Greetings from Nashville

[jllphan]

Long time fan of Bavarian four wheelers, this is my first Beemer and first bike in a very long time -- a 1991 w/ only 14k, super clean and well looked after.  Nothing special, but I've only put 150mi on it so far and am completely in love.  I'm also in love w/ the fact that unlike my cars, I've been able to knock out an oil/filter change, final drive/transmission oil change, air filter, spark plugs and fuel filter in an afternoon.  For now, I'm just gonna spend time on it, from there, I'm sure I'll make it more "my own." 

[F14CRAZY]

That's a good looking K. I will say that I've run a few of those Dunlop D404's though...they kept developing cracks in the tread after a few weeks and don't handle that well. They're alright if handling isn't a priority and you can get them cheap, and they don't crack on you, but otherwise I'd recommend the Shinko 712 or 230 Tour Master...no cracks, cheaper, and handle much better. No high speed corner wobble or rear-sliding.

[K1300S]

Nice e30 collection....an iS and an eta?

[drut]

Hello and welcome,lovely bike!

[Chaos]

don't forget the brake fluid change.  Those master cylinders are getting expensive.  And give the fan a spin to see if the bearings have froze up.

[jllphan]

That's a good looking K. I will say that I've run a few of those Dunlop D404's though...they kept developing cracks in the tread after a few weeks and don't handle that well. They're alright if handling isn't a priority and you can get them cheap, and they don't crack on you, but otherwise I'd recommend the Shinko 712 or 230 Tour Master...no cracks, cheaper, and handle much better. No high speed corner wobble or rear-sliding.

  Good to know, thanks.  They're still in good knick, but planned to start researching soon.  Michelin seems to be the leader in car tires, moto good too?

Nice e30 collection....an iS and an eta?

Ha, good eye, nailed it.  The IS has been quite a build, the eta is new and was purchased from the original owner w/ all records and window sticker.  Love those cars.

don't forget the brake fluid change.  Those master cylinders are getting expensive.  And give the fan a spin to see if the bearings have froze up.

  Will do.  The brakes have felt super solid, but now that riding weather looks to be over for a while, I plan to do a full service, even though everything I've done so far looked to be premature.

[F14CRAZY]

For car I do like more-expensive tires (like Michelin's). But for my K, locally a rear Michelin Pilot Activ costs about 3x as much as a Shinko 712 and I don't feel that I would get 3x the mileage out of it.

I've put over 20k miles on my bike this year so tire replacement costs are important to me

[Laitch]

Welcome, jllphan.

I do believe your fuel cap is 180º out of position. Somebody probably was in the tank with a fuel filter replacement or who-knows-what-else and got turned around reassembling it.

[The Mighty Gryphon]

Welcome!  Nice bike!  Not too many of that model floating around.  And with the low seat, too.

Make sure you do a real good flush on the brake systems.  They are often neglected, and old fluid is tough on the ma$ter cylinder$ and caliper$.  You want to take a weekend to pull the transmission to clean and lube the clutch splines which will go a long way toward making the shifting, especially going down between 3-2 and 2-1 a LOT smoother. 

Another thing about brakes, a lot of these bikes are going around with sintered pads.  If it were my bike I would pull them and replace with new kevlar organic pads.  They stop as well as the sintered but won't eat those stupidly expensive rotor$ anywhere nearly as fast.  These are the ones I use:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1989-1996-BMW-K75RT-Kevlar-Carbon-Front-Rear-Brake-Pads-/131516075180?hash=item1e9ef80cac:g:kasAAOSwhcJWHWAF&vxp=mtr

They squeal a little bit at low speed when they're new, so you want to put a little squeal stop or high temp brake lube on the back when you install them.

You can't go far wrong with the Shinko tires mentioned above.  For the money they are the best deal out there.  I have gotten 10,000 trouble free miles on a rear Tourmaster. 

For oil changes, I have had real good luck with Carquest oil filters.  Used them for over 20 years, and routinely get 200,000+ miles on my vehicles.   Very good for the price.  Ask for their cross reference to the AC Delco PF53.  They use a different wrench from the standard BMW/HiFlo that are very common.  I think it is a 74mm 15 flute.  Buy it with the filter and check it at the counter.  You should be able to buy the filter and wrench for less than a single HiFlo filter.

Good luck with your new bike, she's a beauty.

[Bokobob]

Exceptionally clean bike...Very nice indeed.  You found a keeper..Looks museum quality.

[jllphan]

Appreciate all the kind words gents....

Welcome!  Nice bike!  Not too many of that model floating around.  And with the low seat, too.

Make sure you do a real good flush on the brake systems.  They are often neglected, and old fluid is tough on the ma$ter cylinder$ and caliper$.  You want to take a weekend to pull the transmission to clean and lube the clutch splines which will go a long way toward making the shifting, especially going down between 3-2 and 2-1 a LOT smoother. 

Another thing about brakes, a lot of these bikes are going around with sintered pads.  If it were my bike I would pull them and replace with new kevlar organic pads.  They stop as well as the sintered but won't eat those stupidly expensive rotor$ anywhere nearly as fast.  These are the ones I use:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1989-1996-BMW-K75RT-Kevlar-Carbon-Front-Rear-Brake-Pads-/131516075180?hash=item1e9ef80cac:g:kasAAOSwhcJWHWAF&vxp=mtr

They squeal a little bit at low speed when they're new, so you want to put a little squeal stop or high temp brake lube on the back when you install them.

You can't go far wrong with the Shinko tires mentioned above.  For the money they are the best deal out there.  I have gotten 10,000 trouble free miles on a rear Tourmaster. 

For oil changes, I have had real good luck with Carquest oil filters.  Used them for over 20 years, and routinely get 200,000+ miles on my vehicles.   Very good for the price.  Ask for their cross reference to the AC Delco PF53.  They use a different wrench from the standard BMW/HiFlo that are very common.  I think it is a 74mm 15 flute.  Buy it with the filter and check it at the counter.  You should be able to buy the filter and wrench for less than a single HiFlo filter.

Good luck with your new bike, she's a beauty.

Thanks a million for all the advice, i plan to spend time w/ the braking and cooling systems in a few days once the weather gives cause for her to come inside for a month or two.  I'll be sure take your comments to heart. 

I must ask though, are Shinko's that great?  My roomate has them, but was ashamed to buy them.  I don't mind paying a bit more for something more performance oriented.  I realize these aren't sport bikes, but want it sports oriented where appropriate.

Welcome, jllphan.

I do believe your fuel cap is 180º out of position. Somebody probably was in the tank with a fuel filter replacement or who-knows-what-else and got turned around reassembling it.

  Bingo!  Fixed!  Thanks!

Exceptionally clean bike...Very nice indeed.  You found a keeper..Looks museum quality.

  Thank you.  It's extremely clean, but will need a lot of work on my part before it's ready be in climates that are so controlled.

[F14CRAZY]

I'd generally be ashamed for throwing cheap no name tires on my car...it's different with Shinko's though.

Shinko is Japanese (not Chinese, if that helps), with manufacturing in South Korea. Their motorcycle tire business was acquired from Yokohama circa 1999 or so. And I heard that Yoko's were awesome motorcycle tires.

Compared to the Dunlop D404 the 712's and the 230 Tour Master are awesome (note that I haven't really run other tires...my bike came with Metzler Lazertec's but I wasn't pushing it hard). I said before but I ran a few Dunlop D404's, front and rear. At high speed corners, which I would feel safe taking my Subaru Forester at, I'd often get a wobble which really didn't feel safe. I also felt the rear slide when pushing the bike a little. I've pushed the 712's and 230 in corners where I would have crashed with D404's. Haven't felt any wobble with them...bike feels planted.

I have a long term review thread going too:

http://www.motobrick.com/index.php?topic=7125.0

My front 712 currently has 11k and still looks good.

I think of them more as a really good tire that happens to be cheap rather than a cheap tire that happens to be really good

[The Mighty Gryphon]

You are riding an early K bike.  The snobs are going to snicker at you no matter what kind of tires you have.  So what?   Those guys have no idea how good our bikes are.

Shinko tires are sleepers, like our bikes.  You can spend more, a lot more, but you are unlikely to notice the difference, especially since you sound like a new rider.  If you keep them inflated correctly and don't ride like a maniac in the pouring rain they will serve you well, and you can spend your money on something else.

[F14CRAZY]

Shinko tires are sleepers, like our bikes.  You can spend more, a lot more, but you are unlikely to notice the difference, especially since you sound like a new rider.  If you keep them inflated correctly and don't ride like a maniac in the pouring rain they will serve you well, and you can spend your money on something else.

Actually I've had my Shinko's in pouring rain and they still served me well  :riding: