Early Christmas present to me...1995 K75 with 38k miles!
I've been riding for years, but I have been on a 10 year life break since my last ride. Have historically been a Triumph rider and my last ride was a 98 Triumph Sprint. Always wanted a brick, but was never in a position to get one, until two weeks ago. Just happened to be on marketplace and saw it pop up one day, and it caught my eye. I knew what it was the instant I saw it, and the 2000 dollar pricetag made me ask the seller a few questions. He was the second owner, and looked to be about the same age as the bike! He had picked it up with the intention of turning it into a cafe racer. He purchased it running from the original owner, with what he told me was a bad timing chain rattle. He left it sit in his garage with stale gas and on trying to crank it over several months later, welded the starter relay closed. At that point, he decided it was more than he wanted to deal with so on marketplace it went. Since I figured I needed a project to keep my sanity as I get a bit older, I decided I had to have it.
On getting it home, I decided I would open up the starter relay and sand the relay contacts so I could at least attempt a start of the engine while waiting for a new relay to arrive. Turns out, his diagnostic ability leaves a bit to be desired as its clearly not a timing chain rattle I hear, as its coming from the back of the engine. At this point, I was 90% sure there was an issue with the alternator, and sure enough, pulling the 50a alternator confirms that the drive cup (alternator clutch housing) had two of the three tabs broken and the rubber cushions totally shredded. A bit of homework to get the right part number and a quick tour of ebay, turned up a suitable cup from a K1200LT with the right part number 12312305329.
That with a new set of rubber cushions, and for less that 40 dollars, the supposed "timing chain rattle" was no more!
So, turns out that with a bit of flushing out the tank, the fuel pump works fine, and there is no sign of disintegration of any rubber bits in the tank that I can see. I did order some submersible fuel line just in case I needed it, and I will need a small piece of that on the exterior line to the fuel injection rail as its got a bit of cracking due to age...kinda like me, so I understand.
Put some fresh 91 octane in it with some Techron fujel cleaner and voila, we have a runner. No sign of any rattle or unusual noise from the engine and its surprisingly smooth running for not having run in a couple years or so.
So now the routine maintenance begins, to get this neglected beauty back to a state of known maintenance. I spent some quality time this past weekend draining final drive and gearbox oil and replacing that. Fresh engine oil and filter change. New spark plugs. Replaced front and rear brake fluids. I've got some clutch parts on order for standby just in case, as the next major project will be to take her down to the clutch for a spline lube and work my way back through the driveshaft and final drive splines.
I have not found ANYTHING MAJORLY wrong with this K75, other than it wanting some love. I simply couldn't wait to ride it, so I have been riding it around as I complete each service...its a wonderful riding bike. Very smooth engine and good throttle response. I can tell it WANTS to run a lot faster than how far I am twisting the throttle!. Easy does it...we'll get there soon enough. I wont be putting any miles on it until I can inspect the clutch and other drive splines. So far so good for 2000 bux. Oh, the heated grips are a nice touch for arthritic hands! I am quite enjoying that as I've not had them before on any of my Triumphs. I do wish the bars were a bit higher and a bit further back as my wrists would appreciate that a bit more than the bars that are on there now, but I'll manage with these. Its a really nice looking bike that I've always appreciated the lines of. Just classic. I've already gotten several complements on it as I've driven it around the neighborhood.
Thanks guys for letting me browse be a part of the shop here. Lots of great info to be found via search. I've bookmarked several pages already. Looking forward to hanging around here a bit as I get this K75 up to snuff again. Looking forward to some good Arizona riding!
PhoenixDave
