BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

Many of you I'm sure have already read way too much about my travails with my clutch,
transmission, and clutch master cylinder.

Not to mention the difficulties I've had trying to pass the MO driver skills (obstacle) course.

Now before any of you tell me how easy that test is, bear this in mind.
I haven't even been on a dirt bike for over 30 years, and I'm sure never spent over 50 hours on one
all told, and that wasn't charging thru the woods dodging trees.

It's been all street bikes and street riding, and I've never had to run obstacle courses, at that slow
of a speed especially. I still think it's unrealistic to do that at such a slow speed. You don't dodge
or get out of dangerous situations driving that slow. Anyway -

With the high roadster gearing, my first 2 tries were disasters. Just too high of a gear ratio to make
controlling everything all at once easy enough for me to get thru the test. Too much of my concentration
taken up keeping the rev's up enuf to keep from stalling and slipping the clutch nearly continuously to keep
from going too fast.

I'd been planning for some time to fiddle with the gearing, including going to an Enduro "short"
low and 6th gear trans. Finally found the parts, swapped them in last fall all by my lonesome,
and I must say it shifts at least as nicely if not better than my trans did before the surgery -
and the "agriculatural" notchiness and clunking has virtually disappeared! Once in awhile things
work as hoped!

Anyway, after finally getting a working clutch mstr cyl, I went and practiced on the test course
this morning. Even with only having ridden a couple hours at most this spring, I was absolutely
amazed at how much easier it was to do all the "exercises" -

First of all, getting started is sooo simple now with the low 1st gear - don't have to rev the engine
and slip the clutch hardly at all - just 1200 rpm or so and ease the clutch out and I'm rolling! -
effortless in comparison with the high roadster 1st gear.

The slalom is now a breeze - I just get rolling and let the engine idle without any clutch slipping and
it's the perfect speed. I went thru it at least 20 times without a hitch.

Same for the slow speed straight line - easy to get rolling which gets me off to a nice well balanced
start. THEN it's so much easier to keep going straight once a nice straight no-fuss start is accomplished.
I just let the engine idle, hold the clutch in, and let it out just enuf for the engine to contribute a little
forward thrust when necessary to help maintain balance and a straight line.

And the start - shift into and back out of 2nd and stop is also easier. Easier to get started in first
with so much revving and clutch slipping, easy to shift into 2nd much sooner which gives me plenty
of time to travel in 2nd and then shift back down into 1st and get stopped, all without any fuss.

And the dead stop-then-accelerate-briskly and then stop in the square is also easier, also mainly
becuz it's so much easier to get the bike rolling and I can let the clutch out so much sooner and
can then concentrate on the rest of it.

Gonna go practice 2 or 3 more times this weekend and then give her heck this next week.

Will feel SO much more confident and comfortable going into it now.

After I pass this test, then I can go ahead and put in my higher FD to move 5th up into that
sweet spot for 50-65 mph.

You are doing yourself no real favor by avoiding learning proper clutch control. It is an essential skill, you will need.
There isn't any road bike that cannot be ridden through that test, with the skill that will keep you safe and uninjured in heavy traffic.
If you continue to avoid learning any skill that you don't immediately master, you will be a danger to yourself and every other road user...
If you find something difficult, it is a clear indication that you need to work on that skill, not that you need to find a way not to learn it!

Please, please re-think your whole approach to learning to ride safely.

Well, now, let's consider a few things -

In the first place, I have absolutely never experienced a situation where I have been unable to effectively operate and control my clutch. On any of the over 1/2 dozen bikes I've owned. Or on any of my 4 speed hot rods, one of which exceeded 600 hp. Or in my A dragster. Or on my Cat dozer. Or in my 80,000 lb 18 wheeler over mountain passes in the rockies. Or in the school bus I used to drive. Or in the Grehound charter bus I used to drive on occasion. I do hope that qualifies me as an experienced operator?

I have been riding bikes most of the past 47 years, and have had numerous acquaintenances riding during those years.

Street riding mind you. With vehicles going "just a mite" faster than a walking pace. Not doing tricks in obstacle courses at a snail's pace, not riding little dirt bikes around rocks and trees, or seeing how slow we can go without tipping over. "slow" and "street" have been, in our collective experience, mutually exclusive.

Never once have I personally found that the best way to avoid any particular difficulty or danger was to slow to a walking pace, rev the engine, slip the clutch, and ride the brake. Without accelerating or stopping.

Never once have I been aware of any of those riding acquaintances finding that to be the best way to avoid any difficulties or danger.

Now I, and my acquaintenances, have on occasion found the best way out of a bad situation was to accelerate briskly to get away from danger - and that isn't effectively done slipping the clutch and going as slowly as possible without tipping over. Not in the traffic on our street.

We also have on occasion found another way out of other bad situations was to brake briskly, and that isn't effectively done revving the engine and slipping the clutch either.

Besides, if what you claim to be a necessary condition to be safe on a motorcycle is indeed fact, how have I NOT improved my ability to do so - on my bike - by making it easier to maneuver my bike more slowly? Isn't something more likely to be done properly if it's easier? And why would someone not want to make something that is difficult - easier? Irregardless of the fact, that is obviously for some reason being ignored, that this is the first time in my 47 years that I - or my riding acquaintenances - have had reason to maneuver that slowly. On our street. In our traffic.

And BTW, I have never been involved in an accident in all those years, in all those types of vehicles.

And a point for you to consider - there are a number of states that administer a bike skills test on the road, in real world driving conditions. Are you implying they know less than you?

And I've never taken an operator test - car, bus, or truck - in any condition other than a real world driving situation on the street. Or maybe those kinds of skills test should also rather be administered in obstacle courses?

Make you a deal, if I want to be preached to, I'll tune in "brother Jimmy" - now there's a righteous man that KNOWS his rights and his wrongs.

In the meantime, good sir, either share my joy in conquering a problem and improving a situation, or kindly return your head to what is obviously it's customary surroundings - and keep your pontificating to yourself.

woohoo mac! (dances around the room)

My first ride today leaving the BMW place, I did notice that first gear actually can get going pretty briskly, even at an idle. Something else I'd read about but never really experienced is the abrupt shut off and start of the throttle. Nothing I can't get used to, but I could see that adding a little aggravation to doing very slow maneuvering. Always helps me to get up on my pegs, but these pegs are a little cramped for me, I may get some lowering kits for them. That obstacle course sounds like a dirt road that needs to be ridden up on the pegs so you can use your body to shift balance a little more quickly. I'm taking an MSF Experienced Rider course next month the refresh skills, not really sure what is involved with that, need to bone up.

It WOULD be neat to have an easier transition into first gear. My VW Jetta TDI has so much torque you don't even think about it, you just let out the clutch and she goes, not sure I've ever killed the thing, lol. I killed the bike in front of the BMW shop, lol. That starter button couldn't be in a more annoying place, either

Hey, VW TDI!! Neat!

Wife and I looked all over the country for one of those in an AWD wagon when they first came out,
at least a 6 month waiting list. I sure could use that gas mileage now!!

Yes, that is one little minor annoyance with the abrupt throttle transitions until you get used to it then
your mind seems to automatically learn to adjust / compensate.

What I call the obstacle course isn't really all that bad, if you're on a bike that is intended to be ridden
like that. My beef with that situation is like i've said - never in all my years of riding have I ever encountered
or heard of anyone having to maneuver a bike in those kinds of ways on the street. Yes, it can be
done, but is not an actual on-road test more applicable for a street bike, especially the larger ones?

That obstacle course doesn't tell a whole lot about how a rider can handle his large street bike in an emergency.
Oh, well, I've made my point that some will understand and some won't.

OK - on the subject of footpegs.

I had the same problem when I got my 04 R1150R - not from being over tall or long legged (have shrunk
to 72" and have always said if I had legs like my 6'5 cousin I'd be 6'5, too :-) but just from old age and
knees having taken lots of abuse over the years. Just can't stand to have them folded up quite so much.

I looked at what lowering kits I could find and saw none of those moved the pegs all that much, especially
for the price.

Being somewhat "A-R" on things being "either right or it ain't" I started some research. I figured there might
be other R1150 models that had pegs that would do a better job of positioning my feet lower and further
forward and that would bolt onto the R bike as the basic engine/trans is the same between the various
models.

VOILA! Found that R1150GS pegs do just that. And they lowered my feet nearly 2" AND moved them
forward about the same amount! And being BMW, unless you know the difference between models they
look pretty much like they were made for the bike. There admittedly were a few "wrinkles", but being
an enterprising young man, I didn't let those stand in my way. Total cost about the same as the aftermarket kits.

Beemer Boneyard was a great help with the parts and what it would take to make it all work.
He suggested to retain the larger R rear master cyl, and he told me it would work with the GS
mstr cyl pushrod which he supplied. I had to rebend the rear brake lines a little as the rear mstr
cyl sits at a little diff angle on the bracket, but didn't even have to break any fittings open. Now that
I have learned how to bleed the brakes, it would have been easier to disconnect the lines, rebend them,
hook them up, then bleed. When you get into bleeding, tho, it REALLY helps to have some type of funnel
like the one from Beemer Byd.

Also had just a little interference with the center stand - had to bend the foot lever back and out a little
and now it contacts the back of the left bracket and my left heel contacts it just a mite, but I've gotten
used to that and that is well worth it. Also just bent the loop on the sidestand back a little to clear
and learned how to get my toe in there to get ahold of it. (Picture doesn't show that loop repositioned)

BB supplied the complete GS shifter and linkage which hooks right to the R trans, and the complete GS
rear brake lever assy which, with the right pushrod, does just fine working the rear brakes.

Once I did scrape the left footpeg a little when I made a real sharp slow speed left turn onto a roadway
that was sloped away from me, so now I just make sure I've got my left toe above the footpeg rather
than dangling it under the peg when I make sharper left hand turns.

http://www.mediafire.com/?xmnjkhz5yyy

All in all, that was one of the best little ergonomic improvements I made to that bike. The bar setback
were another. Same thing - old stiff back, etc etc. I got the ones that moved the bars the farthest
back and up without having to reroute cables or add longer ones. And now I can get the darn keys out
of the thing without fighting the bars! Here's those setbacks - they fit really nice and aren't near as
expensive as some others available.

http://www.moto-techniques.com/061062.htm
You need the -061M to get the right fit. Wouldn't be without them!

Here's something I recently did that I like - sounds more like a bike than a sewing machine, but not any
where near so loud it gets annoying if the tip is pointed mostly down and just out enuf so it doesn't blow
exhaust on the tire. And now no problem with hot exhaust close to the saddlebags.
http://s719.photobucket.com/albums/ww20 ... ust%20Tip/

Or here's something else I did before I did the exhaust tip that made the difference for the bags.
http://s719.photobucket.com/albums/ww20 ... 20muffler/ Might be
better on a really long trip, and no hassle with oe pollution control or spark arrester issues.

While I'm at it - I found that the clutch pushrod can be used as a clutch alignment tool.
I had tried to order one, never got it. So started seeing if I could make one. Happened to spot
a little square plastic faucet handle adapter on my goody shelf that had a hole thru it (had to drill
it out just a tiny bit, now fits real snug over the pushrod) and was tapered a little. Ah HA!
I pushed it on over the pushrod, tight fit so it won't slip, with the tapered part toward the front.
The taper fit just perfectly into the clutch disc hub. Everything considered, however, if you just
scribe a thin line around the disc before you loosen the clutch housing it goes in just as well.
You do need the "alignment pins" (just longer bolts that screw in with the heads cut off) to keep
the trans aligned while getting the splines to mate. I lubed the input shaft and clutch disc hub up
real good, put the disc in position but with the bolts just tight enuf to hold it from slipping so by
wiggling the trans a little bit it would sort of self correct any small remaining amount of misalignment.
Also left the trans in gear so by grasping the output shaft with something I could turn the input shaft
back and forth a little which also helped get the input shaft into the clutch. Once I got it in there,
I then carefully removed the trans as straight back as possible trying to avoid moving the clutch disc
and tightened the clutch cover bolts to spec. Then the trans was fairly easy to get back in. Trick
to everything :-) Oh, yes! BEFORE you remove the clutch, look for "colour markings" on the 3 major
components - the parts need to go back together the same way or there could be an imbalance problem.
I only found that out after I had taken the clutch apart, of course, and it was really difficult finding
those color marks, but finally did. So then used a paint stick to make new ones that are easy to see.
Supposed to be 1/3rd of the circumference away from each other, or as close to that as you can get.

But of everything I've done, here's my "pride and joy" :-)
http://s719.photobucket.com/albums/ww20 ... ke%20Lift/
Most of the mat'l came out of my goody pile, and being I built it to use my big floor jack,
it cost my just a couple days of work and maybe $20. What a MAJOR improvement for doing
big jobs like anything with the trans, clutch, rear suspension!! The hardest part of all that
kind of work for an old man like me is getting up off the darn floor!!

Here's the bags I ended up with. Lots of room without being too godawful big, very reasonable cost
as they're the "standard" model without all the fancy stitching etc. The tank bag even holds a
12 pack of bottles! :-))) I leave the saddlebags on all the time and they have faded a little over
2 summers sitting in the sun at work, but still work fine. They come with removable waterproof liners too.
http://s719.photobucket.com/albums/ww20 ... 150R/Bags/

Before you go on your trip, check your rocker arm end play - easy to set, and your valve lash.
There are numerous articles on it, easy to do, but being absolutely picky about how close the
settings are to each other and side to side will pay off big time in a smoother and more responsive
engine. Also maybe check your tps setting, only needs done once, after you balance your
throttle bodies. You can make a water manometer fairly easily and cheaply, lots of info in the
tech tips, also really pays off with a better running engine. Plenty of info in the tips about all this.

Oh, and "grip puppies" foam sleeves over the handgrips help dampen vibrations a little, nice on a longer
trip.

Good luck!!

Rider Rick wrote: I'm taking an MSF Experienced Rider course next month the refresh skills, not really sure what is involved with that, need to bone up.

I looked into that - didn't have the time when I was working 60+ hrs a week, then didn't dare spend the
money while laid off as I didn't know when I'd find that next job.

From what I've learned, besides the bookwork, you use your bike and essentially learn how to do that
same slow maneuvering course. I think you have to pass it to pass the course.

Actually a good thing - and a side benefit is I believe you get an insurance discount.

Good luck!

Mac, you are a fount of information, lol , thanks! I had them order the touring lids for the bike so I'm covered back there...they have the little separators in them so it inhibits putting in a helmet...I may remove some rivets and put in some clips or something, not sure yet.

I will defo need the barback, I am somewhat hunched over, so clearly will need to bring those back, and just the riding around Albuquerque told me I need a much taller windshield. My friend let me have a Laminar Lip and when I can find those connector buttons from 3M I will see if it helps...but I suspect I will need just a bigger shield. I'm 5'10" on a good day, with 30-31 inseam, so need to do some calkilatin . Your peg lowering process was somewhat more involved than I was expecting, but I may go that way...the kness are only 54 but the miles are a few years older . Thanks for all the great stuff to digest!

Mac--I like the way you think (and talk)! I would like to have you for a neighbor.

Wayne

towerworker wrote:Mac--I like the way you think (and talk)! I would like to have you for a neighbor.

Wayne

If you're referring to my "rebuttal" - let's just say I'm old enuf to have earned the right to be cranky
and say what I feel on occasion, but still only do so when thoroughly aroused.

:-)))

If you don't stick up for your own opinion, somebody will stick theirs up yours.

As someone once said, opinions are like xxxholes, everybody has one.

You probly know what CWI's are and their reputation for being crabby.
Well, I've been one for 20 years and have the crabby part down pat! :-)

Cheers!

Windshields.

From what I've read about Cee Bailey's tall shields, they're very well liked.

When I can afford it, I'm going to throw that Cal Sci as far as I can and
get one of the Cee Baileys.

Obstacle Course Update:

Went and practiced again this afternoon, 2nd time, till my arms were sore.

Never missed a beat! Piece of cake! and all that

Now - the value of the lower enduro 1st gear in my trans?

After getting the feel of the weave part of the course just letting
the engine idle, I tried it at an increased speed and it was easy.

It would have been a cast iron bxxxx using the high roadster gearing
to get the feel of it. But the low gearing was an immense help in
learning how to do it correctly, now that I have the feel of it, I believe
I could do it with the higher roadster gearing.

Talked to a good friend of mine last nite, even tho he's a Harley rider, and
he had the same troubles on the obstacle course. He took it in another
state where he was working and it was the road test.

He's got nearly 90k on his Harley, been all over the country with it,
never an accident. I think he's safe on the road.

Mr Rick - one last suggestion, I PROMISE! :-)

The last major thing I have to do to mine, to endure longer trips,
is a seat.

It's very most likely going to be one of these, all users comments
are extremely favorable.

http://www.day-long.com/index.html
http://www.day-long.com/gallery_BMW.html

Maybe not the sleekest, but nobody can see it when I'm sitting on it
and when I'm not sitting on it I'm not around to worry about it.
(There's the old attitude showing again!)

This one sure looks comfy, and is nice looking in the bargain.
As of this moment, at least, I'm leaning this direction.
http://www.rickmayercycle.com/gallery/BMW_R1150R.jpg
http://www.rickmayercycle.com/
http://www.rickmayercycle.com/why.html
Also read the "Backroads Review" link on the right side of the home page

And one last one to consider
http://www.billmayersaddles.com/october25homepage.html
http://www.billmayersaddles.com/october25homepage.html
http://www.billmayersaddles.com/aboutus.html

YaHOOO!! Passed the obstacle course.

That low gear ratio really helped me get the feel of it
so I could make progress and improve my slow speed maneuvering.

macx wrote:YaHOOO!! Passed the obstacle course.

AWESOME! Well you're just all ready for the riding season now aren't you? You passed the test, you got your bike put back together, it's going to be a good spring/summer for you!

So far, so good.

Now if my prospective new employer would release information what's on the table
so I can make some personal financial arrangements, it would be nice.

I've never had a job offer without a pay number. The managers say I've got a job,
but HR won't give me a pay number until they get a definite start date, altho it's
99% sure to be within 3 weeks. At least they could tell me what the number is.

Several things depend on that, incl an apartment near the job on hold, a small used car
with good gas mileage for that job on hold, and a couple other things. Trouble is,
those things won't be held for very long. And I don't like to spend money I don't
know I've got coming.

If I lose them because of this BS, I'll be - well, you can figure THAT out.

As for the bike, now I am going to swap in that higher FD to go with the
enduro trans to get 6th gear back up to within about 200 rpm to what it
was with the roadster, and move 5th into that sweet spot for 2 lane driving
between 55 (3k rpm) & 65 (3.6k rpm) mph. I'll still have a lower 1st then
with the roadster trans.

After all the work I've done on that darn thing since last fall, this should
be a relatively minor exercise :-/

Mac I did about a hundred miles this evening tooling around metro OKC, and I agree that first gear is amazingly highly geared. It seemed at first it took an inordinate amount of gas to get the thing rolling, but it did feel easier by the end of the ride. It really lopes along at 70, I think I was about 3400 rpm, don't remember exactly. What is considered a lug on these motors? Loafing along at 55 in 6th almost seemed too low at times.

Anyway, basically confirmed to myself I need a bigger shield, and althought the crosswind was hellacious, the bike was very steady even with the touring bags on, I am happy so far . Fuel light came on just as I pulled into the garage...236 miles, so if I have about a gallon left after that, then that is a decent range so far.

Rick,

It sounds like you have the tall 6th gear (most all roadsters do). Yes, if you are going 55mph, 6th gear is too tall. 6th gear is for the Interstate, or to be used in combination with a radar detector. It is a beautiful thing for running down the slab. It will get you in trouble with the police on smaller roads.

About the lugging... use reasonable sense. The bike will let you know that you are lugging it (vibrations). What RPM will lug the motor depends on all the variables ... wind, load, incline, gear selection... You will figure it out quickly.

Personally, for constant speed situations, I keep the RPM's between 3000-4000 (I think 3500-3700 is the sweet spot). I try to always keep the the RPM's above 3000 in 5th. And say 3250 in 6th. But it all depends on how much load I have on the engine, and what I expect around the next curve.

Just remember that although this is a big twin engine... DO NOT ride it like some big hog harley. The motor would be happier if you treated it more like a sporty bike. Let the motor spin. While quickly accelerating, let it spin up to 5-6000 RPM.

AND a fuel warning!!!! I wouldn't bet on safely getting 236 miles out of a tank on a regular basis! I do not think that you have a gallon of usable fuel left in there. The warning light comes on at different times on different people's bikes. I ran out of gas (only once) at 225 miles. It seems like most people get 35mpg in town. With the right wind, you can get 50mpg on the highway. I consistently get about 45mpg (almost all highway miles). Figure that there is roughly 5 gallons of usable fuel... and that equals 225 miles (and I'm sitting on the side of the highway, calling my wife, telling her I'm gonna be late for work). My light comes on at 175 miles.

I totally agree on the rpms.

In fact, exactly for riding in 5th & 6th.
Anything under 3k in 5th, unless downhill or with a tailwind, seems too low to me.
When I try to accelerate, it vibrates pretty strongly then.

Also 3k is rock bottom in 6th, as Beakster says, 3200+ is much better normally.

When I start to feel strong individual pulses, either just to maintain a speed or to
accelerate even normally, then I feel I'm lugging it.

Even with a really good tune and fresh plugs, foam grip sleeves and heavier bar end weights,
I can feel mine start to buzz in 5th not a whole lot over 3.6 or 3.7.

I also understand different bikes buzz range starts at different rpms.
In 6th, it doesn't buzz as much and over a smaller range, obviously when the
engine is pulling a little harder because of the higher gear there's less buzz.

I checked my real world against my math today, to see how accurately I've calculated
road speeds with different overall gearing.

With my enduro trans and stock 2.82 FD, I was at 45 mph at 3k in 5th and 55 mph at 3k in 6th.
Beautiful for 2 lane roads, but well over 4k at anything approaching freeway speeds. Way too high.
But 1st was a glorious 6 mph at 1k. Just enough speed to maintain steerage, as they say.

Very likely today I'm going to swap in my 2.62 FD. That should only bump me 200 rpm
at any given speed in 6th over stock, with 75 being about 3600 or a mite more which should be just
under the buzz range because of the gear ratio. And at my age, 75 is just fine, thank you
very much.

That will put me at my sweet spot in 5th as I mentioned, which is my primary goal
for all this gear changing nonsense. And still leave me with a decent reduction in 1st -
5.8 overall for stock trans & FD, 6.7 overall for enduro 1st plus stock 2.82 FD for a 14% reduction,
6.2 overall for enduro 1st plus 2.62. 14% reduction doesn''t sound like near as much as it feels
on the bike, so even the 7% ought to be significantly better than stock.

Can't wait to see how it turns out in the real world. Sure looks nice on the spreadsheet!

If it weren't for my obsession with a "just perfect" 5th gear for 2 lane's, I could have just
had Anton Largiader put in an enduro, or even lower, 1st gear in my roadster trans while
leaving all the others incl 6th as is. That would sure solve the high 1st gear dilemma!
But wouldn't have done anything to improve 5th on the 2 lane's.

With my enduro trans and it's low 1st gear and still with the stock 2.82 FD, the bike is truly
so much nicer to drive around town, it starts so effortlessly with so little revving or clutch
slippage. Just makes me feel like it's so much easier on the clutch.

Or an Enduro or lower 1st gear and a 2.75 FD which is a totally straight bolt in. That would
nudge 5th gear up a couple mph and be closer to keeping 5th out of the buzz range on 2 lanes.
But, then, Lord think of 6th! Nearly Autobahn gearing! And 2.75 would be too low for an
Enduro 6th gear for the freeway.

I compared my overall gearing with the enduro trans and 2.62 to the R1200RT, and it's
very close, esp in 1st & 6th. The 1200RT also has a 2.62 but diff gears in all the speeds, and
is more evenly spaced out.

What would I do if I didn't have all this figuring and tinkering to keep me out of mischief? :-)

Morning! Thanks for all the good info, both of you. I was just having trouble actually hearing the motor last evening with the wind howling and that sport shield, I thought my helmet was gonna be pulled off my head a couple of times . And forgot earplugs, so I tried listening at lower speeds with the shield open. I agree 55 in 6th was too low, it was more usable in 5th, so clear on that.

I will fill up this evening and see what I put in. I've read the tank is about 5.6 with a gallon in reserve, so I will see how much I can stuff in. Assuming I can fill it to the brim and not hurt the charcoal canister? I am assuming that is for fuel vapor?

Gonna carry a gps this evening to see what my speedo delta is, too. It seemed pretty close to my friends bike, who has timed his as about 2-3 off from his gps.

Windshield has to go! BUT...I turned on the grip heaters and they are wondermus .

Sounds like you're really getting in tune with the bike and it's qualities and peculiarities.

It had been years since I'd driven a bike - my old 81 Zuki had sat in the very exact
same spot in my garage since I think about early 90's cuz I couldn't take it with me
all over the country.

Then I got this R on the spur of the moment, never even having sat on a Beemer.

Got used to this one, then borrowed a small dual sport to try to pass that obstacle course.
Name brand bike, but LORD it felt like a tin can in comparison! Couldn't believe how flimsy
and unsettled and rough around the edges (unsophisticated a good term) it felt. And I
remember my 81 750 was a solid bike, and performed well, but just didn't have any "soul" to it.

Now I haven't ridden a Harley since my 53 side shift many many years ago, and that's a
whole nother universe anyway.

Yup, like them heated grips! Rode my bike the short 6 miles to work a lot the last year
on nite shift north of KC, and even 6 miles at mid 40's temps can drive a chill into one's
bones, even with heavy clothes.

Those aftermarket seats have heated options, might be a thought.

Started my high ratio final drive replacement today. Had bought the rubber chicken brass
bushings to replace the tapered bearings in the rear of the swingarm. Got the outer parts
into the new FD no problem. The existing bearings were mostly trash anyway. Heated the
housing to maybe 90C and they popped out easily. I had popped out the yoke out of the FD
so could get a straight shot at the back of the races with a good punch.

Got the RC bushing races in - heated the housing again, put the races on top of some ice
cubes for a few minutes to shrink, dabbed a little red loctite on them, they tapped right in no sweat.
Made VERY sure they were seated ALL the way into the bearing socket. I guess that's one thing that
catches some folks and causes problems.

Next have to disassemble my existing FD and "fit" the pivot pins into the inner brass bushings,
then it all goes back together. DARN but I'm getting anxious to finish this project - been
planning and gathering parts for over a year!

Won't be home tomorrow / Sat, but hope to finish it Sunday/Monday at the latest. I'll start
a new post to document the results on the road when I finish.

That's one thing that's fun about this past time - always something to fiddle with.