K75 - Starbucks Warrior build

[almostordinary]

I actually tried the radiator cover but the sides seeem I finished since the rest of the body panels cover the sides of the cover. I am looking into making a mesh radiator guard though.

And yes k75ssb lol

[almostordinary]

Quick update... been busy w some film projects, but finally got the seat finished and a couple days of riding in... now working out the kinks.


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[johnny]

greetings...

gotta hear that thing rev... post it up...

j o

[DJEwen]

I actually tried the radiator cover but the sides seeem I finished since the rest of the body panels cover the sides of the cover. I am looking into making a mesh radiator guard though.

And yes k75ssb lol

What do you mean? Have you ditched the radiator cover?

[Laitch]

. . . the sides seeem I finished since the rest of the body panels cover the sides of the cover.

What do you mean? Have you ditched the radiator cover?

I think the meaning is plumbed by translating it like Scottish dialect. It implies that the sides of the radiator cover seem unfinished because they aren't hidden by the side panels, as ah kin it.

[almostordinary]

Thanks Brickdad!

As I'm still a novice rider, I'm hitting that horn button on accident all the time... but definitely want to be heard.. I'll take that suggestion up and look at combining the two...

It's a fantastic horn.

And yes, I was half typing the last reply on the radiator cover... It looks unfinished with the rest of the fairings removed so I opted not to use it... although I do still have it if you're in need of one.

I'll get a rev post once I take it up in the canyons this weekend, so I don't piss of my neighbourhood.

-Ian

[johnny]

greetings...

65 days ago i axed to hear it... you gonna poast some audio...

j o

[billday]

Novice rider? Should be interesting.

[The Mighty Gryphon]

It's a fantastic horn.

I'll get a rev post once I take it up in the canyons this weekend, so I don't piss of my neighbourhood.

The horn is probably the only part of the bike that hasn't been hacked.

Novice rider on a bike with modified geometry in the canyons?  Death wish?

[almostordinary]

it's been a great bike. Can't say the same for this community. Off to my next build. Off to my next forum,

[Past-my-Prime]

You never described how the bike is to ride. It looks cool to me but I wonder about the seating position, and how you might have to be hunched over the way it's set up. Is it comfortable at all?

[Scott]

You never described how the bike is to ride. It looks cool to me but I wonder about the seating position, and how you might have to be hunched over the way it's set up. Is it comfortable at all?

I think the thread title says it all.

[almostordinary]

The bike was a a blast to ride. sorry COVID took over life immediately with family in Italy.

Just an update, building another K75.

Grabbed a 95 K75RT that I am converting to a K75S. Learned a lot from the last build and doing this one on another level.

Going with a front USD fork conversion from ThePowerBrick along with a slew of other upgrades that I didn't do on the last build.

Going w the same seat, as it was really comfortable for my riding style.

When I got it, 70k miles from what I could tell in the tear down, it was mostly in the dirt lol.


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Current state.

Did a full teardown, but haven't really been documenting as much as I did on the first build, which has allowed me to get the build done faster.


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Planning on painting the bellypan, front mudguard, wheels and rear seat BMW Carbon Black which looks bluish in sunlight and carbon fiber skinning the tank.

Also for the guys asking for soundclip.. it was obnoxiously loud.

Going with the same shorty GP exhaust setup, but have three baffling options that I will try out.

When I get to that stage I'll post a few soundclips.

[DanPete]

it's been a great bike. Can't say the same for this community. Off to my next build. Off to my next forum,

Did some posts get deleted that I missed? Reading it all today I saw now reason you felt the need to leave. Maybe I missed something. Your back, so there is definitely SOMETHING I’m missing. But will continue to read from here.
In my younger days I stripped / lowered / modded everything. Since then I got old and fat, and need a faring to hide behind!

[alabrew]

"Did some posts get deleted that I missed? Reading it all today I saw now reason you felt the need to leave. Maybe I missed something."


I too reread the whole thread and didn't see why his feathers got so ruffled.
Maybe the skin is thicker in your LA (lower Alabama) than his LA  (California)

I think it was "Novice rider on a bike with modified geometry in the canyons?  Death wish?"
Having survived a tank slapper at 100 mph on a "properly engineered" rake & trail, changing the front end geometry is never good idea (IMHO) especially for a self claimed novice rider.

True, he is posting on the fringes - hacking a beloved, wonderful motorcycle we are still riding more than 38? years after it was released, hell, I've had 6!!! and it I can't think there is anything out there that would top it. (do not, ever, ever ride a K1200LT!)

[The Mighty Gryphon]

Yeah, I was responding to his comment about hitting the horn inadvertently, and his admission to being a novice.  The way the front end was lowered and the strap-ons made the front end geometry look kind of scary.  I could see him getting into trouble if he took off with the canyon crowd on that bike.

That's the problem with a lot of the cafe builders, they take a heavy bike that is designed for covering large distances at high speed and modify it with little regard for what they are doing to the bike's handling geometry.  I don't think there are many who can make the adjustments to keep the bike safe to ride at high speed in the twisties.  The fact that there seems to be many cafe customs built, but they are almost never seen anywhere makes me think that they may not be pleasant to ride and end up not being used very often.

[daveson]

Did some posts get deleted that I missed? Reading it all today I saw now reason you felt the need to leave. Maybe I missed something. Your back, so there is definitely SOMETHING I’m missing. But will continue to read from here.
In my younger days I stripped / lowered / modded everything. Since then I got old and fat, and need a faring to hide behind!

My memory tells me you're right on both counts.

Anyways, look at almosts k75 for sale thread (#10) Asking 6,100, offered 1,600 and a bit. It's a woozy. After reading it, pick yourself up off the floor and think about it for a coupla minutes, then read the last post again, something about being lucky rather than good.   

[Laitch]

"Did some posts get deleted that I missed? Reading it all today I saw now reason you felt the need to leave. Maybe I missed something.

My memory tells me you're right on both counts.

No posts were deleted from this thread.

[almostordinary]

No posts were deleted from this thread, but in others that I posted there was always unnecessary comments that just were off-putting to building a stronger community. I have built a strong bond/friendship w builders on instagram and facebook, but really like forums as they are a way to document, share and learn from other enthusiasts.

Can't wait to share this latest build, if only to encourage others to take bikes that were slated for life in storage and give them a second chance, in any flavor (cafe, restomod) that they want.

After I sold my last K, I read Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance, and it really made me miss the cathartic space that setting out on a vision brought me. So here I am again, I'll post a full picture recap of this build in the weeks to come. And hopefully it will inspire someone else who stumbles across this post to go on their own journey into enjoying these bikes.

Hoping to put many miles on this next build, I'm more into cruising than carving canyons and just enjoying saddle time... which may be a bit more hunched over the tank for some :)
 

[Past-my-Prime]

People are protective of their image of history. It is hard to see something that you love get repurposed. But how many K bikes or other bikes for that matter just end up at the scrapyard? I say, good on you for following your dreams (even if I don't share them exactly). Consider: you are making the traditional K bikes all the more valuable. And (hopefully) supplying much needed parts such as fairing pieces and little connectors and things that break or get lost to the rest of us.

But don't take it personally.

[daveson]

But nothing increased it's value more than running a truck over it, I spose.

[almostordinary]

man you Australians are so mad.

Got a nice house Im building in Sydney. Swing by when it's done. Have a beer, relax.

[almostordinary]

Quick update.

Finally got my wheels/tires mounted. so the backend is assembled.

Tank is prepped for carbon fiber skinning, going to skin the cowl for the seat as well.

Bellypan, seat base, gascap all getting BMW Carbon black, which shows blueish in sunlight.


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I have a few baffle options that I will be testing out, currently have one inserted that's about 6" long and will likely be the most dB reducing setup.

Awaiting the BMW S100RR front fork setup then she's going to be wired up and fired.

[almostordinary]

Packing for our move back to LA. House hunting is a drag, so taking parts out of boxes for both my CX500 build and my latest K75S.

First start up, just need to get lights, do some paint, and she's ready to ride.


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10cc of oil in the cylinders to build up compression, so she's a little smoky. Ran it up to temp yesterday and she's humming now.



Really like the sound this time around w the baffle installed.

[Arktasian]

Thanks for adding your sound clip @almostordinary.
I think no matter what forum you end up on, there are always going to be comments that come across as "I don't like what you're doing".
Mods and corruption applied to original steeds (especially these "Ks") seems to offend many, regardless of worthiness of the changes.
I would comment on exhaust note and how modifications can most frequently allow mostly noise or resonance - its a deep rabbits hole of tech and potential time investment. I would of course defer to my SOP on the subject & that being the best change to your exhaust note comes from insertation of a turbo in there somewhere. I'm reasonably immune to flames having very high quality heat blanket tech going on currently    so I'll leave it at that.