New to me 98 R1100R few questions

[Motoboy50]

Ok so I picked. Up a 98 R1100R none ABS

27,000 Miles, super clean

Here are my questions: 

 

1st:  I would like to add an adjustable rear shock, will a certain year r1100rt work?

2nd: It has the ABS lights on the dash, I assume this is just factory production. Can I add ABS and what would I need, I assume ABS ring, sensor and?
3rd: What seats will work? I have stock drivers and passenger pillion, would like aftermarket for longer rides. 
4th: Do they make a lowering kit for drivers foot pegs?

5th Any upgrade for exhaust? Replace cat? 
Anything else people have done?

 

 

 

 

[Motoboy50]

Well how about 1 at a time , Wilbers has a front and rear setup for r1100rs will this work?

[dirtrider]

10 hours ago, Motoboy50 said:

Ok so I picked. Up a 98 R1100R none ABS

27,000 Miles, super clean

Here are my questions: 

 

1st:  I would like to add an adjustable rear shock, will a certain year r1100rt work?

2nd: It has the ABS lights on the dash, I assume this is just factory production. Can I add ABS and what would I need, I assume ABS ring, sensor and?
3rd: What seats will work? I have stock drivers and passenger pillion, would like aftermarket for longer rides. 
4th: Do they make a lowering kit for drivers foot pegs?

5th Any upgrade for exhaust? Replace cat? 
Anything else people have done?

 

Morning Motoboy50

 

1st:  I would like to add an adjustable rear shock, will a certain year r1100rt work?-- Possibly, it should fit but the tuning is possibly different.

 

2nd: It has the ABS lights on the dash, I assume this is just factory production. Can I add ABS and what would I need, I assume ABS ring, sensor and?-- If that motorcycle didn't come with ABS then it would take a lot of parts to install ABS  new brake lines, main chassis wire harness is different, ABS module & all the mounting brackets & associated parts, ABS switch, relay added in the fuse box, LOTS of work for the little that you get as the BMW 1100  ABS system was slow & problematic (a lot of riders went the other way & removed that early ABS system due to problems. 

 
3rd: What seats will work? I have stock drivers and passenger pillion, would like aftermarket for longer rides.-- There are some available  so see if riders post here with works best for them.

  
4th: Do they make a lowering kit for drivers foot pegs?-- Yes 

 

5th Any upgrade for exhaust? Replace cat?-- There are some aftermarket exhaust systems but for the most part they are downgrades due to the rather poor exhaust pulses coming out of a BMW boxer engine (360° firing boxer engine really doesn't have a pleasing exhaust note). 

[Motoboy50]

Ok thank you that answers my questions 

there is a set of 1999 BMW 1100 RT SHOCKS STRUTS WELBERS RACING 

will this work? This says it will fit R1100R -r1100RT
https://www.ebay.com/itm/254727806763

[Motoboy50]

Looking at wilbers r1100r. And rs have same part number 

 R1100rt. Is a different part number but from what I can tell it looks the same, different number could be adjustment 

please help I found a front and rear wilbers r1100rt for a good price 

[Kegwasher]

I’m looking at a ‘96 with ABS and from the forums it sounds like a crap shoot if or when the ABS module will fail. Only two solutions. Hand BMW a couple grand for a new one or stand in line for the guy who’s figured out how to rebuild them for a fraction of the new price.  
 

 

*** correction ***. I’m told it’s the 1150 ABS that costs more than the bikes worth.  Disregard my comment 

[BF204]

Welcome...  I'll add my $.02 to a couple of your Q's... FYI, I have a '99 R11000R, this will be my 5th season with it.

 

1. Rear shock: Don't know about RT or RS compatibility, by my bike has Ohlins shocks/springs front and rear.  The rear has a remote hydraulic reservoir with a knob on it for adjusting preload.  Not sure how available they'd be, but I think even if you found a well-used one, you could send it in to be rebuilt (?).

 

2. ABS: Mine doesn't have ABS on it either. From some of the issues that come up with the early ABS systems, maybe that's not the worst thing. FYI, I did change my brake lines with SS kit from Spiegler. I think that was $$ well spent, and I also replaced all the front rotor bobbins b/c of excessively loose rotors. The brakes work and feel great, although without ABS.

 

3. Seats. I have no idea, but they're different than those on the RT's, so I think they're a bit of an oddball, so might have limited aftermarket choices (?).

 

4. Peg lowering... I know kits exist, perhaps share part #'s with RT's, but I'm not sure.

 

5. Mine came with an aftermarket exhaust installed, and the almost new factory exhaust (including the catalytic converter) as a loose part.  The aftermarket exhaust has 2 components. A front S-shaped pipe with an O2 sensor mount (no cat), and behind that a slip on silencer.  I'm on my 3rd silencer of different types. The exhaust makes the bike louder (but not obnoxious in my opinion), but the real reason I think the original (from new) owner changed the exhaust was to lower the silencer, and make room for a full depth left side BMW system case (like on an RT). The aftermarket silencer sits below the case. With stock exhaust I think only option would've been a shallow left side pannier to allow room for the high-mounted exhaust.  So I think it was an 'upgrade' to accommodate the luggage, likely not driven by looking for a performance gain (?).  I use the luggage, so I've never put the stock exhaust back on to see whether there is any performance difference with stock vs aftermarket.

 

Other things...

-there is an updated hydraulic cam tensioner for the left side cylinder... easy to change out. You can search it.  

-with the 18" rear wheel, your tire selection is very limited. I still have the stock rear wheel (running Michelin PR 3's I bought 2 seasons ago). A conversion to a 17'' rear wheel from other BMW models has been done by many to increase tire selection.  You can search that too... Finding the correct rim to use, and possibly using a shim, and also modifying the lug bolts might be needed.

-I've had my HES re-done. If that hasn't been done, you should likely do that. Mine left me walking.

-inspect under the ignition area and clip any factory zip ties that are around the wiring bundles there. Visible from the front/sides. They were put on too tight at the factory and may cause wire breakage (intermittent ignition prob's).  Replace with new zip ties (not over tightened).

-I put a rear rack and mounted a top case on mine. It's not that easy to find good rear rack options. I do like having locking waterproof storage big enough for helmet, and for weekend trips. I mostly ride solo, but for the odd time I ride 2 up, the passenger appreciates the backrest.

 

Enjoy the bike!  When I got mine, I wasn't sure if it was my 'cup of tea', but it's grown on me.

 

 

 

 

[dave_a]

I've had my 99 R1100R for about 6 years. I made some of the mods you're asking about. 49K miles.

1. Shocks - the OE rear shock is adjustable for damping & spring preload. Seemed to work fine for me. 

I bought a used Ohlins front & had it rebuilt. It replaced the rusty OE (Showa?). I noticed no difference. Great front end on these bikes imho. Rear too.

2. ABS - The older style ABS on this bike as DR said isn't worth the trouble to retro. It's slow to "cycle",  finnicky with battery voltage. The only time it activated was when I tried to get it to activate on a dirt road. Great brakes on these bikes. Flush the fluid F&R  and buy better tires would be my advice

3. Seats -  Sargent Seats / JAX,  FL http://www.sargentcycle.com

4.  Lower pegs - Have you raised the seat? The bike has 3 seat adjustments

5. Pipes - I had a Two Brothers cat eliminator & pipe. Noisy even with a DB tip and a rebuild. It melted my OE bag after a two up long high speed highway run. It was uncomfortably loud on the interstate. As DR has said, the boxer will never sound like an angry Ducati.  Nothing to recommend other than the quiet OE.

 

A couple of "will leave you stranded" must do's:  HES wires / In the tank items: Fuel filter and ALL submersible hoses. Clean out the flaking tank primer while you're in there. Carry a $7 fuel pump relay from an auto parts store. BMW Boneyard is your friend for parts & maintenance items.

Fun bike, took it to the mountains every year.

[Paul De]

Not sure about the standard R, but the OEM shock on the RT had a hydraulic driven spring adjuster, the R might only have a stepped or a screw threaded collar adjuster.  Rebound damping should be on the lower part of the shock body requiring a flat blade screw driver to adjust.  If memory serves clockwise in more and counter clockwise is less rebound damping.  Typical adjustment strategy is if you are adding spring preload you need to increase damping in unison to control pogoing,  

 

If you do go to the expense of getting Wilburs or Ohlins, I would have a talk with them(dealer) to be sure you have the proper spring for the sprung weight (you and bike). It would be a shame to spend the cash on top of the line damping units only to have them not perform well due to a miss matched spring

[Motoboy50]

Thank you,

I understand the spring and weight, main thing is will a 1100RT mount in a 1100R 

I know the RS and R have no adjustment knob etc. but are the mounts the seams. I will call wilbers 

[Paul De]

My OEM ‘99 R1100RT shock has a 1 9/16” inner diameter on the bottom mounting fork to the swing arm gusset.  Top mount is 1 1/4” wide.  The top to bottom  center of eye shock length is 14” (not compressed). Overall shock diameter with spring is 3 1/2”

 

The Ohlins front and rear shocks were an R&R fit.  The rear Ohlins shock for the R1100s allowed some adjustability for mount length

[Motoboy50]

Thank you, I talked to Ted Porter Suspension and he was very helpful.

A 99 r1100RT rear shock is the same length and mounting, I will need mount the preload. 
the 99 r1100rt front shock is 14 mm longer same mounting.

 

Here is what I picked up

 

[Motoboy50]

Does anyone know why a R1150R exhaust wouldn’t work on a R1100R looks like you would just need the front headers as they come down Sides like a GS. 
 

 

 

how about a R1150RS , don’t see why this wouldn’t work.

 

[Motoboy50]

I am  trying to achieve  2 things  aftermarket pipe, slip on. And the full size luggage for left side. 
but I can’t find a good pipe for cat removal.

 

does anyone recognize the luggage footrest on this R1100R?  it’s not the factory one for this  bike.

it allows for the luggage as it goes on inside and allows for larger bag. 

[Motoboy50]

Looking fo the decat pipe really.