Craig Posted November 8, 2015 Posted November 8, 2015 Uhhhh , there is one more drawback to the K-bike. You use the sidestand & when you start it the next morning you had better be ready for blue smoke to roll for the first 60 seconds.. I never had that happen in ten years of ownership. I heard others talk about it, but never saw it. Of course, I used the centerstand over night, but not when it was parked at work.
Scud Posted November 8, 2015 Author Posted November 8, 2015 oK - a pair of K75GS conversions at the bottom of that link. The adventure bike market does not currently have many options in the 600-900cc range - so why not build your own out of a brick? The stock swingarm looks pretty beefy... I've heard about the smoking and the previous owner also warned me about it - but I think it's totally preventable by using the centerstand. My boxers also smoked a little sometimes after being on the sidestand for a while (one cylinder pointed down). But the Ks have 3 or 4 cylinders pointed down, so at least one valve is always open, and the oil drains into the heads. I always wondered why they didn't build them with the driveshaft on the left. I mean, it's a brilliant and efficient design - the crankshaft is basically inline with the driveshaft and only one 90-degree angle is required to get the power to the ground. But if the driveshaft were on the left, then the oil would drain into the pan instead of the head when the bike's on the sidestand. An advantage I just noticed to the K-bikes (vs. next-gen oilhead boxers): they used high quality wiring harnesses. Somewhere in the mid 90s to early 2000s' BMW started using biodegradable harness sheaths - and the sheaths deteriorated way before the end of the bike's useful life (so you had to re-wrap the whole thing). The harness sheaths on the bike I just got are in excellent condition - despite the fact that the rest of the bike is pretty badly weathered. And this has to be easiest-starting bike I've ever owned - I mean, there's no "ritual" to it - just push the button.
Craig Posted November 8, 2015 Posted November 8, 2015 I need to stop reading this. I really want to build a K75 Turbo... 1
LowRyter Posted November 8, 2015 Posted November 8, 2015 Well, the Ks are not supposed to be dirt bikes... but I did venture into the sand yesterday while crossing the Mojave Desert - just for the hell of it. @LowRyter - Maybe look at the older, oilhead BMWs - the R1100RT (5-speed) and R1150RT (6-speed). I had an R1100RT for a long time: very comfortable, efficient, etc. As for bricks - a K100RS or K100RT would make a nice two-up machine. There was even a K75RT for a few years. I like the looks of the K-S and K-RS models more than the K-RTs. The K-bike gives me more feeling of the road than the R1100RT did. While the K engine "sound is not particularly inspiring" a quiet bike is nice for two-up touring. The K-bikes also make cool whirring gear sounds - like spooling up a jet engine. I've ridden the older Beemers Twins and was never impressed with the power. I wouldn't consider an older brick K bike since my buddy had so many problems and the cost to fix one is prohibitive. The old K1200LT seemed pretty gutless too and the was the only two-up K tourer for me. The new 1200RT was really impressive (other than the road feel) but it's $$. My brother purchased the 1600 Exclusive for $30k. Seems a little big and too much $$$ by quite a bit.. Then I have the sinking worry about reliability and even more $$$.
Kiwi_Roy Posted November 9, 2015 Posted November 9, 2015 Scuds, Instead of swapping the drivetrain over to the LH side just move the prop stand to the right. Vincent's had a stand on both sides or at least mine did, I mostly used the left but now and then the right worked best. Sent from my shoe phone!
Admin Jaap Posted January 4, 2016 Posted January 4, 2016 That's a VERY nice looking sports-tourer! A nice looking BMW K series? Sorry, not possible!
docc Posted January 5, 2016 Posted January 5, 2016 That's a VERY nice looking sports-tourer! A nice looking BMW K series? Sorry, not possible! Wait, but the motor is shaped almost exactly like your Volvo! 1
Scud Posted January 5, 2016 Author Posted January 5, 2016 That's a VERY nice looking sports-tourer! A nice looking BMW K series? Sorry, not possible! Wait, but the motor is shaped almost exactly like your Volvo! Touche. Least common mass-produced engine configurations: Motorcycle - BMW horizontal inline 3 cylinder Car - Volvo transverse inline 5 cylinder 1
GuzziMoto Posted January 5, 2016 Posted January 5, 2016 That's a VERY nice looking sports-tourer! A nice looking BMW K series? Sorry, not possible! Wait, but the motor is shaped almost exactly like your Volvo! Touche. Least common mass-produced engine configurations: Motorcycle - BMW horizontal inline 3 cylinder Car - Volvo transverse inline 5 cylinder Not in this country. My Chevy Colorado pick up truck has an inline 5 cylinder engine. There are many thousands of them around here. The three cylinder car engine, like in my Smart car, is way less common. Although there have been a few other cars with triples.
Scud Posted January 6, 2016 Author Posted January 6, 2016 I was not aware of the Chevy inline 5 - but that's longitudinally mounted for rear wheel drive. I thought Volvo was alone in a transverse-mounted engine (for front or all-wheel drive). I didn't know about the 3-popper in the Smarty either - that must be less common than either of the inline 5s. But I do think the K75 BMW may be a category unto itself. I like the weirdness of that motor. The little brick is growing on me - although my wife bought a Triumph T-shirt for herself yesterday. She thinks a green Triumph Bonnie would be cute and says maybe she'd learn to ride it.
motrhead Posted January 6, 2016 Posted January 6, 2016 That's a VERY nice looking sports-tourer! A nice looking BMW K series? Sorry, not possible! Personally, I love the K1, and the K1200RS...
Kiwi_Roy Posted January 6, 2016 Posted January 6, 2016 I can't wait to swing a leg over the 88 K100 waiting for me in New Zealand. My riding buddy picked up an 88 Honda Intercepter that seems like a nice bike also. Anyone considering a riding trip to Godzone mid March we might be able to do a deal on a pair of bikes at the Auckland airport. Sent from my shoe phone!
GuzziMoto Posted January 6, 2016 Posted January 6, 2016 I was not aware of the Chevy inline 5 - but that's longitudinally mounted for rear wheel drive. I thought Volvo was alone in a transverse-mounted engine (for front or all-wheel drive). I didn't know about the 3-popper in the Smarty either - that must be less common than either of the inline 5s. But I do think the K75 BMW may be a category unto itself. I like the weirdness of that motor. The little brick is growing on me - although my wife bought a Triumph T-shirt for herself yesterday. She thinks a green Triumph Bonnie would be cute and says maybe she'd learn to ride it. That is true, the Chevy is rear wheel drive with the motor mounted North/South. I did not think about that. I do think that the K75 is a neat motor/bike, but they needed to develop it further. It got killed before it fully developed.
Kiwi_Roy Posted January 14, 2016 Posted January 14, 2016 Getting the nickname "Flying Brick" didn't help haha. Sent from my shoe phone!
gstallons Posted January 14, 2016 Posted January 14, 2016 The K-bike was supposed to be THE ultimate replacement for the boxer.....but , there was an uprising , the K was killed and the Oil-head became the replacement.
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