Author Topic: New to the brick in NC  (Read 5178 times)

Offline Grime Time

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  • Posts: 5
  • New fish to the brick but I kinda dig her fat ass
New to the brick in NC
« on: November 17, 2017, 06:37:38 PM »
Greetings and salutations
First and foremost it blows my mind how huge the brick world is, y'all are serious. Until three days ago I had never heard of a "brick" or the k75s I currently own and adore. But on  a whim i traded my war wagon for a bike i had never seen. I am not disapointed in the least. Now, don't get me wrong... not a jap bike but a ton of fun. Different like I for some reason want my wife to come for a ride different. Heavy as a "brick" but that driveshaft response is something else. Look forward to knowing y'll
 And maybe seeing you around the country
 Thank the gods I didn't get a Harley!
  • Statesville NC
  • 93 k75s

Offline Martin

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  • Posts: 4437
Re: New to the brick in NC
« Reply #1 on: November 17, 2017, 08:28:54 PM »
Welcome to the asylum from the land of OZ. You need to keep it clean and don't use cuss words like H#&*@Y, it can be offensive to some inmates. :nono
Regards Martin.
  • North Lakes Queensland Australia
  • 1992 K75s Hybrid, Lefaux, Vespa V twin.

Offline Grime Time

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Re: New to the brick in NC
« Reply #2 on: November 17, 2017, 08:34:13 PM »
Lol, for sure thanks
  • Statesville NC
  • 93 k75s

Offline Grime Time

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Re: New to the brick in NC
« Reply #3 on: November 18, 2017, 07:19:44 PM »
Quick question. Two toggles on my dash, don't seem to do anything? Any insight would be great. Thanks
  • Statesville NC
  • 93 k75s

Offline Laitch

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Re: New to the brick in NC
« Reply #4 on: November 18, 2017, 07:37:50 PM »
Quick question. Two toggles on my dash, don't seem to do anything? Any insight would be great. Thanks
They are probably blanks. You could try popping them out with a screwdriver. It won't take much force.
  • Along the Ridley in Vermont.
  • 1995 K75 89,000 miles
I wept because I had no radials until I met a man who had no splines.
https://tinyurl.com/RillRider

Offline Grime Time

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Re: New to the brick in NC
« Reply #5 on: November 18, 2017, 07:56:13 PM »
No sir, they're wired up for  something. I'e only put on maybe 50 miles in that last couple days just feeling the bike out so not really knowledgeable on k bikes yet. I feel super basic asking because I've rode for years and turned wrenches my whole life but bmw intimidates me just looking at her. Bike has 20000 on it for a 93. Got some moly today and attempting the rear spines tomorrow. Seems easy enough if I follow the process
  • Statesville NC
  • 93 k75s

Offline Martin

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Re: New to the brick in NC
« Reply #6 on: November 18, 2017, 09:00:56 PM »
Do the switches look OEM do they have any markings, pictures are helpful. K75s in my biased opinion pick of the litter, very easy to access most parts. Easy to maintain, most problems tend to be lack of maintenance. A good stating point is to clean all the electrical connectors with Deoxit, I also use dielectric or heavy silicone grease around the connectors. Some inmates advise against doing this but I believe it helps by keeping out air and moisture which can lead to corrosion. The 4 pin connector under the right side of your tank that supplies power to the fuel pump is known for bad connectivity.Use at least 60 % moly content grease on your splines. Use only EFI submersible rated fuel line in the fuel tank and EFI rated elsewhere. Check the fuel pump damper they will turn to sludge if left sitting for long period in ethanol laced fuel check the tank for cleanliness make sure the filter sock is in good condition.
Regards Martin.
  • North Lakes Queensland Australia
  • 1992 K75s Hybrid, Lefaux, Vespa V twin.

Offline Martin

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Re: New to the brick in NC
« Reply #7 on: November 18, 2017, 09:44:25 PM »
There are a number of things that the switches can be controlling. OEM could be ABS, hazard lights, or some bikes had the altitude wire wired up to a switch. Aftermarket could be fan override switch, auxiliary lights. If the switches are operating OEM devices the colour of the wiring will help determine what they are. If not it could be a case of tracing where the wires go to. A workshop manual and wiring diagram are essential to owning a Brick are available to download on this site. See here for lots of useful information http://www.motobrick.com/index.php/topic,666.0.html
Regards Martin.
  • North Lakes Queensland Australia
  • 1992 K75s Hybrid, Lefaux, Vespa V twin.

Offline K1300S

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Re: New to the brick in NC
« Reply #8 on: November 19, 2017, 08:18:59 AM »
Welcome.

At least one should be the hazard warning switch.   The other could be heated grips or the ABS reset switch.   Most likely the ABS.  All should have symbols on them.

Definitely suggest picking up a Clymer manualv and downloading an owners manual if one did not come with the bike.   Owners manual is quite good at explaining stuff like this.
Project Thread "K75s Midlife Refresh"
http://www.motobrick.com/index.php/topic,7810.0.html

Offline kris

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Re: New to the brick in NC
« Reply #9 on: November 21, 2017, 04:39:17 PM »
Sounds like you stumbled onto something good....20,000 miles? That's nothing. These girls were well-engineered and well-built. Don't let them intimidate you. Like many Germans they are a bit stiff at first....but once you make friends you are bonded for life!!
  • In The Hammer!! Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
  • 1986 K100RT (Heinz) 2004 Kawasaki Concours (Eddy) 2007 Moto Guzzi Breva 1100 (Linda) Previous: 1968 Honda CD175 1973 Kawasaki S2350 1975 Honda CB550K
"I got bike fever bad!!"

Offline Grime Time

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Re: New to the brick in NC
« Reply #10 on: November 21, 2017, 04:43:16 PM »
That is no lie my friend. Been riding a lot these past few days before it gets real cold and I love it. This winter I'll have the carbs tuned and general maintenance but overall I am impressed

  • Statesville NC
  • 93 k75s

Offline K1300S

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Re: New to the brick in NC
« Reply #11 on: November 21, 2017, 07:09:49 PM »
That is no lie my friend. Been riding a lot these past few days before it gets real cold and I love it. This winter I'll have the carbs tuned and general maintenance but overall I am impressed


ahh....there are no carbs on K75's.  they are fuel injected.......

a tune up on this bike is pretty easy.  just follow the procedure in the clymers manual and check the tech section on this forum.
Project Thread "K75s Midlife Refresh"
http://www.motobrick.com/index.php/topic,7810.0.html

Offline Laitch

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Re: New to the brick in NC
« Reply #12 on: November 22, 2017, 07:20:52 AM »
I feel super basic asking because I've rode for years and turned wrenches my whole life but bmw intimidates me just looking at her.
On which bikes and cars have you been turning wrenches before this one?
  • Along the Ridley in Vermont.
  • 1995 K75 89,000 miles
I wept because I had no radials until I met a man who had no splines.
https://tinyurl.com/RillRider

Offline The Mighty Gryphon

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Re: New to the brick in NC
« Reply #13 on: November 22, 2017, 11:11:36 AM »
Grimetime, no need to feel intimidated.  I too, came to K-bikes late in life after many years of wrenching on bikes and cars.  While the Bricks have a reputation for heavy engineering, in reality they are really pretty easy to work on for a couple of reasons.

First, is that they use a lot of automotive technology which, once all the electrical connections are cleaned of the years of crud, is pretty reliable and maintenance free.

Second, outside of the air filter, which, by the way, should be good for at least 50,000 miles, nearly all of the required maintenance items are relatively easy to do because of the engine layout.  The nastiest jobs are the splines, but they can be done in a couple hours. 

Third, the basic engine should be good for at least 200,000 miles and the few jobs that may have to be done like clutch o-rings, and cam chains have a lot of reference material with tips and advice on the internet.

Fourth, nearly all the routine maintenance can be done with the bike's tool kit, and the big jobs only need a few additional tools to accomplish.  There are factory service manuals on line that can be downloaded to augment the good Clymer manual.  Also, because the bikes have been around so long, there are many on the web here as well on other sires that have a lot of experience with them, experience that they are happy to share with newbies.

I have found with my bricks that the ratio of miles to maintenance is very high, which is not surprising, given the reputation of these bikes.  A couple of weekend afternoons in the off season working in the garage yields a season of trouble free riding the following summer regardless of the miles on the odometer.  Case in point, my K100RS was a daily commuter bike, doing just over 100 miles a day with a total of 124,000 miles on the clock.
  • In my garage in Marilla, NY
  • '91K100RS White/Blue
Current:
'91 K100RS16V "Moby Brick Too"

Past:
'94 K75RT "Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS"
'92 K100RS16V "Moby Brick" (RIP, deceased in a vehicular assault)
'94 K75S Special Edition Dakar Yellow "Cheetos"
'89 K100RS Special Edition "Special Ed"

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