• Welcome, Guest! We hope you enjoy the excellent technical knowledge, event information and discussions that the BMW MOA forum provides. Some forum content will be hidden from you if you remain logged out. If you want to view all content, please click the 'Log in' button above and enter your BMW MOA username and password.

    If you are not an MOA member, why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on the forum, the BMW Owners News magazine, and all of the discounts and benefits the BMW MOA offers?

K75S DIY painting (& polished tank) thread

Name change (temporary) and gas cap lock removal

Just changed my signature line to reflect (pun intended) Chiquita's changing look. May change her name again once I've done painting; depends on the final look of the bike.

I also took another close look at the inside of my gas cap and figured out how to remove the lock cylinder so I can get the cap sandblasted or stripped of the powdercoating.

It was dead simple---all I needed to do was insert the key and push in the tab on the end while I pulled the whole thing out. Yippee!

Guess I'll be stopping by the sandblasting outfit in town tomorrow:eat
 
Gas cap all done; check it out!

Lookin' GREAT!

To me the next question isn't the rack....It's the gas cap. What are you going to the gas cap. Paint/Powder/Polish?

While I was planning to get started on sanding the tupperware this week it just didn't happen. I got to work on the gas cap instead.

Didn't take quite so long to sand and polish once I'd stripped the powdercoating with my last half can of aircraft remover. While I also planned to have it soda-blasted in Hilo I decided to use up the last of the stripper first.

If it didn't work I would then try soda blasting.

I submerged the whole thing in a stainless steel pan for about an hour or so and lo and behold, it worked. Got 95% of the PC off which was good news for me---turns out there is no soda blasting outfit in Hilo or anywhere else on my island after all:blush.

The rest I was able to sand or brush off with a stainless brush on my Dremel. Then out came the 220, 320, 400, 800, 1000 & 2000 grit wet paper again before polishing it by hand with an old cotton sock and a bit of Blackfire. The sanding took all of an hour or so---not bad. This time I didn't have any deep scratches to sand out like I did with the rack so it went pretty smoothly (no pun intended).

Here's some photos of the gas cap after I removed the lock cylinder and stripped most of the powdercoat:

(In the 3rd photo down note the little tab on the end of the cylinder which must be pressed in before the whole assembly slides out in a jiffy; the tab is on the side closest to the cap hinge)

6AUGGASCAPBD007.jpg


6AUGGASCAPBD006.jpg


6AUGGASCAPBD019.jpg


6AUGGASCAPBD020.jpg


6AUGGASCAPBD021.jpg


6AUGGASCAPBD022.jpg


There are a few minor scratches still in the tank that I will attend to after it is back on the bike. I still need to re-assemble all the fuel goodies inside the tank, too--- I've been putting this off until I was done with the gas cap.

Back to work at my regular job for the next three days so I'll resume my project later this week.
 
Hey Jeff ,
I Gotta give you a pat on the back , The tank and cap are really looking Sweet .

Keep up the good work!
 
Uh-oh, looks like the fork brace is ALUMINUM, too!

Out of curiosity I took my trusty fridge magnet and checked my fork brace this morning. Well, guess what---it, too, is not magnetic! Looks like it was cast or made the same way as my rear rack.

I'll need to remove my front wheel for the new tire sometime so I suppose once that's done I'll unbolt the fork brace and go get another can of paint stripper.:eat

Just when I thought I was done with all the polishing...:laugh

Does anyone know if there is anything I should be aware of when I remount the brace? I'm assuming that it is not adjustable---or am I wrong?
 
Hey Jeff,

Your fork sliders and triple clamps are aluminum too, not to mention the wheels, engine case and covers, bell housing, tranny case, swing arm and final drive. Pedals , levers, and mirror stalks too.



:dance:dance:dance
 
Methinks as pattern has been established.

Don't leave that aluminum uncovered Rob. Salt air corrodes AL and you're in Hawaii, land of ocean breezes. Do the clearcoat so you can strip it again when you want.

I found a cherry R1150RT that I put money on and a buddy has made me an offer on the K75. I'm taking her out this morning for a little soul-searching ride to decide if I can actually get rid of her. Dang fine bike.
 
I found your thread while searching the forum for tips on cleaning aluminum. Your tank is beautiful, especially with the polished gas cap. Back in the early 70's, a friend of mine had a BSA with a chromed tank. It was beautiful but when the sun hit it at the right angle while riding, the glare was blinding. Try sitting in the sun behind your tank and see if that will be a problem. Now, I think I'll go buy some stock in Mothers.
 
Long reply to a few simple questions

Hey Jeff,

Your fork sliders and triple clamps are aluminum too, not to mention the wheels, engine case and covers, bell housing, tranny case, swing arm and final drive. Pedals , levers, and mirror stalks too.



:dance:dance:dance

While my natural inclination after reading your post would be to make a humorous comment, Lee, instead I'll say that I actually want to draw the line somewhere (believe it or not). I know that some have polished or even chromed most of the engine casing, head & valve covers, etc. but I really prefer the blacked-out look for those big bits.

I must admit, however, that a polished drive-shaft would be the bomb, man!:german

I simply don't have the mechanical skills, know-how or wherewithal to undertake such a job. Maybe someday, though, if we ever move back to the mainland where there's plenty of good BMW wrenches around (none on my island except a lone independent airhead guy who's a two-and-a-half hour ride/drive away)...

So I decided to make the polished tank the central focal point of the bike with the rear rack and now possibly the fork brace to serve as accents, sotospeak.

The only other possibilities (and remote at that) I see for other polished bits and the "look" I wish to acheive might be the footpeg plates and the wheels.

I discussed polishing the 3-spokers a while back with Don (you may remember he had both of his finely polished on his trick '87) and eventually came to his same conclusion that, while the wheels were a knockout, they were a total PITA to maintain.

I believe he also paid $1000 (possibly this figure per wheel but I can't recall) to have them expertly polished by a fellow in Vacaville who specializes in such work (yeah, maybe I should consider metal polishing as a sideline, now:laugh) and that the guy also ground down the lettering that BMW put inside the spokes so everything would really be perfectly smooth and clean. He also ground down the raised ridges and put a flawless polish on the wheels as one would expect. The whole process was quite labor intensive but the results were, of course, mighty impressive.

But Don's comments about keeping the wheels up were the most discouraging to me. He said that the only way to polish the inside parts of the wheel between the rotors was to take off both wheels once a month or so and polish every nook and cranny by hand---hence the PITA maintenance aspect.

So I'm actually planning to paint the wheels black at this point (regardless of what my color choice is for the rest of the bike) as I realize that polishing them (however tempting) is not a practical idea for me now. If the painted black wheels get chipped or scuffed I can get out my spray gun and give them a good respraying every now and then.

I considered powdercoating them but too much hassle having to remove/replace the bearings because of the high heat, let alone the possible heat damage to the cast aluminum wheels themselves.

Speaking of black, I'd eventually like to repaint my engine black to spruce it up a bit. That will happen later on down the road, once I've completed my polishing and painting at hand.

Others have also commented on the corrosion factor (especially here in Hawaii) as well as the blinding reflections I might encounter with the tank on sunny days.

As for the reflective nature of my tank I'm well aware of the problem but not too concerned as I almost always ride with my Multivario in place. Otherwise, I'll fashion up some sort of temporary tank cover if necessary---at least for the top of the tank where the reflections would be problematic. Might be fun to ride with the bare tank on moonlit nights though (but I could become moonstruck, I suppose:laugh)

Many are now asking me (here and on ADV) about clearcoating the tank to prevent corrosion.

Funny, I asked this same question on a couple of forums a while back and got little response in general. Oh, well, better late than never and I do welcome all comments, suggestions and questions as I stated in the beginning.:ear

Some kind fellows on ADV did eventually reiterate my assumption that highly polished aluminum won't corrode as nearly as fast as unpolished aluminum (as long as it's kept reasonably clean and dry most of the time). Figured that all along as I don't think Airstreams or Grummans come out the factory clearcoated (or do they?). I think this is why companies like those that make Blackfire Fine Cut Aluminum Polish not only survive but thrive. "This 1 lb. tin of Blackfire should be sufficient to cover one 16-foot aluminum trailer," it says right on the label:laugh

Also learned that clearcoating is problematic from the get-go and that whatever I might use to cover or spray or apply to polished bare aluminum will dull the shine to some degree.

The bottom line is simply: Get out the Mother's or Blackfire or Meguiar's once a week and go over everything with a microfiber cloth---end of story, mates!
 
Very Nice! I am looking forward to seeing the bike pix once you have reassembled it.
 
Thanks, Dean; but be patient as it might be a while before it's all said, done and reassembled. It would be nice to get some riding in before the next rainy season begins, though.
 
Mid-August update; so far so good...

My latest progress includes:

Reinstalling the fuel pump, new fuel pump sock, new in-tank fuel lines, new Napa 3012 fuel filter and of course, my recently polished gas cap.:dance

As of now the tank is all back together and ready to reinstall on the bike. I may still add some fuel line quick disconnects before doing so, though.

Wednesday I spent the whole afternoon removing both wheels, the fork brace and the tail piece (to get the rear wheel out) a big project for me as I'd never undertaken such a job before (despite having four other Beemers over the years). I Got out my Clymer as well as my Haynes and compared the two before proceeding.

It was not at all difficult but I took it slowly and carefully so I wouldn't end up in S*#t Creek without a paddle.:laugh I also wanted to be extra careful as the bike is jacked up onto a makeshift stack of wood, bricks and plexiglass sheeting remnants (!) along with the center stand. I left the bottle jack and another piece of wood in place to play it safe. Later I put a truck tire underneath the rear end for a little extra protection.

I got some new bungee cords the previous day so I got them out and put them to good use (suspending the front calipers). I also rounded up all the popsicle sticks I had saved for just such an occasion and wedged them into the calipers to keep the pads apart lest the brake lever be hit accidentally. Two per side worked perfectly.

I also removed the fork brace which will either be polished or chromed. Yes, chromed---I just happened to discover a new outfit in Hilo that does chrome plating as well as anodizing---yippee! I'll probably also take the muffler heat shield down to Krome Dome as well if I decide to chrome it, too.

I took both wheels and my new BT-45s down to the local Suziki dealer/shop in Hilo yesterday and got the new tires mounted. They even retrieved the Dyna Beads from my old tires and only charged me $22 for the whole shebang.:dance Very pleased with the work they did and also very promptly. I'll post pix of the new tires next time around; they're still in the 4Runner today as I'm a bit under the weather today.

Next week, along with finally getting around to sanding all the bodywork for painting I plan to clean and sand the wheels some before I spray them with a good epoxy primer and glossy black paint (I'll mask the wheel bearings and tires carefully beforehand, of course). I'll look into getting some Bulldog adhesion promoter on the rims before I primer them, too.

Here's some photos I took along the way:
WHEELDISCCALIPERSTAILREMOVAL12AU-5.jpg


WHEELDISCCALIPERSTAILREMOVAL12AU-4.jpg


(Excuse all the recycling clutter in the background)
WHEELDISCCALIPERSTAILREMOVAL12AU-3.jpg


Guess I will need to remove the brass Allen bolts to gain access to the FD splines? Will consult my Haynes Manual to double-check this. Would be nice to see how the splines are doing while I'm almost there.
WHEELDISCCALIPERSTAILREMOVAL12AU-2.jpg


Looks like the wheel bearings still have plenty of good grease in them, though:
WHEELDISCCALIPERSTAILREMOVAL12AU-1.jpg
WHEELDISCCALIPERSTAILREMOVAL12AUG09.jpg
 
Guess I will need to remove the brass Allen bolts to gain access to the FD splines?
WHEELDISCCALIPERSTAILREMOVAL12AU-2.jpg


NO!!!!!! The splines that you need to check are the INPUT splines to the final drive. The ones that mate to the drive shaft.

Unbolt rear caliper. Unbolt the final drive from the swingarm and pull it back far enough to disengage the drive shaft. That's all you need to do.



:dance:dance:dance
 
And I would be concerned about the wheel bearing - they are not supposed to leak grease. When they do it's a sign the bearing seals are shot, and once the grease gets out, the bearing is going to fail rather quickly.
 
Ruined my day, but...

Egads. I had no idea---thought since there was grease present that they were a happy set of bearings---full of grease and overflowing.

What a huge shock to learn otherwise just now. But with this bad news comes with the benefit of being able to avert a potential disaster in the making. Thank you, Don, I'm so glad I posted those photos and that you respondede so promptly with your assessment. I owe you one!:drink

Now my big dilemna is how to proceed at this point. There are no BMW shops in my state, save for one dealership on Oahu, a 250-mile plane ride away. Sure, there are a number of bike mechanics scattered around the Big Island but...

I would worry about having the wheel heated and the bearings pulled (and new ones installed by anyone other than an experienced BMW wrench with the proper BMW tools). Don't the bearings require a special puller?

Maybe what I should do is have the new tire removed (at least I haven't put the Dyna Beads in yet:laugh), pack up the wheel and ship it off to someone on the mainland that really knows what they're doing when it comes to K-bikes.

Matthias Dobner is a former BMW engineer with a shop in Long Beach who specializes in Flying Bricks so he'd probably be my first choice. However, if anyone reading this has any other recommendations I'm all ears.:ear The BMW dealer in Honolulu might be OK but I have nothing to go on there--I've never heard anything about them. I might look up a guy way over on the other side of my island who works on airheads and see if he has the right tools and is inclined to tackle this, too.

While this comes as a big blow to me I'll try to not let it slow my progress otherwise.

I can still get on with all the work at hand such as the sanding of the tupperware (some of which still needs to be disassembled further, screws and doodads removed, etc). Plus it won't hurt if I put a few items up on ebay soon to raise some more cash in the meantime---I still need to buy the PPG paint, primer, clear and such besides a new set of bearings.:whistle

PS: Thanks also to Lee for setting me straight on the splines, too. I'll give that a go as well. Are there any rear wheel bearings I could check or are they incorporated differently into the rear end somehow?
 
Egads. I had no idea---thought since there was grease present that they were a happy set of bearings---full of grease and overflowing.

What a huge shock to learn otherwise just now. But with this bad news comes with the benefit of being able to avert a potential disaster in the making. Thank you, Don, I'm so glad I posted those photos and that you respondede so promptly with your assessment. I owe you one!:drink
Question - has anyone heavily greased the axle shaft on assembly?

Could be some grease from the shaft. I would want to make sure of that before trusting that bearing. Does it rotate smoothly?
Now my big dilemna is how to proceed at this point. There are no BMW shops in my state, save for one dealership on Oahu, a 250-mile plane ride away. Sure, there are a number of bike mechanics scattered around the Big Island but...

I would worry about having the wheel heated and the bearings pulled (and new ones installed by anyone other than an experienced BMW wrench with the proper BMW tools). Don't the bearings require a special puller?
I believe you already found http://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?p=489013#post489013 - which is getting a tad confusing now since I just replied in that thread, and won't repeat it here.
Maybe what I should do is have the new tire removed (at least I haven't put the Dyna Beads in yet:laugh), pack up the wheel and ship it off to someone on the mainland that really knows what they're doing when it comes to K-bikes.

Matthias Dobner is a former BMW engineer with a shop in Long Beach who specializes in Flying Bricks so he'd probably be my first choice. However, if anyone reading this has any other recommendations I'm all ears.:ear The BMW dealer in Honolulu might be OK but I have nothing to go on there--I've never heard anything about them. I might look up a guy way over on the other side of my island who works on airheads and see if he has the right tools and is inclined to tackle this, too.
Airheads use a different bearing design, so I rather doubt if he'd have the puller if that's all he works on.
While this comes as a big blow to me I'll try to not let it slow my progress otherwise.

I can still get on with all the work at hand such as the sanding of the tupperware (some of which still needs to be disassembled further, screws and doodads removed, etc). Plus it won't hurt if I put a few items up on ebay soon to raise some more cash in the meantime---I still need to buy the PPG paint, primer, clear and such besides a new set of bearings.:whistle

PS: Thanks also to Lee for setting me straight on the splines, too. I'll give that a go as well. Are there any rear wheel bearings I could check or are they incorporated differently into the rear end somehow?
No rear bearings to check - they're in the rear end and bathed in gear oil.
 
Question - has anyone heavily greased the axle shaft on assembly?

Could be some grease from the shaft. I would want to make sure of that before trusting that bearing. Does it rotate smoothly?

It's the first time since the wheel was pulled since 2005 when a previous owner installed the Metzelers---so I have no idea if the axle was heavily greased or not.

I looked at the axle and took some photos of it which I may post in the morning when I have more time. It has grease on it but not very much. I sprayed a little WD-40 on it as I was trying to pull it through the right fork.

FWIW, I took another look at the bearings and hub in direct sunlight today. There is no grease on the inside edges of either bearing set, just on the outside. None on the middle spacer either. If a seal or two was leaking wouldn't grease also show up on the inside or is that wishful thinking?

The photos above are fairly accurate except the one on the right side had a bit more grease like the other one when I pulled the wheel off. For some reason I wiped that bearing a little with a paper towel when I was cleaning the wheels up the other day. Then I figured it was best to leave the other one alone, at least until I photographed it.

The best possible news out of all this is that both bearings turn smoothly with no apparent problems.:)

Is there any way I could test them so as to make sure they are leaking or not? Would
putting more grease on the outer sides help when I reassembled the wheels? Probably not but I thought I'd ask just the same.:scratch

Thanks again for your responses, to the two different threads, Don.

I probably won't spring for a Kukko seeing that they are fairly expensive---I'd rather just ship the wheel to someplace that is well experienced with this kind of work after all (assuming I will have to do that).
 
It's the first time since the wheel was pulled since 2005 when a previous owner installed the Metzelers---so I have no idea if the axle was heavily greased or not.

I looked at the axle and took some photos of it which I may post in the morning when I have more time. It has grease on it but not very much. I sprayed a little WD-40 on it as I was trying to pull it through the right fork.

FWIW, I took another look at the bearings and hub in direct sunlight today. There is no grease on the inside edges of either bearing set, just on the outside. None on the middle spacer either. If a seal or two was leaking wouldn't grease also show up on the inside or is that wishful thinking?
Not sure what you mean by inside/outside - if you mean the inner race and the outer race.. think what happens when the axle is assembled in the fork legs. One side has a stepped spacer/dust guard that contacts the inner race and holds if firm to the bottom of the fork leg. The other side is contacted by the step in the axle - which is then pulled tight against the inner race (which in turn pulls up the other bearing and the center spacer) and then clamped in the bottom of the axle with the pinch bolts. IF there was grease on the face of the inner races it would be displaced by this.

Now think about where the seal "seals" - it is fixed on it's outer diameter.. and it seals on the inner diameter, where you have grease. If it's going to leak - that's where the grease would appear.
The photos above are fairly accurate except the one on the right side had a bit more grease like the other one when I pulled the wheel off. For some reason I wiped that bearing a little with a paper towel when I was cleaning the wheels up the other day. Then I figured it was best to leave the other one alone, at least until I photographed it.

The best possible news out of all this is that both bearings turn smoothly with no apparent problems.:)
That's a good thing. That doesn't surprise me since there is probably still grease in them, at least some. The only thing that makes me question if it's grease from an external source (like someone greasing the axle before installation - which is supposed to be done, but only a very thin "smear" of grease - is the color. Used grease usually darkens. Looks gray/black in color. This looks like it's white/yellow, which would be a lithium based grease, of the kind someone might spray on an axle when installing it.
Is there any way I could test them so as to make sure they are leaking or not?
Unfortunately - none I know of.
Would putting more grease on the outer sides help when I reassembled the wheels? Probably not but I thought I'd ask just the same.:scratch
Nope. The seal works both ways - supposed to keep grease IN the bearings, and keep other stuff out. Putting grease there will accomplish nothing.
Thanks again for your responses, to the two different threads, Don.

I probably won't spring for a Kukko seeing that they are fairly expensive---I'd rather just ship the wheel to someplace that is well experienced with this kind of work after all (assuming I will have to do that).

OK. Might be the best bet. I don't think there is any good way to determine if the bearings are leaking given the circumstances - and given the potential badness of a front wheel bearing failure, better safe than sorry.
 
Back
Top