Well - that was a little unexpected...

[RiceBurner]

Bit of a long story here:

Last month I had a bit of an incident in France which ended up with my Rockster looking like this:


On the first day of my trip a van driver with a trailer full of marble (kitchen work tops I think), backed into me while we were stationary waiting for an enormous combine to come through a town. (for those who fondly remember FLASH tours, this happened in St Maixente l'Ecole... 20kms from base!)
Lots of multi-lingual shouting ensued, until I realised that the only damage was to the front 2 inches of the mudguard.
So - we apologised to each other, he actually gave me 50Euros to make up for the idiocy, and we carried on with our holiday.
I patched up the mudguard with duct tape just to tidy it up.

Bit sad.

I popped onto the FB Rockster group just to see if anyone had a mudguard lying around spare (it's possible - I had one for years), or knew of one.
Not much response, but I got a PM from one of the other denizens of that group who said: "Yes I've got a mudguard... it's still attached to the bike, you can have it if you come and fetch it".



My first reaction was "wtf?", and I replied back, very politely, that it was a very generous offer, but I didn't have room at present, and why didn't he pass it on to Motorworks who'd pay decent money for it (as a non-runner) and pick it up themselves.

That was literally 2 days before my workshop was broken into and my beloved Puch Magnum X (the bike I learnt to ride on 40 years ago, and which I had just recommisioned) was stolen was stolen and I was then running around like a madman repairing my workshop, dealing with cops, insurance, getting the JAPton somewhere else etc etc. This offer completely slipped my mind.

But once I'd calmed down a bit, I started to think about it....
I mean... why not?
So I got back in touch and ....



errr


This is now mine.




It's only got 10,000 miles on it, but hasn't been used for a couple of years, so it's by no means mint, but it's all completely there, nothing missing - even the rear mudguard extender is still there! It came with a set of key-matched panniers too!

It's one of the Limited Edition "Edition 80" bikes that BMW did for their (you guessed it!) 80th Birthday year, 2003, as such there was only 2003 made in this colour scheme (which is not an exact thematic negative of the standard Rockster).


I'm currently still wondering what to do with it to be honest... a full recommission would be a worthwhile winter project:

• Full service: fluids, valves, TB-balance,
• Strip ABS and fit new lines (the ABS lines are a bugger to bleed, and the ABS units fail without warning),
• New calipers and discs (Brembo calipers from the GSA are far better than the fitted Tokicos),
• New shocks (ideally - I'm sure they'll be knackered by now and new shocks transform a bike),
• Strip the Meta alarm that's fitted (I mean, they were always shit, but after 20 years....)

Obviously that's after a damned good clean and a test of compression, and then seeing if it'll fire up, and what it sounds like.

If was to then keep it.... I'd want to do the following:

• New tyres (I don't like Bridgestones - it's got BT023s),
• Lose the screen and fit a flyscreen (personal preference),
• Baglux tank cover,

But... I could also just strip off the parts that I might need/want to keep Rock 4 (yes - this Ed80 is my 5th Rockster), going (eg the mudguard!), and then sell the rest off to Motorworks (I'm not going into business as a breaker!)


It's certainly going to be a busy winter....

[Pete.]

I could really fancy that, if you decided to move it on. I'm on my 5th 1100S but I've always liked the Rockster's looks.

[RiceBurner]

I could really fancy that, if you decided to move it on. I'm on my 5th 1100S but I've always liked the Rockster's looks.

I want to at least get it running and see what it's condition is before making any decisions.

[JamesL]

Hmm; surely if you were a bike down, keep both? Maybe dispose of the one you like less in a while if need be….

[RiceBurner]

Hmm; surely if you were a bike down, keep both? Maybe dispose of the one you like less in a while if need be….

It's a matter of space and practicality. (tbh I don't need a bike at all these days), my daily london commutes are a thing of the long-past).

My workshop only really has space for 3 bikes max (to allow for room to work/breath), and the BMWs are "large".
Additionally - I really don't need 2 virtually identical bikes!

Once the Ed80 is running, well, I'll evaluate and pass on the Rockster I'm less likely to want to keep.

From a long-term (financial) ownership point of view... the Ed80 is marginally more "collectable" because there was only 2003 of them made, so there's that to consider....

[RiceBurner]

So - has anybody here had any experience at removing a META 357T alarm from a bike?

[boxerscott]

Have not a clue what a meta alarm is, but if it is circa 2003 yes its ready for the bin with the battery and probably the wiring harness was butchered to fit it. Those were the days... spend 300 quid to have an alarm fitted (plus butchering of harness) to save 20 quid on insurance.

BTW Always liked the Rockster, thought they could have come up with a more Germanic sounding name tho`

Good luck with your project.



Chris

[Blackal]

For the Meta - see here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=b9lU5axNLrA

There's also a load of wiring schematics online - google "META 357T wiring diagram"

Datatools - I had all the guff on, META - no.

Also - if you have a multi-meter with needle-probe attachments - makes easy testing through the insulation.

[RiceBurner]

For the Meta - see here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=b9lU5axNLrA

There's also a load of wiring schematics online - google "META 357T wiring diagram"

Datatools - I had all the guff on, META - no.

Also - if you have a multi-meter with needle-probe attachments - makes easy testing through the insulation.

Yeah - I found a couple of videos - seems a little less confusing now.

This was the one that seemed to help me the most : https://youtu.be/aj1GqwJBDmw?feature=shared

Weirdly - I stuck the bike on my trusty old Optimate (the bike hasn't been used for a couple of years at least), and after a few days everything came to life! Even the alarm! It's still coming off though. The main bike battery has a BMW sticker on it - so it's either the original, or someone paid a lot of money for a new battery at some point in the bike's life.