A solid bike that does the work required of it (BMW K75)

Member Name: casperdog777

Product:	BMW K75
Date:	06/01/07 (4654 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: RT version has a big fairing and engine seems tough

Disadvantages: The RT version looks outdated and is big for smaller riders

I should have known when the old chap, selling the bike, told me the reason for selling was that he couldn’t get the large German up his inclined driveway. Yes, this was a big motorcycle all right. It was a BMW ‘K’ series, with its great big sail of a fairing and touring panniers, the BMW K75 RT to be exact. This was BMWs first romance with in line engines, back in the mid 80s and resulted in a 750cc in line 3 cylinder (as well as a 4 cylinder 1,000cc). It was a large beast and let’s name him ‘Fritz’.

My life with Fritz was one of love and hate. I loved the turbine like quality of that 750cc engine it was a case of Deutchland Uber Alles; it had real road presence and style. I was a serious motorcyclist and this Teutonic motorcycle was the ‘Uber Papa’ of them all. The bike when I purchased it had a ridiculously low mileage for a 1992 tourer (something like 7,000 miles and it really had done such a low mileage as its first owner stored it in his barn for most of its life), but the ABS had packed up (make sure you check its working if the bike has ABS fitted) and the BMW service charges were prohibitive. A standard main service was about £400 and I was not convinced that Fritz was worth this much. The nearest BMW motorcycle dealer was at least 60 miles away, this meant I couldn’t spoil Fritz in a real BMW workshop and he had to make do with a local motorcycle workshop.

The ride was indeed solid allied to its shaft drive (no messy chain). It did manage to make light of the bad weather too, with the large fairing taking most of the rain and wind away from the rider. Even taller riders than me (I’m 5’ 8”) would have found low speed filtering difficult on an RT though; this was a top heavy bike and with the car like rear view mirrors, the width of Fritz was such that he must have existed on a diet of bratwurst and beer in prodigious quantities for most of his life. This bike had a very large waistline. You didn’t chuck Fritz around corners; you gently went round them and respected his majesty and poise. I only racked up a few thousand miles, but it never missed a beat and I would expect these engines should achieve high trouble free mileages.

There was a real BMW biker brother hood out there too; BMW riders were mature and sensible types by and large. You were also very unlikely to get pulled by the Old Bill on Fritz, in fact until recently the K series was a widely used Police motorcycle (the K750 production line ceased in about 1996 or 97). When the time came to put Fritz away in my own garage, I found that even with a fairly moderate incline this was a hefty German lad. I met my Waterloo at a petrol station, I was being a little disrespectful to big Fritz by riding slowly after filling up, one hand on my throttle grip and the other trying to flip down my lid visor, well the embarrassment, was total as Fritz toppled over with me at 2 mph in the middle of the forecourt. Little damage was done as the panniers seemed to take most of the impact and apart from my pride, all was intact. I even managed to pick Fritz up and ride away.

So it was love and hate really. If I had been a few inches taller Fritz and I would have got on much better. But he was a big German farmer type and I was a short British bloke, who needed to find something a little more manageable. But I couldn’t fault Fritz. He did what he was supposed to do and although Fritz had been well restored from his down time in the barn (he’d even been professionally re sprayed), we just didn’t hit it off, due to his size and my shortness of leg. Despite this I would give Fritz a good report, he was sensible, did what he was supposed to do, without any fuss. But at the end of the day he drank lots of beer and ate German sausage in massive quantities. We were just chalk and cheese him and me but I liked my big Teutonic pal and we parted best of friends; indeed so popular are these 750cc machines I sold Fritz for what I paid for him nine months previously. This bike was a good solid lad - top marks and auf weidersehn Fritz.

Summary: A shaft drive tourer that delivers the goods

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