BMW R1100 GS Based Rig Project

Hey All

I've just signed up and taken the plunge directly buying a GS1200 with Dnepr chair .... no idea what I've let myself into other than hopefully  smiles and tears over many miles 🤣. 

I'll be here with questions for sure .. go gentle with my upcoming stupidity and zero starting point ....

On a train to collect it and go 350 miles home for my virgin trip. I've ridden bikes for 50 years so a lot of solo habits to banish...

Keep you posted...!

Posted by: @wallace

↑

Hey All

I've just signed up and taken the plunge directly buying a GS1200 with Dnepr chair .... no idea what I've let myself into other than hopefully  smiles and tears over many miles 🤣. 

I'll be here with questions for sure .. go gentle with my upcoming stupidity and zero starting point ....

On a train to collect it and go 350 miles home for my virgin trip. I've ridden bikes for 50 years so a lot of solo habits to banish...

 

Keep you posted...!

Before you begin that 350 mile return home, please, please, please find a relatively empty parking lot and to a number (30+ each) of varying geometry left and right turn/curves to get a feel for how the chair behaves, especially in right direction turns. 

Next thing after getting the turning practice in, add 100lb of sand/concrete/dogfood to the chair and repeat the left and right practice.  You won't regret the time spent doing either of these activities on your ride home.  Good news is that with many years of 2 wheel operation, you should quickly get a feel for "things that cause puckering".

Leave yourself lots of time for the trip home and then post a NEW THREAD telling us about yourself in the General Discussion.  Flaming will commence some time after safe arrival at home!

Posted by: @wallace

↑

Hey All

I've just signed up and taken the plunge directly buying a GS1200 with Dnepr chair .... no idea what I've let myself into other than hopefully  smiles and tears over many miles 🤣. 

I'll be here with questions for sure .. go gentle with my upcoming stupidity and zero starting point ....

On a train to collect it and go 350 miles home for my virgin trip. I've ridden bikes for 50 years so a lot of solo habits to banish...

 

Keep you posted...!

Right On!  😎 

The 1200 GS is a great bike, and the combination makes for a solid adventure rig.  In the "Sidecar Library" is some great info regarding driving a rig.  Worth a perusal before you jump on for the ride home.  They drive very different, and that difference is exacerbated by the long travel suspension of the GS matched with the short travel shock of the sidecar.  So a precursor of what you're in for is helpful.

Two more posts and you'll be able to add pictures.  There are a few sidecarists on this site with similar combinations.  They'll have some great input for you.

You are welcome to piggy back on this thread, or start your own.  Whatever you are most comfortable with.   I tend to post a lot of jibberish, so for your own sanity you may want your own thread.  🤣 

Looking forward to following along with your new adventure.  Post early, and post often! 🍻 

Latest Oil analysis is in.  Copper is much improved, as noted in the comments.  Engine stress was very similar to the first oil sample except the mileage is about 2K less, and there wasn't a hard push on the last two days of the trip. 

Overall, pretty happy.  Looking forward to the riding season next year.  😎 

Side note:  My next sidecar may be a new (to me) telescope and observatory.  Still working out details.  Here was my last Astronomy binge.  It was awesome.  Very stupid of me not to keep it.

Great Scot...how  could you not keep that  telescope  ?

Oh, the Humanity  !

And, wouldn't it be nice to own a motorcycle  that didn't  necessitate getting  an oil sample  tested semi-annually ?

It's  almost  like  your  motorcycle is  required to have drug testing from  urine samples.  I mean....it is YELLOW  

Drug testing!... That's why it seems so normal.  😉 

Yes, selling that astronomy setup was a major case of the stupids.  All the pieces stacked up to be a better package than it should have been.   But times move on, and some of the new tech (both high and low) is pretty amazing.  So I don't mind starting over.

Latest email update from Blackstone Labs (where I get the oil testing done) has an article about the TBN test.  They were using the TBN test to give an idea of oil life.  What they've found is the results aren't linear, and therefore not the best way to determine future life.  Thought it was interesting enough to post it here.

You can find more info on Blackstone at their website ( https://www.blackstone-labs.com/).   Other than using their services, I don't have any affiliation with them.

I've been trying to think of a fun project to enhance/upgrade the Screaming Yellow Zonker for the '25 riding season.  Kind of struggling because it is working so well, and has really hit the "sweet spot".  There isn't a time I don't walk by it, or hop on for a ride that doesn't elicit a big ear to ear grin.

In the "bin of spare parts" is a set of 37/11 gears, but really enjoy the 36-38mpg combined that the rig averages, and the lower freeway rpms.  Since it will lug like a tractor off road the current gear set works fine.  So there is no desire to trade fuel mileage and smoothness at freeway speeds, for quicker acceleration. 

Thought about adding the MCCruise cruise control setup.  The throttle is cable, and the kit would have to be "kluged together" from an R1150 kit.  Adding maintenance items, and possible failure points isn't motivational.  The current throttle lock seems the lesser of "two evils."

So I may just put a new rear tire on, add some yellow tint to the driving lights and call it good for the year.   

Currently the new "Super Muttress" is in training to become a riding partner.  That seems a big enough project to keep things interesting for 2025.  🙂

 Wishing us all an awesome year of fun, adventure and fellowship. 🍻 

On my 1150 GS I found the throttle lock to be perfectly adequate for all long distance cruising needs.  Why complicate things unnecessarily?

@scott-h Scott, congratulations on having your rig so well adapted to your needs!

I too found a throttle lock to be adequate on my prior Africa Twin.  Toyed with the idea of the McCruise unit, but couldn't work up the enthusiasm for the surgery.  Current AT has factory cruise and I am quite spoiled with it, though.

Isn't it a shame when all of the maintenance is caught up, and you can't think of anything that really needs to be done?  I finally talked myself into rebuilding a couple of leaky toilets, this afternoon, since Black Betty (that sweet girl) is behaving herself so well.

Also took her windshield off for a while, and disassembled the height adjuster. 

It has these slidy plastic things that have gotten beaten to death over the course of 40,000 gentle miles and they needed to be replaced, along with some mounting bushings, washers, etc. 

Ordered about $100 worth of fiddly bits to rebuild and enhance the adjustable windscreen apparatus to see if I can get it to go a little further on this rebuild.

Look ma, no windshield:

As I have slowly been going deeper on front to rear drive sprocket ratios, I have not noticed much degradation in fuel milage.  For me, I think it stays in 6th gear at freeway speeds more, now, instead of wanting to shift down to 5th on mild inclines.  Acceleration is a little more brisk, but I am really liking the deeper ratio when in 1st gear on rocks and stuff the best.

Looks like the new doggo is adapting well, hope she has a fine time with you and your adventures!

@ben-franklin, Dane,  I like the look of your Africa Twin without the windshield, has that Warrior Totem look to it.  Of course the Africa Twin is the Ultimate Adventure Weapon. 😍

I'm surprised someone hasn't come out with a kit to make the windshield latch a single handed operation.  Based on the volume of ATs out there, it could be a pretty popular upgrade.  👍 

Scot, without the Kilt....I am against motorcycle riders using Cruise Controls for droning along at speed, removing that vital link between their cerebral cortex and their throttle hand. It is too easy to have "something" go wrong in a nano-second, and not respond as quickly because the cruise control was in play.

All of my sidecar rigs have factory cruise control, I mean...come on...they are Honda Goldwing's, for Pete's Sake, but I only use the OEM cruise control for very momentary instances wherein I might need the right hand to do something other than hold onto that throttle. Generally, if I use the cruise control, it is for a matter of 10 to 20 seconds, and no more.

It is far too easy for motorcyclists to lose concentration, to drone down the road, to play with their GPS or Navigation system, to play with their audio systems, etc, etc, etc....and that is generally when the stuff hits the fan, as it were.

No problem with a manual throttle lock that is put into play as a momentary thing, and the best one ever invented is the oldest one ever put into mass production, the olde school Vista Cruise. Less expensive, works like a Timex watch.

Since there didn't seem to be a winter project worth doing on SYZ, something had to get done.  Decided to train Pluto the Dob how to fetch.

Pluto started life as a regular Apertura AD8 Dobsonian telescope ( https://www.highpointscientific.com/apertura-ad8-8-inch-dobsonian-telescope-ad8).   As a test to see if the light pollution was reasonable enough to spend the big bucks building an observatory, and getting some more premium telescopes.   These are a great way to get into astronomy at a reasonable price.  This being an 8" scope is considered a "life time" purchase.  It has enough aperture to see faint fuzzies, with enough quality to get some great planetary detail.

Unlike the inventor John Dobson who would have been a great person to know/interview ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dobson_(amateur_astronomer) ), Dobsonian operators tend to be people who enjoy pushing things around.  I'm not a pushy person, and prefer to go along for the ride to see where it goes. 

This meant breaking with tradition and adding electronics to semi-automate the process.  Thankfully there are DIY kits for just this purpose.  They all lack finish detailing though.  The kit used here is a Romer Optics EZ Goto setup ( https://romer-optics-llc.myshopify.com/collections/coma-fee-dobsonian).   To which was added a separate electronic focusing system of my design using the R-O focus bracket kit.   Rather than have loose wires running all over, the harness was disassembled wrapped in nylon sheath, and then run through strain reliefs to keep the amps, relay and power board inside a project box.  For power there is a five amp Li-Po battery.  It allows running 20V to the Goto system, and 5/9/12V out through the USB ports.  Perfect since the primary mirror cooling fan is 12V, and the smart phone charging is 5V.

The Pluto mask is just there to cover the Alt motor setup.  As Pluto is the coolest of all the planets, and orbits on it's own path, it just seemed fitting.  He is a bit starry eyed though.

For transport the Optical Tube Assembly (OTA) lifts off the base.  Since the focuser motor and harness is permanently attached to the OTA, the end at the driver/controller is connected via a 4 pin round plug designed for constant connect/disconnect.  Taped to the sheath is a magnet to hold it in place on the base when fully assembled, and to the OTA when transporting that part separately.

The  EZ Goto kit includes two encoder units with the Azimuth encoder having a bluetooth chip to connect a tablet or smart phone via the Romer Optics EZ Goto app.  That app has several catalogs of astronomical objects for perusal.  Once the initial setup is done, it's just a matter of calling up an item to view, and the scope will go to that item, and track it for as long as it is in the sky.  Or, the scope can be "pushed to" an object and then set to automatically track that item.  The best of both worlds for those people with multiple personalities. 

Tonight will be the first opportunity to test things out, and see how Pluto fetches cool stuff like the Orion Nebula, planets, etc..  Should be fun, if a bit on the cold side.  Early March is the optimum time for the "Messier Marathon" (capturing all the Messier objects in one night with no electronic assistance).  A great time to stay up all night and catch the best times of the night for seeing (which tend to come and go through the night).

So that along with putting up a make-shift enclosure to limit stray light ended up being the "winter projects."   Come on riding season!!!!!  

@thane-lewis I drive a BMW R90/6-Ural rig with a 37/11 final drive. I get about 30-33 mpg. My cruise control in the $10 BMW Throttle hold screw. You just have to remember to close the throttle. The upside is that you can take you hand off the throttle and drive one handed to give your arthritic thumb a rest. Of course you need a well set up rig to be able to drive one handed.

The Royal Star/Hannigan rig had a good throttle lock on it that made one handed (more or less straight) operation possible and gave my shoulders a rest.  The Godwing/Champion rig we have now is even better!