A week tucked up in bed with a chest infection and a laptop can be a dangerous thing! 

Well as a result and as the title says. I've acquired a new moto. I've had a itch for a naked K that needed to be scratched for some time and after watched  (a very few) ads for k75c's over time come and go. I happened to be online last week and looking at Gumtree as the add went up for one in my budget.

Last night, after work I took a trailer to Dungannon in Northern Ireland to look at the bike and brought it home. It's a 1991 metallic black with some very light cosmetic damage and a few bodge jobs done on it it was dropped at low speed on a gravel road and the damage tallies with the sellers description. the radiator cover has a shorn studon the right side. The headlamp surrounf is dented. The plastics back of the clocks and base of the front indicator are grazed and the headlamp glass was replaced with a left hand drive one. The heat shield was painted with something which doesn't like heat and the front of the seat was repaired with staples which have scratched the tank. The front mudguard is  bent and has cracked paint. 

All that said,  the bike, once started, runs very sweetly gearbox and brakes are all good. Valve stem seals have been done but the steering head bearing feels like it has been over tightened just a pinch. The bike doesn't always start so I reckon the starter needs an overhaul to improve the contacts and earth. It's going to make a nice project  

Hello little cousin....



Exhaust shield will clean up easily


some "Gifted" individual came up with this method of securing the panniers....


it might take a while to get going on it as the LT needs the oilwater pump seals done,  a timing chain and a spline lube first.

88

Awwww. Isn't it cute sitting there.
Well done.
Exactly how every garage or shed should look.
One on the left and one on the right.

rosskko

wow !

will, what a score .....im very jealous out here


onya mate

charlie99 wrote:wow !

will, what a score .....im very jealous out here


onya mate

Cherers Charlie - You would be twice as jealous if you knew what I paid...but I'm still not the bandit Comberjohn is

blast  another  pirate huh ? .....oh well ill keep looking

Well done that man!

The heat shield will probably look like Swiss cheese once you get the paint off. The black ones used to be dirt cheap (14 quid from Motobins) but they've realised the demand and hiked the price hugely.

There's a K75 radiator surround on ebay at the moment.

nice one , she will make a nice project for the Winter, are you going take it completely apart  , for an overhaul, or "just" a touch up  i heard somewhere that the k75 engine runs smoother than the k100 , what do you think?

You mentioned

the radiator cover has a shorn stud on the right side

If it's not lost or badly mangled you can relatively easily repair it. Two options I've used:
1. epoxy filler to fill the gap between the stud and the cover.
2. PVC glue worked another time to glue a partially torn off piece.

PVC glue ( stuff they use to weld together PVC pipes for electrical conduit and other uses) is also useful for the bag outsides. Possibly fix the fix they did for latches.

k-rider wrote: i heard somewhere that the k75 engine runs smoother than the k100 , what do you think?

The K75 engine is smoother. The output shaft is counter-balanced. The four cylinder engine can be smoothed out by ensuring that the valves and injectors are correctly adjusted but it will never get near the three cylinder engine for smoothness (which just gets smoother the faster it revs).

 

Great find 88 a companian for the LT, 
a single bike can get lonely, that was my excuse to the wife  

you now have plenty to keep you going over the winter good luck with her mate.

BIG D

MikeP wrote:

k-rider wrote: i heard somewhere that the k75 engine runs smoother than the k100 , what do you think?

The K75 engine is smoother. The output shaft is counter-balanced. The four cylinder engine can be smoothed out by ensuring that the valves and injectors are correctly adjusted but it will never get near the three cylinder engine for smoothness (which just gets smoother the faster it revs).

Yep....Waaay Smoother than the k100! Thanks re the shield MikeP Looks solid though thankfully.

@JJeffries - Thanks - stud is gone Might get something machined up in aluminium to replace it, as for the pannier "improvements".....Well  

88

Interesting comment that you think the steering head is too tight. I have been running a K75 now for about six weeks and still haven't come to terms with the steering which feels stiff and I assume is caused by stickiness in the fluidbloc damper. Are they meant to be like this? Its not a problem just makes the steering slow. John

If the triple tee has never been removed, the grease is certainly dry and this is what makes the steering stiff. I remember when I bought my K100, I had the same problem. I temporary solved it by spraying the bearings with WD40.

BMW no longer supply the "special" grease for the Fluidbloc. A replacement is about 20 quid and comes with loads of the stuff slathered liberally inside it.

It's been upgraded too. The early ones relied on the grub screws to penetrate the nylon cylinder to hold it in place. When the grease began to dry out the damper could stick to the steering stem and the screws cut grooves in the nylon allowing the damper to rotate with the steering and not do its job.

The later version now has an aluminium outer sleeve. The grub screws still just poke holes in the thing to hold it in place but it won't fail like the old version.

Old (with two cuts when the damper stuck to the steering stem):



New and old for comparison (the new one still has the grease retaining sleeve inside before fitting):



The bike was fine at any speed and in a straight line with the failed damper but on high speed bends it just wouldn't keep to the desired line and it was impossible to predict what line it would take.

It's definitely worth investigating if you have a K75 (not RT, they didn't have the damper) and the steering is not right.

Very interesting. Will have to wait until the weather changes before I investigate. I plan to strip the front end, fit new fork seals and gaiters. The bike has done 87,000 miles so there is a good chance the fluidbloc is u/s. John

Nice find, 88. Congratulations.
I see that being in bed with an illness can have its upsides!  
The plastic fairing bits can be repaired with PVC glue/solvent?  Is that true of the K100 (1985 vintage) bikes as well?  I've got a broken tab on the side panel of the fairing that I'd like to attend to.

Thanks for the tips re the fluidblock, that's definitely one of the first things to check. The steering is fine when leaning in but any other input such as little pressure on the bars then the movement seems twitchy and sometimes quick and slightly more than was asked for. This feeling of resistance then marginal over response would be explained by the fluidblock being worn and with old grease.

88

Missed you yesterday, Will.
Boy, you've got it bad. How much did he pay you to take it away?
Thinking of doing something similar over the winter. Liked the K without the fairing. Totally different bike, but keeping it on my RT in the meantime. Everytime I take it off the temperature drops!

Comberjohn wrote: Liked the K without the fairing. Totally different bike, but keeping it on my RT in the meantime. Everytime I take it off the temperature drops!

John I totally agree. I got a bit chilly today on the /2. Temp dropped to 15c
I can see the advantage of the RT fairing, but riding without it is so much better.
Have you considered a smaller fairing? easy on and off? or just leave it on
I saw a K75 today that had an aftermarket bikini fairing. Just enough to keep the wind off your body.
Guy said he had 3 screens depending on the weather.
this screen is the summer one.

15c! That's our summer!
When we started out on our run yesterday it was 9c. Warmed up to the high teens by late afternoon but was back down to about 10c in the evening when I left the guys at their hotel.
Doesn't normally get really cold here over the winter and we can generally ride all year round providing we have a fairing.
Think I need another naked K though for a bit of fun on shorter runs.
Was test riding a KTM 1190 Adventure on Friday. 150bhp and 200kg.
Now thats a naked! Scary. 

Nice find! I'm still looking for a decent one!

I took the bike for a run down the hi way to the Gold Coast today to check fuel economy and was dying from the heat just 20Ks from home, behind the RT screen. Pulled into a bike shop and bought a modern jacket with air vents everywhere. I still love my 30 year old alpine dryrider jacket, but not behind a windscreen on an RT. I could get away with wearing a suit behind that thing.

I wish we had the selection of bikes available that you guys seem to have. I've never seen a cheap K75 4sale here. 
The only ones I've seen are pristine and the owners think they are classic vintage bikes and priced accordingly.

i have an rs , and that Works perfect all summer , but in early spring an in the autumn,not sure how that is spelled,  it might be as low as 5c , i use an aeroflow screen, it comes right on and of attached with velcro, and give real good protection against the weather:D 

rossko wrote:

Comberjohn wrote: Liked the K without the fairing. Totally different bike, but keeping it on my RT in the meantime. Everytime I take it off the temperature drops!

John I totally agree. I got a bit chilly today on the /2. Temp dropped to 15c
I can see the advantage of the RT fairing, but riding without it is so much better.
Have you considered a smaller fairing? easy on and off? or just leave it on
I saw a K75 today that had an aftermarket bikini fairing. Just enough to keep the wind off your body.
Guy said he had 3 screens depending on the weather.
this screen is the summer one.

Comberjohn wrote:Missed you yesterday, Will.
Boy, you've got it bad. How much did he pay you to take it away?

Exactly 1.5 times yours! not bad for a 91 runner I think!!

Nice picture of the fluid block !

in 2008 i changed the bearings and checked the fluid block in my K75/2
as always:
no function due the fact : no/dry grease after 18 years

i cleaned it and refilled the fluidblock with Liqui Moly 3312 Silicon grease

best results !