BMW R1100 GS Based Rig Project

Supplier (Rocky Mountain ATV/MC) is sending a new tire.  😎 

The Warranty Admin asked if I wanted a new replacement tire or a refund.  So far (356 miles use) I like the tire a lot, and think this is an anomaly, so I asked for a replacement tire.  Also ordered a pair of 90 degree valve stems, and more wheel weights. 

To make this a fair comparison the weights will be the same type (flat 1/4 oz steel strips with adhesive backing).  

Now I'm kind of excited. 😀   I've read quite a few posts and reviews stating the tire is normally easy to balance with a low amount of weight used.

On other tire related events.  I raised the front and rear tire pressure to what BMW calls for when loaded with gear (36 psi front 39 rear).  Front end does not like that at all.  Bar wiggle under deceleration in that 20-ish mph and lower area is prominent.  So I'm going to try 34 psi, and if that still creates a wiggle, I'll drop back to the 32 psi that the rig seemed to really like.  Tire temps at 32 psi were very reasonable, and the front felt stable/responsive.  

More tire news to come...

On a separate topic:  Today I gave the rig a good wash and checked the oil cooler fins.  The core only had a few small spots where light would shine through.  It was packed with dead bugs, and other nastiness.  Almost all came out by running some light water pressure from the back to the front.  The rest I was able to remove with a pick.  Straightened up a few bent fins on the front side, and now the light shines through every nook and cranny of the whole core.  😎  Very happy about that.  I'm considering fabricating a removable pre-screen to sit in front.  Something that is easy to service at a gas station stop.  There is a lot of Ag Land out here, and all the bugs that go with that. 

Kind of surprised the rig didn't overheat on the more aggressive off road where the engine was under high loads at low rpm for extended periods.  At least I know why it struggled to cool down on faster light load sections of fire roads.  Will be fun to get back out, and give it a good test run.  🙂 

Hard to get a good picture of light coming through across the whole core. Where the light shines strong is how the entire core now looks. 

Scott, if you want it....I have a box of the lead stick on wheel weights, all are 1/4 ounce.... probably a 5 pound box, and I can bring it to the Flint Hills Rally.

I have no need for these anymore, as my tire balancing has...matured.

Posted by: @miles-ladue

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Scott, if you want it....I have a box of the lead stick on wheel weights, all are 1/4 ounce.... probably a 5 pound box, and I can bring it to the Flint Hills Rally.

I have no need for these anymore, as my tire balancing has...matured.

So what's your method for installing the beads?

Posted by: @calvin-watson

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So what's your method for installing the beads? 

Well, I do it the hard way, and it is not fun. Because the tire is already mounted to the wheel, which means the bead of the tire is already seated....I bring the newly installed tire/wheel back to my shop, deflate the tire, remove the valve core, then attach a long clear vinyl tube to the valve stem, and having filled a small plastic bottle with 2 oz. of ceramic balance beads, I pour that small bottle of beads into the clear tube, and slowly trickle the balance beads into the valve stem. They do get clogged up, I have to put a vibrating drill motor against the valve stem, and sometimes use compressed air...just a tiny bit, to try to blow the balance beads into the valve stem.

The EASY way is to dump a 2 oz bag of balance beads into the tire before the beads are sealed against the wheel, but that can only be done if you are mounting the tire to the wheel yourself.

Posted by: @miles-ladue

↑

Scott, if you want it....I have a box of the lead stick on wheel weights, all are 1/4 ounce.... probably a 5 pound box, and I can bring it to the Flint Hills Rally.

I have no need for these anymore, as my tire balancing has...matured.

That would be great!  I wouldn't need the whole box, so maybe we could share the contents with other old fashioned deviants like me. 

Thanks Miles! 🍻 

Had some fun yesterday.  Removed the old rear tire, and think I found what caused the blister on the sidewall.  It appears something roughed up a small spot on the inner lining.

Doesn't explain the large amount of weight required to balance, but gives me something to look at on the replacement tire. 

Since the old tire was off the rim, it provided an opportunity to change the long valve stem that was a pita to inflate and check pressure.  Bought a 90 degree bend tire valve, but it is kind of cheesy, so I picked up a short straight version that is of high quality.  Even though it's shorter it's still a bit tight to get a straight inflation nozzle on, and ended up using the 90 degree version.  Original long valve removed on the left.  Will save the straight version (middle of picture) for the front wheel when that tire gets changed next time.

With the new stem installed I thought it would be fun to see how the wheel assembly balances.  Took just over 1-1/2 oz, and an additional 1/4 oz with the TPMS cap to balance nicely. 

old weights taped in place for test balance.

 Today the replacement tire will get inspected, and if no issues found be mounted/balanced.  Paws crossed.

Scott, I was going to comment about that wheel taking 1 and 3/4 ounces of lead weight to balance, with the TPMS cap in place, as that is a really out of balance wheel......then it occurred to me that this is a BMW wheel, and everything branded BMW is...Out Of Balance.

and of course a Yellow one, for the SYZ  

BMW = Bring More Weights?  🤔 

🤣

Will be interesting to see if the tire acts as a counterbalance.  It does have a yellow dot that will get lined up with the valve stem.

Waiting on the sun to work its magic before attempting to install the second side.  First bead about fell on the rim with some WD-40. 

The "Diddle, Diddle Dumpling My Son John" effect.

Good Day Sunshine!  😎 

In the Starring role the Sun was magnificent.  Allowing for an easy install thanks to a supporting cast of WD-40 and Tire Irons. 

Tire balanced out way better than the first one.  Needing only 1-1/2 oz slightly off set of 180 degrees from the stem.  Now I'm happy.  Sometimes things just work out for the best.  🙂

Will give the tire weight adhesive a good 24 hour opportunity to setup, and then it is time to play around on a dirt road.  Need to practice Power Slides.  With all this grip it isn't nearly as easy as it used to be.  🤠 

@scott-h 

Hey Scott,

You are doing exactly the sort of rides that I love!  Cool stuff!

You know, people keep telling me to ditch the electric tilt adjust, but for the off camber stuff you have encountered, it proves kind of useful. 

Once I got it to not hit the brake caliper/tire with the hack fender, by raising the the fender substantially, I found that when the car is on the "up" side of a highly off camber road, running the tilt all the way down significantly reduces the pucker factor on those rocky roads that really want to flip you over.  This is probably it's most useful aspect.

You are getting some great experiences on SYZ!  So many things to tweak and think about for your next rig...  

It is kind of hot, down here (117F typical in afternoons), so I have not been out much this month.  Also, all my snowbird friends have bailed out, so if I go out, will certainly be by myself.  

Contemplating testing another click down in final drive ratio on Black Betty.  May buy a 15 tooth front sprocket to combine with the 44 tooth rear to reduce the final drive about 9% from stock.  Currently the 44 tooth has it at 4.3% reduction from stock.  I don't think of it as necessary, but I think it would be nice to lower 1st gear just a little more.  Won't hurt to bring 6th gear down a little, either.

Keep up the pics, really enjoying your posts!

Hi Dane,

I've taken a lot of inspiration from you & Black Betty (that sweet girl). 

The tilt idea is a very good one, as is the electronic suspension settings.  Also like your idea of gearing down.  Tightens up all the ratios.  

I'm looking forward to swapping in the 37/11 final drive.  That will be quite a change from the current 31/11.  With the stock size rear tire it should make for a better off road experience.  

Thanks for your insight, and the inspiration!  🍻 

Out for a ride to "scrub in" the new tire, and saw this Thai Food truck setup in their front yard.  By the wear around the tables seems like they do a good business.

 Set down in the shade by the water feature.  Nice bit of a break. 😎 

Wow!  What a great lunch.  More than I could eat. 

Just made it home.  Time for a food coma.  lol

 Oh.  Tire works.  100 miles down 6,900 to go.  😉 

Front tire and sidecar tire now have 700 miles about 70 miles of that in dirt/gravel roads/ATV trails, and continues to perform well.  New rear tire has 360-ish miles with about 40 of that on gravel/dirt roads. 

The front Motoz GPS is really pressure sensitive when it comes to steering wobble.  32 psi at 65 degrees F seems to be a very narrow sweet spot.  At that point the bars don't wobble even when heat raises the tire pressure into the 34/35-ish psi range.  But if I start with more than 32 psi cold, it will wobble straight out of the garage.  Wear seems to be pretty even with just slight rounding on the front edge of the blocks.  From the first 700 miles of use, it seems this tire is passable for the street as long as the rig is ridden with moderation.  Front has better grip than the Shinko E-705 but is still more off road focused than a pure street tire. 

Bridgestone AX41 on the sidecar is doing well.  It does not have as much lateral traction as the Block-K it replaced, and is slightly louder. It is a smoother riding tire. Probably not the choice for a spirited street rider, but has been working great for off-road traction and provides the monkey with a very comfortable ride. 

New (warranty replacement) rear Motoz GPS tire has 360 miles, of which about 40 miles is unpaved county roads.  Noticed the wear was accentuated to the left side of the tire.  I had made a pretty pronounced lean-out change shortly before install.  Readjusted that to bring the tug back to about 1.5 degrees lean out.  Still tracks well, so this should help with a more balanced tread wear.  This tire is about the minimum I'd be comfortable with grip wise on the street.  I can induce a pretty good power slide on the pavement (especially on a right turn), and it isn't too hard to do until the bike runs out of power/rpm.  I couldn't do that with the ATR-K Ecoterrorist tire.  It had substantially more grip on the pavement.  Probably this tire is not the best choice for a more spirited street rider.  It was also pretty "greasy" feeling during the initial 100-ish miles of break-in.  Twice I got off the bike thinking the swing arm or final drive was loose. 

Unless something dramatic happens, that is it for tire reporting until after the big trip in September.  If all goes well, the set should have in excess of 2,000 miles (hopefully more in the 3K mile range).  🙂 

Pictures are: * New rear tire with 360-ish miles.  *Side profile of front with pretty smooth wear. * Front profile shows a nice wear pattern.  * Sidecar tire wearing as sidecar tires do. 🤣 

in the category of "telling me where to go" SYZ now has a new-to-me Zumo XT. 

I've relied on Google or Waze street navigation, and Back Country Navigator Pro ( https://www.backcountrynavigator.com/backcountry-navigator-pro) off road navigation for about decade.  Has worked awesome, with paper maps and an old army compass for backup. 

This last big trip the cell phone bricked up during travel.  It is one of those phones with the battery leads soldered to a board.  To "un-brick" the phone I had to short the LiPo battery so the bms would shut it off. That was sketchy. Thankfully the BMS had an auto reset.   With that experience, I decided to do something different, getting the phone off the bike, and into a pocket that doesn't vibrate so much.

Will be interesting to learn and work with this new device.  I found out MIT offers a two year associates degree in Garmin Navigation products.  🤣

To be honest I'm not sold.  Being able to say "Hey Google, navigate to xxxxxx."  Or "Hey Google, show gas stations on the route." All on the fly through the helmet communicator.  Having to pull over and type things in is so last century (matching the rest of the rig, and driver).   Supposedly this will link up with my InReach SE, so I "guess" that is a good thing? 

Need to wire into the bike's Accessory circuit.

Jury is out.  Thankfully there is Summer Vacation v2.0 coming up to give it a good try. 😎