But since my feet are now more parallel with the ground due to being moved forward, my toes don't point down like they did on the stock pegs, so I don't believe ground clearance will be an issue, not at least the way I ride. I'm going to attach a piece of stiff wire about 6" long pointing downward and angled outward a little to the underside of the pegs as a sort of gauge to see how close they come when cornering. If I can take it to the maximum lean angle I usually achieve and there's no contact
between the wire and the pavement, I'm fine. If it does, it'll keep snipping like 1/2" off at a time till
I lose contact while cornering, then I can pretty much measure how much actual clearance I've got.
Kind of tough to check that out visually while taking a good corner!
Anyway, huge improvement in foot position and knee angle!!
Got all my parts from beemerboneyard, not much different total cost than just the little aftermarket kits. And Mike was very helpful and responsive - told me about and supplied me with the longer rear brake pushrod, etc., and that I should and could use the r master cylinder, and about rebending the
existing line a little - did not have to disconnect it.
Parts: footpeg mounting plates (same bolts) and pegs, the rear brake lever, the shifter pedal, the shifter arm that attaches to the shaft coming out of the trans, the shorter little bolts for the master cylinder shield, and the longer master cylinder push rod. Had to get a little longer bolt and a nut to
mount the reservoir that's on the rear of the left footpeg mount plate - the hole in the GS one isn't threaded like it is on the r.
The cable for the foot brake switch had enough slack in it back alongside and under the seat to
pull some out so the switch would reach the lower position.
The brake line had to be massaged a little, but by reducing the angle of the bend where it comes straight down from under the tank then turns horizontal and rearward, I gained enough length to be able to make it work, using the r1150r rear brake master cylinder - it's a larger diameter than the GS rear master cylinder. Also sits at a more vertical orientation so the brake line has to travel farther back as well as down, so needs a little rebending in the area near the master cylinder. I mounted
the cylinder to the plate before I mounted the plate, and by careful massaging was able to bend it using the peg mounting plate as a handle for extra leverage, and no problem with kinking at all. I made small bends at close intervals to change the curve where it's close to the master cylinder.
I only had to remove the starter cover to change the trans shift lever.
I will have to get a longer hose for the rear brake master cylinder to the reservoir so I can keep the reservoir in the stock position, so will have to bleed that system. Was time to do it anyway,
the bike is an 04, I bought it last summer, so don't know if it's ever had fresh fluid. Good time to
do that. The master cylinder mounts behind the footpeg mounting plate instead of on the outside
of it, so the spacers from the r1150r for spacing out the shield to clear the master cylinder aren't needed. The mounting bolts are also then shorter. I got the shorter bolts with the shield & peg plate.
The foot lever on the center stand hits the left peg mount plate before it folds all the way up, the stand just lacks about 3" travel to fold up fully. The foot lever just barely hits, so by massaging just the end of it outward at the bend near the end probly less than an inch, it should clear.
Not counting the brake hose and bleeding, which is all I have left plus massaging the center stand foot lever about an inch, I've spent about 2 hours on the swap. And I'm old and stiff and don't move very fast. The hardest part of working on a bike or a car at my age is getting up off the ground!
I sat on the bike with it on the center stand and, wow, what a difference a couple inches makes!
Knees don't feel nearly as bent and my thighs now bear more of my weight on the seat so should
even relieve a little of the pointy butt syndrome. But I'm still getting a DayLong seat next spring
plus some bar backs. And a CalSci windshield.
I got the bike for a pretty good price, so even with a little tinkering like this to make it a litle more cruiser oriented, I've still got a lot less invested than going out and buying a real touring model with
all the fairings etc. I don't do long rides or ride in foul weather, so like the "naked bike" feel of it
anyway.
I'll take some pics when I get it fully completed, add some text explanations, and post them on
mediafire.com and link it here so folks can actually see what I've explained above.
Now, let's see - what can I tinker with next?!
Like my wife says, I can never leave anythingstock. My answer to that is that if they made things the way they should, I wouldn't have to do
all this, but then I'd miss out on all the fun!
Merry Christmas everyone!!
