My sister in law is looking at a '94 K75S

[Cliffy777]

Hey there,
My sister in law is considering a 1994 K75S with only 15k on the clock. Guy is asking $4200.00.
Can I get some feedback from a few K-owners? Good bike? She currently rides an older Honda 750. Is this a smart move? No one in my family is very mechanical - is the bike pretty bullet=proof or does it need tweaking?
Any comments would be appreciated.
Thanks.

[jdiaz]

Bike is bulletproof. Some newer riders don't like the top heaviness of the K series combined with low/narrow handlebars, but after a few miles it feels natural.

Try to get service docs on the thing. If its 10 years old and has only received one major service at 12K, that might be a problem.

[YB in IN]

Check the splines if you get it. Sure it only has 15k, but it's old and it makes it a prime candidate for some lubing up. 4200 seems a bit steep to me as well. What else does it come with? I have 117000 on mine right now, and the thing has only left me stranded once, as was recently documented here on the forum. The weight issue you get used to, but I never thought it was too big of a deal to start with. It will be a quantum leap though from a 750 Honda.

[Cliffy777]

Thanks for the replies and the good advice.
Garth - I am assuming the by a "quantum leap" from a Honda 750 that you mean that in a good way. (?)

[dbrick]

They're great bikes - I rode mine for nine years, before being seduced by the Telelever front end on the RS.

Make sure your sister-in-law is comfortable height-wise on the K. They're fairly tall machines. There are some ways to reduce the seat height: lower seats (both factory ones and aftermarket, 'tho the seats get a bit wider as they're lowered to clear the top frame tubes and so the useable height reduction is less than anticipated), moving the fork tubes in the triple clamps, shorter rear shock/spring unit (which may make the stands too long).

[deilenberger]

Originally posted by Cliffy777
Hey there,
My sister in law is considering a 1994 K75S with only 15k on the clock. Guy is asking $4200.00.
Can I get some feedback from a few K-owners? Good bike? She currently rides an older Honda 750. Is this a smart move? No one in my family is very mechanical - is the bike pretty bullet=proof or does it need tweaking?
Any comments would be appreciated.
Thanks.

Cliffy..

As others have pointed out - great bike. Some questions:

1. Does it have ABS?
2. If #1 is yes - do the ABS lights stop flashing once it moves off?
3. Service records?

OK - the reasons for the questions:

#1 - ABS is a good thing. It adds $500-800 to the value of a K bike IF it's working.

#2 - ABS is sometimes expensive to fix - if the lights don't turn off after starting out on the bike (they continue blinking - one in the center of the instrument pod - one in the speedo) - deduct $800 from the value of the bike. It probably won't cost that much to fix - but if the ABS brain has gone bad - it might.

#3 - Service records. As others have pointed out - these are important on a bike with so few miles that's 10 years old. One problem with the K75 series in general is with the clutch splines. On some bikes (a small but significant number) - the bike was damaged in transit to the US/Canada and they will destroy the clutch splines in 13-18,000 intervals.

The fix for this isn't cheap - it involves some heavy disassembly and some rather expensive parts.

If there are service records available - you want to look for any mention of a clutch disk replacement or transmission input shaft replacement. Many dealers don't understand (or try not to understand) what the real problem is - and they just fix the symptom (bad disk and transmission input shaft) - the actual fix involves replacing the intermediate housing (where the clutch lives) - a bigger job.

OK - how to tell if it might have this problem (and the test isn't foolproof)

Try riding it. Pay particular attention to the 4-3 and 3-2 downshifts. If it feels difficult to do these shifts - or refuses to do them without some clutch fiddling - it has the problem.

If the 4-3 and 3-2 are smooth - it probably doesn't - unless the parts above were replaced recently, or a clutch spline lube was done in the last 1,000 miles or so.

One thing I have noticed (and it's just numbers I've kept in my head) - the S series seem a tiny bit less prone to this - it may be because of the belly pan, which restricted how the bike could be tied down for shipping.

Other than that - people have given you great advice. I wouldn't consider the price high if it has ABS, and no signs of the clutch problem. The "S" series do seem to go higher than any other K75 model - which is understandable 'cause it is the best looking K75.

If she's currently riding a Honda 750 from the 70's-80's - the K75S will not feel top-heavy to her, and the handling will be a big improvement.

As far as bullet-proof - if you get a good K75 - it's the Maytag of motorcycles - it just keeps running and running (Paul Glaves has well over 350k on his now - and has never had the engine open..)

Best,

[jdiaz]

Originally posted by deilenberger
As far as bullet-proof - if you get a good K75 - it's the Maytag of motorcycles - it just keeps running and running (Paul Glaves has well over 350k on his now - and has never had the engine open..)

Actually, Brian Burdette said something to me about Paul needing to swap the needle bearing for the alternator drive or starter gear once upon a time, which requires the bellhousing to come off. So technically the engine has been apart. :)

And I don't agree with the Maytag comment either, because our newish Maytag gas dryer needed a repair after only two years!! And this was pre-baby, when we were hardly doing any laundry at all!

[Cliffy777]

You gave us good questions to ask. Non-ABS. 2nd owner - going on to law school and needs to sell it.
Mary (sis in law) is going to meet him and ride the beast next Saturday.
Thanks again.

[deilenberger]

Originally posted by Cliffy777
You gave us good questions to ask. Non-ABS. 2nd owner - going on to law school and needs to sell it.
Mary (sis in law) is going to meet him and ride the beast next Saturday.
Thanks again.

Cliffy - we're all holding our breath.. is your SIL now a K75S owner?

Inquiring minds want to know..

[Cliffy777]

Looks like Mary is going to be riding a beemer. They made an offer which the guy initially rejected, then he called them several hours later and sai d"okay".
They bought it for $3,500 and will pick it up next week-end. I guess it needs new shoes, but is ready to rock-n-roll otherwise.
(I can't wait to ride a brick....)
Thanks again for the help ya'all.