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K75 a good first BMW?

17K views 18 replies 14 participants last post by  hogcowboy 
#1 ·
I have been riding a motorcycle for about a year (87 rebel) before that I have ridden vespas for about 10 years.

I want a BMW and am looking at a couple of K75 that have popped up on craigslist. Both are early 90's and have 50 - 60 k.

I am not scared of working on a bike, I have done valves, oil seal on the rebel and a complete rebuild on a vintage vespa.

I do want something that will be reliable. Is an older k75 the ticket or am I setting myself up for frustration?
 
#3 ·
My wife put 50,000 plus miles on her's until she totaled it and it was running just fine. Would have ridden another 50,000 easy with just minor tune up. They are a little pricey to get serviced but if you plan on doing that yourself you should be okay. I think the important thing is oil changes and valve adjustments. I had a K100 as well and we just had the dealer service them so I have no idea what involves doing it yourself. If the ones you're looking at have been well maintained 50,000 miles is nothing. They are good for a lot more than that. Of course you can always get a lemon but I've never heard of a lemon with those kinds of miles on them. I've even thought about picking one up again for myself but I'd be better off with a K100 just because of my robust nature. :D
 
#4 ·
I have a friend with a k75 with 375,000 miles on it. I've got a k75 (93) and a k100(86) and love them both. I'll never own another brand of bike. The have great power, can get on either right now and not worry about riding cross country. Great in the mountains, lots of fun.
While dependable, any parts are a little costly. Also both of mine have had problems with the rear master cylinder leaking (maybe just. Ecause they are older), and the odometers seem prone to going out.
Like I said, not perfect, but for the money you can get an older one for its well worth the money
 
#5 ·
Had my first ride on the street on a 1986 K75 yesterday. That bike was made for me. I was wary about having a bike over 600cc as a starter bike. The power, braking, and performance seemed very comfortable despite being 750cc. I feel very pleased with it as a first bike. It does everything I want, and is smooth as opposed to temperamental. I really clicked with this bike.
 
#9 ·
One thing you need to know about BMWs is that Germans love to engineer creative solutions to problems. If there are two ways to do something, and easy way, and a way that uses complex engineering, they will almost always go the complex way.

Simple they ain't. Well engineered, and interesting they are.
 
#18 ·
K75 is the smoothest running bike I have owned, and have had 6 brands of bikes and 34 bikes in total since 2008. The smoothness is almost beyond comprehension.
Look out for: splines of driveshaft...need to moly grease rear spline every tire change...Need to moly grease the front of shaft every 40K miles...Speedometer/odometer is a weak spot...I used "Overseas Speedometer" in Texas to fix mine...Cost me $200 but they did a good job. ABS brakes on some are not reliable...I had a low seat for mine. 30" inseam..Still sat highere than I liked...
One last thing: Did I say this is a SMOOTH bike? In spades...No vibration at all.
 
#19 ·
I can’t agree more about the K75. I had a K100 and my wife had a K75. Her bike was hands down better. Oh the K100 could go faster quicker but that’s not what makes one bike better. It’s overall handling that does that. K75 was just plain better in that regard.


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