Stonesie's GS Mods, Farkles and Tinkering

[Stonesie]

Yeah... I did a thing





It's a new Triple Black TE and 70 miles in I don't regret it at all.

I did have a S1000xr as a loan bike for a couple of days but it just reinforced that I don't get on with inline 4 bikes... Amazing as it is and blisteringly fast above 6k I prefer the power down low.





I will actually miss the 900xr but it was time to scratch the itch for the GS, it's been niggling at me for years since I tested a 1200 back in 2018.

[Kwacky]

Very nice. Do you get a free POLITE jacket with it?

[kiwikrasher]

Looks good mate!

Your bike, you have to be happy with it, and sounds like this suits you well.

There's a few guys out here at work with GS1200's and they rate them highly (and they aren't nobs either ) Though that thing looks a tad flasher than their models

[C00kiemonster]

Oh nice!

[StMarks]

Happy New Bike Day Stonesie, hope she lives up to every every expectation.

[Stonesie]

So far it's just blowing my mind, trying to behave and keep it below 5k I've still had a couple of baby power wheelies and was not going past half throttle.

The biggest thing is how readily it turns, it is on the Michelin Anakee Adventure tyres, reading up on them they're almost a road 5 with a slightly off road capable tread pattern. It's a 250Kg bike and is somehow more nimble than the 900xr.

Picking it up off the side stand on a slope was a reminder of how much this thing weighs, I'm glad I have strong legs as dropping it on day 1 would have been embarrassing and I haven't fitted the crash bars yet.

Hopefully I will get some accessories fitted and a ride tomorrow after work tonight, just my usual radiator guards from Evotech to begin with, I have a pile of boxes to open.

[Tuffers]

Enjoy your new bike Stonsie. We all need a treat and something to look forward to.

[duke63]

Enjoy. They sell well for a reason.

[Stonesie]

Day 1 of tinkering and I'm trying to remember not to hang more farkles off it than a Christmas tree.

So far
Evotech radiator guards
Mudslinger front and rear fender extender's
Speedo Angels screen protector in anti glare
Hybrid top box rack, GIVI base plate with Chinese universal mounting bracket for the smaller version of my fridge box.
The universal plate is held on by 4 bolt's and only needed 4 new holes drilling

And a modified GIVI tank lock ring, the one on the XR damaged the filler cap surround so this one got spacers and washers.


Still to fit is the SW Motech crash bars, they need some custom bushings for the fog light brackets so that's a job for in the week.

[Kwacky]

Bling is always good, even if it's practical

[Stonesie]

Speaking of practical, the BMW combined tail light/stop/indicators are causing confusion already after 1 ride with friends. When I brake the indicator is surrounded by brake light and hides... Good job BMW.

There is a pair of combined lights that I could buy which turn off all the red on the side which is indicating but they're silly money.

Or I could add additional indicators but people with bigger brains than me say BMW have used odd LEDs so you can't just tie into them (the tail light function is only 1.5v for example) so I need a can bus controller to do that.

So both ways of fixing BMW's F-up are silly money and totally on me as they somehow passed the type approval.

That is the only negative with the bike, I was giggling like a loon once the mileage ticked past 250 and I could open her up a bit further as even at half throttle the front end gets light

[Kwacky]

Sometimes they overthink things.

Other times they don't think of things from a bikers perspective. MV designers have certainly never tried to do any practical work on a bike.

[Perkles]

Lovely seeing loads of them out here driving across Europe

[Monty]

Happy New Bike dude! I look forward to the new brakes thread

[Stonesie]

Today was a tinker day since it was raining, the headlight guard arrived so I fitted that and then set to making the bushings for the fog light mounts.



I like the Amber filter but it's removable if I want to go back to a white middle DRL.


I got a great deal on a full set of SW Motech bars but there's a problem, the upper bars mount to the same point as the factory plastic fog light mount.
I like solving problems so I found some bar mounts which work with the factory lights, problem, they mount to a 25mm bar and the SW bars are 22mm... Solution, bushings. None available so I bought a bit of 25mm OD 1.5mm wall thickness Aluminium pipe and set about that with a hacksaw and a file...









Basic as it is, it will work and be secure and it was nice to be tinkering away in the garage for a bit.

[duke63]

Sounds like BMW should be employing you to sort out their F ups!

[kiwikrasher]

good fix Stonsie, but just a point to note.

Aluminium against stainless steel or ferrous metals has a high risk of galvanic corrosion. It would pay to give your bushings a coat or two of paint to prevent any electrolysis occuring. Being on the bars there is a high chance of them getting wet and starting the corrosion process! The bars themselves look powder coated so shouldn't be a problem there.

[Stonesie]

The bars are already powder coated so I am thinking about sending the bushings and clamps out for powder coating as well. The clamps are stainless.

I might just get some satin black direct to metal paint and DIY it.


In other news I was sleep deprived this morning and bought an exhaust on facebook marketplace... In my defence it is a full Carbon Yoshimura which is supposed to have a nice deep tone. Pic's when it get's here.

[Stonesie]

Today's tinkering was to tidy up the bushings as they were a little too rough and ready. they were over size so got marked and filed down for a proper fit.
Then they got cleaned with Isopropanol alcohol and sprayed matt black.






Whilst that was drying I removed the fog lights and their plastic bracket, then fitted the upper and lower bars. The fog's can wait until tomorrow to give the paint time to harden overnight.




With the joy of used parts the previous owner had lost 2 long bolts for the upper bars, but had replaced them with some which had a regular hex head, which didn't fit down the tube they fit inside... He tried


I did a rare thing and consulted the instructions, M8x100 cap head... Hmmm, I will consult the hoarder cabinet, I have a bag of long M8 cap heads, M8x90... Close enough-ish-for-now. They reach through and the nut goes on 3 turns, eBay swiftly found me some high tensile 100mm bolts so they will be here in a day or 2.

My neighbour, not the biker who used to have a GS 1200, gave his verdict.
"It's not a pretty bike, but it looks rugged and purposeful, I like it"

[Stonesie]

The exhaust will have to wait until the bike has had it's first service, it's booked in for next Friday afternoon.

Supposed to not be that loud but have a deep tone, can't wait to find out