Refreshing 1992 K75RT
Bear with me, I’m a newbie.
I’m writing to ask for your comments regarding the best sequence of evaluating this bike before we begin any re-commissioning. Budget is a consideration as we’re paying a couple of college tuitions for the next few years. I don’t want to jump into a money pit, but I do think this could be a nice, reliable bike with a deliberate plan to bring her back. We didn’t compression test this bike at time of purchase and it hasn’t run since 2013.
I recently purchased this bike locally from an electrical engineer who owned a few other newer BMW bikes. This one kept getting moved around in his garage until it was moved out. My timing was good and I want to believe it has great potential.
My thought it would be a great 57 year old dad (me) and 22 year old son project to make it roadworthy and a keeper. My son is more mechanically experienced from his enduro riding, but we both recognize this is bike a whole different animal.
The price seemed very reasonable for a non running K75RT, it shows 86K miles with little surface rust (NC and GA bike) only on exhaust I think, is 99% complete bike, and I am now the 3rd Owner. 2nd Previous Owner (PO) bought it in 2007 with 65K miles, rode it until 2013 including several cross-country trips when he moved into newer BMW models. It has not run since 2013, PO replaced the transmission and new clutch plates in 2011 for his last journey on it to west coast.
The last PO believed the problem was due to his negligence of leaving fuel in the tank and the purchase included a new fuel pump in a box. I do think it’s odd that transmission was replaced but PO didn’t lube splines. New clutch plates were installed at same time. I hope the first owner did something to the splines before it was sold at 65k miles to 2nd Owner. All manuals and side bags are included, Tupperware is crack free and hole free (wow!) except where PO had air wings mounted. Dealer maintenance was not done after the 8k mile interval and all maintenance since was done by PO’s, I hope. I believe it was, given the fluids look good and it was a cross-country bike.
Of course, it needs tires (2009), hoses replaced, and the list goes on, but we’re just trying to see if it runs to evaluate if we continue moving forward.
Neither my son nor I are familiar with BMWs, so we know this is going to be a learning curve. On line resources are great and we're learning about parts places. Suggestions welcomed.
First things first; we removed the tank and found the petrol sensor eaten up (resembles an artifact from the Titanic recovery site) and needs replacement (PN 62162305558). Inside of tank looks good. Since we bought it without checking compression, I think this initial sequence is to;
1. Charge/replace battery,
2. Install provided fuel pump,
3. Order and install fuel gauge sensor (are there any better places than euromotoelectrics for these?
https://www.euromotoelectrics.com/product-p/flf-565.htm )
4. Change spark plugs, engine oil/oil filter, clean/replace air filter and attempt to turnover/crank.
If it does run, then we evaluate splines since I read they can be costly and do maintenance on them. At this point, I think we'd be in same zone if it runs. Then, replace all other fluids and lines for clutch, brakes, etc. And then we continue with tires, connectors, etc.
If it doesn’t run or turnover, then….it's a different chapter and the ending may not be so happy.
I’m not the most mechanically inclined, nor do I have an ideal work area and I’ll need to order some patience from Amazon. I see this is going to be an ongoing journey but this is a nice bike. I have owned 6-8 bikes in my years; Hondas, Yamahas, KTM, a Goldwing, etc, all many years ago and this is a great chance to get back into riding with a fine machine.
This is another topic for another day, and I‘m sure there is a thread already, but if this bike sorts well, I’m tempted to convert this to a naked K75. I’m 6’2” and 260 lbs and feel a little cramped sitting on this K bike. I sold the 97 Goldwing because I was tired of the car dash and lack of feeling from the road. And now I have a history of neck and hip problems.
Is our initial approach and sequence reasonable? What am I leaving out? I want to do minimal to confirm it is a keeper before we get into the other systems. What are things to watch for (here now and later)? All comments welcome.
Thanks in advance!
Brad Fricks
Marietta, GA
1992 BMW K75RT