From: steveh@thor.isc-br.com (Steve Hendricks)
Newsgroups: rec.motorcycles
Subject: BMW K75s Review
Summary: Review of Author's Experience with new K75s
Date: 13 Aug 92 04:34:18 GMT
Organization: ISC-Bunker Ramo, An Olivetti Company

The following review was written by a fellow K75s owner.  I've taken the
liberty of interspersing my own comments as they seemed appropriate.  
Hope others find the piece interesting.  Speaking for myself, I'd be
interested in seeing more reviews for a wide range of bikes posted 
here.  


From: MULLIGNJ@ACFcluster.NYU.EDU
Subject: BMW K75S Review

Review of the 1992 BMW K75S


I fell in love with the boxer twin from the moment I first saw 
one, or, more accurately, from the moment I first heard one.  As 
anyone who has ever owned one knows, the sound of a 
horizontal opposed twin moving you down a country road is 
pure music to the ears.  

I bought my first BMW, a 1979 R65, in 1984.  I was a youngster 
then and I didn't even have all the money up front.  The owner 
wanted $2,200 and all I had was about $1,100  Somehow I 
managed to talk the owner into selling it to me for $1,100 on the 
condition that I would pay the second half the following 
summer.  Looking back I'm amazed they said OK, but they did.  
(I did pay up the next summer)

I had a hell of allot of fun over the past eight years with the R,
 putting 50,000 miles on it.  I had the carbs rebuilt at one point,
 and some other things done, spending in total maybe $3,000 for 
maintenance.  So that's roughly $5,500 for eight years...comes 
out to about $700 a year, well worth it!

When the K's first came out I was VERY skeptical not only were 
they way beyond my means, but I was a "died-in-the-wool" 
boxer man.  I mean the damned things were water cooled and 
sounded like Jap bikes!  But there was something about them, 
something I wouldn't even admit to myself was attractive.

Last summer before taking a trip up to Niagara falls I put too 
much oil in the R.  At our first stop for coffee my girlfriend 
noticed the oil leaking out the bottom, but I said, "It's OK, I just 
overfilled it, it's just the excess coming out."  But oil leaked the 
entire trip, I had to add quart after quart, I had blown a seal.  

Other things were going wrong with the R, thirteen years and 
60,000 miles is allot for a motorcycle.  Switches were going, the 
clutch was about to go, the ride was no longer smooth and the 
oil was leaking all over the place.  I started dreaming (literally) 
about K's.  But since I live in New York City and do all my riding 
up-state (where I was raised and where my parents still live) I 
thought that it would be folly to spend THAT much money on a 
motorcycle I would use only twice a month during the warm 
months.  At least the left side of my brain was saying it would be 
folly.  The right side of my brain was yearning for a K, and so 
last Thursday I gave into the right side of my brain, like I always 
do, and bought a new K75S.

Why a K and not an R?  Well, it's kind of complicated, and allot 
of things were going around in my head.  The entire R100 line is 
actually less expensive than the K75S, so financially I could 
have gone that route.  I know from my R65 that the R's are 
simple to repair, tune etc., and of course they sound so sweet, 
BUT there was something about the K.

My folks will be retiring soon to Cape Cod and I know I will be 
making that trip more frequently .  I've made it a dozen times on 
the old R65 and the serious highway was just too much for it.  It 
was too light and didn't have the power to keep up with traffic.  
I know intellectually that this was because it was a 650cc bike 
and a relatively old 650cc bike at that, but still in my head I 
equated a two cylinder boxer with back country roads, not six 
hours on an interstate.  Plus the fact of the matter is that the K 
intrigued me.  What I first liked, so many years ago, about 
BMWs was how quiet they were as opposed to the Jap bikes and 
the downright obnoxious Harley's.  Well, if quiet was what I 
was after than the K is quieter than the Rs.  And they've got all 
those neat things...fuel injection, Anti-Lock Breaks, water 
cooled engine, DAMN, I wanted one!

I've heard some people say they went to a K but are thinking of 
switching back to an R.  Hopefully BMW will continue to make 
both so we'll always have that option, but at the moment I'm 
quite happy with my new K75S.

This review may not be all that comprehensive.  I've only put 
about 700 miles on the K so far, and the only bike I have to 
compare it to is my old R65, but here are my thoughts anyway.

The first thing I noticed, I have to admit, was that it was not as 
fast as I expected.  When I say "fast" I mean acceleration (I have 
not yet taken it over 6K rpm because I'm still breaking it in).  
Perhaps my expectations were unrealistic (remember I was 
dreaming about the damned thing).  I thought I would turn the 
throttle and with nary a noise I would rocket to whatever speed 
I liked.  Well, it's not quite that quick.  I'm sure that once I'm past 
1000 miles and feel comfortable that it's properly broken in I will 
push it more than I have to date.  Of course it is not fair to 
criticize a motorcycle because it does not live up to an 
unrealistic expectation.  The fact is the K75S accelerates quickly 
enough to enter highway traffic in no time.

(Indeed, the acceleration is not in the same class as other sport bikes, 
nor as fast as the K1000.  Still, for middle age types it's quite lively
and considerably quicker than the boxer. - Steve)

The second thing I noticed was how much the faring and 
speedometer-tachometer case wobble.  It is a little disconcerting 
and takes a bit getting used to.  On my R the speedometer, etc 
was attached directly to the fork assembly so when when the 
front tire hit a bump everything hit the bump together and 
reacted as one unit.  But with the K75S the whole front end is 
extended out beyond the fork assembly and is not directly 
attached to it, so it jumps in odd, independent ways.  I don't 
care for this, though I'm sure I'll get used to it.

(I agree.  It is diconcerting, but you do get used to it.- Steve) 

It handles superbly, much, MUCH better than my old R.  It is a 
delight in turns and is very stable on the highway.  This past 
Sunday, only my second day on the bike, I got caught about 60 
miles out of Cape Cod in a ferocious rainstorm.  Many parts of 
the road were literally flooded over, but the K went through it 
all (at greatly reduced speed of course) without a single 
complaint.  At points the water must have been washing up to 
the radiator.  But there were no problems either with the 
handling or the engine.

(The Metzlers are great. - Steve)

I should point our here that the K does backfire a lot.  My R 
hardly ever backfired but the K does frequently (loud backfires 
too).  This happens always when the throttle is let up.  I believe 
this is endemic to the bike.

(Mine does, too, especially at low rpms coming to a stop.  Apparently
it is endemic to the bike, having been mentioned in several reviews
I've seen. - Steve)

The fairing is curious.  The S in K75S stands for Sport so of 
course the fairing isn't a touring fairing, but it's so short that 
the wind hits you right about at the chin.  At any speed say 
above 30 or so, the sound of the wind completely drowns out the 
sound of the engine and you have to duck down to the gas tank 
to hear the engine going.

(The noise is annoying.  I'm replacing my windscreen with a 
taller Parabellum that will hopefully provide somewhat better protection
without destroying the looks of the bike.  Anyone have any experience
with the Parabellum on this model? - Steve)

The braking is very strong and assured.  The bike comes with 
ABS and each time you start the bike up it checks to make sure 
the ABS is operative, but aside from that electronic check I've 
never used the ABS (but as I say I've only put 700 miles on it so 
far).  I am tempted to take the bike out to a parking lot 
somewhere and TRY to activate the ABS just to see how they 
work.  I don't know how smart that is though....kind of like 
someone saying they want to go out and TRY to activate the 
airbag in their new car.  I guess I'll just trust that the ABS will 
work if it is ever called upon.

(The ABS is reassuring, but the first time I tested mine it blew the
unit.  Took two weeks to replace.  Annoying to say the least. - Steve) 

Next to the tachometer is a digital indicator showing you what 
gear you are in.  At first I thought this was very silly.  After all, I 
always knew what gear I was in with the R, I didn't need an 
indicator to tell me.  But of course the K is different than the R 
and in fact the indicator comes in handy.  With the R you can tell 
by engine pitch what gear you're in but with the K the engine 
pitch stays about the same regardless of what gear you're in, 
hence the need for the indicator.

And speaking of engine pitch...on the R when you revved the 
engine while in neutral you could "feel" the engine.  Not so with 
the K.  If you give it gas you'll hear that the engine is moving 
faster but you won't "feel" it the way you could with the R.

(Smoooooth it is! - Steve)

I also had visions that with my new K the five hour trip to Cape 
Cod would be effortless, a breeze.  Well, while the K is more 
comfortable than my old R the same rest-stops are needed to 
stretch the legs etc.  I like the Corbin seat enough, although time 
will tell, and I have yet to ride two-up with it.  I am curious to 
see how that goes, as the passenger seat is considerably higher 
than the primary seat.

(I've replaced the original Corbin "dual canyon" with an older Corbin
"gunfighter and lady" that is no longer available for the K series.
It's a short-term replacement while I wait for delivery of a Corbin
"rumble seat," essentially a "dual canyon" with a crank up back rest
that folds forward to make a solo seat when not in use.  I liked the
original seat, but my SO complained about the lack of a backrest.  
She loves the replacement; I hate it.  The rise to the pillion is 
much steeper than on the original Corbin giving her a better view
but the lower rider's seat both cramps my legs and due to less padding
gives me blisters at a *very* uncomfortable spot.  Hopefully the new
seat will satisfy us both...or she can get a bike of her own. - Steve)

There are plenty of other nice things about the K in addition to 
it's power and handling, one of the nice little touches is the lever 
installed to help you put the bike on its center-stand.  With the R 
there were times when you would almost pull a muscle trying to 
get it on the center-stand, the K though is a breeze AND once 
it's on the center-stand it is far more stable than the old R was.  
Another nice touch with the center-stand and side-stand is the 
rubber cushion.  When you move the bike off it's center-stand, 
the stand goes home with a quiet bump instead of the loud clang 
of the R.  It's a little thing, but it is nice.

One big complaint I have is with the Saddle bags.  It seems that 
whereas engine design and frame design have come forward in 
the last 13 years, saddle bag design has regressed.  With the old 
R getting the bags on and off the bike was a breeze, but with the 
K it is a chore.  Very, very poor design and for the life of me I 
can not figure out why they switched.

(Like the fork lock and seat latch, the locking/mounting system for
the bags is designed (once you discover the secrets) to make the owner
feel a part of a secret fraternity.  Jim has not yet reached this
exalted state.  He will continue to struggle with the bags as part
of his initiation - Steve)

Another small complaint is the gas tank.  I haven't calculated 
gas mileage yet but I do know that the fuel warning lamp comes 
on very quickly after a fill up.  Unlike the Rs, the Ks do not have 
a fuel switch (unlike the Rs which are gravity fed, the Ks have a 
fuel pump) so switching to reserve is a thing of the past.  You 
have to go by the warning lamp because it it gets to the point 
where your engine starts dying you are completely out of gas!

As I say this review is only based on 700 miles of use and so I can 
not comment on things like gas mileage or even on how the bike 
performs once it is broken in completely.  I've heard from people 
saying the engine gets better and better as the miles add up.  
Maybe I'll write another review after 5,000 miles.  That would 
probably be a good idea.

The list for the K75S is $8,990, although I've heard tell that 
some dealers will take 1,000 off that if pressed.  My dealer sold 
me mine for $8,300.  He charged me $500 for the saddle bags 
and mounts, and he gave me $500 for my old R65.  With tax etc., 
the total price was about $9,000.  I was able to get a loan 
through my credit union at an APR of 8.5%.  My insurance is 
$250 a year.

If anyone has any questions or comments please e-mail me.  I 
will do another write-up at around 5000 miles and I'll 
incorporate whatever anyone else has to say!

(I have about 4000 miles on my bike.  The engine does continue to loosen
up and feel better and better.  All in all, I love the bike, though it
could use a little more oompf for two up touring.  Still, it is so 
much smoother than the K100 that I'm willing to put up with the lack
of power. - Steve) 


--Jim (mullignj@acfcluster.nyu.edu)

--
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