Modifications to my F800ST

Inspired by CycleRob, this section is devoted to all flavors of the F800.

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Boxer
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Re: Modifications to my F800ST

Post by Boxer »

This is my latest little farkle. We talked about this at the Bash. I ordered the part from a Roadster, from BeemerBoneyard and had to take out the seat lock release cable that was still attached. Then I scrounged through some of my old R1150R parts and found a round frame hanger that had the rubber inside it. With a little bending and a new bolt and nylock nut, I ended up with a keyed helmet lock on the right side of the bike so the helmet will lay against the side of the bike when hanging down.
Too bad the angled side of the lock didn't go down in the other direction. :-)

Image

Fresh oil goes in tomorrow morning. Tie up some loose ends, pack, and I'll be ready to ride early Saturday morning.
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CycleRob
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Re: Modifications to my F800ST

Post by CycleRob »

One possible negative of the F800ST to some riders are the too low handlebars. It is most noticeable when you ride your R1150R to the dealer and test ride an F800ST. Because I'm like 158 lbs and 66" tall I had only a little feeling of intolerance for the bars. I found that if I sit with "the package" against the tank, I was almost sitting upright, with little upper body weight supported by my wrists. Sometimes I feel the handgrips should be just a little higher and a little further back, but on that particular day, not quite the $100 needed to purchase a new set of BarBacks.

When I had the handlebars off to install the front fork internal GoldValves and later to change the spring preload spacer lengths I was able to easily try alternate grip heights just by rotating the bars upward. It made it feel better. I postponed putting the bars higher at the time because the switchgear on both sides needed to be rotated likewise to return them to where they belong. It is involved in that 2 holes need to be very accurately drilled axially aligned and perpendicular in the left bar for that new switchgear position. Then the day finally came where the temperature, time needed, a lack of "Honey-Doos" and the motivation to do the job all came in perfect alignment. That's how it works in retirement.

After completing the job I realized it would be too involved for all but the serious tinkerers to complete successfully. They won't need spoon feeding instructions, just an idea like this one that they can follow thru on. Specifically, accurately locating the 2 perpendicular opposing axial holes to be drilled in the left side of the handlebar. There is potential to make irreparable mistakes. You can't un-drill a hole or move it up or over one quarter of a hole diameter. The best way would be to completely remove the internal wiring (BIG Job!) and the handlebar, put'em in a drill press V block and drill the hole exactly where it belongs, straight through dead center of the V. That way the single thru bolt goes straight exactly thru the middle of the bar. Handlebar mounted on the bike, I got it very close, needing only light work with a rat tail file to make it perfect. Here's the pics, and the first one shows the amount of rotation, indicated by the displacement of the alignment punch mark, originally meant to be in the center of the clamp gap on the assembly line (at dotted line):

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The new setup is good enough now that it's not an issue any more.

.
Last edited by CycleRob on Sat Jul 06, 2019 10:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
`09 F800ST

Member since Sept 10, 2001

"Talent, On Loan, From God" --Rush Limbaugh--
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CycleRob
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Re: Modifications to my F800ST

Post by CycleRob »

After almost 3 years of occasionally back feeding the added on 12V cigarette lighter plug for the few winter days that the Battery Tender Plus was hooked up to it, I finally installed the Tender's fused pigtail plug-in that came with the unit. The State of Georgia has a very mild, snow only once, ride-twice-a-week Winter compared to Pennsylvania, where I enthusiastically fled from for our retirement. The body panels were already off for the 3 year antifreeze change, so the task was that much less aggravation. Body panel removal was enough disincentive to procrastinate this installation as long as I did, plus plain old forgetfulness of the (still uninstalled) pigtail when the panels were off for something else. The Pigtail is a quicker Tender-2-Bike hook up and less likely to cause a short than the homemade setup I was using before.

For the pigtail hook-up I did not go directly to the battery terminals. There is 1 additional wire terminal there on each battery pole already. Knowing it was "always hot", I used the starter solenoid's top Positive battery threaded terminal protruding nearly 1/4" (6mm). For the black (negative) pigtail terminal, the nearest high quality ground was the 8mm x 1.25 thread upper left rear fairing mounting bolt. For the plus terminal connection, all that was needed is a 5mm x .8 thread hex nut to hold the red (positive) terminal on against the battery cable terminal nut beneath it. It was quicker than loosening/removing the solenoid terminal nut to add on the Tender's pigtail terminal. Also, with 2 nuts working together, it strengthened the holding power on the battery cable power terminal to the starter solenoid and thus the starter motor. You'll see the hot terminal (red alligator clip) and the fairing mount bolt (negative terminal) in this old pic below - - so it does not show the pigtail.

Image

After the body panels were put back on, I was able to lay the pigtail down along side the left frame member routed past the left TB (and throttle spool) to an open area where it won't be blown around to chafe/wear away the wire insulation or in any way possible be able to jam the throttle open. Here in the South, it could be January 20th before it's needed. =D>
`09 F800ST

Member since Sept 10, 2001

"Talent, On Loan, From God" --Rush Limbaugh--
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