93 K75 woes, opinions wanted

[Vince in Milwaukee]

The good:  recent complete service down in Chicago to include new tires and some repairs to the tune of $2,000.  The bad:  about a month later second gear went out.  More bad:  I'm 99.9% sure that it's my fault from something dumb I did about 2 years ago (they didn't go near the xmission or even change the gear lube).  Anyhow, I've now got this 500lb animal sitting in my garage with a brand new Odyssey battery (it's going in the Guzzi) that I can't ride.  So, do I source a used xmission off ebay, part the darn thing out (it's not in the best of shape cosmetically but only has 56k, or sell it for peanuts and put that $ toward a more comfortable Guzzi than the LeMans?         

[wrbix]

Shift from first to third - second gear is much overrated

Seriously, as bulletproof as the flying bricks are, I'd swap out the gearbox

[Lannis]

Shift from first to third - second gear is much overrated

Seriously, as bulletproof as the flying bricks are, I'd swap out the gearbox

Those things are Cult Bikes; normal economics and normal reasoning don't apply.

I'd go to a K75 site (I'm sure there's several) and ask the same thing.   You may get some instant interest, or hear something that will convince you to keep and fix it .....

Lannis

[clubman]

I had a '91, bought new and rode it for 19 yrs, so know a little about them. Having just put $2K into it, abandoning it would be a tough pill to swallow. If you are mechanically inclined and can remove the gearbox yourself you have a couple of options: 1, bring the box to a reputable dealer and let him fix it. They aren't difficult to work on, but some special pullers are required. Get some firm quotes before going this route. 2, go for a used replacement. Fleabay is an obvious route, but I would try some BMW forums first and for sure the INTERNETBMWRIDERS site to find a used unit. If you have to depend on a dealer to do all the work for you, you are pretty much sunk and parting out may be the way to go.  At $100/hr you'll have way too much into the bike.

[Scud]

Fixing it and keeping it depends on how much you still love it. Selling it with a known transmission problem probably won't bring much money.

Take a look at Beemer Boneyard to investigate a couple options:
1:  A used or rebuilt transmission
2:  The prices for all the parts if you want to think about parting it out.
http://www.beemerboneyard.com/1sections.html

I'm parting out an R1100RT right now (transmission input spline failure). Very surprised at how expensive some of the used parts are. Sold over $1,000 in parts so far - but I've barely made a dent in my parts pile and this is all from one local Craigslist ad and a few posts on the BMW Sport Touring forum.

Selling BMW parts to buy another Moto Guzzi seems morally acceptable. So is spending an "unreasonable" amount of money to fix a bike you enjoy.

[guzzied]

I had a 1990 K75S and the transmission would jump out of 2nd gear. I took it to the dealer and they told me that BMW had shimmed the transmissions wrong on some of their K bikes. They repaired it under warranty and they also replaced the gauges that were acting up and causing me grief.

Mike

[willowstreetguzziguy]

Replace it with my "minty" 93 K75S ABS in rare pearl white with only 38k.

[Vince in Milwaukee]

Thanks for the replies guys.  I was leaning toward getting another xmission and putting it on myself (I'm tolerable when it comes to wrenching, but couldn't make a living doing it), but wanted to see what others had to say.  I had heard about these bikes obtaining somewhat of a cult status, but it's still fairly easy to get a nice one for not a lot of $.  I'm a member of the Moto Brick site, but don't go on there a whole lot.  Perhaps I will post this same topic over there. 

[cookiemech]

I've had two K75s (naked K75 and K75RT for winter) for about 14 years and do all my own work, so I know a bit about them. In my opinion, nothing ever built by BMW comes close to their stone-axe reliability. I'd have a really hard time parting with either, since they always get the job done, if the "job" is trouble-free transportation in any weather.

Wish you were closer; I'd be glad to R&R the trans for you, as I have a lift and special sawhorse just for K bike transmission spline lubes.

If you were planning to repair the transmission, I'd strongly recommend that Tom Cutter in eastern PA do the work; he's an expert:

http://rubberchickenracinggarage.com/index.html

[JediMasterII]

Jim at Rosefarm Classics in Woodstock, IL is also a great BMW mechanic. He took great care of our Beemers before our current Guzzis.

Don

[rbm]

When you say "2nd gear went out", what exactly is happening?  Is it hard to shift into 2nd?  Does it pop out of gear?  If so, it could be a bent shift fork.  If you are dependant on dealers and professional mechanics to keep your K75 maintained, then you will spend a pretty penny for this type of work.

Parts for the classic K's are interchangeable so you can source an 86 or later K100 or K75 transmission as a replacement (stay away from 85 or earlier parts as the splines are different).  That gives you lots of options on Craiglist, Ebay or through Copart. You can also think about going for a K1100 transmission, drive shaft and rear drive from a wrecked bike.  For example, I found a complete K1100LT rear end for $400 and used it on my bike.  Direct bolt on replacement, no fiddling with parts and I now have a Paralever K75.

Swapping the transmission on the K is a weekend job even for a shade tree mechanic.  There is plenty of help and advice available on K100-forum or Motobrick from the members there.

I'd contemplate fixing it because parts for these motorcycles are still inexpensive and they are real appliances when it comes to maintenance.  You can sell the defective transmission to recoup some of your costs.

Check the URL in my signature below to see my K75 build blog.

[Vince in Milwaukee]

When you say "2nd gear went out", what exactly is happening?  Is it hard to shift into 2nd?  Does it pop out of gear?  If so, it could be a bent shift fork.  If you are dependant on dealers and professional mechanics to keep your K75 maintained, then you will spend a pretty penny for this type of work.

Parts for the classic K's are interchangeable so you can source an 86 or later K100 or K75 transmission as a replacement (stay away from 85 or earlier parts as the splines are different).  That gives you lots of options on Craiglist, Ebay or through Copart. You can also think about going for a K1100 transmission, drive shaft and rear drive from a wrecked bike.  For example, I found a complete K1100LT rear end for $400 and used it on my bike.  Direct bolt on replacement, no fiddling with parts and I now have a Paralever K75.

Swapping the transmission on the K is a weekend job even for a shade tree mechanic.  There is plenty of help and advice available on K100-forum or Motobrick from the members there.

I'd contemplate fixing it because parts for these motorcycles are still inexpensive and they are real appliances when it comes to maintenance.  You can sell the defective transmission to recoup some of your costs.

Check the URL in my signature below to see my K75 build blog.

Wanted to follow up on my posting as there have been a lot of great responses.  I was trying to sugar coat my xmission woes by saying second gear went out.  I should have been more specific by saying that when I do manage to get it into second gear, it sounds like one of those coffee grinders in the morning, but without such a high pitch grinding noise .  4th gear is also "jacked" and sounds like a bunch of loud boulders in a cement mixer!  I'm thinking that more than shift forks being bent, I've probably got some gears missing teeth or the like.  Perhaps a clip broke and caused things to shift?  Who knows.  Anyways, I gotta get the darn thing off and go from there.  I will keep everyone posted to my progress or lack there of.  After all, I still have the LeMans to ride.           

[Vince in Milwaukee]

I've had two K75s (naked K75 and K75RT for winter) for about 14 years and do all my own work, so I know a bit about them. In my opinion, nothing ever built by BMW comes close to their stone-axe reliability. I'd have a really hard time parting with either, since they always get the job done, if the "job" is trouble-free transportation in any weather.

Wish you were closer; I'd be glad to R&R the trans for you, as I have a lift and special sawhorse just for K bike transmission spline lubes.

If you were planning to repair the transmission, I'd strongly recommend that Tom Cutter in eastern PA do the work; he's an expert:

http://rubberchickenracinggarage.com/index.html

Thanks for the kind offer.  I would gladly take you up on it, but as you say, we are just too far apart.  I've had friends help me in the past with both my bikes and I have rewarded them with a good meal, plenty of beer, pizza for lunch, etc....

[cookiemech]

Yeah, I love K75s . . . I've worked on enough of them (including mine) that I don't even need to think hard about which tools to take from the toolbox over to the lift . . .

Hope you are able to fix and keep yours!