Not too many cosmetic mods, but -
barbacks for my bad back, great addition
swapped footpegs/mount plates/shifter linkage/brake pedal & links
for stuff off a GS - lowered the pegs AND moved them forward about
2" - great on my bad knees! Not a "perfect" mod when all done, but
would do it again in a heartbeat for the comfort factor, and it looks
BMW because it is. I have pics and info if anyone wants.
This was before I knew of HID lights, being maybe 5 yrs ago or so,
used the Eastern Beaver (?) headlite relay kit. Even with the stock
light it brightened the headlite a noticeable amount. Now I have
an HID kit coming from
http://www.ddmtuning.com/Product-Catego ... s-Lighting
Ditched the oem muffler for a chrome turned down tip.
Now for the "fun stuff" - I ride this bike about 90% on 2 lane 50 to 60 mph
roads, much of them hilly. Even just lugging my 250+ around without a
passenger, it lugs the engine more than I like on anything but flat road in 6th
esp down near 50 and revs it high enuf in 5th to get into the around-4,000 rpm
range near 60 where it buzzes the bars and pegs too much to take very long.
Soooo - after extensive research looking to speed up 5th but at the same time
lowering that high first gear, here's where I am. I found the ratios for the
"low 1st & 6th" GSA trans and calculated them against different FD ratios.
I found the only other totally straight bolt in FD was only a small change -
2.72 vs the stock 2.82. So am in the process of bolting in a 2.62 out of a
later model K1200LT. Had to use a matching wheel (looks identical to the oem
1150R wheel) along with caliper, rotor and ABS sensor. Got it all bolted in.
Tried it out, SWEET!! 5th gear now runs 3k to 3.75k at from 50 to 60 mph and
with the higher FD I've still got 75 at 4.5k for the occasional highway blast.
And the icing on the cake is a little lower 1st gear for heavily laden or uphill
starts. Doesn't calculate numerically out to much lower but I can notice the difference.
Not quite finished yet - working with the integral ABS system - have gotten
a K1200LT sensor that I'm hoping will work with the 1150 system. I work
away from home all over the country so haven't had time to install the LT
sensor yet to try the brakes. With the non-integral LT sensor the back brakes
won't work. If the new sensor doesn't work, I'll have to fab a simple spacer so I
can mount the stock 1150 sensor in the LT caliper.
Did the trans gear swap myself - challenging but fun and interesting. I have
a write up with pics on photobucket if anyone is curious. Found a close ratio
GSA trans with a bad input shaft, swapped the intermediate and output shaft
assemblies into my roadster trans (that's where all the gears are).
Retiring very early next year so then will have time to get the ABS sorted out.
Last but not least I've got one of these coming - friend of mine tried one and
really likes it, and it's a small fraction of the cost of a new custom seat.
http://www.oemcycle.com/Item/product/900060223
Oh, here's a great easy on/off 1/2 cover that folds up small for carrying.
without a rear trunk, it covers most of the bike even incl side cases.
http://cyclemax.com/inc/sdetail/861
This stuff cleans the oxide off of stainless pipes.
http://www.optiglanz.ch/
Last - I change my own tires using this absolutely great balancer
which paid for itself and then some the first time I used it.
http://marcparnes.com/
Got a cheap bead breaker from Harbor freight to go with it.
Cheers!
"It ain't right till it's right"!
