Part 5 Dwayne bulks up.
There are two types of riders in the world; those that like BMWs and those that buy other bikes. I guess in a Venn diagram there would be a small slice of folks that like them but can’t afford them so they buy something else but Venn diagrams aren’t sexy.
The R1200GSA - BMWs flagship bike. It’s off road capable, has spoked wheels and tubeless tires, 9 gallon fuel tank, 109 hp, 120nm of torque, and damn fine looks (subjective sure but basically you agree with me or you’re wrong – see Venn diagram).
Despite the impressive power numbers (my last rig had 70 hp; 76 nm torque) being weighed down with a 200 lb wheel barrow requires a little bit of bulking up.
The first thing is to build or buy a subframe. In an earlier post, I admitted that I’m a beginning welder so I bought one – fingers crossed it will be the last one I’ll “buy”.
I will not name the company because it took three months for them to get it right but I won’t shame them either because eventually a competent welder stepped in and built a working one. These are all the parts I had to send back.
My 84 R100RT showed me that I’m a wuss and need a steering mod so that got bumped to the top of my checklist. I bought an LBS raked triple tree. A beautiful piece that actually fit – just don’t expect them to answer any questions after the sale. I went the triple tree route for money reasons and since I’m only doing mild off road/fire roads to take Chloe mushroom hunting. If that changes, I’ll save up for leading links.
Getting the front wheel off was a beech. I don’t know what kungfu-gripped gorilla tightened that axle but I bent my spark plug wrench which btw fit in the hole perfectly and had to buy a real axle tool. Even with the right tool, I still needed a generous application of heat and grunt to get it out. Why?
Raked trees = longer brake lines. With my RT’s leading links I had to buy two longer lines from the splitter to the dual calipers to fit the new “L” shape.
The new raked trees were kicked out ¾” so the lines from the splitter (built into the trees – neat) to the calipers stayed the same but the line from the ABS box to the trees/splitter was just a touch too short. I turned to Speigler for it. They’ve helped me a couple times and know which side of a hammer is the sharp end.
Suspension. I thought long and hard about not doing the suspension because mine didn’t leak. BUT Dwayne has 44k on it so leaking/blowing out was just down the road. What decided it for me was not wanting to dismantle the bike a second time, especially 14 minutes after my first ride (Murphy’s a bast@rd).
To do the suspension, the tank has to come off to get to the front shock and I would have had to remove part of the new subframe to get the rear off. Those things were off for the install anywho so while in there…
While I’m whining, BMWs red locktite is no joke. I swore I was going to strip the front shock's bottom bolt and end up taking the entire A arm off. I heated it, worked it, heated it, worked it. I used a breaker bar but that only made alarming noises. I posted to a forum who basically told me to do more of what I was doing. Finally, I bought a better heat gun and an infrared thermometer and heated that bast@rd to the magic 200F and it came free. And I got two new toys.
Back to shocks. For those “other” type of people, BMW doesn’t use traditional forks. Instead you have a monoshock front and rear – BMW arts it up and calls it telelever. Originally I wanted to just rebuild and respring the stock shocks. I was told that could be done but when I spoke to a more experienced salesperson I found out that they don’t sell springs for the stock shocks in the sizes I need.
I spoke to the usual suspects, Ted Porter and EPM. I went with EPM and Hyperpro because it didn’t punch my wallet as hard as the ones Ted was selling. Fair dues to Ted, they were nice shocks.
Speaking of Hyperpro, I found a used steering damper. I’d say I slapped that puppy on, no big, but that would be horse hockey. The triple tree is longer and the forks are at a different angle than stock so I installed it, took it off because it scraped the triple. Installed it on the underside, took it off cause that just wasn’t going to work. Installed it on the other fork, for whatever reason that sort of worked but it put some minor gouges in the body of the damper. Went to bed. Second guessed myself at 4 am. Next day I did it all again but ended up right back to installing it on the opposite fork. If that isn’t going to work, keep it to yourself. I’d rather find out the hard way… probably.
I have a 2008 GSA which as you know is essentially identical to your 2011. I too have the HyperPros. I too have the LBS trail reducer. I too have the HyperPro steering damper. So I will continue to follow along with interest.
Lots of cool progress! 🤩
Hold my keyboard and watch this! 🙃
I have a 2008 GSA, have the HyperPros, have he LBS trail reducer, and the HyperPro steering damper.
@ned aka Drone
So how's the handling? Any areas for improvement?
What types of roads do you ride regularly?
I'll message you instead of clunking up the build thread. Sneak peek linkI have a 2008 GSA, have the HyperPros, have he LBS trail reducer, and the HyperPro steering damper.
@ned aka Drone
So how's the handling? Any areas for improvement?
What types of roads do you ride regularly?
Part 6: Zap Zap, Valdez
Clean, clean, clean. Anytime I take anything off I clean it and the surrounding area. My GSA is clean, clean, clean.
Decided to tackle wiring next . As BMWers know, my bike has CANBus which is appropriately nicknamed CANTbus… because you can’t add anything.
Several other makes use it too like Guzzi, Yamaha, and, weirdly, Hardley Ableson. Mike Paul, the man when it comes to wiring, touts the virtues of the ezCan for doing wiring on a CanBus system. The newer version will do extra turn signals and brake lights and since a sidecar gives the bike an extra turn signal and brake light that sounds like cheese and onion to me (beer and pretzels, peanut butter and jelly, you pick.)
My tub is an Ural and Ural grounds the lights with a bolt through the light housing – not a separate ground wire.
The EzCan said, “oh hell no” so I spent an afternoon run an extra wire to each light for ground work. With a little computer configuration and a nap, everything was working.
I’ll do the “wrap and pretty” when I know how much I have to splice onto the EzCan plugs but until I have the tub on there’s no way to measure it.
Then I did the fuze block. Maybe I did that first. Not important.
The EzCan has four outputs. I used one for the sidecar turn signals, one for the sidecar brake/parking light, one for the Screaming Banshee horn, leaving one left which I’m sorta reserving for aux lights on the sidecar.
That didn’t leave anything for heated gear. BMWs are morally required to have heated grips and BMW riders are equally obligated to have heated gear. I like to ride in the cold and I like to be warm so another cheese and onions thing.
Yes, yes, FlyinMonkeys. I know. The RGSA only has half the charging system of Phaethon’s Sun Chariot, the Honda Goldwing, but you know…so. It’s the choice between a Shackleton-level adventure vibe and a rolling couch. We all know, myself included, that we would rather roll down the highway in comfort but we want the world to think we’re about to cross the desert without a map.
Anyway…
I needed a gizmo to connect heated gear for myself and you better believe I’m going to make sure Chloe has it too. I had a Centech AP-2 fuse box with AP-130R relay trigger I salvaged from the RT.
This is where I probably over thought things. I needed somewhere to cut into the wiring harness that was attached to the switch so the Centech would shut off with the switch (no draining the battery with heated gear ). But…CANTbus. CanBus doesn’t like when you cut into stuff that’s why the EzCan was a better solution than wiring the sidecar lights into the bike lights. CanBus senses the extra load and gets pissy.
What I did was cut the wire to the accessory port under the seat and wired the hot wire into the Centech relay. I left enough wire on the port that I could wire from the port straight to the battery. That way I could charge the battery through the accessory port – without needing a special CanBus friendly charger.
When it comes to trying to stay on a budget, two hanks of wire vs buying a new charger = easy choice. And I got a trigger wire for the Centech to boot. And the CanBus wasn’t the least bit annoyed. The relay doesn’t have much of a load. Its purpose is to flip a switch so the Centech gets power.
Last was the “extra wire” sticking out from under my gas tank and running directly to the battery. What was attached to it was unknown. I emailed the PO, cool guy, and he said he thought it went to an accessory plug on the dash. Whoever put the port into the dash did such a nice job I thought it was original and assumed it was wired into the harness. Once the tank was off I was able to confirm it was an add on.
My current thinking is to leave it attached to the battery and get one of those voltage meters that plugs into a DIN. I could wire it into the Centech but I’ll probably get a better reading on the battery if it’s direct connected.
The bike was on the jack waiting for parts for the sub frame. Not one to let moss form, I used the time to do some regular maintenance. Some of it was due. Some of it was due soon. Some of it I did because I didn’t want to tear sh!t apart again later.
The alternator belt fell into the last category. I had the forks off for the triple tree swap which meant I could easily remove the alternator cover and get at the alternator belt. These newer GSs don’t have an adjuster for the pulley like some of the older models. In other words there is no loosening one bolt sliding the pulley in, remove and replace the belt option.
Instead you need to do some sort of voodoo to get the belt off. Luckily I found this video. And it worked somewhat like what’s shown.
Then Jim Von Baden – dude that makes the BMW maintenance videos – showed how to get it on. JVB makes it look easy.
It took me several tries, a swear break, and then using a screwdriver ever so carefully to guide the belt while I did it his way. Then I had to use same screwdriver to guide it back because I overshot and needed to coax it back onto the right grooves. Keep in mind I was turning the pulley with a wrench while doing all this fiddly deeing around.
The air filter was probably the lowest drama of the tasks. The one in it looked fine but it was dated 2012 so I put a new one in. I had it already.
The oil, transmission fluid, and final drive fluid were next on the list. Even using the aluminum foil waterfall trick – shape foil to guide the oil into the pan - did not spare me the Valdez-level mess.
The bike was on the jack stand. I had enough room to get the filter wrench on the oil filter. I did not have enough room to get the filter out between the bike and the stand WITHOUT turning a full oil filter 90 degrees. I really wish I had video of that clown act but it would have to have the sound muted because no one should hear the things I had to say about my lack of foresight.
Brake fluid took some work. New lines always do. I injected some from the caliper side with a syringe which got the party started then bleed normally. Chloe pumped the handle while open and shut the bleed nipple. Took a while. It still felt soft to me so I tied the brake handle back and let it sit for a couple of days. Only wish I got as hard when pumped…my biceps you pervs.
Drew, I can't begin to imagine what Chloe has to put up with you.....Oh, the Humanity!
Since YOU brought my name up a couple times today, whilst I was out driving my newest sidecar rig 622 miles in hot weather....now in Fort Collins, CO, I will tell you that 2018+ Goldwings also have CanBus systems on them, and since you dared......dared I say.....to call Goldwings a "couch", yet never have seen me ride, I can assure you that any motorcycle can be ridden like a couch, with the rider pretending to watch Monday Night Football, or......any motorcycle can also be ridden like a CBR1000R-RR, if the rider has the experience and inclination.
And you whined....whined I say...about the puny alternator output on BMW's, especially the vintage ones you enjoy.
Care to guess what the alternator output is on my '19 Wing, which has all LED lighting too ?
1,560 watts.....that's a 130 Amp alternator in the newest Goldwings.....enough to be a backup battery pack for 10 vintage BMW's.
I may need to send Chloe some flowers, just to ease her day.
Two Million Mile Rider...All 7 Continents
Exploring the World in Comfort
Wow, great post! I followed along the whole way. Ain't GSA's fun?
Two comments. It's a tiny parasitic drain if you plug that voltage meter thingy into the accessory port that goes directly to the battery. Unless you ALWAYS remember to unplug it when you park the bike for more than a few days or ALWAYS remember to plug in your Battery Tender. I had a similar dual USB port gizmo on my K1200LT but without the voltmeter or any LED "convenience" lighting. Hockey stick shape maybe stresses the port a little less?
For anybody reading this thread, when you don't have a 2nd set of hands around, I've found the one-way bleed valve from Motion Pro works pretty good. You pop it on, crack open the bleeder, then start pumping. You don't need to keep cracking and uncracking the bleed screw. Only 15 bucks.
dared I say.....to call Goldwings a "couch", yet never have seen me ride
And you whined....whined I say...about the puny alternator output on BMW's, especially the vintage ones you enjoy.
Care to guess what the alternator output is on my '19 Wing?
I may need to send Chloe some flowers, just to ease her day.
Let's unpack this one piece at a time.
1. A couch is a couch, no matter who's sitting on it. Then again those Bagger races are kinda entertaining.
2. Vintage BMWs. Since when is a 2011 GSA Vintage? I wrecked my 84. Mere days after I finished upgrading the paltry charging system and yes even upgraded it was still only 29% as powerful as Thor's hammer your Goldwing is packing.
3. The one vintage BMW I have (left) is a racing sidecar. The charging system on it make 0 (zero) watts cause I put it on the shelf and am running total loss.
4. No you don't need to tell me (again) what the Goldwing charging system can do. I remember from the other 3.14159 times you rubbed my nose in it.
5. Chloe likes flowers and you know my address.
(For those that don't know Miles and I, this hectoring is all in good fun.)
And for how I really feel about which bike is best go here https://sidecar.com/forum/general-discussion-general-discussion/one-of-the-things-i-like-about-motorcycles/#post-85942
I do believe I missed this completely.
Mine apologies.
That said the hinged front Ural tub was done by guy in the Eastern States somewhere.
Victoria I believe.
A mere day's ride for Miles.
Several for mortals.
Part 7: The Frankentub.
Recap for those you just joining who didn’t have the gumption to read the first opus. My original Ural tub was damaged in the rear.
I couldn’t afford any of the ones for sale at the time (where was that $1000 tub when I needed it? https://sidecar.com/forum/sidecars-for-sale-tubs-only/2021-ural-tub-for-sale/#post-85908)
I traded a R75 frame even up for a tub with nose damage. Frame came with the engine for the race rig.
https://sidecar.com/forum/technical-discussion/vintage-racing-sidecar-build-dry-build-video-up/
My buddy, Chuck Loftin, said “Cut the noses off, build a jig, tack it in the corners and weld out.” I said, “good idea if I had the skill and tools.”
But my never ending broke-ness, made me follow his advice with a modification – my friend PJ.
PJ came over a couple Saturday mornings and said cut this. I would dutifully mark it and cut it during the week.
The pieces went to PJ’s workshop, where the edge of the nose (black/red) got flanged so it slipped under the lip of the rear (green) piece. We were both amazed at how close we got the cuts to match up with very little grinding.
Then there was tons of welding. Sorry no pics. I was too busy soaking up everything PJ said and did – an unbelievable education.
I reciprocated by doing a paint restoration on PJs beloved CB750.
Part 7 Frankentub (continued)
There was a fair amount of me thumping on the panel, hammer and dolly style, to straighten out the wreck damage before the welding.
And even more after. Since the two piece were made 10 years apart there were some minor variations that affected the fit resulting in some tight spots and ripples once welded. My goal was to make everything straight enough that there would be 1/8” (3mm) or less of body fill needed to make it level.
Then it was over to Chloe for the bodywork. She applied the fill and did the sanding. The tub is her domain and she wanted to do the work. Thank Lemmy.
We stopped that process mid-way and painted the floor with POR15. It’s a good tough coating and easier to apply in tight spaces than trying to get a spray gun into the trunk and foot well.
Chloe finished up the bodywork and we painted the bottom of the tub with Raptor bed liner.
By the time all that got done our window of decent weather had closed.
Without a paint booth, we had to make a tent outside. The paint said not to apply it if the weather would dip under 60F within 6 hours of painting.
So we waited and waited and waited - from Thanksgiving through a cold wet spring until the second week of June.
We have never painted with a spray gun before so we took a weekend that was dry Saturday but rainy Sunday to do the setup and a practice run with the gun.
A quick word about Chloe doing the painting.
A. She's the coolest human ever and
B. Before becoming a Mental Health Counselor, she and her mom had a business doing decorative painting/faux finishes. They could make a wall look like anything you wanted.
She also does fine art.
Point is she knows and can read paint.
Finally, June 16th, 2024. The big day. This was the final job before we could assemble the rig!
Except that it wasn’t.
Cliff Hanger!!!! 😱
What an amazing amount of work. Funny how something that doesn't appear to have changed since the '40s has changed enough to be a good challenge.
Looking forward to see how this all comes out. 😎
Hold my keyboard and watch this! 🙃
Part 8: Pre-assembly. Stepping on rakes
First, a bunch of words about the paint. As my eagle-eyed friend, Miles (FlyingMonkeys @miles-ladue), was quick to point out, the tub is not color matched to the bike.
That has not escaped my attention.
In the previous post I mentioned that Chloe was an artist.
What that means in practical terms is that there was zero (zilch, nichts, nada, naught) chance she was going to let me get away with color matching the bike to the tub.
It meant that we were always going to use complimentary colors with key color tie-ins. The keyword in Boss Monkey is Boss (well and Monkey really but let’s not get too caught up in details.)
So Quick_Cal @calvin-watson, stop stressing about your Christmas themed set up and just say it was an artistic choice.
Paint job.
This was our first real (non-rattle can) paint job. We used single stage (clear coat and paint in one) and we painted in a plastic tarp tent.
Rake 1. The paint didn’t go on great and there was really on one person to blame – Flying Monkeys. No really it was me. I adjusted the gun wrong. I could make a long and whining excuse but I overthought the problem and did it wrong. As a result we didn’t get a nice even coat but it wasn’t terrible.
Rake 2. Painting in a plastic tarp tent. I’ll go so far as to say - never again. The biggest problem for us was poor ventilation. We had a fan pumping what it could out of the tent through a hole but it wasn’t enough and Chloe couldn’t really see to read the paint.
Rake 3. Last coat. I was holding the plastic tarp out while Chloe was getting something to keep it down when the wind blew it in (WHILE I WAS HOLDING IT) and the tarp hit the wet fender.
Disappointing but oh well. We had the last coat of the tub to do and had to keep on keepin on.
All of that meant… wet sanding and polishing.
It really helped the result. I would have taken it further but I had no idea how thick the clearcoat was being a single stage paint. I was deadly afraid of cutting through it.
Swingarm blues.
Rake 4. I bought new rubber bushings for the swingarm. The old ones were cracked and I had everything apart anyway. Side note. Taking the swingarm off of a Ural sidecar frame requires and special combination of craftiness and extreme violence.
I tried like mad to get the bushings out. I tried pushing them out with a threaded rod and washers (how you’re supposed to take them out/put them in).
No go.
I tried drilling them out with a hole saw. I went slightly off angle and bit into the metal so I abandoned that plan.
I figured I’d just take them to the machine shop and let them deal with it. So I did what anyone would do. Forgot about it.
Time came for assembly and I took it to the machine shop. He stared at it for 10 minutes while repeatedly saying, I don’t know how I’d do it. I could tell he was thinking about it so I let it go on until I was sure I was at the final can’t do it. He even called Claude at one point. Claude used to work at the machine shop long, long ago.
Next, I called a Ural dealer. He said they don’t do that job because it’s so difficult. I asked about options and the dude got snarky.
You can’t get parts for a 20 year old bike (really, I get BMW parts for bikes way older on the regular).
I don’t have a magic answer, he said. At which point I shut him down with, I’m not looking for a magic answer. I’m asking what my options are, in a tone of voice that clearly telegraphed that if I was in the same state as him one more snarky comment would earn him a punch in the head.
I’ve always hated Ohio. This did little to change my mind.
Chuck Loftin to the rescue.
For those of you who don’t know Chuck, you need to. He is in this order:
- A great guy
- A loving father
- An amazing machinist/fabricator
- A sidecarist
Chuck made the leading link front end that was on my BMW R100RT (the one I wrecked). He encouraged me to learn to weld, has provided me with information, and supplied ideas on multiple occasions.
Chuck said send it to him and he would see what he could do. Chuck uses Ural tubs fairly regularly and had an idea of the problem.
Chuck couldn’t get the rubber bushings in either and the bushings ended up honked in the attempt. BUT Chuck came up with a genius solution. He made the bushings out of urethane.
The bushings don’t really absorb much shock so rubber wasn’t necessary and urethane could be turned down so they just fit in the swing arm without all the folderol.
Chloe made him cookies since he wouldn’t take money.
So with a little paint touch up on the tub frame parts, we were ready to assemble.
Spoiler alert. It didn’t go to plan.
