BMW R1100 GS Based Rig Project

BMW was my ideal bike for a long time.

Not that I do any distance of note but the Guzzi seems a much cheaper bike to own so far.

I did own a CX500 though once.

It was a Honda/Guzzi.........

BMW has come along way from ultra reliable , simple design ,easy to maintain  airheads , to some sort of altar to MC technology that they claim the consumers demanded, I must have been drunk when I had my say !  Wait I didn't buy one till after I quit drinking , must have been an ego thing.Shame on me.

Yeah, I drank the coolaid. For the most part it has been fine. I own two GS's  Time will tell now that I don't have the ability to replace the money I spend..  160.00 bucks for a little bracket that got bent some how  :-(. 

Of course my Honda's just kept on a ticking. Thermostats,  mirrors and tip over wing covers. Were about all I had to replace.. The latter two were not Honda's fault..

Why did I sell that ST1300, would have made a great street rig. ?? 

Quote from MGV8 on January 20, 2024, 8:48 pm

Yeah, I drank the coolaid. For the most part it has been fine. I own two GS's  Time will tell now that I don't have the ability to replace the money I spend..  160.00 bucks for a little bracket that got bent some how  :-(. 

Of course my Honda's just kept on a ticking. Thermostats,  mirrors and tip over wing covers. Were about all I had to replace.. The latter two were not Honda's fault..

Why did I sell that ST1300, would have made a great street rig. ?? 

Yo, Brian,  now that you have  been  watching the  Dakar  Rally so diligently,  did you  notice  what  brand won the  bike races this year  ?

And, did you  also  notice that the  Roundel logo wasn't  even  present  this year  ?

Oh, the humanity  !

Come on Monkeys !!!!  Honda is obviously one of the better engineering companies in the world I don't think anyone would argue about that.

There's no doubting abs and fuel injection made MC better on the other hand gizmo's are done better by other people ! I bought Duncan's rig (2011) cause I thought it a more practical generation I may have been mistaken . I suspect BMW issues are more ego driven , they took their cars from great fun to maintenance diva's .

Dave, speaking of buying something from a "practical generation"....my wife walks into the living room a couple weeks ago, and announces to me that "IF" she were to have another 2 wheeled motorcycle (as she is quite content with being the Boss Monkey in my sidecar rigs), that the one bike she would buy is the same one she really wanted in the very beginning of her riding...a 1986 Honda CMX450 Rebel. She tells me that the only reason she bought the 1983 Honda CM250 Custom as her first bike, was because she set a budget limit, and the only 1986 Honda CMX450 Rebel was located in Oregon, and she was in the TriCities of Washington at the time, so it was a distance too far for her (this was 3 weeks before she met me).

As she exited the living room, I get busy....find a 1986 Honda CMX450 Rebel...in Oregon, and it is about 2 miles from Chuck Loftin's house (54vintage). I work the e-mails and phone, make the appt to go see it, have the cash in hand, and it is now sitting in my shop, as her final 2 wheeled motorcycle. She looks at it as the "bookend" bike of her 2 wheeled riding. That was the one she originally wanted, and this is the one she now owns.

Sure, it's a carb'd bike, and she has owned many very recent fuel injected bikes, even owned one of the new 2017 Honda CMX500 Rebels, that has the same engine and frame as my new 2023 Honda SCL500 Scrambler, but this is the one and only bike that tickled her fancy and desire to get back on 2 wheels.

In fact, according to her, this "MAY" be the exact bike she had her eyes on back in 1999 when she was looking for a '86 CMX450 Rebel...same color paint, and also located in Oregon....who knows ???

So, whilst she can afford to buy anything she wants...she choose to go with nostalgia, and that is what makes her happy.

Quote from FlyingMonkeys on January 21, 2024, 10:00 am

Dave, speaking of buying something from a "practical generation"....my wife walks into the living room a couple weeks ago, and announces to me that "IF" she were to have another 2 wheeled motorcycle (as she is quite content with being the Boss Monkey in my sidecar rigs), that the one bike she would buy is the same one she really wanted in the very beginning of her riding...a 1986 Honda CMX450 Rebel. She tells me that the only reason she bought the 1983 Honda CM250 Custom as her first bike, was because she set a budget limit, and the only 1986 Honda CMX450 Rebel was located in Oregon, and she was in the TriCities of Washington at the time, so it was a distance too far for her (this was 3 weeks before she met me).

As she exited the living room, I get busy....find a 1986 Honda CMX450 Rebel...in Oregon, and it is about 2 miles from Chuck Loftin's house (54vintage). I work the e-mails and phone, make the appt to go see it, have the cash in hand, and it is now sitting in my shop, as her final 2 wheeled motorcycle. She looks at it as the "bookend" bike of her 2 wheeled riding. That was the one she originally wanted, and this is the one she now owns.

Sure, it's a carb'd bike, and she has owned many very recent fuel injected bikes, even owned one of the new 2017 Honda CMX500 Rebels, that has the same engine and frame as my new 2023 Honda SCL500 Scrambler, but this is the one and only bike that tickled her fancy and desire to get back on 2 wheels.

In fact, according to her, this "MAY" be the exact bike she had her eyes on back in 1999 when she was looking for a '86 CMX450 Rebel...same color paint, and also located in Oregon....who knows ???

So, whilst she can afford to buy anything she wants...she choose to go with nostalgia, and that is what makes her happy.

 

WOW!  It looks like new.  What a great score. 

Quote from MGV8 on January 20, 2024, 8:48 pm

Yeah, I drank the coolaid. For the most part it has been fine. I own two GS's  Time will tell now that I don't have the ability to replace the money I spend..  160.00 bucks for a little bracket that got bent some how  :(. 

Of course my Honda's just kept on a ticking. Thermostats,  mirrors and tip over wing covers. Were about all I had to replace.. The latter two were not Honda's fault..

Why did I sell that ST1300, would have made a great street rig. ?? 

If the mounting of the manifold had not been disturbed, it would have lasted decades through pretty much any environment it was tossed into.  So I can't fault BMW for that.  It would have been nice if they'd just cut a recess and used an X-ring for sealing (or even square ring).  So that only the "ring" would have needed to be replaced, at a much lower price.  Will be interesting to see if a seal reconditioner will get the old ones pliable again.  If so, then there is a spare set for the future. 🙂

I'm really looking forward to putting on some serious miles this year.  I'm confident the rig will do that well, with just regular maintenance before and during the trip.  That speaks volumes as the whole rig is pushing 30 years old.  There are other similar aged rigs doing the same thing, hence the confidence.

This year's Dakar was awesome!  Right down to the end of the final stage.  Wow!  Couldn't have been scripted any better.  I'd like to find a site that has it streamed.  I only caught the "highlights" via YouTube.    I've been satisfied with the just the highlights in previous years, but this year was captivating. 🙂

Well in my best Ronnie voice "there you go again Miles "  it's hard to fill a hole in ones ego with a motorcycle or any sort of device. It all should be about fun.

Quote from sheath on January 21, 2024, 12:27 pm

 

 

  Will be interesting to see if a seal reconditioner will get the old ones pliable again.  If so, then there is a spare set for the future. 🙂

. 🙂

Scott, a trick  I  learned several  decades ago,  was to  use Marvel Mystery  Oil to recondition  old seals and  o'rings. It's  much better than  ATF, and won't  distort  the seals or o'rings like  ATF will. 

finally took the time to replace the left intake manifold.  As you can see in the picture below the seal is completely flat.  Like it has never had any type of lip.  It was also pretty much flush with the metal ring, so no way it was going to reseal. 

Noticed something interesting.  The upper intake has more coking than the lower valve.  Neither have any buildup around the seat area, and a few tanks with some quality gas will clean the stems up.   I still have the right intake manifold to do.  Will put a few tanks of fuel through the rig, to see how it affects any build up there.

All is swell now though, and even got out for a short ride without freezing.  🙂  Think it will be the ride of choice to the barbers today to get my ears lowered. 

Finally had a warm sunny day without winds. Perfect opportunity to wash the rig, and install the M-Series stripes that a buddy made.
Very happy with how it came out. matches the slope of the tank line and forks.

Was looking for a way to get a big reflective surface on the sidecar when parked at night. The 3M decal material is reflective (like the way a license plate or road sign glows when illuminated). My buddy researched the BMW M series colors, and was able to duplicate them with his commercial printer.
(sharp eyes will notice the new Ural "hub cap" on the sidecar wheel )

I had swapped the panniers side to side changing the hinge location, but that meant the reflective stripes are now facing forward.
Was able to use the second decal (made because we were sure I'd screw up the first one), to add reflective stripes to the backside of the panniers.

Hopefully the rig won't get confused with a plain 3 series BMW now.

I'll probably add a stick-on reflector to the side of the left pannier for a bit more visibility, but the red does wrap around a bit on that side.

Scott, that looks GREAT. Job well done !

Thanks Miles.  I took inspiration from your Carbon Fiber projects.  😎 

Rife with courage from the competent job of installing the decals, I decided it was time to put the most important decal of all on the rig.  It came out well. 😎 

Went to Wally World today to get a camping lantern and fill the rig with gas.  Hand calculated the mileage at a bit over 40mpg.  None of the riding was in excess of 60mph.  A good two thirds of the 190 miles was with the sidecar windscreen mounted though.  So overall, I am pleasantly surprised.  Normally the rig averages about 37mpg. 

Those new M series decals must not only add HP, but also efficiency.  Wished I'd put them on sooner.  😉