery thin as you are reducing the o/a diameter by 5mm. You must have a bush in the left hand fork leg [ sitting on bike ] as the axle must be 20 mm dia to pass through the bearings - and the fork leg mount is 25mm.

I have K1200S wheels back and front now - or at least will when I get the spindle ! Rear is the 5.5" version with the disc attached to the bevel housing. I was going to use the R1150S wheel [ 5.5" ] with the wheel mounted disc - just to be different [!] but that meant making a new mount for the caliper. Quite honestly I don't have the facilities since I retired and gave up my factory, so I have to rely on "pals" these days .....oh dear.

I spoke to the machinist today - I faxed him through the drawing / order Monday - and the job will be completed by Friday. That's service.

Is the LT wheel stronger than the RS / GT? Not that it matters a great deal as I only ride solo these days with no luggage and a bike probably 100lbs [ minimum ] lighter than stock !

I have now completed road tests of the progressive fork springs I have developed to compliment the RAM rear shocker - well worth the effort.

BTW - when I saw pix of your conversion last year - that was the inspiration for me to go down that route - grateful thanx.

Thanx for the kind words and encouragement Shoganai.

You know I rally AM looking forward to getting this sucker on the road as it WILL surely be different to all the other "Norranutherfuggingixer - let's all be different together" Streetfighters !

Even though I've had to give up most of my other projects due to garage / storage loss - I still have a very low mileage K1100RS bottom end, which I intend to fit with an 8 valve head and intercooled turbo - ready for the final swansong !! Twisted Evil

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Beachcomber '93 K1100RS / '93 K1100LT and several K100's

Beachcomber · Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2011 5:02 am Post subject:

After several non starts, I finally got the new conversion spindle [ axle ] and spacer at the weekend. New spindle / spacer at the top.

Nice bit of machine work, as you'd expect from a company that makes OEM stainless steel replacement spindles for Classic Japanese and British bikes.

Here's the skinny for non ABS conversion -

The main spindle fits in the normal way, but the shoulder protrudes through to form the L/H [ as viewed in pic ] spacer. The new stainless steel spacer fits in the R/H fork leg bottom. The allen screw and cone washer fit in the normal way and bolt up tight to give the correct spacing.

When everything is snugged up, the pinch screws are tightened in the normal way.

The part that's missing from the pic is the R/H spacer which is [OEM] an alloy sleeve - that fits inside the bearing housing between the bearing and the fork leg. I am having the OEM spacer cut down to suit, but will probably have this made in stainless.

So that's it my friends - how to fit a K1200 [ R1150 ] 5 spoke wobbly into the front of your K1100. The K1100RS forks / 4 pot calipers are being prepped and the whole lot will be swapped over next weekend.

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Beachcomber '93 K1100RS / '93 K1100LT and several K100's

Beachcomber · Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 8:38 am Post subject:

Mock up nearly complete now. I've centralised the wheel / discs in the forks and fitted the calipers as a double check - all good.

This weekend I'll finalise the dimensions for the shorter r/h spacer [ looking from front ], shorten the r/h side of the spindle accordingly and that will be job done.
When I'm finally happy with everything I'll have another spindle conversion made up - all in stainless.

Also at the weekend, I'll trial the R1150GS wire spoked alloy wheel in. I'm pretty certain it's the same fitting as the K1200S. Anyway I want to be certain - just in case I decide to fit the wire spoked alloys in the future - just for a change around !
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Beachcomber '93 K1100RS / '93 K1100LT and several K100's

Beachcomber · Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2011 8:58 am Post subject:

Update.

The conversion is all completed and 100%. [ NON ABS.]

In addition to the new stainless spindle I have had the shim spacer [ 5mm thick ] in the r/h fork leg [ looking from front ] and the wheel to fork leg spacer made in stainless.

In the event it's all very simple and straightforward, just required a bit of head scratching !

You could simply turn the K1200S [ R1100 ] OEM alloy spacer down to 1/2" and that would do the job. I've left the l/h shoulder on the main spindle shaft deliberately overlong to form the l/h spacer.

Everything is now neatly centralised and working as it should.

I've decided that as the conversion has taken so long, I'll get all the parts painted / detailed before refitting.
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Beachcomber '93 K1100RS / '93 K1100LT and several K100's