No offense, but I feel like a girl

Looks like you've picked out two winners. I'm 66, 6'2, 190; I've always been able to ride about anything. I think I'd start with the K75. One thing for me is I like to see some engine on my bikes. Good luck starting up a new riding career.

milwlandrover said:

I got to tell you, my interest in getting the fastest bike is no longer an issue. The K75S has a 134mph ability and that is more then enough for me.

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Lol! 135? Maybe if dropped from a plane.......

David Hough's books are indeed very good and readable and should be in every riders library, especially those who take the winter off.
In the spring I re-read my riding library and my soaring library to re boot my brain.
When I get on my bike and back in my plane, I often think of Voni doing a million miles accident free; that's my career goal; to be accident free.

mlytle said:

Lol! 135? Maybe if dropped from a plane.......

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Laugh all you want but when new and in prime condition they will go 130. Mine did on a long straight flat stretch in Nevada in 1986 returning from Laguna Seca. It took a very long time to get from 120 to 130 though. The rate of acceleration would not have startled a snail. It did hit the rev limiter in 5th though.

I never tried it again and almost never rode it or anything else over 100.

milwlandrover said:

I got to tell you, my interest in getting the fastest bike is no longer an issue. The K75S has a 134mph ability and that is more then enough for me.

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I'm more interested in mid range power and passing speeds.
The K1200/1300S make quick work of passing.

milwlandrover said:

Does the bike "feel" heavy"? Would it be ok for an old guy like me driving the 20 minutes to work and back in sometimes heavier traffic or side streets as well as for distance riding?

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You've answered your own question, Mr Land Rover.
If your goal is to ride around town on a commuter scooter and tour Wisconsin, then stick with the older technology. It will be a great re'starter' bike and serve you very well for your local activities.

But, now that you're reaching the age of 'more time on your hands' and if you actually want to enjoy the backroads of the Entire continent while hauling camping gear to suit your status in life, then Most Certainly go with Newer K-Bike Technology! It's a simple Choice.

Speaking for myself (and I'm your age), I have two BMWs, as does the Mrs. Two Airheads for fun local rides in warmer weather here in the southeast, and two 'newer' Used Beemers for more serious cross-country adventures. We've covered the Lower 48 now (been married 12 years). So, as previously planned in 2017 B4 suddenly moving to AL, we will ride to the "Dust to Dawson" (D2D) non-rally next summer, and leisurely tour Alaska whilst also riding the Iron Butt's National Parks Gold Medal Tour in 2020 {did the Silver certificate in 2013}.
https://dawsoncity.ca/event/d2d-motorcycle-ride-not-a-rally/
http://www.ironbutt.com/themerides/npt/

Food For Thought, and worth every penny you've paid {to the MOA of course}.
Ciao, HSV-Phil + HSV-Karen
'75 R90S,
'82 R100CS,
'09 F650GS,
'14 K16GT,
'14 Time Out trailer

Lee said:

I'm more interested in mid range power and passing speeds.
The K1200/1300S make quick work of passing.

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Exactly.

While passing a line of cars I'd hate finding myself in the position of having to say, "Hmm, I wish I had more power right now" as an 18 wheeler makes a surprise appearance in front of me.

Lee said:

I'm more interested in mid range power and passing speeds.
The K1200/1300S make quick work of passing.

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Since you and I have owned both and the OP is pondering .... The K75s requires planning for a safe place to pass. The K1200/1300S requires planning for a safe place to slow down after passing.

CABNFVR said:

Since you and I have owned both and the OP is pondering .... The K75s requires planning for a safe place to pass. The K1200/1300S requires planning for a safe place to slow down after passing.

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I disagree. To pass with a K75 simply requires shifting down. Often into 4th and sometimes into 3rd. The motorcycle will hit triple digits in 3rd and will do so quickly. If that isn't sufficient to pass, then a rider needs to check both his or her depth perception and judgement. I have survived 485,157 miles on K75s. This mania for more faster power and speed is simply not necessary. Nice sometimes, but not necessary.

PGlaves said:

I disagree. .

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I guess the way I would explain it is we had more passing opportunities on the K1300S compared to the K75S or even the R12000RS.
The K1200S, K1300S requires less room to safely pass.

Lee said:

I guess the way I would explain it is we had more passing opportunities on the K1300S compared to the K75S or even the R12000RS.
The K1200S, K1300S requires less room to safely pass.

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As I said, nice but not necessary. The prior post implied K75s were ssomehow difficult or even dangerous to pass with and I simply don't buy that.

PGlaves said:

I disagree. To pass with a K75 simply requires shifting down. Often into 4th and sometimes into 3rd. The motorcycle will hit triple digits in 3rd and will do so quickly. If that isn't sufficient to pass, then a rider needs to check both his or her depth perception and judgement. I have survived 485,157 miles on K75s. This mania for more faster power and speed is simply not necessary. Nice sometimes, but not necessary.

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yep. K75S, while not in the same power league as a K12/13, still has better acceleration that 99% of the cars on the road. kick down a gear, twist the wrist and enjoy the big grin! zero issues passing. K13...doesn't matter what gear, twist the wrist and holy crap! hang on! as was said, plan your brake point...

also agree, big power on the street just isn't needed. in street use the K13 rarely clears 7k rpm (out of 11k). heck, you could reach highway arrest speeds in first gear. on the track however...yeeeeeha!

Another thing to consider; who is going to do your maintenance.

If you do it youself, the K75S is easier and cheaper to work on.

If you pay to have it done, the K75S is easier (which usually translates to cheaper) to work on (if you can find someone who knows anything about them and is willing to work on them). Alot of dealers don't like working on older bikes. Their business model is to sell you a new one.

98lee said:

Alot of dealers don't like working on older bikes. Their business model is to sell you a new one.

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Minor Hijack: Apologies.

Is this why one BMW dealership head mechanic told me to ditch the '87 K100RT at 139,000 km as it was just too old to maintain? Get a new bike was his response. I have doubled the mileage on that bike.

First time since then that I asked him this summer to look at my '98 R1100RT when I was having trouble doing a TBS (with the 1200 injectors). When he asked the mileage he replied that with 232,000 on the odometer, the engine was toast and to get a new bike. Two thousand kms and the 1100 is running fine now.

There is a reason why I do the basic service on these two machines, usually for about a fifth less than what the dealerships used to charge me.

Paul_F said:

Minor Hijack: Apologies.

Is this why one BMW dealership head mechanic told me to ditch the '87 K100RT at 139,000 km as it was just too old to maintain? Get a new bike was his response. I have doubled the mileage on that bike.

First time since then that I asked him this summer to look at my '98 R1100RT when I was having trouble doing a TBS (with the 1200 injectors). When he asked the mileage he replied that with 232,000 on the odometer, the engine was toast and to get a new bike. Two thousand kms and the 1100 is running fine now.

There is a reason why I do the basic service on these two machines, usually for about a fifth less than what the dealerships used to charge me.

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I would use another dealership, or at least another tech for advice because this guy simply doesn't know what he is talking about or he is lying to you on purpose. I suspect the latter.

PGlaves said:

I would use another dealership, or at least another tech for advice because this guy simply doesn't know what he is talking about or he is lying to you on purpose. I suspect the latter.

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Paul, I agree with your first and final assessment.

The last time that I had him work on a bike by his crew was in 2006, when he misdiagnosed my K's problem. He was right, my K would have been a money pit if I had continued to return to him. My only dealings with him since have been for his winter workshops for owners servicing their own bikes. (I believe the reason for the workshops has been to frighten folks from doing their own work.)

Mistakenly thought that a look at my TBS problem would be an easy fix, but I guess not if the engine was toast.

I bought a 1993 K75RT with 89K miles but extremely well maintained for $1100 (admittedly an unusually great deal) -- I rode it home 250 miles from the seller in Connecticut, put $700 into it for service (long-term stuff, still a great deal), and then a few weeks later, rode it from New Jersey to Ontario, Canada and back. After 40+ years of riding, it has been the best highway bike I've ever had. I really enjoyed that trip. I love the bike.

I'll be 57 later this month. I am extremely active. But...I am very definitely losing interest in wrestling bigger bikes. Two weeks ago, I bought a 2018 G310R at a BMW dealer near Minneapolis -- it had 0.9 miles on the odometer -- I rode it home (the odometer has 1,350 now) and, despite cold (in MN and WI) and rain (yesterday in the northeast), it was the most fun I've had on a motorcycle in years. That bike is great and it didn't even notice the stuff I strapped on to it.

If you need a big bike, get a big bike. But as a fellow aging person, I can say that I'm pretty happy with both the 750cc K75 and the 313cc G310R. For me, bigger certainly isn't better. And my Harley Sportster 1200 Roadster is going up for sale.

Good luck! There are a lot of great bikes out there. My advice is to get what you want and not what people say you need.

I'm about your size, just a little taller. I had a 1990 K75s (non-ABS) and regret each day selling it. One modification I had done (by a good wrench) was to install K75c bars to the K75s bike. It sat me just a little more upright and gave me the exact position I had been searching for. That engine had the sweetest feel at around 80 in top gear. Almost like an electric engine, so smooth and clean.

PGlaves said:

I disagree. To pass with a K75 simply requires shifting down. Often into 4th and sometimes into 3rd. The motorcycle will hit triple digits in 3rd and will do so quickly. If that isn't sufficient to pass, then a rider needs to check both his or her depth perception and judgement. I have survived 485,157 miles on K75s. This mania for more faster power and speed is simply not necessary. Nice sometimes, but not necessary.

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Having owned both all I can say is , there is NO comparison between the passing capabilities of the K75s and K1200/1300S. None, nada, zip. Not even close. Mania? Let's just say horsepower to me is like money to Warren Buffett. If the RR fit ......