I am going to look at a 1995 BMW K75S with 42000 KM on the clock. As I know nothing about BMW's I was wondering if anyone could give any hints on major "tells" to look for.

42,000km is nothing for a K-series. They regularly go past 160,000km / 100,000 miles. I can think of several local to me that have covered over 100k miles. I bought my first K100 with the chassis on 173,000 miles & the engine on 120,000. Later sold it with 185,000 miles on the clocks.


Check rear wheel/final drive for excess play. I assume that if it's '95 model, it has a Paralever rear?

With bike on centre stand, get someone else to try waggling the rear wheel by holding it at 6 12 o'clock and the 3 & 9 o'clock positions. While they're doing this, stand to the right of the bike with the palm of your hand restingon the end of the swingarm & your fingers on the final drive box.

If the final drive moves independently of the swingarm, the Paralever bearings are on their way out- you may get away with re-torquing them but cheap enough to replace? If there's no play between swingarm & final drive yet the wheel still moves, then it's the bearings in te final drive that have gone - a more expensive repair by far.

Check the rest of the bike as per any other.

If servicing it yourself, ensure that you buy the shim removal tool. Shims are on top of the buckets, no need for cam removal, just depress the buckets & flip the shim out with amagnet tool.

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Thanks for the info Steve.

I went to look at the bike yesterday only to find out the dealer had already sold it. I think however this is the type of bike I am going to keep my eyes open for. I like the styling and from all reports I read they are very reliable.

Very relaible indeed. Having the correct oil filter tool is a must also.

If you service it yourself, buy new shims outright & keep the old ones to build up a stock of spares.. Once you've done it a few times, you'll start to use your spare shims rather than buying new.

Forks are on the soft side. Worth removing the fork pinch bolts & ensuring they're greased. Ensure rear wheel is correctly torqued up. Haynes / Clymer manuals are sufficient for working on these bikes.

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