1983 BMW R80ST Refinish Aluminum Engine Block

[@saitama80]

This seems like the perfect job for a rainy saturday! The before and after result looks impressive.

[@BrooksAirheadGarage]

Thank you 🙂

[@assessor1276]

Very nice job Brook and thanks for sharing your techniques and tools in such detail. It never ceases to amaze me how deep the grime can be on a motorcycle. It always seems that no matter how hard we try to clean them, they get dirty again so quickly.

[@BrooksAirheadGarage]

Assessor 12, true, but this bike has been off the road since the late 1990's and was left outside for awhile, so that contributed to the amount of oxidation, aka, corrosion, I found on the engine block. When my rebuilds get dirty again, I remind myself of the joy I've had riding them 🙂

[@markdale1720]

Thanks so much Brook. I'm in the middle of cleaning my final drive. I shall go forward with a much better understanding of your method - which achieves such fantastic results.

[@BrooksAirheadGarage]

You're welcome Mark.

[@rc166honda]

Love your work, great stuff 😉👍

[@BrooksAirheadGarage]

Thank you James.

[@cspark9186]

Great job. Lots of work.

[@gregoireoederlin]

hello dear You can use a laser cleaner 100 watts pulse laser for a extremly good result, in 1 hours it's done. Of course it's expensive! ... but your manual work, your passion, your skills are just amazing. Thanks for your videos!

[@BrooksAirheadGarage]

You're welcome Gregoire.

[@graduskruitwagen3399]

Thanks for the tips👍

[@BrooksAirheadGarage]

You're welcome Gradus.

[@philipjackson5818]

Wow, and I thought my R80 am working on was dirty, nice job mine is a slow and steady progress.

[@BrooksAirheadGarage]

Endeavor To Persevere Philip. 🙂

[@lesleysmith5623]

To restore the cast aluminium on my two Boxers I thoroughly degrease then use Rub’n’Buff. Silver Leaf on block and cylinders and Pewter on gearbox. Very easily applied, gives an ‘as new’ finish, non-abrasive, easy to clean and protects against further corrosion.

[@BrooksAirheadGarage]

Lesley, my concern with using it on an engine block is having it melt on a hot summer day. The melting point is around 185 F, but I suspect the engine block may get hotter than that.

[@lesleysmith5623]

@@BrooksAirheadGarage Well, I’ve had it on one of the bikes for over 10 years and still looks perfect. Been ridden hard in in 30+ DegC (86+ DegF) temperatures, done over 20,000 miles and never had a problem, and thats behind an RT fairing. The amount you need is tiny, and goes a long way. I’m not keen on too much abrasion and chemicals.

[@cozydram1]

Sir did you seal the clean parts after you cleaned it to protect the surfaces ie: a heat resistant clean coat off something ??? if so may I ask what please and thank you.

[@BrooksAirheadGarage]

Phil, I never do that. It's easy enough to clean again whenever it's needed.

[@mojoriden]

What do you use as a protectant once its clean?

[@BrooksAirheadGarage]

Sometimes I use Boeshield T9 spray to slow down oxidation (boeshield.com/products/?gclid=Cj0KCQiA3rKQBhCNARIsACUEW_ao23ncObCFkfMWuPub3neb17QnMZAaiAQbSfq2Pb86HmR8Q9-T0TMaAh9XEALw_wcB). On the other hand, if I keep the bike washed and stored inside, it takes a long time for the kind of oxidation this engine had to show up.

[@mojoriden]

@@BrooksAirheadGarage thanks, I'll give it a try.

[@kiliang3942]

I am working on my R100 this winter too, and i can recall how long it is to have this result. Do you use the same technic for the front and cylinders ? It's kind of hard to do a good job between the fins...

[@BrooksAirheadGarage]

Kilian, I refinish the front engine cover the same way. Although, if it's really got a lot of hard aluminum oxide deposits, I bead blast it to remove them quicker. I plan to have the cylinders vapor blasted which achieves a patina very close to original.

[@ashirrizvi5356]

Hi, I am looking for a factory service manual/wiring diagram for my 1983 Bmw r80rt. Does anyone have any pdf or know where to find it?

[@BrooksAirheadGarage]

Ashir, you can get one from Euro MotoElectric: www.euromotoelectrics.com/product-p/wdm.8687.r80rt.htm

[@dugdug007]

Use steel wool sold for woodworking finishing because it not impregnated with oil which you'll be removing

[@chadstrohmayer541]

What is the aluminum cleaner you are using?

[@BrooksAirheadGarage]

Auto Sol Aluminum Cleaner and Metal Cleaner are on my shelf.

[@assessor1276]

NOW you simply have to deal with that pink oil pan…..plleease!

[@BrooksAirheadGarage]

Indeed, it's on my long list of "to do" 🙂

[@MrKombiman]

Geez Brook, you got a discount on elbow grease in aisle 16 at Walmart!

[@BrooksAirheadGarage]

Kombi Man, well you're close, but since I use so much of it, I buy it in bulk at Costco. 🙂

[@marlababich]

Du bon oeuvre..!

[@BrooksAirheadGarage]

Merci beaucoup Marlababich

[@mauriziomolignoni8712]

Salve, vorrei contattarvi. Avete un indirizzo mail? Grazie

[@jackedwards7420]

Not trying to be an a** but FYI the proper terminology on "0000" steel wool is 4 "aught" and although this is a colloquialism it has become standard pronunciation. That being said it is an awesome polishing medium on both metals and glass BUT don't confuse it with SOS, BRILLO, etc as they are much coarser and will ruin the finish and scratch glass irreparably!

[@BrooksAirheadGarage]

Jack, well, if you live in the UK, then I guess it would be "four naught", no pun intended. 🙂

[@wardduffield489]

Never use steel wool on aluminum castings; tiny bits of the steel become embedded in the alloy This creates sites for electrolytic corrosion. It is essential if you use metal wool, to use STAINLESS steel wool, or aluminum wool. No danger with Scotchbrite.

[@flobeeonekinobee2353]

My R45 is worse than that and she's a runner