Mr Champion popped down to point and laugh at my latest purchase yesterday. During his visit I yammered on about my "no lights" incident and suggested that it could be the starter motor (since on the K series the starter motor is used for the earth circuit somehow... don't ask, I don't understand.) This afternoon after a visit from Platypus delivering some imperial spanners[1] and after a short spin on his outfit [2] I got down to pulling the K75 apart. Switched on ignition and sure enough no lights or anything. Pressed starter and heard a buzz but it wasn't right; it was just the fuel pump. Pulled the bike apart and got the starter out[3], put the starter across a battery and it refused to spin. Took it apart and the brushes were worn down to almost nothing. Cursed violently because I sold two K100s last weekend and had thought about taking the alternator and starter off one of them (they were both good 'cos I'd refurbed them). Cleaned up starter as well as I could and reassembled and placed back on bike. Sure enough the lights were back and the starter worked. Well that's good, only about a tenner for a new set of brushes if I order the ones from motobins/motorworks. Being middle aged isn't so bad really, the knowledge that comes from years of tinkering with shite old bikes is quite useful. [1] Thank you. [2] I want one. But possibly not the pipe that he clenches between his teeth and uses for indication purposes. [3] A rattle gun is almost completely indispensable IMO if you're dealing with shite old gear on a regular basis.
