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TECHNICAL MOTOBRICK WRENCHING In Remembrance of Inge K. => Project Custom Motobricks => Topic started by: Markus77 on August 19, 2016, 05:52:50 AM
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Hi Everyone,
So I thought I’d post up some pics of my K75 Café Project as it nears completion (not sure if these projects are ever truly complete!). A little background: I bought this bike – a 1994 K75rt - back in December of 2015 after a couple months of searching. I’d wanted to try a Café Project and am a fan of BMW bikes in general. Found this amazing forum and started doing research etc. and embarked on my first project.
Made plenty of mistakes along the way but was also very lucky – I just happen to live in the same city as RBM from the forum, and as most know who frequent the forum, he knows these bikes inside and out! He helped me throughout the build with all the tricky bits as well as helping me avoid some bad ideas. I learned a ton through his help and realize now that working on the project was as much fun as riding it. All in all, I doubt I would have completed this for years without his help.
The bike is not completely finished: I’m not really happy with the seat and will get some more work done on that over the winter. I’m also waiting to either polish up the exhaust tubes or heat wrap them in black – haven’t decided yet but in any case I’m still waiting for the replacement exhaust gaskets to arrive. Right now I’m just enjoying finally riding the bike a bit! Also thanks to all the forum members who helped me with some pretty basic info back when I started the project. Anyway, here’s the pics starting with a few of the original bike:
Mark
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Beautiful! First class! So tell the truth, This is really RBM's cafe but he won't admit it cause the traditionalist would be upset! Where did you get that pipe and rear-sets?
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Wow! Beautiful job!!!
It's brilliant how you used the pinstriping to make that unfortunate angle between the lower edge of the tank and the horizontal seat base less noticeable. To my eye, that angle is the worst part of every cafe/scrambler project, and yours is only the second I've seen that addresses it nicely.
The seat/cowl is also very impressive. The lines of the cowl flow nicely to the top of the tank, and contrary to cafe fashion dictates, the seat actually looks like it might be comfortable for a ride of more than a couple hundred meters.
Are you going to make it down to Fort Erie this Monday with Ed?
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WAAAAAHAUW Markus, best job !
The bike/my project I have in mind would end-up quite the same. This is exacly what I have in mind for mine.
A few items will be diff, such as the seat, I will make a double seat + welding a loop at the rear and build under a headligt + licence plate.
Also I will go for MAT BLACK and oilive green stripes.
Do you have some detailed pictures of the jetronic and how you mounted it under the seat ?
Which battery did you used on the bike, it looks like a realy small one ?
Which speedo meter did you use on the bike ?
Thanks mate !
Again, what a wonderfull job
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Thanks guys! Yes getting the lines from the seat and cowl to distract from the frame lines was the idea. Again RBM came up with some great ideas to help with this in terms of how the seat/cowl secured to the frame. That aspect took a lot of work!
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Nick good luck with your build, I have some more detailed pics I'll send you of the ecu under the seat and acewell model etc. if you haven't already, you might consider getting a brotbox from Marulabs as it works well with the acewell's and other aftermarket speedos,
Mark
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Mighty Gryphon thx for the compliments - unfortunately I can't make the Fort Erie trip, I have my annual 5 day ride with a couple buddies in northern Ontario/Quebec. Hopefully next time I can make it,
Mark
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TrueAce the pipe is from Lossa Engineering and the rear sets from BSK speed works. The pipe has a baffle in it, otherwise it's just too loud:)
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Markus77, That is a beautiful K75! Well done!
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Great looking bike, I 100% echo the comments about the pinstripes - really cool - and the exhaust - wow!
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Beautiful! First class! So tell the truth, This is really RBM's cafe but he won't admit it cause the traditionalist would be upset! Where did you get that pipe and rear-sets?
Ha Trueace! :hehehe
This bike is all Mark's. I've got my Retro and my V7 Racer. The Racer is the way I express my cafe side. It was fun working with Mark and solving all the small problems that sprang up during the build. Mark embodies the true spirit of a Classic K owner.
Cheers Mark. Those photos are awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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:2thumbup: A job well done :clap:
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RBM..........I forgot you had the V7, yes, that definitely should meet your cafe bike hunger. Congrats on the beautiful bike you helped/coached to get built.
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Very impressive. Looks like a classic BMW after a shift in the space-time continuum. Classic black and well done pin strip make it "Elegantly Brutal, yet sophisticated."
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Thanks guys for all the kind words :bmwsmile
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No coolant reservoir next to the battery?
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It's been relocated behind the radiator - if you look closely in the fist pic you can see a bit of bottle being used.
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I see it now. You made a custom bottle. I'd be interested to hear more about that design
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It's actually a "Coors Altitude" beer can recycled:) Hard to find a bottle to fit in that space. There is an excellent example of a properly made coolant reservoir in the K1 project thread if you're interested.
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It's actually a "Coors Altitude" beer can recycled:) Hard to find a bottle to fit in that space. There is an excellent example of a properly made coolant reservoir in the K1 project thread if you're interested.
well that's a very clever solution and it looks awesome!
Again many many thanks for sharing your bike Markus. :2thumbup:
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Hi Guys,
Hoping for some opinions/advice here. Had some time over the holidays to try and deal with the exhaust for my cafe project. I thought I would try sanding and polishing to get a finish to better match the forks and rear sets on the bike, but now I'm not really sure. My other option is just to wrap them in black heat tape. It's probably one of those things that's hard to know for sure before seeing it on the bike, but just thought I'd throw it our there and see if any one has any opinions or pros/coms to either option? Thanks for any thoughts on this:) (Sorry for the bad pics - I blame the light in my garage!)
Mark
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. . . My other option is just to wrap them in black heat tape. Thanks for any thoughts on this:) . . . Sorry for the bad pics
Thanks for the bad pics, Markus. :giggles
I see no point in overheating the header with tape just for posing points. I think the exhaust looks pretty good as is in the bad pics. :yes
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Your pipes look good, but if you want a different finish, you might consider having them professionally coated with a ceramic finish. Comes in several colors, but silver or black work for me. I had a piece of header pipe done for about $80. I would not use heat tape.
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That's something to consider - hadn't thought of that thx. I'll look into it - I think I like the idea of the pipes and muffler being black, just not crazy about the black tape as the clean look seems to deteriorate over time. Will the ceramic finish change colour due to the heat?
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+1 on the ceramic coating. While I've not done it myself, it has been done a lot, and all the reports I've seen have been positive. One of the good points of ceramic coating is that it doesn't change with heat.
In my mind, heat wrap is one of those things that only makes sense between the head and a turbocharger to send as much exhaust energy to the turbo as possible. Why people wrap pipes is a mystery to me. Looks good when it's new, but goes to hell if the bike is used much.
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Okay that's great news - I'm going to see if I can find a place to do the ceramic coating. Does anyone know if I would have to sand down the muffler as well or can they just coat the whole thing as is? The muffler is already coated black, but if I'm going to get it done I'd want to get it done to both the pipes and muffler so that the black matches. Thanks for the help guys!
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Most likely have to blast the muffler, but call them to see what they require. Is the muffler stainless? Polish the whole setup yourself. (amazing bike, by the way!)
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The muffler is stainless. I'm going to try and find a shop that does the ceramic coating and see what they suggest. I have no problem sanding the muffler as well - just elbow grease:) I do have a silencer fitted in the muffler that's aluminum though, would this pose any problem do you think?
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WHOA!!! the muffler is stainless? Just my opinion, but you've somehow managed to pull off a really clean and classy look on your bike. With all of that black and those beautiful pin stripes, it looks simple yet expensive. I'd suggest stripping the paint off of the muffler with a chemical stripper and seeing how it looks on the bike.
Ceramic coating would look great too. and the aluminum won't be affected.
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yeah, I looked at your bike again. Polished exhaust would look trick and would set off the front forks and gloss black paint :2thumbup:
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Thanks JC55:) I'm going to take it to the shop that did my powdercoating and see if they do ceramic coating or can recommend another place. I'm pretty sure the muffler is stainless but not 100% - I would have to check. I selected that muffler because it was black and the right size more than anything. I'm leaning towards all black as of now, but I'll keep you guys posted on how things progress. Thanks guys for the help/advice - liking this idea of ceramic coating more than my original ideas!
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I love the bike! Definitively one of the nicest K's I've seen. :2thumbup:
+1 on the ceramic coating.
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Here are some suggestions:
High Tech Coatings
2256 County Rd 31, Ruscom ON N0R 1R0.
info@hightechcoatings.com
888-225-8648.
10am to 4pm eastern M-F
FlashFire Coatings
1457 Hwy #2, Courtice, ON L1E 2K2
http://www.flashfirecoatings.com/locations.html
Telephone: 905.432.8861
After Hours: 905.243.0697
E-mail:sales@flashfirecoatings.com
Monday - Friday: 9:00 am - 6:00
Saturday: Call for Appointment...
Brightside Coatings
416-570-8893
brightsidecoatings.com
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Thanks Robert! I'll check those out for sure:)
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Markus the bike looks great! Very tastefully done. :clap: I appreciated the nod to the old standard paint scheme.
There is a Cad colored ceramic coating that would come close to your aluminum rear sets.
I think you might even be able to have them alumicoated.
Did you end up with stock pieces in excess of your needs? I see a few I could put to use on my 87K75C.
Don in Nipomo
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Hi Don,
I'm going to take the pipes and muffler to some of the shops Robert suggested and see what they say in terms of colour for the ceramic coating. At that point I'll have some decisions to make:) Yes I have lots of parts off the original bike that are in boxes in my garage. Let me know what you need and I'll see if I can find it,
Mark
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Whatever you decide will look great.
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Pipes look good to me as is.
I tried a silver ceramic coating (Guzzi headers),looked good for a couple of years but deteriorated exponentially wrt.time.
At least,as is,it can be scuffed back to shiny.
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My exhaust is ceramic coated. I think the place you take it to is likely to sandblast the entire item anyway, just to assist the adhesion of the coating, so I wouldn't worry too much about having to do that yourself. I think it would look great coated in a satin black.
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I dropped off the exhaust last night. Looked at the colour options and decided on the satin black. He's going to sandblast it, then paint and I should hopefully have it back in a few weeks. Saw some other pipes in the shop with the same finish and they look great so I'm looking forward to getting it back on the bike. In any case, I'll post up some pics when I get it back:)
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What muffler is that? I really like the look and since it doesn't protrude farther than the rear axle I'd be interested in getting one.
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It's from Lossa Engineering: https://www.lossaengineering.com/products/lossa-brand-reverse-cone-muffler
I also put a db dawg in: https://www.dirtwerkz.com/Pages/products/exhaust/dB_Dawg.html
As It was a bit too loud for my tastes without it:)
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Thank you! Love the bike, btw. I want my '92 k100rs to look similar to yours when I'm done
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TrueAce the pipe is from Lossa Engineering and the rear sets from BSK speed works. The pipe has a baffle in it, otherwise it's just too loud:)
For my project I just need the leather seet padding, just like the one you got. Is the leather seet padding with diamond pattern also form BSK Speed Wokrs ???
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I had the seat made from an upholstery shop here in Toronto. I measured where the tank sits on the seat area and then brought the tail piece into the shop for them to make it. If I were to do it again, I'd probably bring the whole bike there so they could measure it perfectly. Also I opted for marine vinyl instead of leather as it's much more durable etc. Good luck with the build!
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I had the seat made from an upholstery shop here in Toronto. I measured where the tank sits on the seat area and then brought the tail piece into the shop for them to make it. If I were to do it again, I'd probably bring the whole bike there so they could measure it perfectly. Also I opted for marine vinyl instead of leather as it's much more durable etc. Good luck with the build!
Thanks, I'le check if I can have the seat made here in Norway. Can I ask how much you paid for it ? (I realy like the looks of the on you had made in Toronto...)
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I paid $300 for it. Seems expensive for plastic, foam and vinyl! But then again I don't think I would have had much success building one on my own:) Maybe you could save some $ by fabricating your own seat base and just having a shop do the upholstery etc?
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Very nice work. I don't see many K-bikes transformed into Cafes that look sharp but you did a good job on that one. :clap:
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Thx appreciate it - had fun with the project and looking forward to the spring and riding season!
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Where did you get the seat pan/cowl assembly? Its perfect! Also your bike looks amazing. I started with the same bike and am just getting started on it. Thanks and great work!
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The cowl was from BSK Speedworks:
http://www.bskspeedworks.co.uk/k-cafe-seat-unit.html
The cowl was fibreglassed to an aluminum seat pan that bolts to the frame. Good luck with your build!
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Thanks
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Got the exhaust back with the satin black ceramic coating and I'm pretty pleased with the results! Unfortunately I can't get it back onto the bike until there weather is a bit better (no space in the garage to work!) but I'm looking forward to seeing how it looks on the bike. I'll post up some more pics when that happens. Here's a few of how it looks after the coating:
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Wow, that looks good.
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That exhaust came out really nice, as did the rest of the bike.
I love the layout of the pin striping on the fuel tank. It makes that big tank look smaller, more elegant. Nice job.
Ditto with the seat and the detail you added between the seat base and the subframe. BMW left us such an awkward, hard to work with area right there.
Can't wait to see it with the pipe installed.
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Thanks guys - can't wait to get it on the bike and see how it looks:)
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It was fantastic weather and I had some time so I put on the exhaust back on the bike this afternoon. Overall I'm pretty happy as the black fits better with the rest of the bike. Kind of lousy pictures with my phone but I'll take some better ones when the spring comes and I'm riding the bike again:
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The black exhaust looks great. Nicely done.
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Yeah it looks awesome!
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Thanks guys!
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Looks great! If you ever have time, please upload a video on youtube so we can hear how it sounds. :)
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Awesome bike Markus! I like how you trimmed the front fender. I did something similar with my K75. Are you planning to leave your front forks as is?
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I'll try and post up a youtube link of the exhaust sound soon. As far as the forks I'm planning to leave them as is - I tried them with gators on but didn't really like the look of them. To each their own though:)
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Great looking exhaust!
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My favorite so far. No doubt.
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Holy transformation Batman! Very nice build. :clap: Love the overall look as well as all of the little nice touches. Looks like you're running Shinko 712 tires. How do you (or others) like them? I'm considering these or the 230's.
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So far I've had no issues with the shinko tires but to be honest I have put many miles on them - others here gave them a good review and I have no complaints to date - they certainly seem to be a good bargain!
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Hi Markus,
First off, what an excellent job you did there, really well done.
The seat with the striping looks superb.
Yesterday i bought a K100 myself, building one just like de BSK K100 or your K75.
Do you mind if i contact you if i stumble across some problems or when advice is needed?
Anyway awesome project you got there!
Kind regards,
Rick
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beatiful job you will have to make big shelf in your lounge room to put on when not riding looks that nice well done
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Hi Guys,
Thanks for the kind words - only wish I had more time to ride! Happy to help with any questions you have if I can,
Mark
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Hi Guys,
Thanks for the kind words - only wish I had more time to ride! Happy to help with any questions you have if I can,
Mark
Hi Mark,
Are you experiencing a lot of backfire with the shortened exhaust? I'm having a lot of backfire from gear 1-3 with my K75 setup using an Arrow GP2 canister.
Thanks,
Duc
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Hi Duc,
Yes I do get the odd backfire especially when I'm off the throttle and gearing down from 3rd to 2nd etc. I believe I had more when I first put the pipe on, but it was too loud for my liking and I put a db dawg unit in which reduces the overall noise level and I think reduced backfire as well but I can't really be sure of the latter as I didn't really test it or anything or spend much time without the db dawg in,
Mark
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. . . but I can't really be sure of the latter as I didn't really test it or anything or spend much time without the db dawg
Increasing deafness will improve things for you over time. :yes
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Hi Duc,
Yes I do get the odd backfire especially when I'm off the throttle and gearing down from 3rd to 2nd etc. I believe I had more when I first put the pipe on, but it was too loud for my liking and I put a db dawg unit in which reduces the overall noise level and I think reduced backfire as well but I can't really be sure of the latter as I didn't really test it or anything or spend much time without the db dawg in,
Mark
Thanks for the feedback. Glad to know I'm not alone with this. I've also put in a db unit into my Arrow canister. It helps with noise reduction, but the backfiring is still there. I'll just have to live with it and startle little kids and their parents when I roll out of the hood. :yes
Are you using the stock speed sensor along with RBM circuit board?
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Yes using the stock speed sensor the connects with the Brotbox 2.0 and then had to calibrate the acewell but it is pretty accurate. Hey at least the kids will get out of your way as you roll through!
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Yes using the stock speed sensor the connects with the Brotbox 2.0 and then had to calibrate the acewell but it is pretty accurate. Hey at least the kids will get out of your way as you roll through!
Thanks Markus. I hope you get to ride your beautiful bike more often.
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you have done great job on her looks spot on :2thumbup: