A bit of a delay regarding new posts

I'm taking a short break from posting here due to a rather bizarre occurrence.

Two days ago, my not-so-trusted laptop decided to die. And while it died about three times during its five-year service, this time might be the final time. I was writing a new post when, suddenly, smoke started rising from the machine. Needless to say, I grabbed it, unplugged the cords, and threw it outside. The machine was pretty hot, but there was no visible fire. The next day, as soon as I installed a battery to see if I can salvage some files, it started smoking again. So, for the time being, I have no access to my files or pictures.

In the mean time, a Windows 7 OS laptop followed me home. Since then, I've been trying to override some settings, eliminate some programs, and replace others with the more trusted ones. I also found that several of my devices won't work properly in the 64bit OS and there are no 64bit drivers for those.  Thus, I'll be sorting these issues first. I'll update this blog as soon as feasible.

Thanks for your patience.

New lightbar

Over the past few weeks I've been preparing my G650GS for this year's riding season, making a few improvements, and some adding necessary protection. With the master brake cylinder cover installed, and the Touratech fork protectors in place, the next logical step was to install engine crash bars.
Since the G650GS has a slightly different engine position versus the F650GS (single), many of the aftermarket crash bars don't fit. It appears that the engine is slightly off-center, making installation of aftermarket pieces difficult or impossible. To play it safe, I found a nice set of gently used BMW guards for sale on-line.
These crash bars came off a Dakar model, however, I assumed they would fit. Nevertheless, while the lower mounting tabs aligned perfectly with the holes in the frame, the upper part, which mounts to a single bolt in the frame midsection, was slightly off. I'm not sure whether this was due to the G650GS redesign or due to the fact that the bars were used (and possibly bent), but a few hits with a rubber mallet put the tabs where I needed them.

Previously, I had made and installed a lightbar, attached via the same mid-section bolt. Although I stretched the crash bars enough to accommodate the bar, I found that the lightbar was too narrow, and the lights interfered with the crash bars. Well, what was I to do but to make a new lightbar.

The material of choice, as in the previous lightbar, was an aluminum two inch angle purchased at a local hardware store. I had more than enough of it left from my last fabrication, so there was no need to go shopping.  Since the old lightbar proved itself roadworthy in over 3000 hard miles both on and off-road, I decided to maintain the original design, extending the bar's width and making a few cosmetic changes. (The original bar was designed with round lights in mind, but I now have rectangular lights mounted.)    

To begin, I traced the old bar onto the aluminum.

 Next, I added an extra inch o each side and cut the rough shape using a scroll saw. To insure that both sides would be identical, I made a round template out of a cardboard.

I reused my original brackets for attaching the ligtbar to the frame and secured those to the bar using 6mm panhead stainless steel screws.

Since the new lights are rectangular, I sawed off the round ends.

I then decided to smooth the design a little and altered the angles.

Next, I laid out the location of holes. This is strictly a matter of taste and has no effect on the strength of the unit.

With the holes drilled, I smoothed out all sharp edges with a file, followed by a 400 grit sandpaper.

Next, I attached the lightbar to the frame and secured the lights.

A view from behind:

And one from the side:

And a full frontal: 

As you can see, the lightbar (in my opinion) neither sticks out too much, nor does it affect the "flow" of the bike. This unit is the least amount of material I feel comfortable using, while still maintaining rigidity and strength. The previous unit worked rather well and did not result in any excessive vibrations.
Here is a picture with the lights on, using 35 watt H3 off-road bulbs.

With this setup, I am not only more visible to other drivers, but I gain all-important lateral illumination. Unlike many aftermarket lightbars mounted on the high fender, these lights do not sit high enough to obstruct, or deter from, the front turn signals.

Rear Brake Master Cylinder cover

This past Saturday, I stopped by my friendly mechanic for a quick chat. While talking, I did what I usually do: look in the shop’s scrap metal pile. There, amidst discarded bolts, nuts, and rusted pieces of exhaust pipes, I saw this little piece of aluminum. 

The first thing that came to mind was: Rear Brake Master Cylinder Cover!

Now, it may not look like much, but I’m a visionary or sorts. On the plus side, I envisioned the smooth quarter-sized bend as an ideal shape for my application. I asked if I could have it, received a snide joke in response, and took it home with me.

I feel a little background is appropriate:

For the past few weeks I’ve been getting my 650GS ready for this year’s riding. Since the snowbanks in front of my house are well over four feet tall, I can’t get any riding done this time of the year. Nevertheless, this doesn’t prevent me from dreaming up, and planning, rides I’d like to complete once the white stuff melts away. The first big ride of the year will come in mid April: a 2500-mile trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

To improve my chances of a trouble-free journey, I’ve been working on the bike, improving this and that, and adding a few protective pieces. One of the items on the to-do list was, in fact, a rear brake master cylinder cover. The cylinder itself is installed in a very vulnerable place, that is, low to the ground and fully exposed to rocks. Aside from being expensive to replace, finding myself without rear brake in middle of nowhere is the last thing I wish for.

To shift the odds my way a little, I’ve been looking to add a cover to this indispensable piece of equipment. Touratech makes one, but, as with all Touratech stuff, it is expensive. A fellow ADVer fabricates and sells well made aftermarket pieces, and I was about to order one, that is, until I found this little piece of scrap aluminum.

Well, I got it home, measured a few different angles, and got some basic tools ready: A saw, a drill press, and a few files.

The first step was to cut the scrap piece in two. The larger one would eventually become the master cylinder cover, while the smaller piece would become a cover for the reservoir.

Once cut, I aligned it with the brake cylinder, and marked the mounting holes location. I then cut a little off, bent the piece in a vise, and drilled the holes.

Next, I mounted it on the bike and, with the help of a level, marked my lines so the final shape would run parallel with the ground. This is simply a design preference, but I do like the look of it.

After the piece was cut, I measured where to cut the horizontal slots I wanted to have on it. Two holes were drilled on the opposite ends of each slot, with the remaining metal between those being cut out with a saw.

A few passes with a file to smooth things out, add a little radius here and a little there, and the cylinder cover was ready.

Once satisfied with the final appearance and function, I moved on to the smaller piece I cut off earlier. A little bending in a vise, a few cuts, and two horizontal slots later, it was ready to be installed.

Now, this is what I call Ultimate Recycling!

 

Touratech fork protectors

After several off-road adventures, I started noticing some wear on my G650GS. The two main areas receiving most of the blows, whether from rocks and sand thrown against the bike or rocks I hit myself, are the bash plate, engine cases, and front forks. Over the next week or so, I'll be making some improvements to the BMW at its stock form, by adding, either purchased or homemade, pieces of protective equipment. 

The first piece I decided to tackle were the front forks. The lower part of the forks themselves is fine without any damage. Nevertheless, the same cannot be said for the upper part and fork seals. Both receive more than their fair share of mud, dust, sand, and water thrown by the front wheel, along with the occasional deep water crossing. This, combined with the constant motion as the bike travels over rough terrain, makes for a pretty unhealthy environment for any motorcycle part. 

As BMW does not recommend the use of fork gaiters (due to decreased air flow to radiators), and I personally don't care for the warp-around Velcro-attached pieces, I was about to make my own. Yet, as I was exploring my options and suitable materials, a fellow ADV rider offered me a new set of Touratech Fork Protectors for sale. The price was about what I was looking to spend on material alone, so I grab hose instead.

Along with these pieces, the package contained an instruction sheet in German.  Well, Ich spreche nicht Deutsch, but it wasn't hard to figure out what goes where.

 When inspecting the individual pieces, I immediately noticed that the guides (in which the protector slides up and down) had sharp edges. Whether this part is stamped or CNC machined, I do not know, but I do know that the shard edges would cause unnecessary friction, and thus contribute to premature wear. A few minutes with a file and a quick pass with a Dremmel stoning wheel, and the internal cutouts have a nice, smooth bevel where the protector comes in contact with the guide.  (Since function is more important then appearance, I did not care about polishing the guides themselves.)

Next, I needed to cut a small piece out of the low fender, as the protectors would impact against the fender on their downward travel. To do this, I traced the fender onto a paper, which I then folded in half, and cut the guide shape out. I then unfolded the paper and centered it on the fender itself. A few passes with a hacksaw, followed by a sanding drum to smooth out the contours, and a final pass with a 400 grit sandpaper was all that was needed.  

Picture of the guides mounted underneath the fork brace. Really, a well designed product that hugs the forks rather well, without any unnecessary gaps.

The protectors themselves are held at the top by friction. A stainless steel crescent-shaped piece attaches to the protectors via two allen-bolts. To protect the chrome on the forks, Touratech supplies clear, adhesive-backed strips that act as a cushion between the mounting hardware and the forks. The bolts screw into brass inserts molded right into the protectors' plastic. I used blue Loctite on these, as they are only finger-tight. Overtightening could potentially pull the brass inserts out of the plastic, so wrench is not recommended here.

Here is a picture of the installed product.

Overall, installation was a breeze, and product is well made. Protectors slide within guides without any drag, and do not look out-of-place on the bike itself. Aside from frontal spray and impact protection, these allow for an easy inspection of forks and seals, as well as periodic cleaning.  

As usual, while working on this, I discovered something else that went wrong. This time it was my front fender (upper), which was cracked from some unknown impact. By the looks of it, I suspect a rock thrown by the front wheel, which then bounced off the frame. 

Someone once said that the cheapest thing on a BMW motorcycle is the rider. Well, I'm no exception. Instead of rushing to my nearest dealer to order a new fender, I decided there was room to cut it. So it would not look like a hack-job, I first cut the cracked piece off, then used it as guide to recreate the factory contour. Again, a few passes with a hacksaw, followed by some sanding and a final pass with 400 grit paper was all that it needed. I hate working with plastic, but this was one easy job.

 

Next, I'll tackle rear brake master cylinder protection from rocks. 

Windscreen Upgrade

One of the first things I noticed while riding home from the dealership on my, then new, G650GS, was the wind noise around my helmet. Too excited about my new toy, I did not pay much attention to it. After all, it was only a 180 mile-long ride. There were so many new things to get used it, such as the heated grips (yippee), the ABS (still not sure how to feel about it), and the powerband (switched to the single cylinder “thumper” from a 1200 inline 4).

Yet, on the first joy ride – a 400 mile-long trip to the White Mountains, I found the wind buffeting to be more than just a nuisance. My ears were aching anytime I hit speeds above 70 mph, and suing earplugs, something I never had to do before, did not make the problem go away. That day, I came home with a terrible ear pain.

At first I thought that my old Nolan helmet was no longer up to par and needed replacing. Nevertheless, when I went for a ride with a different helmet, the problem persisted. If I were to ride the bike as I intended to – hard and far – I needed to address the noise issue.

The G650GS (and its predecessor the F650GS) has terrible aerodynamics. The mirrors stick up and to the sides, the front fender is high up, and the small windscreen over the instrument cluster just does not cut it. In fact, the windscreen itself is the likely culprit of the excessive wind buffeting.

After researching viable aftermarket options and compiling a list of likely candidates, I got on the phone and called every BMW dealership in my vicinity, trying to figure out which screen they would recommend and why. Well, by the time the day as over and the phone wires were red-hot from excessive use, I had eliminated all but one maker – ZTechnik.

Ztechnik is (from what I was told) the maker of BMW OEM screens in the US. This fact by itself speaks to the quality of their product. Yet, Ztechnik also produces four different screen options for my bike, from a short sport screen to a tall touring screen, a two variants in-between. I decided to go with the Vstream Touring Screen (model Z2412)

What sets this screen apart from the others on the market is the fact that the screen itself looks like it is supposed to be on the bike. In other words, it does not look awkward or out of place. Its contours compliment the GS design, and its height is not overwhelming. It flows well.

The other thing that sets this screen apart is the material used and the standard warranty. Not only is the screen thick, shatter resistant, and scratch resistant, but Ztechnik also provides an amazing 3-year warranty on their products.

Well, I pulled the plug, so to say, and ordered one from the dealer (as Ztechnik does not sell direct to the public). The dealer arranged for a drop-shipment to my house, so I wouldn’t have to drive 2 hrs to get it.

When the package arrived, I set to play. Inside the box were a well-packaged screen, mounting instructions, and some screws and washers.

Removing the OEM screen was a breeze.

Installing the new screen was an easy job as well. I have only two negative things to say about this, and it is the use of weak rubber washers under the screws (the washers rip with just a small amount of torque) and the use of Allen-head screws (too easy to strip the head). To fix this, I purchased some neoprene washers (much tougher) and ordered some stainless steel torx-head screws that will be the same size as the stock BMW screws (except length).

The taller screen vibrates a bit more than the stock screen when the engine is under heavy load and low RPMs. However, this is neither annoying nor does it damage the screen. Simply twist the throttle or downshift and it goes away. In high speeds, the screen is very stable.

As far as quality and design, the first impression was great. “But how does it ride?” you may ask.

It rides great. My first ride with the new screen was about 380 miles to the coast of Maine and back. While I generally avoid highways, I took a highway just to test the screen. 70 mph, 80 mph, 85 mph, and the buffeting was much, much better. I came home without any ear pain. The bike is considerably quieter, as the screen send the wind above my head (or to the top of the helmet).

Now, I have over 3,000 miles on the bike with this screen and I am still happy with it. Riding in rain is more comfortable now, since, for the most part, my torso remains dry. Covering long stretches of pavement is no longer a problem either. The amazing thing is, that after all this riding there is not a single scratch on the screen, even after numerous off-road adventures where sand and gravel flew high. One time, when my bike decided it needed a rest and lay on its side, I was sure the screen would crack, but it did not. 

In the interest of full disclosure, I am not associated with Ztechnik in any way, nor did I receive any discount on this product. I’m just a happy customer.