BMW Airhead Restoration | Leaky Brakes Nightmare!

This episode covers the drama of fitting the refurbished braking system on my 42-year-old BMW R100CS

[@benschofield7565]

In awe of the work youve put into this. Fantastic project. 👏🏻

[@WildlifeMoto]

Thank you sir. It really has been a fantastic journey with this bike. Not always smooth sailing, but a great experience. Cheers.

[@henryhartley9993]

Nice one, looking forward to the first start up...

[@WildlifeMoto]

Thank you. Me too! 😅

[@stewy62]

My airheads were slightly older models with the brake master cylinder under the tank, it was one of those quirky BMW design features that I liked. It certainly saved any risk of spilling brake fluid on your tank although on one bike I had a previous owner had spilt brake fluid all over the frame, what a rusty mess it was ! The main criticism of the old setup was the cable between the brake lever and master cylinder, which meant the front brakes weren’t great even after upgrading the brake lines to braided stainless steel 🇬🇧

[@tonymartin3780]

Said it many time and will say it again it’s going to be a cracking bike , you need to be proud of yourself 😀

[@WildlifeMoto]

Thanks Tony. Yes it’s been a fantastic journey/ learning curve. Looking forward to the final result. Just a couple more hurdles to jump.

[@darylwootton5217]

Bike is really coming along and going to be great when completed. Started following with your Interceptor videos (have a 2019) now I’m wishing I had been able to keep my 1982 R65LS as your BMW is looking very good. Thanks for the content, has been fun & educating to consume 👌

[@WildlifeMoto]

Hi Daryl. Thanks for watching the videos. Glad you are enjoying the content. Shame you don’t have that R65. The good news is, there seems to be plenty of good airheads hitting the market all the time. Maybe one day 😉

[@stevesanelli90]

Thankfully sorted WM. My thoughts are whoever replaced the original rubber brake lines with the braided lines probably fitted the other tapered end into the splitter & tightened it to FT & deformed the splitter to become a tapered end. Because the old braided line had a reverse taper which potentially had a brass olive fitting to seal it. The trouble happens because the double male end nut isn’t actually part of the braided line. I’ll watch it again to make sure the correct end of the nut doesn’t have a taper. Edit: it does. Be mindful of over tightening it otherwise the same issue will occur if it is removed.

[@WildlifeMoto]

Thanks Steve. Yes something was certainly over tightened at some point. I’ve been careful just to snug up so as to avoid causing more damage. So far so good!

[@thebingleywheeler]

That’s going to be a stunning bike when you’re done….I’d be terrified to take it out of the garage 😅

[@WildlifeMoto]

Thank you. I hope I’ve not accidentally created a garage queen. I need to get her dirty ASAP 😂

[@alanbarnes2920]

Well done RM…patience is a virtue and you’re nearly there on this epic restoration/update.. Well spotted Motorwurks! £40 well spent! When will you be firing her up?

[@WildlifeMoto]

Cheers Alan. Yes the guys at Motoworks have been a great help through out this build. I get most of my parts from them and they are always happy to help with advice. First start up in a couple of weeks I think.

[@paulclarke1233]

Hi wildlife moto, it looks like you had a bit of a game to start with but all worket well and and is getting it there ready to get it started and as you will be able to go for a ride

[@WildlifeMoto]

Yep, turned out well in the end. It’s just been one problem after another with these brakes. Glad it’s all done now.

[@Gambo916]

What a ballache........betcha glad it's sorted now though Mr WM! I notice throughout the vid the orientation of the disc drillings change (namely @2:05 and @2:21), so may I ask was the front wheel inadvertently fitted backwards during those shots, or have you since chosen to swap the discs from side to side so the holes now radiate outwards as the wheel rotates?

[@WildlifeMoto]

Well spotted. When I first installed the rotors (in an earlier video), they were the other way round. I have since flipped them on the advice of a friend. Some of the footage from that earlier video made its way into this edit.