BMW K75 impressions?

[mennobike]

Hey y'all,

My godfather is selling his ole BMW K75 ('95 with 50k miles, his old touring bike), and is asking $2,500 for it. That seems fair on KBB/ online sales places, but I wanted to tap the friendliest bike forum on earth to see if any of y'all had any experience with the k75. He's a responsible owner (garaged it, etc), and I like buying from people I know when possible. My GS has been perennially unreliable and with a few long trip ideas I've been wanting to pick up something with a little more comfort and reliability (don't worry, the GS is staying in the garage, but want to be able to ride when I've got a multimeter on it for the 5th time in a year  )

Any thoughts or advice?

[Joolstacho]

It's all down to condition. If it has a 'known history' -serviced well etc, a 750 Brick will be a strong reliable machine.
A lot heavier than a GS, plenty of grunt, but not so sporty. I did an  extensive fairing repair/re-paint job on one recently, they're well made.
I'd go for it if a tourer is what you're after. (They aren't light like a GS, but once moving that's no issue). Spare parts availability / prices could be an issue, but your Godfather will know. Is it really nice condition?

[Rema1000]

I rode a K75 for a few years.  Then a K100LT, then a K100RS.  A couple of thoughts:


- Generally, the bike is well put together.  Wrenching on it feels like working on a car, not a bike.
- Very calm and well hanlding at highway speeds.  Not as light and nimble as a GS500 around town.
- The tanks on all the K-bikes get hot.  It's actually nice when it's 50F out.  But when it's 90F, it got pretty toasty.  The naked K75 was OK; the K100LT was the worst; the K100RS was in-between.
- The fuel injection is wonderful for smooth operation and no carb rebuilding... but difficult/expensive to fix things on (like replacing the fuel rail, or just sending injectors to Mister Injector).  Take a look at www.beemerboneyard.com to see an example of prices for used injection computers, etc.
- The high pressure aluminum tank doesn't corrode (yay!). 
- No chain (yay!).  I really did not miss getting oil on my riding suit leg (or buying chains).  But the earlier monolever K bikes will likely need to have the clutch and drive shaft splines lubed-up, which is $500+ unless somebody shows you how (maybe join the BMW Owners of America for support).  I think it's a worse design than Honda's, or even an old KZ shaft-drive.
- BMW turn signals are stupid.

I think if I went back to K-bikes, I'd get the naked K75 and a small givi flyscreen.   A sharp looking one will turn heads.

[mennobike]

thanks y'all, this is all fantastic to know about! My only concern is that he hasn't done the transmission spline grease job-- might see if he'll lower the price so I can either do one myself or pay for one.