MOTOBRICK.COM
MOTOBRICK.COM => Welcome To Motobrick.Com => Topic started by: PickledBrick on April 27, 2022, 03:15:48 AM
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Looking forward to absorbing whatever I can
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Click the "New to K bikes?" link in my signature.
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Welcome. My first brick was a K75RT with 54,000 miles. It's got a 100,000 miles now and it has been stone reliable with normal maintenance and the information the members here have. If you are looking for a bike that can comfortably put massive amounts of pavement behind you, you are going to like your RT.
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It's a 32 year old bike so expect to wrench on it some
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Owner of a 1989 K75RT and love it to the end of the trip. I've also got a F650GS Dakar, and there is no comparison: although almost 20 years older, the K is a much more pleasurable and smooth ride.
Only owner advice I have is to attend to your splines. It's not much harder than changing a tire and it's the driveshaft equivalent of oiling your chain, only you don't have to do it as frequently!
Valve clearance checking is a bit more involved on a fully faired K, the best advice I have is take your time and lots of photos when removing the fairing, and if you've got crash bars, the little rubber end bits on top come off with some persuasion and there's a bolt deep in there that is -- someone will correct me if I'm wrong -- 12 mm I think.
Oils & fluids are totally intuitive -- you don't have to take the fuel tank completely off to fill the coolant, just slide it back after popping off the c-clips at the back.
Oil and water pump rebuild (if you need to do it) is straightforward but again - take your time.
Various tubes and hoses might be due for replacement. I recently replaced the Z-tube that is like a crankcase breather up to the airbox and the bike runs smoother now.
Hmmm. . that't all that immediately comes to mind. Ride it and enjoy it!
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There is a pretty wide spectrum of condition these bikes can be in when you get them. A garage queen that has under 10,000 miles and is ready for a concours show to something that is 2/3 complete but in several baskets.
First thing I would do is pull off as much easy stuff as possible, seat, luggage battery covers, battery, and lift the tank. Then give the bike a thorough but gently wash getting into every nook and cranny. The best cleaner I have known is S100 motorcycle cleaner. Get a cheap paint brush some sponges and couple of those sponge balls on a stick from the Dollar Store. Take your time and look at everything while you are cleaning.
Let's be philosophical for a moment. This cleaning will give you a good opportunity to look at and touch a lot of the bike before you work on it. You will get to see what is broken or missing and have a good idea what needs to be repaired and replaced. Then when you do start to work, you will be working on a clean bike which will make the stuff you're doing way more pleasant. This will put your mind in a good place, and that results in you doing a much better job. These beasts like to be treated well. Don't think of maintenance as a chore. Approach it as foreplay and your bike will respond accordingly.
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Looking forward to absorbing whatever I can
Keep the lever end clutch cable barrel clean and lubed.
I always carry an extra cable and suspect most on the list do as well. For some reason they are very prone to breaking at that lever end and it is easy to forget to clean and lube. Twice I've had it happen to me on the road but within an hour I was back on the road.
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Keep the lever end clutch cable barrel clean and lubed.
BOTH ends.
To detach the clutch cable pull in the clutch and then stick a piece of 1x4 lumber under the clutch arm to hold it in place while you do cable maintenance.