85-96 K75F (Frankenbrick)

This K75 is a Frankenbrick built "from scratch" out of the parts from who knows how many different models and years of K bikes. When people ask me what year it is, my response is "About 12." And then I explain why.

It started out life as a spare engine sitting on my basement floor.

I didn't know exactly how it would come out but I've always found the K75 front brakes to be somewhat anemic so I decided to put a K1100 front end on it so it would have the MUCH better K1100 front brakes.

It's first rideable iteration was basically unfaired with a standard K100 headlight surround.

Version 1.0:

I found that to be a bit windy doing 70 on the freeway so I decided that the next iteration would employ a K75C faring to provide some wind protection.

Version 2.0:

Then I decided that it would look better with K1100RS peg plates.

Version 2.1:

I originally built it with a K75 32:10 monolever final drive to maximize the torque but I ride it fairly hard and the "jacking effect" of the monolever setup was annoying to me so I converted it to a 31:11 paralever final drive.

Version 2.2:

It was still a little windy around the helmet area and my knees would get cold riding in the cooler months so I decided to install a K1100RS fairing and side covers.  This also gave me the ability to mount some HID driving lights under the mirrors. And I finally got around to installing radial tires on it which makes a world of difference in the handling department.

Version 3.0:

I really like the way this version turned out. Although I'd originally intended it to be a bike for local riding, with the K1100RS fairing it's good for touring as well.  In December of 2012, I took it for a ride down the California coast on my favorite road, the 400+ miles of Highway 1 between Leggett and Cambria.  Then I rode it back up the coast in April of 2013.

Of course I did all sorts of custom things to this bike as I built and then refined it.  I have two pages that describe this K75: