New K75 Owner in Kyrgyzstan

[KyrgyzNomad]

I'm an American expat living in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. I've acquired a small collection of motorcycles here, and am currently working on the paperwork to take over a 1990 K75 from a German expat who moved home. It's got 74,000 km on the odometer and seems like a broken fork spring (very little spring in the front end, bottoms immediately, and lots of rattling noises) as well as a leaking rear master brake cylinder. All in all not bad, especially for something that's one of a kind in this country. I've been riding mostly off-roaders/adventure bikes (Honda XL250R, Honda NX650, and BMW F650) since I moved to Bishkek in 2012. Really looking forward to riding a street bike again.

[Mwilson904]

She's a beauty!  Welcome and happy riding!!!

[Laitch]

Welcome, KyrgyzNomad! Good find—a straightforward hauler.  :2thumbup:

Please consider posting some photos of your surroundings over there in the Photographic Ride Report section.

[jakgieger]

Welcome 

[Martin]

Welcome to the asylum from OZ.
Regards Martin.

[Brad-Man]

Welcome!

[KyrgyzNomad]

Welcome, KyrgyzNomad! Good find—a straightforward hauler.  :2thumbup:

Please consider posting some photos of your surroundings over there in the Photographic Ride Report section.

Can't ride for a few weeks yet due to ordering parts and waiting, plus finishing paperwork formalities over the next week. Have lot's of scenery pictures, but mostly from off-road trips on other bikes.

[The Dude]

Welcome KyrgyzNomad.
If you indeed have fork spring shattered(I also found my damper side in seven pieces)take a carefull look at the frame tube imeadiately behind the rear shock mount for fatigue cracks.Look on both left and RHS of the seat tubing in this position.The severe corrugations on metal roads will do this(eventually)I have had to weld gussets on the frame in these areas to make sure this doesn't happen again on my K75S.The plate underneath with two holes in it is also additional.
All the best.

[KyrgyzNomad]

Welcome KyrgyzNomad.
If you indeed have fork spring shattered(I also found my damper side in seven pieces)take a carefull look at the frame tube imeadiately behind the rear shock mount for fatigue cracks.Look on both left and RHS of the seat tubing in this position.The severe corrugations on metal roads will do this(eventually)I have had to weld gussets on the frame in these areas to make sure this doesn't happen again on my K75S.The plate underneath with two holes in it is also additional.
All the best.

We'll do! Thanks for the tip. Our roads here are terrible in general, so not unlikely.

[The Dude]

We'll do! Thanks for the tip. Our roads here are terrible in general, so not unlikely.

Yeh,I noticed from your images.I must admit I boot it on ours so it's not surprising.

[KyrgyzNomad]

Yeh,I noticed from your images.I must admit I boot it on ours so it's not surprising.

I plan to keep the Brick on the better roads (I've got a few off-roaders for the bad roads), but sometimes it can't be helped.

[billday]

Welcome! Keep those awesome pictures coming.

[TrueAce]

Welcome! What are you doing in such a remote place, or can you tell us? Only folks I.have meet who've been there are missionaries and CIA.

[KyrgyzNomad]

Welcome! What are you doing in such a remote place, or can you tell us? Only folks I.have meet who've been there are missionaries and CIA.

Actually I taught English here for a while then decided to move, it's an absolutely amazing place. Mountains, nomadic shepherds, pretty good weather, friendly people, couldn't ask for much more. I opened a tour company and also started renting out some of our cars. We're now one of the busiest car rentals in the country and we focus on adventure rentals for Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan. Means we get to do some fun, crazy stuff  :falldown:

So picked up the brick yesterday and road to the house. The front fork is definitely toast...need to open and verify which springs I need since the previous owner said it may not be the original forks (unless someone can tell me exactly how to tell from the outside what is inside). Riding in city traffic is fun with no rear brake too. Parked next to my Soviet Union plated 1985 IMZ Ural 650 and here's the requisite picture.

[KyrgyzNomad]

Welcome KyrgyzNomad.
If you indeed have fork spring shattered(I also found my damper side in seven pieces)take a carefull look at the frame tube imeadiately behind the rear shock mount for fatigue cracks.Look on both left and RHS of the seat tubing in this position.The severe corrugations on metal roads will do this(eventually)I have had to weld gussets on the frame in these areas to make sure this doesn't happen again on my K75S.The plate underneath with two holes in it is also additional.
All the best.

"The Dude" Thanks for the tip! Checked the joint, looks fine. Will keep in mind the idea of adding gussets eventually just in case.

[Laitch]

You've got this gallery set up nicely. It makes a compelling case for traveling there.

[KyrgyzNomad]

You've got this gallery set up nicely. It makes a compelling case for traveling there.

Check out http://ihn.kg/catalog/. It's a work in progress right now, but the idea is to have a sortable list of locations which can be reached by various means of transport. Hopefully also compelling :)

[KyrgyzNomad]

Am I correct in thinking I have the Brembo Sport Forks?

[Laitch]

Am I correct in thinking I have the Brembo Sport Forks?

MAX BMW's fiche is where I go when I'm trying to identify parts. Your bike's fork doesn't have a stabilizer. Here are the two represented as OEM. The one with the stabilizer(4) is labeled Sport. It is used with a two-piece fender. Yours is the other, I think.

[KyrgyzNomad]

MAX BMW's fiche is where I go when I'm trying to identify parts. Your bike's fork doesn't have a stabilizer. Here are the two represented as OEM. The one with the stabilizer(4) is labeled Sport. It is used with a two-piece fender. Yours is the other, I think.

I do have that silver colored bridge piece, if that's what your calling a stabilizer.

[Laitch]

I do have that silver colored bridge piece, if that's what your calling a stabilizer.

Well then, it's time to clean my monitor. You're all set. Stabilizer is how it's labeled in the parts list(14). I'm just the messenger.

[KyrgyzNomad]

Well then, it's time to clean my monitor. You're all set. Stabilizer is how it's labeled in the parts list(14). I'm just the messenger.

Great. Thanks! Pulling the fork apart today or tomorrow. Based on the sound I expect to find about 10 pieces loose inside :machinegun:

Looks like Progressive Suspension 11-1126 should work regardless of which fork it has (other than Showa). I probably should go ahead and order since it's going to take 2-3 weeks to get here.

[Laitch]

Great. Thanks! Pulling the fork apart today or tomorrow.

Keep in mind that the parts in the left and right tubes differ in the Sport model.

[The Dude]

The fatigue cracks propagate from underneath the bends.I discovered by having to lift from the rear to get bike parked neatly against a wall.The rear came up too easily...so I looked.Just saying hard to see without some indicator of a problem.This is not common as no one else seems to have experienced this.

[KyrgyzNomad]

The fatigue cracks propagate from underneath the bends.I discovered by having to lift from the rear to get bike parked neatly against a wall.The rear came up too easily...so I looked.Just saying hard to see without some indicator of a problem.This is not common as no one else seems to have experienced this.

I'll have another look then.

Yesterday at the shop...