Author Topic: Hello from Illinos  (Read 1786 times)

Offline 3dognate

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Hello from Illinos
« on: January 23, 2022, 11:06:09 AM »
Hey, stopping in and saying hello. I just picked up a pair of K75s to refresh, an '87 K75 and '87 K75C. Picked up the pair for $2400 so at $1250 each I feel pretty good that there's meat on the bone to get them refreshed and reliable without being over invested.

I've mostly been into Airheads and Unit Triumphs up to now with a few Japanese bikes and Harleys sprinkled in there. This is my first foray into the the K bikes.

My stable currently consists of a 2021 Harley-Davidson Pan America, 1974 BMW R90S, 1965 Triumph T120R, and the 2 K75s.

If there's a "Getting it back on the road" check list for new K bike owners I'd appreciate a link. These bikes have sat for about 20 years... (last registered in 2001 & 1999) definitely not started in the last 10. They were one owner bikes and rarely ridden, the Red K75C has 8657 miles and the Black K75 has a whopping 861 miles on it. Story is they were bought as a his & hers pair and she never rode hers. They are clean and pretty rough at the same time... time took some toll on them for sure.

The plan for now is to Clean the tanks, replace the fuel filter, verify the fuel pumps still work, replace the fuel lines, new battery, flush out the cooling system, replace all fluids and oil filter, address brakes and tires. Then see if they start and run. Hopefully the ECUs are still good and it'll be mostly that and some cleaning to get these things back on the road.

K75s by Nathan Noel, on Flickr
K75s by Nathan Noel, on Flickr
K75s by Nathan Noel, on Flickr
K75s by Nathan Noel, on Flickr

  • Illinois
  • 1987 K75c Henna Red / 1987 K75 Black

Online The Mighty Gryphon

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Re: Hello from Illinos
« Reply #1 on: January 23, 2022, 11:29:34 AM »
Welcome!  Sounds like you have a pretty good handle on getting them back on the road. 

From my experience, the major problems are the melted fuel pump vibration damper in the tank, tank corrosion, dirty electrical connections, brake master cylinder corrosion, varnished fuel injectors, perished rubber in the crankcase breather tube, worn drive shaft splines and crap in the cooling system.

Forks, brake pads and calipers, valve clearances, steering head bearings and free play in the shifter are also things you want to check.  You also want to lube the clutch splines as they are dry from the factory and I don't think most owners have them done.  All the bikes that I've had came with dry splines when I got them.

Once you address all the normal maintenance stuff and the effects of extended idleness these machines will be as reliable as a hammer.
  • 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"

Offline 3dognate

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Re: Hello from Illinos
« Reply #2 on: January 23, 2022, 11:41:11 AM »
Welcome!  Sounds like you have a pretty good handle on getting them back on the road. 

From my experience, the major problems are the melted fuel pump vibration damper in the tank, tank corrosion, dirty electrical connections, brake master cylinder corrosion, varnished fuel injectors, perished rubber in the crankcase breather tube, worn drive shaft splines and crap in the cooling system.

Forks, brake pads and calipers, valve clearances, steering head bearings and free play in the shifter are also things you want to check.  You also want to lube the clutch splines as they are dry from the factory and I don't think most owners have them done.  All the bikes that I've had came with dry splines when I got them.

Yeah, I'm familiar with the clutch/input shaft lube and final drive maintenance from the Airhead stuff I've done. And the other stuff you mention is pretty standard fare.  I have downloaded the PDF of the service manual and have a Haynes manual inbound.  I need to get the KZ750 project off the lift asap (I'm going to abandon it and move it along cheap to a youngster. I've just not got the energy to do the level of custom I was planning to do to it.) so I can get one of these up there and get on it and start breaking it down for maintenance.

Once I get these things running and validate them as good bikes, I may dive in and fully refresh the red one and start hacking at the black one for a full custom job, I'm starting to like some of the high end cafe/brat customs that have been done recently with these.
  • Illinois
  • 1987 K75c Henna Red / 1987 K75 Black

Online The Mighty Gryphon

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Re: Hello from Illinos
« Reply #3 on: January 23, 2022, 12:00:05 PM »
I would suggest getting the Clymer manual.  I got rid of my Haynes manual as it wasn't as well organized as the Clymer, and the photos were of much lower quality.

If you are thinking custom, I would suggest that you flip the bikes you have and get a couple RT or LT models.  The market value for the bikes you have in good shape is much higher than similar year RT's.  I would think you could easily sell each of them for what you paid for the pair.  A customizable RT in rough cosmetic condition can often be had for well under $2k.  A flip will get you a bike with a decent amount of cash to modify it.
  • 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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Offline frankenduck

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Re: Hello from Illinos
« Reply #4 on: January 23, 2022, 02:54:59 PM »
Since they're both 87s do not worry if they both put out a TON of exhaust smoke when you fist get them started. It is normal. Let them run a few minutes and it will go away.

K bikes built prior to 6/88 have piston rings that let oil seep into the combustion chamber when parked on the side stand. If the bike is parked on the side stand then the pistons are pointed down.

Later K bikes with the newer rings also do this but nowhere near as much.

Once you get them running and want to use the side stand you can mitigate smoky starts by turning the bike off and then tilting the bike to the right for a few seconds before putting it on the side stand.. This lets the oil behind the pistons drain into the sump so there's less oil to seep past the rings.
Once I had a Collie pup. Dug a hole and covered him up. Now I sit there by the hour. Waiting for a Collie-flower.
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Offline 3dognate

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Re: Hello from Illinos
« Reply #5 on: January 23, 2022, 03:25:42 PM »
Since they're both 87s do not worry if they both put out a TON of exhaust smoke when you fist get them started. It is normal. Let them run a few minutes and it will go away.

K bikes built prior to 6/88 have piston rings that let oil seep into the combustion chamber when parked on the side stand. If the bike is parked on the side stand then the pistons are pointed down.

Later K bikes with the newer rings also do this but nowhere near as much.

Once you get them running and want to use the side stand you can mitigate smoky starts by turning the bike off and then tilting the bike to the right for a few seconds before putting it on the side stand.. This lets the oil behind the pistons drain into the sump so there's less oil to seep past the rings.

Good to know. As easy as these bikes are to get on the center stand, why not use it.
  • Illinois
  • 1987 K75c Henna Red / 1987 K75 Black

Offline Chaos

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  • Mars needs women!
Re: Hello from Illinos
« Reply #6 on: January 23, 2022, 05:02:22 PM »
The black one looks like a K75T, BMW-US modded a C with shield, bars, seat, bags and I think fork mounted driving lights.  Nice ride, friend of mine had one.
  • sw ohio
1987 K75S    VIN 0231
Original owner, Original litter
200,000 miles (plus or minus) and 5 paint jobs
sold 6/23
2023 Ural 2WD sidecar (BMW's bastard step child)

Offline kris

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Re: Hello from Illinos
« Reply #7 on: January 24, 2022, 11:03:01 AM »
And all that smoke keeps the mosquitoes away!! I'd say you got quite a haul there for $2500. Any back story to the sale?
  • 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 3dognate

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Re: Hello from Illinos
« Reply #8 on: January 24, 2022, 11:08:38 AM »
And all that smoke keeps the mosquitoes away!! I'd say you got quite a haul there for $2500. Any back story to the sale?

No real back story... from what I gather from the chat I had with the seller, the original owner must have passed and the family member that ended up with them traded them to a used car dealer towards a vehicle. Motorcycles are just a weird thing for car dealers, they really just needed them gone. The black one was bought new by the previous owner in '87 and the red one was bought used with 1k on it in '89 both from a now defunct dealership near Chicago.

  • Illinois
  • 1987 K75c Henna Red / 1987 K75 Black

Offline stokester

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Re: Hello from Illinos
« Reply #9 on: January 27, 2022, 03:16:05 PM »
Looks like a good haul!
In my experience if you've worked on airheads and other motorcycles then these won't be much different. 

When I bought mine, both running, the first thing was to zero-time all the fluids and clean/lube the rear spline.  Rear shocks may be shot, fuel lines cracked and injectors clogged but there is a LOT of good info on this site to guide you along.  One thing I learned is to always carry an extra clutch cable because the barrel in the lever will start to bind eventually breaking the cable if not cleaned and lubed regularly.
  • Yorktown Virginia
  • '94 K75S Dakar Yellow - '93 K75S Seiden Blau - '91 R100RT Bermuda Blue- '78 R100S Smoke Red

Offline milq

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Re: Hello from Illinos
« Reply #10 on: January 29, 2022, 05:31:47 PM »
Did you happen to pick those up in Hardin County, near Shawnee Nat'l forest? There was a red one for sale down there before it got cold and I didn't get the number off of the sign, asked a buddy to swing back by there a few days later and it was gone and no answer at the door.
  • Southern IL
  • 1988 K75S

Offline 3dognate

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Re: Hello from Illinos
« Reply #11 on: January 29, 2022, 05:34:03 PM »
Nope. Got them in Bloomington, IL
  • Illinois
  • 1987 K75c Henna Red / 1987 K75 Black

Offline milq

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  • Posts: 225
Re: Hello from Illinos
« Reply #12 on: January 29, 2022, 05:41:29 PM »
Right on, my K75S came from near Bloomington, guy there who buys/sells mostly Japanese stuff came up with it from the original owner.
  • Southern IL
  • 1988 K75S

Tags: k75