K75 Triple Tee Removal and Middle Brake Hose

[rbm]

Hi,
I'm in the midst of removing the triple tee and front forks from my 88 K75C.  I'm at the point where I'm ready to loosen the fixture securing the top triple clamp and I'm running into a problem which I've not encountered before.  First, this is a K75 with the brake pipe running through the center of the steering stem.  I have removed the top banjo fitting on the brake pipe but I'm unable to loosen and remove the brake pipe from the center of the steering stem.  Clymers shows a hex nut fixing the pipe but my bike has no such nut.  The BMW manual only says "Loosen clamp and remove" ... very unhelpful.  There is no visible clamp securing that pipe that I can see.

(1) Do I have to remove the middle brake pipe to continue to remove the steering assembly or can I skip that step?

I have managed to loosen and remove the 32mm hex nut from the top triple tee but I can't make the 19mm hex fitting budge. It must be tightened to 130Nm or more. 
(2) It's impossible to move this fitting.  Is this normal?  Is there a trick to getting past this point in the disassembly?


Thanks for help.

[frankenduck]

Yeah, that center locking bolt can be a bitch if it hasn't been touched since it left the factory.

[Chaos]

Hang in there.  I remember that being a bitch, BUT I found photographic proof that I conquered! :yes  I find with tough nuts good whacks with a big hammer on a tight fitting wrench or socket work better than steady pressure.  Good luck......

[rbm]

Thanks for the responses.

Yes, the hex fitting certainly was stuck.  It took a 32" breaker bar and 19mm 6point socket to persuade it to move.  Once I got that removed the rest went easily.  The brake pipe through the centre of the steering column was a press fit; there was no clamp or plastic nut as mentioned in the service manuals.  A few strikes with a rubber mallet also persuaded the pipe to leave its 25 year old position.

I've successfully installed the k1100 front end with 4-pot brakes and 20mm MC.  The bike certainly feels more solid on the road and breaking is better than the old K100 with the same setup -- mainly because the K75 has less curb weight to stop, I guess.

[Rick G]

not just because it has less weight the difference between my k100 and k1100 was really something, just so much better.

[frankenduck]

The fact that it's a 20mm master with four pot calipers makes a much bigger difference than the 40ish lb weight difference.