The web’s favourite damaged outdated Beemer is again — now, much less damaged than ever. When we final noticed my BMW F800GS, it had lastly been restored to its bright-blue glory, however the course of got here at a value: My front-right flip sign, lengthy hanging by a thread, lastly succumbed to the engine’s vibrations and freed itself from my entrance fairing.
But that one flip sign wasn’t the one factor this GS wanted. Firstly, the sprint stored yelling at me for an oil change, however there’s extra to it than that. I’ve a visit arising this weekend, a freeway experience to Connecticut adopted by 100 miles of mixed-surface trails, that means the F800 wanted to prepare for touring and filth using. Does wrenching ever begin to really feel Sisyphean for anybody else?
(Full Disclosure: Motul kindly despatched me sufficient oil for a full oil change. Garmin additionally despatched me a GPS unit for an upcoming evaluation, which I wired into the bike right here.)
Fun With Fluids
When I purchased the bike, the prior proprietor informed me it was due for an oil change. The sprint agreed, shouting SERVICE at me on each startup, so I figured the bike was a couple of hundred miles overdue for its 12,000-miles change. No massive deal, proper?
Not an enormous one, but it surely did turn into an expedition as soon as I began to drag the bike aside. Removing the aftermarket bash guard gave me an awesome view of the GS’s magnetic drain plug — a plug that, for some motive, unscrews with a novelty outsized hex key. Here I used to be, with my socket set able to go, staring down a plug that might solely yield with a 10mm Allen key. It took a full ironmongery store journey earlier than I might truly drain the bike’s oil.
Once, I did, I found the situation contained in the oil pan. The bike might have solely been a couple of hundred miles overdue, however god solely is aware of what number of years it took to build up these miles — the oil that drained out was pitch-black and syrupy thick, like an espresso shot pulled with molasses as an alternative of water. I feel it might have legally certified as a biohazard.
But, for all its age, the oil from the GS wasn’t glittery with particulates. The magnetic drain plug had a little bit of shmutz on it, however removed from a regarding quantity — with oil on this situation, a little bit of steel on the drain plug appears nicely inside spec. I’m unilaterally declaring it fantastic.
Fresh oil made the bike instantly really feel higher, smoother to shift and extra desperate to rev out. This additionally led to the invention that it stumbles over 6,000 RPM, however I’m hoping that’s simply an air filter. Please let it simply be the air filter. The spark plugs are so buried on this bike, and I’ve so little curiosity in reaching them.
Get Positioned, Son
While out on this upcoming journey and path experience, I’ll be testing out the most recent Garmin flagship moto GPS: The Zumo XT2. Of course, with the intention to try this, I needed to set up the unit’s base on my bike. That meant wiring the system up, melding its naked wires with the included fuse and ring terminals, in addition to attaching the accursed RAM mount to my bars. I can not stress sufficient how a lot I hate RAM mounts, and the way unjustified that hate is.
This results in my first little bit of actual recommendation, although: Keep a multimeter available for wiring work like this. Sure, the ring terminals and fuse all got here with the Garmin — they’re going to work nicely collectively, it’ll be fantastic. But within the uncommon occasion one thing isn’t, it’s higher to test continuity on the software chest that doubles as your kitchen island than to mount every thing to the bike and be confused when it doesn’t work. Also, when working with heat-shrink tubing, you’ll want to solely use your best Front Bottoms lighter.
After guaranteeing {the electrical} connections have been sound, I spent a stable two hours simply attempting to determine the place to place the Garmin on my GS. I like the Dakar look, each gauge and instrument tucked up behind the windshield, and I attempted so exhausting to make the unit match close to my sprint. Plus, the RAM mount didn’t actually match on the middle of my bars, and I needed to keep away from placing the GPS out to the sides. I’m assuming I’ll drop this bike loads within the filth, and I’d prefer to avoiding hurting the display screen if I can.
Unfortunately, two hours of looking solely jogged my memory that I didn’t shell out for the F800GS Adventure with its manufacturing unit navigation bar. Perhaps sometime I’ll add such a function to my humble non-Adventure mannequin, however for now the Garmin lives — poorly — within the heart of my handlebars. The RAM mount is actually solely connected on one facet, but it surely’s fantastic. Don’t fear about it.
Those Damned Indicators
Last time, I teased the concept of putting in compact Motogadget m-Blaze Pin flip indicators on the GS. Those are the precise indicators I ended up shopping for, alongside some resistors and a set of adapters from Rizoma to assist fill within the now gaping divots within the entrance fairing. The resistors, regardless of all proof on the contrary, ended up being completely pointless — they didn’t have an effect on the flash pace of the brand new indicators in any respect. I ended up protecting them round within the storage simply in case, however I don’t actually count on to ever use them.
Unfortunately, the indications proved horribly inconvenient to put in. The problem isn’t essentially theirs however comes from attempting to make use of them with my BMW’s manufacturing unit flip sign plugs. The method the Motogadget indicators mount, as a single pin, merely didn’t need to play good. For a visible, right here’s what the indicators appear like on their very own:
The mild component itself serves as the top of a hole bolt, by which the wires run out to the bike’s harness. While that’s all very good and smooth, it additionally means the nut that holds the sign to your fairing needs to be utilized earlier than the naked wires of the indicator will be connected to your manufacturing unit harness. The nut merely gained’t match over any sort of OEM plug. The low cost crimp connectors I hold round my condominium wouldn’t seize the wires, in order that meant soldering plugs to the indications after mounting them.
A enjoyable reality about me is that I’m godawful at soldering. It’s simply by no means one thing I’ve been good at — I could make {an electrical} connection, positive, however making it clean and sturdy? That’s a taller activity. But by god, I went out to Micro Center for some warmth shrink and a warmth gun, and I gave it my all.
…Yeah, I’m simply kinda hoping the warmth shrink holds every thing collectively. The indicators have already survived a nighttime freeway experience by a thunderstorm, so I’m pondering they’ll be okay. If one thing breaks, it’s simply extra solder follow.
As for a way the indicators truly work, my emotions are combined. They’re a lot brighter than the inventory indicators, and far more compact — you may see within the prime shot how little they stand proud of the bike’s fairing. That was intentional, to scale back the danger of breaking them in an offroad drop, however I do with they prolonged only a little farther from the physique. The inventory indicators have been recessed, and my adapters don’t fairly fill all that area, so these are fairly tucked in. Still, they’re vibrant, seen, and securely connected — higher than what I had earlier than.
Windscreen Woes
Another function the F800GS Adventure will get over the bottom bike, past the navigation bar, is a taller windshield. This alone looks like a worthwhile improve — the 800’s inventory display screen pushes turbulent air immediately into my helmet’s chin bar. This, as you may think, sucks. I think about it could suck extremely on a experience out to Connecticut, and one house from Massachusetts. So, a taller windscreen was so as.
I did loads of analysis right here. A $41 possibility from Alibaba was on prime of the listing for some time, till it grew to become far too late to really get the $41 possibility from Alibaba in time for the path experience. So, Givi it’s — similar to I had on my G310GS. I attempted to check its wind-deflecting capabilities, to see if it actually pulled that turbulent air off my head, however simply ended up in a lightning storm. No actual profitable there, from a wind perspective.
Cell Carrying
Have I discussed that I hate RAM mounts? This bike got here with one for a cellular phone, a giant ungainly X-grip mount that all the time tried its greatest to hit my cellphone’s quantity buttons. It additionally had a charger that plugged into the port subsequent to bike’s ignition, and led to tow USB ports on the bars. From a cable administration perspective, a sleekness perspective, this could not do.
Now, the cellphone is on a Quad Lock mount, charged by a six-foot-long Lightning cable that runs all the way in which to the battery. This is a lot cleaner, even with the brand new mount’s vibration damper in place.
Road Trip Ready
With that, the bike ought to be set to go. It nonetheless wants a couple of issues — the brakes nonetheless don’t really feel nice, even with the brand new fluid, and the chain and sprockets might use substitute — but it surely’s in ok form to belief for this journey. That’s a far cry from the situation it was in simply two months in the past, when even the experience house from my buy was sketchy as hell.
Now, I simply need to attempt to not damage it an excessive amount of over the weekend. I’ve successfully no filth expertise below my belt, so the place higher to start out than a 500-pound BMW? Look ahead to a collection of blogs popping out of that, assuming I make it out in a single piece. I’m positive it’ll be fantastic.
Source: jalopnik.com