Hey everyone, your collective opinions/advice/recommendations and criticisms are sort please. I am at the tail end of a very thorough K1 restoration. EVERYTHING has been attended to from the frame being stripped and powder coated to every seal, bearing, fastener, main seal, brake calliper kits etc, etc, etc. I am a stickler for things looking nice and being right and I have been afflicted with this disease since my first motorcycle purchase, a Suzuki T250R Hustler back '72. Anyways, the bike being a '91 was painted black - although more a very dark green, and not my favourite colour. 670 is the colour and it is offered in two variants depending on year - 91 or 92. The original owner dropped the bike, and had it repaired and repainted in Laguna Blue metallic - a far more tastier colour from 1990. Not original, but a K1 colour all the same. The bloke I bought it off had also dropped it in his garage and so had all the upper fairings painted. Again. So, much of the bike has the oem black and two layers of blue, plus all the undercoats, guide coats and clear coats. The panels he did not repaint (front guard, belly pan, centre radiator piece, tank and seat cowl) needed attention, so doing the job properly I have removed ALL the paint back to black plastic. Thing is, when I stripped these back there was 0.8mm of paint in places, and I know the panels that were repainted by the PO were not stripped back so there is around 1mm of paint in places! I have ordered the large K1 decals for the side panels but applying them would mean more clear coat... 
So the question is, is the bike more valuable in its original colour, albeit, a true black or does it not really matter that much. I spent an hour in the man shed tonight pondering whether I strip all the panels right back. I'm clearly a glutton for punishment, but still enjoy the journey. My favourite panel shop allows me to do all the labour and they blow the paint on which saves me thousands of dollars.  If I strip them all back then the opportunity to change colour presents itself as a option. Plan A would be to strip all the panels and repaint them all in Laguna Blue and know that it has all been done properly and the colour will match over all panels. Not the original colour but a very nice one all the same. What are your thoughts on originality?
What an effing dilemma!

I think when it comes down to it the issue of original colour is hugely significant for the purists.

Although BMW struggled to sell K1s in red/yellow and actually repainted some themselves to sell them it seems now the red/yellow is the iconic K1 colour and will always sell on. Looking at what's happening on the K1 forum I am thinking the blue/yellow and the red/yellow seem to be tops....but any colour from the K1 range ought to be good.

It's vehicle color. I'd say it boils down to personal preference in the end.

I am not a paint expert but I had a 92 4V RS painted in that color. When I needed to have the main fairing body and the tank repainted to match, the painter I used showed me that if you look very closely at that color you'll see that although it is what I would call a metallic graphite black, it actually has tiny specs of green and purple in it.

In order to get the paint matched I provided him with one of the battery covers and he used a paint supplier that utilized the PPG paint matching computer. It's pretty cool technology as it matched the paint right down to the little specs of green and purple so that even in bright sunlight the new paint on the tank and fairing EXACTLY matched the original paint on the other parts where they met. Amazing technology that yielded fantastic results.

My K1 has a giant custom made roundel decal on it.

Original, every time, not only for the value of the bike, but more importantly, because you are preserving the original intent of the designer...

Well the original intent of the designer for the K1 was red&yellow:

The other colors were due to the marketing staff...

My K1 was black  when I bought it.



But with many scratches, broken and missing parts.
I find other schemes more visually acceptable, almost pleasant to watch. That's why I choose the red/yellow version when I painted it.



During the first ride, I was adjusting the clutch lever, lying under the bike at the side of the road.
I heard a voice " Easy, easy, stay quiet...don't panic!"
It was a man riding a horse coming to me, trying to calm him, terrorized by this big red thing standing on the side of the road.
" What's this bike that threatens my horse?"
" A BMW K1. 90's classic."
" Ah. But you made the fairing by yourself, don't you?"
At this point, I knew that I had made the right color choice.

KiwiK100 wrote:So the question is, is the bike more valuable in its original colour...What are your thoughts on originality?

I'm with Duck on this one, colour is down to personal preference. 

Unless the bike bought as a long term investment and kept/stored in truly a mint condition...and rarely used, I don't think the respray colour really makes that much difference to the value. It sounds like you have invested far more time, effort and money into the resto than you would ever get back in sale value. The real value lies in the immense satisfaction of doing a first class restoration and the deep pleasure that you will get from getting her out on the open road and reaping the rewards of all your labours.

As for originality, as long as you keep to a recognised K1 colour, I don't think it matters what the original colour your particular bike was. Now if instead you went for, say, a Kwakasacky Pea Green, that would be a different matter altogether! By powder coating the frame, you have already departed from original...and for good reason too. 

Stick with Plan A - just my tuppence ha'penny worth of opinion!

That's right, if you plan to restore a K1 in order to make an investment, then a benefit, you can't match the numerous original K1 that stayed in their original condition with a low kilometrage (some are less than 10 000 km).
Anyway, there's no buyer...
The best reason to restore a K1 is to use it!

jbt wrote:The best reason to restore a K1 is to use it!

What he said.

I'm gonna buck the trend here.  I'm a bit OCD about keeping things as close to original as possible, including color.  My .02.

Born Again Eccentric wrote:
 It sounds like you have invested far more time, effort and money into the resto than you would ever get back in sale value. The real value lies in the immense satisfaction of doing a first class restoration and the deep pleasure that you will get from getting her out on the open road and reaping the rewards of all your labours.
As for originality, as long as you keep to a recognised K1 colour, I don't think it matters what the original colour your particular bike was. 

 The bike was purchased for a steel so the purchase cost and restoration will come in under market value. Personal time spent does not come into the equation as this is a hobby so IMHO it's not relevant. As a K pox sufferer I doubt I will sell it although might for a red/yellow bike. I certainly enjoy riding my bikes and the K1 will be no exception. I have decided to strip all panels back to bare plastic and start from scratch. At this point I will probably go back to black as the seat and cushion are grey, so match the scheme although will make a final call at the 11th hour. As you do!
Thanks for all your advice - exactly what I was hoping for. A full mix of everything! 

I not against a colour change,.

When I bought this the original colour (575) had faded so much to an orange which I liked and so inspired this choice

JonnyHonda wrote:I not against a colour change,.

When I bought this the original colour (575) had faded so much to an orange which I liked and so inspired this choice

A bold move but I really like it! 

Personally I would get a seat cover piped to match and have left the mirrors black. But that's individuality for you! Enjoy it whatever!

I'm with the personal preference camp in this debate and will have to address the issue on my next project.

Personally I would get a seat cover piped to match and have left the mirrors black.

88, I actually agree with on the mirrors and seat, but the seat cover was a surprise gift from the wife and the mirrors are that colour to see what it would look like ( I don't like it)

I'm on the fence really with colour, I restored an 88 GS450 a couple of years ago, kept it original blue and white, it still needed a little work, but turned it from a basket case to a nice ride and then sold it to a guy who flat tracked it and painted it stealth black (his words).

If your are going to keep it you have to do what keeps you happy.

hey ho!!

Well the decision has been made. I have removed all the paint from both sides or all 18 (17 oem pieces plus a carbon fender extender) individual pieces, had them undercoated and have finished the final 800 grit wet and dry sand. This week they go back to the painter for for a complete check over before painting. Colour #162 is the correct code for Classic black metallic, however according to BMW it comes in two shades! Nothing is ever straight forward with BMW. The two shades are both very similar one of which is the original, the other is a fraction lighter. I have gone with the slightly darker original colour.
I will post pics and words when the restoration is complete - sometime before Christmas is the plan.