1993 BMW K75-S TURNKEY CAFE RACER tracker bobber fighter, refurbished with care

THE SHORT STORY

I have here a 1993 K75S that I have gone through front to back and top to bottom. See pics. This is an actual S ("Sport") model (NOT a stripped RT or C) to which I gave a somewhat conservative cafe treatment by leaving the drive train 100% stock and trimming the fat without compromising comfort or functionality.

This bike starts cold with no choke and no smoke. See vids. It runs. shifts. rides and brakes smoothly. Front and rear tires are Pirelli Sport Demons. new in 2013. with quite a lot of tread life left. All in all. it offers a very consistent riding experience while standing out considerably from other K-bikes. Sporty and civilized. Turn key and turn heads.

MODIFICATIONS

With a "cafe racer" project like this my philosophy is basically to aim for a bike that looks and feels like it could have been designed as such to begin with; I use BMW parts where possible and high-quality aftermarket parts where needed. I removed the plastic dash pad and re-mounted the ignition key assembly below the fuel tank (see pics & video). Ignition. seat latch. steering lock. and fuel tank are keyed alike.  

The headlight assembly is a 7" Bosch H4 unit originally from a 1979 R65. I removed the rear indicators and filled the mounting holes in the lower tailpiece. If your locale requires that you run rear indicators. I will gladly exchange the streamlined tail for the spare stock unit I have with the original lights in place (you can have EITHER. not BOTH). I installed load resistors at the rear leads so that the bar-end indicators blink correctly.

The cockpit is now quite well-organized; I re-routed all the wires. cables. and controls for free movement and ease of adjustment. No loose wires. no twisted cables. no electrical tape. no extraneous zip ties. The Telefix clip-on handlebars (Made in West Germany) are fully adjustable on all axes. so you can orient and angle them to suit your riding style. They're just awesome. I have the controls mounted flush with the top clamp. but you could move the clamps up or down by several centimeters. The mounts can even be inverted for a VERY low drop. The clamps are 41mm and the bars are true 22mm (not 7/8" or 22. 2mm). so I was able to leave the BMW perches unaltered.

I replaced the hulking stock instrument cluster with a compact Trail Tech Vapor gauge and a custom LED panel. All three sensors are installed and functioning correctly (see video). and the unit is wired for full-time 12V battery power from fuse #1. The pair of small LEDs on the Vapor serve both as warning lights for coolant temp and indicators for shifting. All the functions are easy to reprogram (MPH to KPH etc. . shift RPMs. temp warnings. etc. ); the Vapor manual is in the tool tray along with the original BMW K75S owner's manual (and the passenger foot pegs).

The supplementary LEDs are as follows: blue for high-beam. green for neutral (this required a custom multi-relay assembly to obviate the GPI). amber for turn signals (this required in-line diodes for L and R to share one LED). white for low oil pressure. and red for low fuel. I left the surplus instrument wires at splice-able length. tucked neatly under the tank. As I decided to pull the frame. I was able to through the electrical harnesses wire-by-wire. checking and cleaning all the connectors. Everything is well sorted.

It really takes quite a lot of work to get this sort of build right; the distance between a rat bike and a cafe racer is evident in the attention paid to the details. proportions. and complementarity of stock and aftermarket parts. You get what you pay for. with your surplus cash or with your precious time -- or if you buy the wrong bike. with both.

MAINTENANCE

When I got the bike all the cables needed to be adjusted or replaced. the connective hardware lubed and so forth. The motor was running a bit roughly -- due. evidently. to a clogged fuel filter. a maladjusted TPS (throttle position switch). and questionable injectors. So. I sent the injectors off to "Mr. Injector" for ultrasonic cleaning. and for good measure I installed a new WIX fuel filter. Flowmaster oil filter. and NGK plugs. I also checked and adjusted the valve gaps. Now all correct. See video for running demo.

When I changed the fluids. everything came out clean; no metal chunks on the magnetic drain plugs nor other red flags. Now refilled with Castrol synthetic. I cleaned and re-packed the bearings in the steering head. which is now turning smoothly with no notches. Other bearings all felt good. so I left them as-is. Prior owner had filled the cooling system with the famously overpriced BMW brand coolant; it looked clean. but I went ahead and flushed the system and refilled with more of the same.

I performed a complete spline lube (using Guard Dog 525). including the clutch output (gearbox input) and both ends of the drive shaft. This involves pulling everything rear of the bell housing. including the obvious (rear wheel. shock. brake disc & caliper. final. swingarm. gearbox & clutch throwout) and the not-so-obvious (battery. brain. exhaust. foot controls. coolant tank). thus providing an opportunity to clean. inspect. and reinstall all hardware to the correct torque specs with assembly lube and/or copper anti-seize paste where appropriate.

I flushed the brake fluid and bled the M/C and lines. front and rear. Rotors are straight and pads have plenty of life left in them. No pulsing. squealing. or shudder. This bike had ABS originally. and I spent a great deal of time removing every trace and all 35 lbs worth of extraneous pumps. lines. and sensors (even the brake rotor rings). So you will have no ABS faults to worry about. Hooray!

I'm sure I'm forgetting something. but if you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask. In-person inspections are welcome. I might even allow a test ride. so long as you have a valid MC endorsement. cash collateral. and a trustworthy face.

No other extras or alternate-universe deals are available or desired. No trades. no cash offers. no weaseling.

FINE PRINT

While I have tried to describe this bike accurately and thoroughly to the best of my abilities. understand that you are buying a used motor vehicle. as-is. where-is. with no warrantees expressed or implied. Ask questions sooner than later. You will find me to be friendly and accommodating. Crossing your fingers will not magically obviate the need for future maintenance. Read. research. ruminate. The internet is full of info on BMW bikes. and in my extensive experience no bike will serve you better. particularly in terms of reliability over tens of thousands of miles.

Papers-wise. what you will get from me is (A) a clean Florida title signed open by the prior owner. and (B) a generic bill of sale signed by me. I imagine that this will be sufficient to register the bike in any state. but due diligence is the sole responsibility of the buyer. I will not sign funny papers with funny numbers.

I expect a $500 non-refundable deposit within 24 hours of auction close. via PayPal instant payment only (no "e-check"). What "non-refundable" means is that if. two days after you pay the deposit. your spouse has a fit because you didn't get their permission. or you figure out that you didn't budget for shipping. or the dog ate your paycheck. you just lost $500. I expect the balance to be paid within 72 hours of auction close. via cashiers check or money order.

I will not accept PayPal for the balance unless you want to tack on an additional 4% to cover the fees. If you prefer. we can do a wire transfer if and only if you bank with a major (B of A. Chase. Wells Fargo. HSBC) and you pay my Bank of America incoming wire fee of $25. Those are ALL your payment options; every past exception I've made ended up costing me too much time and money. Yes. you may need to shell out $12 or so for a FedEx or USPS overnight envelope to comply with my terms. I cannot finance your new toy. sorry!

Pickup and/or shipping is the sole responsibility of the buyer. The bike must be picked up within two (2) weeks of listing's end. either by you or by a professional (insured. licensed) shipper. I need the space to start another project. so please don't ask me to store it until so-and-so. And no. I will not risk personal injury by helping your wife's uncle's Army buddy load your nice new bike into his old jacked-up F250. Please do look into shipping options before you bid. Shipping a bike costs money! How much? Don't ask me. ask U-Ship. The eBay site will tell you all about it. Happy bidding!

VIDEOS

Also published at eBay.com