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Please tell me this will get better...

4K views 19 replies 10 participants last post by  ThirtyTwo 
#1 ·
I've been riding friends' bikes for a few months but I wanted to get my own bike, so I did my research and found that I should be able to afford an older BMW. I couldn't ever get used to the looks of the R-series, so I picked a K bike and decided the K75 would make a good intro into BMW-World.

I bought a 1990 K75S with 29,000 miles on it. The bike had sat on Craig's List for a few weeks while all the other K75s were getting snatched up in days if not hours. Hmmm, should have been a clue...

The guy I bought it from had purchased the bike for his wife. She had a bad experience in traffic and only rode the bike once so it sat in their garage for a year. The good news was that he was a BMW rider, had been to BMW tech school and had a close relative who had owned a BMW dealership.

I brought a friend with me to check out the bike before I bought it. He noticed worn footpegs, an oil seep somewhere in the engine (oil in the bellypan) an a whining, almost turbo, sound coming from the swingarm. While he was riding the bike around the block, the engine experienced bad throttle response, then died and wouldn't start. We tried jumping the battery and ended up getting the solenoid stuck so that connecting both battery terminals resulted in the starter's running. Eventually, we got the solenoid to disengage, gave up on that battery and took the battery out of the seller's other BMW. He had kept a trickle charger on both bikes through the accessory port, so it was odd that the battery was dead, nicht wahr?

I did go ahead and buy the bike. It was a BMW, after all and I had just replaced the battery.

Once I had the bike home, I rode it casually for a couple of days and was planning to take it into a locally renown mechanic to have the bike looked over. I should have done this before buying the bike but I figured buying a BMW from a BMW guy, how wrong could I go?

I did notice that there was no fuse in position #5 and looked in the Owner's Manual to find that that fuse is to power the optional accessory port. No wonder the trickle charger had failed to charge the battery while in the previous owner's garage! I thought I was a good detective for figuring this out.

The weekend came and I was ready for a longer ride, but after warming up the bike for 10 minutes, it died and wouldn't start again. I hadn't bought a battery charger for the bike yet, but I was planning to get one. So, I took the battery to a good BMW repairman, he load-tested it and found that it was technically charged up to 100% but that it was only 33% under load. I bought a gel battery from him for $150 and a Battery Tender Plus with BMW socket adapter and figured I was out of the woods.

A buddy of mine wanted to check out the bike and he's a serious sportbike rider. He hopped on, gunned the throttle, took off hard, shifted up into second then third, made it to the end of the block and ... nothing.

The final drive went kaput after my having the bike in my possession for exactly 16 miles (and one block).

Now, the bike is in the shop waiting for a final drive and driveshaft to be shipped. It turns out that the rear main seal is leaking a little bit, but not something I really can't live with as long as I clean the belly pan once in a while. One of the fork tubes is seeping, so that's getting fixed. Once I'm done repairing what was wrong with the bike, I'll be in it for about $1150 in repairs and parts plus $2800 for the original purchase. Is this a $4000 bike?

As the title to the thread says, "Please tell me this will get better." I really want to ride, not worry about whether I'm pouring money down a hole. I knew the K's were susceptible to final drive failure and a battery will die if not charged properly, but is there anything else I should worry about?

Hook a brother up with some good news.
 
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#3 ·
The solenoid sticking with a low battery is a known problem. Those speedos could be
pretty flakey so don't believe the odometer. Could be a replacement. If your final drive
failure was the driveshaft splines, that happens from lack of maintenance but usually
at higher mileage. The stalling after the bike gets warm could be the Hall-effect-sensor
going bad ($$$) or just a loose connection (check the big plug on the computer over the
battery) Lots of information here: http://www.ibmwr.org/ktech.shtml

Overall these are probably among the most dependable bike BMW ever made, but lots
can happen over 20 years. I bought my K75S new in 86, it's got about 180.000 on it now
and the only major problem was a bad shift drum at about 90K. But this is a 1 owner bike
with regular maintenance.

If you can get the bugs sorted out it will be a keeper. Used parts are available at places like beemerboneyard.com . Good luck!
 
#4 ·
Thanks for the thoughts

I think I'll try to ride the bike until next spring. If nothing goes wrong, I'll consider myself lucky but my R-bike friends are urging me to pick up an R1100RT or R1150RT. Hopefully, the K will hang together until I save up for next year.
 
#5 ·
Hang in there, once you get the upfront cost over with it'll be worth it in the long run. I have an 86 k100rt with 80,000 miles on it. Guess how may times I have had to take it to the shop in the last 3 years I have owned it? Zero. I picked up a 07 KGT with 4700 miles on it. The first month it was in the Shop for electrical issues. The new bikes aren't any more reliable than the old ones.


Chad
 
#6 ·
You got screwed. I'd call the guy up and give him an earfull. It won't get you your money back but will give you some solace and if the guy has any conscience at all he might feel some guilt. Well -maintained, K75s are great bikes that will last forever. Sounds like this mofo stuck you with a POS. I'd call him on it.

On the bright side, once you have things sorted out, you'll have one of the best bikes BMW ever built. (Even some of the hardcore R-bike fans appreciate a K75.)
 
#7 ·
I have an 85 k100rs over 200k miles, never been apart, runs great, I would hop on and go anywhere on it. Change the oil and add gas.
Oh and don't let people ride your bike, don't go poping the clutch to do wheelies. It's not that kind of bike. It cost alot more to replace the shaft, u-joints, rear drive than it does to replace sprockes and a chain.
Lube the splines once a year, change all the fulids every 2 years.
I also have an 86 k75 35k miles, another 30k it will be broke in.

So You got a neglected bike, once you have worked it over you will love it. Get a shop manual, alot of the work that needs to be done is easy. ie: clean tank, new filter, bla .bla bla. that if you bring to the shop will be $$$$$.

Chuck
 
#8 ·
Once you've replaced the final drive, you're probably over the hump as far as big repairs. Find an independent BMW mechanic to sort out your stalling problem. After that, it should be just regular maintenance and lots of miles and smiles.
I ride a 1990 K75RT. Previous owner had replaced the final drive. I think that's why he sold it, he'd lost confidence in it. You'll find that the bike will grow on you, and once it's running right, you'll wish your car was so dependable.
Do try to do some of the maintenance yourself. It will save you money, build your confidence, and you'll meet some interesting people.I'm no mechanic, but I've been able to do all the suggested diy's in the owner's manual. And more: this spring my bike failed inspection, the rear pads were worn, and I got to work and changed them myself ($40 for the pads, $0 for labor!). It wasn't easy, but I learned a lot doing it. Changing the fluids is real simple on these bikes.
Good luck, your bike should pull through. BTW, you could have spent a lot more money on a much newer beemer...and still had to pay for a final drive. It's the bete noir of owning a bmw, sad to say....
Steve
1990 K75RT (Gunther)
 
#9 ·
Updates

Thanks for helping me keep the faith.

The final drive and driveshaft are supposed to arrive today, so I should have the bike back soon.

I scored a Haynes manual on Amazon for $25 new, shipped for free. I've been reading that for the last couple of days and it looks like maintenance is largely a DIY possibility.

I do plan to go through the whole bike and change all the fluids, adjust the valves, etc., to get it as close to new as possible. I think I'll even do some touch-up painting, too. Everyone knows a bike/car runs better when you give it some loving.

See you on the road, hopefully soon and for a long time.
 
#13 ·
On the road ag'in

Thanks for the encouragement, all.

The final drive seems to be okay now that it's been replaced but I bought a second one just to have around -- maybe someone else will need it someday if I don't.

The bike has a few minor issues still:

1) It likes to spit gas out the puke tube down by my right foot. That may be my fault since I replaced the fuel filter a few days ago. Any thoughts on this?

2) The rotors squeak a LOT when braking. I can live with it, I suppose. The real "problem" is that the rear rotor kind of chirps or squeaks intermittently while riding. I could probably just ignore that problem if it's minor. What do you think?

3) The bike is using huge amounts of gas. Seriously, I have to put in like 2-1/2 gallons a day! Do you think the 100+ miles I'm putting on it during "lunch" would explain that problem?
 
#14 ·
Leave the valves alone?

Hey, Gilly -- Leave the valves alone?

I was thinking about taking the bike in to have the valves adjusted. You'd avise against this?

The bike is at 30k right now. I think the previous owner kept up-to-date on the maintenance aside from the final drive lube -- all the fluids I've changed so far have been clean.

Is this a case of "don't fix what isn't broken?"

Thanks
 
#16 ·
Thanks for the suggestions

I don't know if the valves have ever been checked. The only maintenance receipts I have are the ones where I spent the bucks, so if there's another owner down the road, that person will have a stack.

Disc Brake Quiet? I have heard of that before, but I was also considering another product.

There's a guy who knows a guy who can make bumper stickers and I was going to get one that says:

LOUD BRAKES SAVE LIVES

What do you think? Too Harley?

But, back to the valves: leave them alone or get 'em checked and adjusted?
 
#17 ·
ThirtyTwo said:
I don't know if the valves have ever been checked. The only maintenance receipts I have are the ones where I spent the bucks, so if there's another owner down the road, that person will have a stack.

Disc Brake Quiet? I have heard of that before, but I was also considering another product.

There's a guy who knows a guy who can make bumper stickers and I was going to get one that says:

LOUD BRAKES SAVE LIVES

What do you think? Too Harley?

But, back to the valves: leave them alone or get 'em checked and adjusted?
Are you up to checking them yourself? It's not rocket surgery.

If not, yes, get them checked/adjusted for peace of mind. Then worry about it in another 25k (when they'll probably still be OK - 2v Ks' valves are pretty stable)
 
#18 ·
Check or Adjust?

I think I can check them myself if I get the spring compressor tool. I have seen one on Craig's List that looks like it'll work nicely for "$27.50 to [my] door."

If they check out, end of story. If not, is it hard to find the shims? Dealer only?

Thanks.
 
#20 ·
Keep the faith

Hey, Paul --

I have $1200 in repairs on a bike I paid $2800 for, so I'm at $4000.

When I had 16 miles on the bike and it needed a new final drive and driveshaft, I was at $250 per mile.

Now, with $4000 in the bike and 1500 miles on it, figuring in gas, I'm less than $4.00 per mile. I plan to put as many miles on the bike as possible.

Get the bike fixed and ride it a lot, I would say.

32
 
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