Hi, just joined the forum.
   My new to me bike is a 1994 K75S with 43,000 miles. While in Mexico last winter I came up lame and passed the time looking at all things moto online, I found a K75S for sale at home and after researching these bikes had to have one. When we got back home I had missed that bike but kept looking till I found this one in Portland and imported it.
   We have plans for a one/possibly two month trip this fall and I am about to get the K ready.  The PO has taken care of all things mechanical (splines/pump etc) and it starts/runs beautifully so I am left with:
     -improving the suspension
     -improving the brakes
     -replacing/recovering the seat
     -painting the panniers
   K100 has been helpful already and I hope to chat with you all.
Al

Hi Al
Welcome 
Good luck 
Enjoy

ABS or non-ABS?

I get mine cases covered in Line-X truck bed liner.  If you have the cases with rubber scuff pads (Gen III) it's a bit of work to do it right but worth it to me.

Welcome to the asylum. If the scratches on your panniers aren't too deep, they can be wet and dried out followed by cutting compound buffing. If you want a shine on them follow up with a buff using plastic polish. see this site for re-upholstering a K100 seat.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZoq_D2kAZA
Regards Martin.

Thanks for the welcomes.
   The bike is ABS, Mystic Red, these bikes look so good and in a timeless way, other bikes of this era look awkward now. Had a R1100 RT a while back another good looking bike that has aged well. 
Yes finishing the panniers is the one that I am swimming around with, not sure what to do just yet.  The PO rattle canned the outside half of each case to match the color of the bike, he did a nice job of the painting but missed the color so it just looks off.  I want to make them black again ideally I could remove the paint and it hasn't been sanded to much to prep for the off color paint.Finding a paint remover for plastic is proving to be a problem so textured finish (partly for affect and mostly hedging my painting skills) is plan B. Line-X sound like a good idea, stuff must be made to stick like glue.

Yes, Mystic Red is an awesome color.

Motobins (UK) has stainless brake lines for a decent price and shipping is reasonable and doesn't take long. (At least to the US.  But I know some Canadian customs offices flow like molasses.)

Line-X is awesome. I once knocked a case off filtering at a stop light in San Francisco and you can't tell that it ever hit the pavement. If you want some advice on how to do it just let me know.  I've done three sets of regular cases and two sets of city cases in Line-X so I have some experience with it.

Thanks for the offer of help Duck.  Line-X is the way to go, Not sure what gen the bags are, they have a recessed Red reflector and the front bottom 1/4 has 3 raised elongated lines.
   Yes brake lines are in order, this has worked on other bikes before as well as new softer brake pads. Have not looked for pads yet, not sure how many choices there will be, the tires are Pirelli Phantoms with 3,000 miles so may last the trip.

Here's a link that will tell you what Gen the cases are. 

http://www.verrill.com/moto/hardcases/bmwhardcases.shtml

Mystic red is a really nice color.  If you ever need to do a repair, a very close match is Ford's Fire Red.  Don't use the Dupicolor though, it is too dark.  Have a paint dealer mix it.

I just scuff my cases with 220, put some gray high build primer on them, and sand that with 320.  A flat black rattle can paint followed by Dupicolor Matte finish Clear Coat for wheels gives a nice satin finish.

Most of the parts I've sourced for my K100 have come from outside of Canada - Britain, USA, Japan & China mainly.  Brake lines came from http://www.apexbrakes.com/products.asp here in Canada and their service, quality and price was great.  It is amazing how much in the way of new and used parts are still readily available for these bikes.  Enjoy!

Welcome to the forum, TimeToRide.  You live in a great part of the world for motorcycling (during selected months of the year).  For many years I rode up to Nakusp every July for the Laverda gathering.  Sad to say that has ended....

duck wrote:Here's a link that will tell you what Gen the cases are. 

http://www.verrill.com/moto/hardcases/bmwhardcases.shtml

Thanks duck
Looks like they are Gen 3, they are in nice shape, clean no scratches just need some paint.

brickrider2 wrote:Welcome to the forum, TimeToRide.  You live in a great part of the world for motorcycling (during selected months of the year).  For many years I rode up to Nakusp every July for the Laverda gathering.  Sad to say that has ended....

Yes Nakusp is a great place, great roads in every direction that come back around for nice day trips, mountains, and great summer weather.  Used to go there for Horizons Unlimited meets.

Was it a fairly straight forward process importing your K75 into Canada Time to Ride?  I am interested to know what is involved in doing this.

Woodie wrote:Was it a fairly straight forward process importing your K75 into Canada Time to Ride?  I am interested to know what is involved in doing this.

     It is not all that bad, once you know the process (which seems to be tweeked fairly often).   Much easier with a broker and older bikes are easier than new.  The Brooker I used was full of info about the hows and what fors and worked with my schedule.
     You have to have the original title/registration for the bike and a bill of sale and fill out a 'Export Worksheet'. The worksheet was where I broke down and phoned a broker. 
     The worksheet has to be filled out and sent to Customs at the border crossing you want to use, they need three working days to do their thing and then you can cross during the hours that department is open.  Her is an example of the info sheet for the Blain Washington crossing, I phoned the xing and they emailed me this.

   http://forum.kforum-tech.com/members-upload/uploads/Information_Packet18.doc


   Here is a website to find a port of entry.   https://www.cbp.gov/contact/ports
   If you swim around in that website you should find what you need. 

    Crossing into Canada you will need the previous documents and what you just received from the US side plus proof that the vehicle has all recalls done, you fill out a forum that includes the price you paid (have some proof of the dollar amount, if they think it is to cheap they will bump it up, I had a copy of the Craig List add). Check the Canada Customs website to make sure you have all the I's dotted to be sure you do not get caught in limbo.
    Once your in there may be an inspection involved (none in BC for motos) and then registration, my broker needed to see the bike.
    The logistics with the three day wait and problems with getting a title and bill of sale from someone far away you are sending money to are something to work around.
     Found lots of info on ADV Rider. 
    I see the broker bill was $130 US which included the customs fee I believe.

Good to know, thank you.  I'm definitely tempted to look farther afield.

Woodie wrote:Good to know, thank you.  I'm definitely tempted to look farther afield.

   Just looked at Welland on Google Maps. You are within a day of millions of people and who knows how many bikes!  Candy store!

Definitely I am, I just wish the CDN dollar was doing better compared to the mighty greenback!