K75S Fairing Rattle/Screws

[rocketbrick]

Hey y'all,

I feel like I'm posting quite a bit, but I can't seem to find exactly what I need. And everyone here seems to have a wealth of knowledge!

So, I found out I actually have a 1988 K75C with the S fairing. The side of the fairings (under the turn signal lens) is held on by wood screws that don't seem to be doing very much. Every time I hit a bump, the whole assembly rattles.

Anyone know exactly what size these screws/bolts are? I read they were 10mm heads but I'm not sure which length or thread size, I figured someone would know.

Thanks y'all!

[frankenduck]

The main fairing bracket the holds the cluster and headlight to the steering head is made out of PLASTIC on a K755 so the fairing on an S does move around some when you hit bumps. The front upper part has all sheet metal (not wood) screws.

The bolts that hold the lower rear parts of the side panels are M6x30. #12 here:
https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showparts?id=0572-USA---K569-BMW-K%2075%20S%20(0563,0572)&diagId=46_0154

[rocketbrick]

Thanks for the info. Just so I'm making sure we're talking about the same thing, you mean this spot? You can see the screw that the previous owner put in.

I'm just having trouble seeing what goes where on the diagram

[frankenduck]

There's one screw under the turn signal lens.

[Martin]

When I first got my K75s 20+ years ago i was told by an ex BMW mechanic that the spider holding the fairing could loosen and eventually crack. So in order to stop this from occurring I mounted the spider to the steering head bolts with medium strength Loctite. The area on the spider where it is prone to cracking was reinforced with a strip of deck tape which is a thick plastic tape with strong adhesion. I have traversed some pretty horrendous outback in QLD and NSW roads with surfaces that could only be described as washboard ripple strips. Bad enough to blow out one Bricks fork seals and another Brick to loose a few minor parts and mine to destroy the front mudflap. The mods have so far survived this abuse with no loosening or cracking.
Regards Martin.

[rocketbrick]

There's one screw under the turn signal lens.

Got it - clarifying if that was the M6x30 you mentioned. Thanks for the info!

And Martin, jeez - at least you know the mods worked! Perhaps I'll do something similar like that. This fairing seems kind of janky..

[Martin]

Piccies of where to apply tape, thoroughly clean the area with wax and grease remover or similar before applying the tape. It also helps to gently warm the tape before applying. Warming helps it conform to compound curves. Too much heat will stop it from sticking.
Regards Martin.

Deck tape 1.png (44.76 kB . 768x576 - viewed 297 times)
Spider Tape 1.jpg (28.76 kB . 324x576 - viewed 279 times)
Spider Tape 2.jpg (27.1 kB . 324x576 - viewed 276 times)

[frankenduck]

When I first got my K75s 20+ years ago i was told by an ex BMW mechanic that the spider holding the fairing could loosen and eventually crack. So in order to stop this from occurring I mounted the spider to the steering head bolts with medium strength Loctite. The area on the spider where it is prone to cracking was reinforced with a strip of deck tape which is a thick plastic tape with strong adhesion. I have traversed some pretty horrendous outback in QLD and NSW roads with surfaces that could only be described as washboard ripple strips. Bad enough to blow out one Bricks fork seals and another Brick to loose a few minor parts and mine to destroy the front mudflap. The mods have so far survived this abuse with no loosening or cracking.
Regards Martin.

I've owned several K75S (still own three now) and have never had that bracket come loose from the steering head.

I've put a lot of serious thought into replicating that plastic main fairing bracket with a metal one in order to keep the fairing from bouncing around but I don't have a metal shop and it would probably cost a fair amount to get them custom fabricated.  It puzzles me why BMW used metal brackets on the RS/RT/LT Ks but cheaped out on the K75S. It was probably designed but the same idiots who designed the factory seat and worthless helmet lock.

[Martin]

I know of two K75s bikes that had loose spiders. And two that had started to crack where I reinforced mine one with a loose spider and without. I don't know why or how they became loose.
Regards Martin.

[stokester]

Not to hijack this thread but I just ran into a related issue.

I just replaced the odometer gears in my '94 K75S.
When removing the fairing a rubber/plastic piece fell to the ground.  It was a rubber bump stop (#8) attached to a holder (#19) that is inserted into the center piece.  The other one was not to be found.  This is one of the rubber bumpers that help hold the instrument pod.

As I found out, my '93 K75S does not have either one and they are known to break where it is pressed into the center piece.
To my knowledge the holders are NLA.

[Past-my-Prime]

Don't be too jealous about the RT's fairing brackets.

I've had to have my metal spider welded as it cracked on one of the lower arms. Now there's a crack on an upper arm but I've yet to deal with it.

There might be a reason why somewhere in the rider's manual it says not to exceed 180 km/hr (115 mph) with a fairing. If I recall correctly. and 160 km/hr with Tragkorbs.

Possibly my attempted top speed (which for me was around 210 km/h in case anyone wonders) caused some internal distress.

210 km/h is red line on the tach. And in honesty it's actually just shy of 200 according to my "how much does my actual speed from GPS vary compared to speed from speedometer?" -- (It's about 5%)

[frankenduck]

Don't be too jealous about the RT's fairing brackets.

I've had to have my metal spider welded as it cracked on one of the lower arms. Now there's a crack on an upper arm but I've yet to deal with it.

There might be a reason why somewhere in the rider's manual it says not to exceed 180 km/hr (115 mph) with a fairing. If I recall correctly. and 160 km/hr with Tragkorbs.

Possibly my attempted top speed (which for me was around 210 km/h in case anyone wonders) caused some internal distress.

210 km/h is red line on the tach. And in honesty it's actually just shy of 200 according to my "how much does my actual speed from GPS vary compared to speed from speedometer?" -- (It's about 5%)

Yeah, I've heard of the K1100LT brackets cracking too. Those are stamped metal.  But at least the fairing doesn't bounce around until it breaks. The plastic K75S ones bounce around from the factory.

I've had my K1100LT with a +2" windscreen up around 200 KPH without cracking. But I'm such a smooth and talented rider that it puts little stress on the fairing.

The RS ones made with metal pipes seem to be the best from my experience. 

[Chaos]

Not to hijack this thread but ......

Hijacking is good! Why is my K75s instrument pod bouncy?   Flashbacks to the 90's and dialup!

[Martin]

Chaos the instrument pod is rubber mounted to help insulate the pod from vibrations and road shock. Some seem to bounce more than others, and some owners have come up with various methods of reducing the bounce. Some have packed in foam rubber and I believe that someone resorted to packing in a toy stuffed animal. Mine has what I consider to be an acceptable amount of movement, I suppose it's an individual call. Link to Internet BMW Riders Tech page https://ibmwr.org/original/ktech/k-wobbling-instruments.shtml
Regards Martin.

[Chaos]

Martin, that was the flashback. Every other mention of the S was about bounce. I stuffed some foam under mine, lots of creative cures back then. Now everyone just pitches it then tries to figure out how to wire some eBay Chinese crap😄

[bocutter Ed]

I believe that someone resorted to packing in a toy stuffed animal.

That was me. Worked very well until some toddler's mom stole it at Dairy Queen.

[Martin]

Ed do you have piccies of the unfortunate animal in residence.
Regards Martin.

[bocutter Ed]

Ed do you have piccies of the unfortunate animal in residence.
Regards Martin.

Yes, somewhere ... finding said photos is another story.