K75S DIY painting (& polished tank) thread

[Zagando]

Sorry for the tardy reply but I don't visit this forum quite as much as I used to (no particular reason, just busy with other things lately).

Yes, I am still quite happy with the CATZ XLO fogs as they serve their intended purpose (conspicuity) very well. I wholeheartedly recommend them!

[MysticRed]

But how well does the amber light illuminate at night? I'm more interested in night performance and day visibility.

I got the non amber by mistake on EBay and am very impressed with the night time performance. I also ride with the guy who "discovered" these lights and smithduck who both said they were also very noticeable during the day. Kinda a bright light blue color. No, I haven't been pulled over by the cops. Not that blue.

[Zagando]

Although I ride very little at night I find the yellow CATZ OK but not great for visibilty compared to white aux lights (i.e. Hella FF50s which I also have with my 100w Bosch high beam)---unless you're riding in mist or fog---then they serve you well. In normal nighttime use the strong yellow illumination is a bit disconcerting to my eyes and seems less than ideal for general illumination of the road ahead.

My main concern is day conspicuity so I run the yellow lights all the time with my 90w low beam. (I also have the Eastern Beaver headlight relay set up with my Bosch headlamp which is great).

Hope this helps!

Best regards, Jeff NH7RO

[ghyber]

I have found that adding a set of quick disconnects to the fuel system is well worth the expense, and since your disassembled now is the time to do it. It eliminates any worries about fuel pressure relief and makes getting the tank off in all circumstances a simple and quick task. There have been a few situations on the roadside where I needed to get the tank off, and the quick disconnects made it so simple to get to the electronics underneath. So, for what it's worth, give that a thought.

Is there room on the short rubber hoses for quick disconnects? Any pictures would be appreciated.

[Zagando]

Just noticed your question, Ghyber; Sorry for the delay!


I don't have quick-disconnects installed yeat but they are available from BeemerBoneyard and other sources.

Eventually I will install some but there's too many other priorities for me these days---we're moving from Hawaii to New Mexico in just a few more days and have a lot to do. Once we get settled I may do more work on the bike which has deteriorated a tad being in the damp and cold rain forest almost four years.

At least I'll be able to say "Adios rust and corrosion for good!" now!"

[letsride88]

Nice job. What is the paint color used on the body work?

[Zagando]

In keeping with my basic idea of posting all the modifications and or upgrades done on my bike since I originally started the renovation about three years ago, here's the latest:

On August 6th the bike became difficult to start which led me to discover loose battery connections. A few days later the battery started to die so I replaced my Hawaiian Wal-Mart el cheapo with a heftier Westco 12v30 25ah job. Then I realized the new battery didn't take care of the ABS flashing lights that I had been experiencing after multiple attempts to reset the system---so I went to Radio Shack and bought an LED (part number 276-011) for $2.59. This little LED immediately told me via 6 brief repeating flashes that my ABS relay was faulty. Thank goodness it wasn't the ABS brain!

I lucked out and bought a used but working relay from Drake (Duck on ADV) in Seattle which was promptly installed while I was doing the work described in the next paragraph (now my ABS system is operating perfectly again and my thanks go out to Ted for the heads-up about the relay available from Drake).

Around the 9th of September I replaced all external fuel lines, fuel pressure regulator vacuum hose, the two fuel injector nipple caps and crankcase breather hose. Also replaced the fuel filter twice within a month after using the same filter installed three years ago due to the chirping noise that cropped up in recent months. This chirping was first noticed about 6-8 months ago in sea-level Hawaii where it is usually hot and humid. The problem returned after moving to Albuquerque this spring and was especially noticeable on hot days while riding in traffic.

As some of you may have read in my other recent threads my tank vent was blocked and causing quite this noisy chirping/screeching sound to emanate from the fuel pump's pressure release mechanism (probable and most likely scenario). After many attempts to clear the vent with different kinds of wire, weed whacker line (great idea from Don) and compressed air, whatever was blocking the vent was dislodged and all is now well again.

Both the crankcase breather (Z-shaped) hose and one of the FI rubber nipple caps were cracked upon close examination and the fuel return hose was not rated for fuel injection systems (EGADS!) to further compound things. All the external hoses were old and suspect hence my decision to replace them with brand new OEM ones.

Good call as now the bike runs better than when I bought it four years ago (October 1st 2008), no kidding!

What a difference the new hoses make as the bike is finally as smooth as it should be; it's a total delight to ride now. It used to be kind of rough and buzzy not unlike my old K100RS until the new hoses and nipples were installed.

I'm looking for any excuse to ride since it's so much more fun now!

Further work needs to be done, though---when I shipped the bike from Hawaii it gotted strapped down too tightly onto the pallet that was forklifted into the big Matson container---and when we opened the container in Albuquerque the first thing I noticed was that the fork seals had leaked fork oil all over the front wheel. The downward presure combined with the nearly continual high heat (container travelled for three weeks across the ocean and southern deserts via rail to El Paso before being trucked to ABQ) is what obviously burst the seals.

I've scheduled replacing the seals as well as new front wheel bearings with a former BMW factory mechanic up in Santa Fe later this month and I'll post another update once that work has been accomplished. Berlina now has 26,687 miles on her and I expect this is a good time to replace the wheel bearings before something bad happens out on the road somewhere.

The fall weather is here and the road is calling...see ya later! Jeff