Polishing a Turd (K75S)

[DynaSport]

Great work!

[omnivore]

I have had a softspot for the K75S since reading comparos in magazines against the VFR750 back in the very early 90's. This was when I first started riding streetbikes, and I always seem to lust after bikes I wanted when I was 18.
Great work. I'd love to find a nice K75S in red with hard luggage someday.

[Lawrenre]

You should put up some good photos of the finished work.

[A. T. T-W]

Well with time on my hands and between watching the home team do well in the Olympics, I stripped the stone-chipped engine protection bars before giving them a squirt of paint;



Being not too happy with the finish on the fork brace, I gave that another squirt (after suitable rubbing down etc) of some spare BMW Cosmos Black metallic I happened to have kicking around;



I even gave the water pump and timing chain covers another scrub, this time buffing it up with a coat of polish. They really could do with a re-spray but that can wait for some time in the future;



The re-sprayed fairing panels were collected this morning and I got them home without doing any damage;



Among a collection of odd washers I found some strange, slightly domed and cushioned with dense foam on the rear. I thought that these would be ideal for the upper fixings to stop the chaffing of the plastic that has occurred over the years.



I've no idea what they were intended for but whatever it was I obviously never fitted them.

With the belly-pan reassembled and the fixings jiggled back to where the best clearance is to be found, I added a couple of strips of helicopter tape to the leading edge to provide some protection from stone chips.



So then it was out to give it a shake down;



The new rear suspension needs some more miles before I start fiddling with the settings but even set at the softest to bed in, it feels so much better than the original tired BMW unit.

The new clutch is working fine, I just need to make a final adjustment to the actuating arm and cable. It's really nice and light now that everything has been cleaned and lubed.

Time to get out and enjoy it.



It has scrubbed up well for a Turd coloured old nail purchased unseen via ebay. The bike and all the work owes me less than £2,200.

[hitmanh]

Looking awesome

[madisonreid]

Outstanding

[ben2go]

I'm diggin it.I'd ride her all over the world.

[rbm]

Excellent writeup. I'm in the midst of a K75 refurb as well and the information here is very useful.

Can you reveal the secret of you "patented cleaning method"? I see you painted right over the existing finish on the cam cover and crankshaft cover. Did you use rattle can finish or spray gun to do the work? Also, did you prime before the topcoat?

Regards,

[conchscooter]

I wish I had your skills as you are the one I want to buy my bikes from.
Though I worry about your internals if you regularly shit stuff that color.

[zilla]

Beautiful machine. I wanted a K75 when they first came out.

[390beretta]

Thanks for all the photos and write-up! I also ride an '88 K75 and love it. Wish I had your skills and work-shop!

[A. T. T-W]

Thanks for the kind comments chaps. I've sold the "Turd" having carried out a similar job on a friend's K1 I succumbed to the lure of K1 ownership again.

I've done a similar job on my K1 and now have another K75S undergoing major work.

This is how it looks at the moment:



It's a 1990 build, has 16,000 miles from new but was stood somewhere horrible for many years.

This bike is for my nephew to play with until he inherits my K1.

[A. T. T-W]

Originally Posted by rbm

Can you reveal the secret of you "patented cleaning method"? I see you painted right over the existing finish on the cam cover and crankshaft cover. Did you use rattle can finish or spray gun to do the work? Also, did you prime before the topcoat?

Regards,

Sorry I missed this post.

Cleaning the cases I use brass wire brushes of various sizes and shapes in a hand drill. Set the speed quite low to avoid damaging the aluminium surface (brass wire brushes are less aggressive than steel).

I use some light oil as a lubricant on the surface (WD40 is ideal). Then more WD40 to clean and lift the dirt that the brushes remove.

Finish off with a good thorough wash with detergent. Oil is the enemy of the casings as it allows the dirt to stick and get ground in. Lastly I use a quality polish just as I would on a painted surface for protection.

When it came to the crank and cam covers, I cleaned and polished the ribs and the BMW logo before masking. The paint then went on over the masking tape.

No primer. I just keyed the old finish and then used aerosol cans of satin black enamel.

[Jnich77]

Love it man!!!

[duck]

Nice job spiffing up those K1 headers.