Plastic Parts for 87 K75 T - 3D printing?

[48882]

Hi gang,

I dropped my k75 and the front turn signal broke off. Unfortunately, the headlight shroud is destroyed. Calling the dealer for a replacement was no help as apparently BMW no longer stocks the part. I looked on eBay and found some very expensive junk.

Just wondering: Is there a business in creating these parts via 3d printing? I have no idea how hard it would be, but it seems like something that costs little and 'should' be available. Does anyone know if this has been looked into?

Kind Regards,

 

[20774]

I had a part made for a mechanical clock a number of years ago. The process involved first getting a "model" of the part and sending that information file off to the company. They used it to print my part. In my case, the part was a foot for the clock and could easily be represented by an "equation". That's the whole thing. In order to 3D print something you first have to make a "model" which is usually done by 3D scanning the item. The result of the scanning is then used by a printer...your own or someone else...to print your part. I suspect there are material choices are available to get what you need and then you can paint to match.

I'm not that knowledgeable, but there are sites out there where people have uploaded their "models" of all sorts of things. Not sure if K75 parts are already scanned, but worth a look. I just googled "k75 3D print" and notice there are a number of threads on motobrick.com about this. Give it a look over.

 

[98lee]

I believe the parts are still available. If you could post a picture of the broken part, I could give you the part number (there were a couple of variations).

I think this is the correct one:

62 21 1 453 625 COVERING COCKPIT PRIME COATED $103.85

There are two of them in the Nazareth, PA warehouse.

 

[senseamidmadness]

Just wondering: Is there a business in creating these parts via 3d printing? I have no idea how hard it would be, but it seems like something that costs little and 'should' be available. Does anyone know if this has been looked into?

I don't own a K-bike but I do know a bit about 3D printing, and have purchased a few 3D-printed motorcycle parts at this point. My experience has been hit-and-miss and it very much depends on what material, how good the 3D model and translation software are, and other things like print options (infill, temperature, etc).

I have a set of very nicely-printed badges for a 1980 Honda CB750K project I've been working on that I ordered from XYZPrinting probably a year and a half ago based on a model from Shapeways. They're ABS, with a 100% infill, and feel very solid. Haven't painted or mounted them quite yet but they seem super well made.

Earlier this year I had ordered a 3D-printed "tail tidy kit" for my R850R off of Ebay because the stock tail section was cracking and I wanted to reduce the amount of weight bouncing around back there. It wasn't expensive, only $16, so I figured it was worth a shot. The listing didn't specify what material it was made of but it seemed alright and bolted on okay. It was shaped sort of like a whale tail, holding the license plate with a pair of screws and being held to the bike by the bolted-on rear turn signals.
Last week it failed pretty dramatically while on a ride. It split into three pieces right at the print lines, dropping my license plate onto the pavement and destroying the plastic inner fender it was mounted to. Thankfully it was at low speed so I didn't lose the plate.
I messaged the seller and they mentioned it was printed in ASA plastic for increased temperature resistance at the expense of layer strength. That perfectly explains the failure as it separated uniformly at one of the print layers. Unfortunately the part only lasted 9 months in use.

In short, it's more complicated than it appears. Sure, it's called "3D printing", but it should really be called CNC plastic extrusion so that all the people who know what CNC means will cower a bit at its mention.

Personally I have thought more than once about making and selling obscure, old, and unavailable plastic car and motorcycle parts with a printer. The trouble is I now know enough about CNC manufacturing to know the effort involved would be quite significant for every new part.