Clive
6th December 2006, 14:20
You may already know this, but then you may have led as sheltered a life as I obviously have, but after 8 years of owning my '86 BMW K100RS, the other day I learnt from the web that there's a quick, simple and inexpensive way to add hazard lights to it!
I was gob-smacked to find out that BMW added all the necessary wiring and relay at manufacture, but then left off the switch. Why, I can only imagine has something to do with hazards maybe being illegal in some world markets - but that's just a guess.
Anyway, the bottom line is that all you need to add hazards to your machine is to get a switch, a length of 2-core cable and a 3-pin plug, and voila. What I couldn't find out from the web, was what configuration of wiring was necessary, but having spent £20 I now know that it's nothing more complex than an on/off switch.
I know that the K100RS is pretty old hat nowadays, and that there may not be that many around (although it's often surprising how many are still just plodding along quite happily after 20 years). But, if my bit of new knowledge can bring a little ray of happiness to any owners, and add a bit of new sparkle to their aging Beemer, then just let me know and I'll provide the low-down on how to go about it. Oh, and apparently, this applies to any K-Series Beemer, not just the K100RS.
And finally, what really puts a smile on my face is that I've found yet another feature of my 20 year old bike that still cuts the mustard today. Now, how many modern bikes come with hazards as a stock item? My Blackbird certainly didn't!
I was gob-smacked to find out that BMW added all the necessary wiring and relay at manufacture, but then left off the switch. Why, I can only imagine has something to do with hazards maybe being illegal in some world markets - but that's just a guess.
Anyway, the bottom line is that all you need to add hazards to your machine is to get a switch, a length of 2-core cable and a 3-pin plug, and voila. What I couldn't find out from the web, was what configuration of wiring was necessary, but having spent £20 I now know that it's nothing more complex than an on/off switch.
I know that the K100RS is pretty old hat nowadays, and that there may not be that many around (although it's often surprising how many are still just plodding along quite happily after 20 years). But, if my bit of new knowledge can bring a little ray of happiness to any owners, and add a bit of new sparkle to their aging Beemer, then just let me know and I'll provide the low-down on how to go about it. Oh, and apparently, this applies to any K-Series Beemer, not just the K100RS.
And finally, what really puts a smile on my face is that I've found yet another feature of my 20 year old bike that still cuts the mustard today. Now, how many modern bikes come with hazards as a stock item? My Blackbird certainly didn't!