So my brick comes with a story, but first, My name's Jeff, I'm a 49 year young general contractor and part time hedonist living in Norfolk VA. I've been riding since I was 11, except for about ten years while my kids were growing up. I moonlight as a car dealer, so there are always interesting vehicles coming and going. My current stable includes a Dodge diesel 4x4, Dodge workvan, 1990 Bmw 325Ic convertble, Luhrs 250cc fishing boat, Ducati ST4s, 1965 Honda Super90 project, and as of Friday, a 1986 BMW K75. I traded for the K bike with a Kawasaki jetski I had picked up at an auction 2 weeks ago for $500. The bike is in running condition, but has some needs, so I've torn it down and am building it back up to be a safe reliable 26 year old motorcycle. Just the basics really, new fluids all around, new filters, change the fuel lines, new battery and, unfortunately, a new instrument cluster. The story is that the previous owner bought the bike new in 1987. He rode it every once in a while until he had a lay down some time around 1996 (That's the last state inspection sticker on the bike.) after which he put it away, and never rode it again. I can believe this because of the sticker, the general shine to the paint, the darkness of the fluids I'm changing, and the fact that it has 3,707 miles on the odometer. The laydown couldn't have been much, there are a few scratches on the headlight fairing and the peg, both on the left side. The bike was stored in the garage until last year when he got sick and moved in with his daughter and they set it under a tarp. At some point, the instrument cluster must have been exposed during a bad storm, because I saw condensation under the gauge faces, and when I opened the cluster about 4 ounces of water poured out. Taking the back off revealed that every resistor solder joint, etc. is nothing but a lump of rust. I lucked out and pulled one off of Ebay last night, so I should be riding by next weekend. I'll also need to source a set of battery panels, as they were lost before I got the bike. Strangely, the BMW dealer and Interstate battery sell that battery for exactly the same price ($129.99). Amazon sells it for $89, I just don't know if the $40 I save is worth waiting to get this brick running again.
Anyway, the nice lady in the white coat tells me it's time for my meds, and it's really hard to type wearing a straitjacket, so more later.
