My touring setup

[daytonaredeye]

Just completed an 1100 mile roundtrip from Atlanta area to West Va (white water rafting excursion down Gauley River) and wanted to share my touring setup.

http://www.bikepics.com/pictures/1418740/

http://www.bikepics.com/pictures/1418744/

The second image shows the equipment better.

I have the Cee Bailey +4/+4 windscreen (4 inches taller and 4 inches wider than stock), Aerostitch tank panniers, BMW tank bag fully extended, BMW standard hard system cases and a dry bag bungee netted to the rear pillion seat (for my electronics - laptop, iPod, etc.); I also have installed the Throttlemeister bar ends and it is nice to give my right hand a 20-30 second break from the throttle every now and then!

I got the taller windscreen 1 day before I departed (whew - close!) and it is a < 10 min job to change out the two screens; I suspect my dealership orders from Cee Baileys as the mounting hardware is identical.....

The tank panniers, along with the protruding cylinder heads, make for a nice faux fairing effect - my legs and feet stayed warm and dry despite hurricane Hannah winds and storms dotting our route on the way up.

It is really surprising how much stuff you can carry on this bike; I completely fill up those hotel luggage carts upon unloading
and loading each time and only takes about 5 minutes to remount all the equipment for each departure.

My mission now - find a better, more comfortable seat!! I have an Air Hawk seat cushion but, even with this, can only tolerate about an hour or hour 15 min or so between rest stops before I start fidgeting about trying to find a more comfortable seating sensation. I read about the Freedom Air brand but when I sent to their website, the only consumer comment posted was a negative one. Not sure any of the "air cell" types are really what I'm looking for and will begin searching for some type of foam cushioned seat accessory.

I would appreciate the readership here share their touring setups and tips you might have.

Curt

[babulin2002]

wow, impressive
i've never put so much stuff on my R i have the bmww touring cases and occasionally attach something with a bungee cord to the seat behind me, and sometimes take a backpack ( i discovered that if you extend the bacpack shoulder stripes enough, it just sits behind you on the seat, so you do not carry the weight but it's still secure). then again, i never went on a serious week-or-more trip to the north pole , so that i would have to take all possible things with me. in your setup i especially like the things (forgot the name) you have mounted on the tank, going down on each side in a leg-protecting manner. nice combination of luggage and wind protection
good luck, cheers!
luk

[webmost]

My new to me 96 R1100R came with a Russell Day-Long seat. These are expensive, but everyone who has one swears by them. The guy I bought from put 75k happy on his. I haven't yet tested on any 600 mile rides; but I have gone a couple non stop hours without bun burn.

When we were in Appalachia early in August, the white water guys had mostly shut down for lack of water. Looks like you got the rain they were waiting for. Great riding down there.

[daytonaredeye]

My new to me 96 R1100R came with a Russell Day-Long seat. These are expensive, but everyone who has one swears by them. The guy I bought from put 75k happy on his. I haven't yet tested on any 600 mile rides; but I have gone a couple non stop hours without bun burn.

When we were in Appalachia early in August, the white water guys had mostly shut down for lack of water. Looks like you got the rain they were waiting for. Great riding down there.

Couple of responses:

1) Russell Day-Long seat = looks EXACTLY like what I'm looking for but, as you point out, very expensive!! Would have to save up quite a bit to go this route but the extra foamed cushioned seat looks like it would address a lot of my seating problems.

2) Appalachia - We rafted the Gauley river - always a good trip. A group of guys (10-15) from Carrollton have been rafting the Gauley every year since 1990. We always go the first weekend after Labor Day when the corp of engineers begins releasing water from Summerville lake thru the Summerville Dam; this was only my 3rd trip but the second one on my bike and is a heck of an adventure. We always do a Sunday/Monday-Upper/Lower overnight Gauley excursion - the first day we raft the upper Gauley which is loaded with enough class III - V rapids to keep you honest - about 15 miles. We then camp overnight and finish the next day with about 9 miles of lower Gauley - not as many higher class rapids but fun none the less. The lack of rain did come into play as you cannot put in on the second day till the river rises enough to sustain your raft. The dam only releases from 7AM to noon each day so it takes a while for the water to get downstream enough for the river to rise - we couldn't put in on day 2 until around 12:30PM - thus, a little later getting out than we would have liked which forced us into staying overnight a little further north than the two of us on bikes would have liked which necessitated a long distance ride the last day to get home. Both of us had early morning appointments and couldn't stay over an extra night.

Curt

[nevada72]

I'm working on extending my range on my 96. So far I have installed the peg lowering kit. The bike came with a Cee bailey screen, but I don't know if it's the same as yours. How tall is yours from headlight to top? I'm tall and the screen I have is too low for me. I made some adaptors and moved the screen up 2 inches and it's a huge improvement. I'm not sure I like the way it looks, but it works well. Just bolting on the right size screen would be a better soluion, no doubt.

[daytonaredeye]

The touring screen from the pix posted above are:

Height: as measured from the bottom middle of the screen-just above the headlight to the top middle edge is 23 inches

Width: from the widest points at the handlebar levels is 22 inches

Height for my stock (dealer installed) shield: 18 1/2 inches

Width for my stock shield (at handlebar level): 19 inches

Hope this is helpful.

Curt

[nevada72]

Thanks Curt! Your shield is an inch taller than mine which is at "22". One extra inch won't help me so I might just "garage" fix mine. I'm 6-5 and even with the screen adjusted 2 inches higher, i's still about an inch low. I might play with angling it forward a bit and I'll fab up a lower "skirt" to remove the "2" gap above the headlight. Who knows - maybe it will look like an AeroFlow when I'm done?

[SLEDGE]

how do you like the cee bailey compaired to stock? ( I need a replacement)

[daytonaredeye]

how do you like the cee bailey compaired to stock? ( I need a replacement)

I like it as it does offer more protection for the longer runs. Long distance runs, prior to the new, bigger screen, had always resulted in a sore neck/Headache - I guess due to the buffeting everyone talks about; No neck pain/ headache, etc. following my excursion this year!!

As I had said in a previous post, I suspect my dealer orders from Cee Baileys (or at least the distributor who supplies Cee Baileys with their mounting hardware) since the mounting hardware is the same. The shields themselves, are a little different as the stock is about 1/16 inch thicker. But, to be completely honest, I ordered from Cee Baileys because I knew it was the "path of least resistance" since I assumed the hardest part about any new bike part would be the installation; as soon as I saw Baileys' mounting hardware, I knew I was in good shape.

I am the first to admit that I am not "mechanically" inclined; I have tackled a couple of DIY jobs with my bike (cannisterectomy with the install of GIVI mounting rack, installed throttlemeister grips, etc.) but I just didn't want to tackle installation of mounting hardware for a new screen. If you feel comfortable with doing a 'virgin' installation of screen mounting hardware - I can't help but recommend CB!

Good luck,

C

[templar]

My mission now - find a better, more comfortable seat!! I have an Air Hawk seat cushion but, even with this, can only tolerate about an hour or hour 15 min or so between rest stops before I start fidgeting about trying to find a more comfortable seating sensation.

Yeah no kidding. I got to the point where 50 miles was all I could comfortably take. I've had this bike exactly 10 years, put 70K on it, but the seat has only been bugging me for the past 3 years or so.

I think my seat has more or less "conformed" to the shape of my butt over the years, and no longer supports me like it used to. That, and the forward hump (design flaw IMO) constantly burrowing into my crotch, has become a problem.

If I was'nt planning to sell this bike, I would re-shape the foam with an electric carving knife. I'd remove the front hump and the rear saddle-type lip. Done this to other bikes in the past, solves the seat probs, but looks like crap.

On a positive note, I did find some relief recently by wearing a back brace (aka "kidney belt"). Increased my comfort zone to 200 miles, but the "crotch assault" is still there. (sigh)

[nevada72]

Curt - do you have any pics of the rack w/o the box? Also, any comments on the Givi rack? Seems to be the only game in town for us.

[daytonaredeye]

Curt - do you have any pics of the rack w/o the box? Also, any comments on the Givi rack? Seems to be the only game in town for us.

I'll get you some. Right now, watching our Falcons taking on your Packers. As to the GIVI itself, I would do it over again if needed. The box itself is detachable but I keep it on almost all the time as I carry all my "trunk type" junk in it - tools, extra faceshields, paper towels, ear plugs, etc. I used to keep all that stuff in a tank bag I bought new with the bike but I got tired of always having to swing it out of the way for gas refills and fiddling with the front strap hooks which hook into grooves near the front forks, etc. that I bought the GIVI and now keep it on pretty much all the time. I only use the tank bag for long distance touring when I want a little more storage room. I also installed the backrest on the front of the GIVI box - for my kids when they want to ride.

Curt

[nevada72]

Right now, watching our Falcons taking on your Packers. .

Curt

Ugh. Don't remind me! Gotta give Rodgers credit for working through the hurts but that game was lost in the 1st half and by more than the 3 points might indicate.

I like that Givi setup. I'm sure I'll go that direction, but pics would be nice whenever you get the chance.

Cheers, Bob

[daytonaredeye]

Bob,

See links below which should show the GIVI mounting hardware, with attachment points, pretty well. I know the mount the box attaches to looks like is sloping downward toward the rear of the bike but everything is level when the box is in place.

http://www.bikepics.com/pictures/1439580/

http://www.bikepics.com/pictures/1439582/

http://www.bikepics.com/pictures/1439586/

http://www.bikepics.com/pictures/1439588/

http://www.bikepics.com/pictures/1439592/

Hope this is helpful,

Curt
PS - Yeah, looks like Rodgers having more problems with his shoulder than what was indicated at the top of the game. Falcons, though, are having a pretty good year . . . Gotta say, too, that I like what I've see so far from our rookie QB M. Ryan.

[nevada72]

I didn't expect this. Nice. -



When searching Givi racks this is what I saw. I wasn't thrilled with it. For a lot of money it looks like a JC Whitney rack too me. -



I'm also considering this -

[daytonaredeye]

Thanks. I knew what I was getting into, though, as a buddy of mine, with an R1100GS, had one installed and I ordered the exact same model. I knew I wanted something I would leave mounted pretty much all the time (the only time I remove the box is when travelling and I bring all my luggage into the room) and wouldn't look intrusive and it had to look integrated with the other hard luggage when mounted. When everything is mounted, it looks like all the cases belong together.

To tell you the truth, I was more worried about removing the cannister, required to make room for the mounting rails, as I'm not exactly mechanically inclined (covered in another post elsewhere on this board). I found out that if you put me in a well lit garage, with a fifth of burboun, pk of cigarettes and a tool box that I could do most anything. Of course, my GS buddy had sent me the cannisterectomy instructions and the mounting instructions that came with the GIVI were very easy to follow - really, only 4 mounting points!

Good luck in your quest,

Curt