Welcome thanks for the pics!

Brad-Man wrote:Welcome thanks for the pics!

Thanks Brad, this is the beast I'm after now. I'd like people to comment and tell me what they think of the price and what the bike's condition is like. It's done 88,000 miles!

Welcome to the forum and thanks for the piccies! I've moved the post to the more appropriate K Bike Pictures section from the Introduction section. After three posts, including an introduction, you'll be able to PM (Personal Message - see Inbox above) our esteemed site master, Crazy Frog, requesting the password for the downloads section. In there you'll find all manner of juicy info with which to maintain, modify and repair your new-to-you K! It looks good from here. Ask any question you like about it and there'll be a good and varied response from the members.
Cheers.

It's an ex authorities bike (police) has a K75 front end and early K100 (pre 86) side covers and the white of the fairing and ducktail isn't the same as the tank and sidecover, all in all this leads me to believe it is a made up bike or bitza as I call it and that it may have had a front end crash or may not as the K75 front end is a popular conversion for a better handling bike. The mileage is not a big deal and is probably less than most.
Have a read through the "so you just bought a BMW what now" link in the portal page.

Good comments Rick 

At first glance, it looks nice...but there was something bothering me about the bike that I couldn't put my finger on - I think Rick has nailed it. I looked at the pics last night and the colour mismatch and lack of crash bars (on a fairing that is designed for crash bars (not all are)). Lack of aerial, left hand glove box cover is flat rather than bulbous to take LT radio, no speakers and fuel/temp instruments all point to an early LT which should be on a F or G reg plate (pre-1989) rather than the K plate it is on. My first LT (1989 G reg) was this configuration (including crash bars). This would suggest an import, or as Rick suggests an ex police bike or "bitza".

Nothing wrong with ex police bikes - but they will have had work to convert them to a 2 seat (don't think it is a comfort seat either, so your mile munching wouldn't be quite so comfortable). 

There appears to be a fair amount of corrosion to the centre stand - and the end bung is missing. As per my first post, this is a problem area for these old tubular stands and they do rot from the inside out.

Brake discs look like they are quite worn and may be approaching service limits (not cheap to replace).

Doesn't look like the standard K100LT exhaust either.

88k miles is not extreme, but all in all, in my personal opinion, I think the asking price is too high for what you're looking at. You should be able to pick up a similar condition model for <£1000 (My similar LT, now donor bike, at 73k miles was £740).

As we come into the winter season here in the UK, there usually is a rash of bikes being sold on eBay at much better prices and personally I would shop around rather than go for this one. Hard decision though, but the choice is entirely yours. If you do commit to this one, there's nothing that can't be fixed, but I think you'll be looking at another £400+ to get her right.

I would agree with the keeping of a budget for some work.

In 2010 I bought a 1992 K100LT for €1,000. It was ex police too and had 92,000 miles. The miles were no issue and mileage is not a reason to avoid a K if it is otherwise in good enough order. However it did have a leaking rear brake master cylinder when I got it. I decided rather than do the work myself I dropped it off to have that and some other jobs done. €385 later [clutch cable, full service, mirror glass, spline lubes, lots of other little jobs] and about 6 weeks later another €50 for a new battery all was fully sorted. Mine had the ABS controller under the seat, not in the rear ducktail and I think that was part of the police conversion work.

In 2013 I got a 1984 K100RT and while the jobs were different I did it myself and more or less took it apart on the patio on a sunny weekend. Full service, filters, clutch cable, repair battery acid damage, clean electrical connections, swap out some broken parts and again all excellent after. Its a great way to get to know your bike too.

The LT does take a little dismantling to get the fairing and panels off but once you get the hang of it its very fast. Just remember if you do take it all off the front radiator panel goes on first after the main or front fairing. In practice you are unlikely to be taking off the front fairing and most of the time its the lower panels and the boxes/knee pads that have to come off.

On the right hand side of the bike toward the rear of the sump horizontal fins there is a vertical panel with the engine number on it. The first four digits are the week and year code, eg 3284 is week 32 of 1984 and this will give you a manufacture date.

I too figure you might pick up a better LT. But you are in for some seriously nice riding, especially if you have one with the Comfort seat.

I would've said that's worth about £800.

Id keep looking mate

I too agree that it's overpriced and a bitsa. I know it sounds like we're p!ssing on your fireworks but it's all in good faith.

Dai wrote:I too agree that it's overpriced and a bitsa. I know it sounds like we're p!ssing on your fireworks but it's all in good faith.

What Dai said !....We'd love to see you on a K and the best one possible for your money. All of the above contributors comments come from hard won experience that parted the cobweb covered openings on their wallets !! If you can't beat them down a long way move on to other viewings. 

Lots of bikers over here ask my why I don't buy something more modern Like their "good for 25k miles" sportsbikes and I simply point to the 95k miles on my odo and say "That's why" !

Two Wheels Better wrote:Welcome to the forum and thanks for the piccies! I've moved the post to the more appropriate K Bike Pictures section from the Introduction section. After three posts, including an introduction, you'll be able to PM (Personal Message - see Inbox above) our esteemed site master, Crazy Frog, requesting the password for the downloads section. In there you'll find all manner of juicy info with which to maintain, modify and repair your new-to-you K! It looks good from here. Ask any question you like about it and there'll be a good and varied response from the members.
Cheers.

Thanks for the heads up!!

Black Shuck wrote:

Two Wheels Better wrote:Welcome to the forum and thanks for the piccies! I've moved the post to the more appropriate K Bike Pictures section from the Introduction section. After three posts, including an introduction, you'll be able to PM (Personal Message - see Inbox above) our esteemed site master, Crazy Frog, requesting the password for the downloads section. In there you'll find all manner of juicy info with which to maintain, modify and repair your new-to-you K! It looks good from here. Ask any question you like about it and there'll be a good and varied response from the members.
Cheers.

Thanks for the heads up!!

Well thanks for the heads up guy's! I contacted the garage, it IS an ex police bike. The last owner was a policeman who owned this bike for 16 years. No service history but all MOT's.

If its a 16 year owner it might be a bit different if you can glean out of him what has been done.

A lot of us do our own maintenance so service history is unlikely to be dealer receipts but may well be a lot of receipts, mostly used parts and a mix of parts from donor bikes and sometimes just a day of our own labour. Things like a spline lube is labour and a small amount of grease but otherwise no parts so a good DIY owner will have no invoice to back it up. Same with things like gearbox, final drive and fork oil changes.

Very low mile bikes in some ways carry more risks. I would sooner have a higher mile well maintained one that I know has been maintained. That way even if you do get a problem you don't have the same risk of seized fasteners and shagged seals.

Question is, would it be an ok buy at the right price? I felt my LT was even though it wasn't pristine it did everything for me. The one issue I did have cost me a £50 used part to sort out.

92KK 84WW Olaf wrote:If its a 16 year owner it might be a bit different if you can glean out of him what has been done.

A lot of us do our own maintenance so service history is unlikely to be dealer receipts but may well be a lot of receipts, mostly used parts and a mix of parts from donor bikes and sometimes just a day of our own labour. Things like a spline lube is labour and a small amount of grease but otherwise no parts so a good DIY owner will have no invoice to back it up. Same with things like gearbox, final drive and fork oil changes.

Very low mile bikes in some ways carry more risks. I would sooner have a higher mile well maintained one that I know has been maintained. That way even if you do get a problem you don't have the same risk of seized fasteners and shagged seals.

Question is, would it be an ok buy at the right price? I felt my LT was even though it wasn't pristine it did everything for me. The one issue I did have cost me a £50 used part to sort out.

I contacted the garage where this bike is being sold. They told me it was owned by a policeman for 16 years, so I'm thinking after he left the force he bought his work bike. Apparently they can buy for a discount.

My LT was ex police and to be honest it was well used before me but there wasn't anything that let me down or was abused. It seemed well used and well maintained. Cosmetics on older bikes are often an issue as damaged panels can be replaced/repaired without being exact matches and most regard the idea of a complete respray as not worth it for an old bike. Funny though my brake discs were near their limits and had already been replaced most likely with used ones as the ones on it were not original. If he bought it as a work bike then he clearly felt is was a good bike and 16 years ownership says a lot too.

If it is an ex-authority bike, the issue might be with the wiring harness.  There were many accessories attached to the authority vehicles that may have been unceremoniously clipped off.  This could leave dangling wires and other oddities. Also, those might not be 88,000 original miles.  Is the speedo the police one or a civilian one?


Police: 



Civilian:




If civilian, it's been replaced and you might have leverage to talk the price down.

There's another giveaway over here: if it's a police cluster then it's marked 'IRS' or 'IRS Notts' (Nottingham) black-in-white right below the fuel light to denote that the speedo has been accurately calibrated. I have one. Looking at the pics I'm 99.9% sure that's a police cluster; there's a white blob in the right place and the speedometer markings are sufficiently blurred to indicate that it has the 1 mph markers rather then the 5 mph civilian markers. All-in-all, it would indicate that the mileage is probably accurate.

Wow you fella's are a mine of information, I'd never ever have thought to look at all these different permeatations without your knowledge. I'm going down to have a look at the bike today, and hopefully get some pictures which I'll upload later on. Including close up's. Wish me luck!!

Dai wrote:There's another giveaway over here: if it's a police cluster then it's marked 'IRS' or 'IRS Notts' (Nottingham) black-in-white right below the fuel light to denote that the speedo has been accurately calibrated. I have one. Looking at the pics I'm 99.9% sure that's a police cluster; there's a white blob in the right place and the speedometer markings are sufficiently blurred to indicate that it has the 1 mph markers rather then the 5 mph civilian markers. All-in-all, it would indicate that the mileage is probably accurate.

My LT has this one on it.

No excuses for speeding then, is there?

Dai wrote:No excuses for speeding then, is there?

"Sorry, officer. I was comparing the speedo with my GPS to see if the Police calibration was accurate all the way up past 100mph."  



Bill

indian036 wrote:
"Sorry, officer. I was comparing the speedo with my GPS to see if the Police calibration was accurate all the way up past 100mph."  



Bill

"Well, it's off to the slammer with you, mate. Should have used Karamba instead!"