The web’s favourite damaged outdated Beemer is again — now, much less damaged than ever. Once we final noticed my BMW F800GS, it had lastly been restored to its bright-blue glory, however the course of got here at a price: My front-right flip sign, lengthy hanging by a thread, lastly succumbed to the engine’s vibrations and freed itself from my entrance fairing.
However that one flip sign wasn’t the one factor this GS wanted. Firstly, the sprint saved 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, which 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 evaluate, which I wired into the bike right here.)
Enjoyable With Fluids
After 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 large deal, proper?
Not an enormous one, however it did turn into an expedition as soon as I began to tug the bike aside. Eradicating the aftermarket bash guard gave me an excellent view of the GS’s magnetic drain plug — a plug that, for some cause, unscrews with a novelty outsized hex key. Right here I used to be, with my socket set able to go, staring down a plug that may solely yield with a 10mm Allen key. It took a full ironmongery store journey earlier than I may truly drain the bike’s oil.
As soon as, I did, I found the situation contained in the oil pan. The bike could 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 believe it might have legally certified as a biohazard.
However, 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 metallic on the drain plug appears properly inside spec. I’m unilaterally declaring it high quality.
Contemporary 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
Whereas out on this upcoming journey and path experience, I’ll be testing out the newest Garmin flagship moto GPS: The Zumo XT2. In fact, so as to do 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: Preserve a multimeter readily available for wiring work like this. Certain, the ring terminals and fuse all got here with the Garmin — they’re going to work properly collectively, it’ll be high quality. However within the uncommon occasion one thing isn’t, it’s higher to examine continuity on the device chest that doubles as your kitchen island than to mount the whole lot to the bike and be confused when it doesn’t work. Additionally, when working with heat-shrink tubing, remember to solely use your most interesting Entrance Bottoms lighter.
After making certain {the electrical} connections had been sound, I spent a strong two hours simply making an attempt 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 laborious 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 perimeters. I’m assuming I’ll drop this bike lots within the filth, and I’d prefer to avoiding hurting the display screen if I can.
Sadly, two hours of looking out solely jogged my memory that I didn’t shell out for the F800GS Journey with its manufacturing unit navigation bar. Maybe sometime I’ll add such a characteristic to my humble non-Journey mannequin, however for now the Garmin lives — poorly — within the middle of my handlebars. The RAM mount is de facto solely connected on one aspect, however it’s high quality. Don’t fear about it.
These Damned Indicators
Final time, I teased the concept of putting in compact Motogadget m-Blaze Pin flip alerts on the GS. These 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 totally pointless — they didn’t have an effect on the flash pace of the brand new alerts in any respect. I ended up retaining them round within the storage simply in case, however I don’t actually count on to ever use them.
Sadly, the indications proved horribly inconvenient to put in. The difficulty isn’t essentially theirs however comes from making an attempt to make use of them with my BMW’s manufacturing unit flip sign plugs. The way in which the Motogadget alerts mount, as a single pin, merely didn’t wish to play good. For a visible, right here’s what the alerts seem like on their very own:
The sunshine component itself serves as the top of a hole bolt, by which the wires run out to the bike’s harness. Whereas that’s all very good and modern, it additionally means the nut that holds the sign to your fairing must be utilized earlier than the naked wires of the indicator might be connected to your manufacturing unit harness. The nut merely gained’t match over any sort of OEM plug. A budget crimp connectors I maintain round my house wouldn’t seize the wires, in order that meant soldering plugs to the indications after mounting them.
A enjoyable truth 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, certain, however making it easy and sturdy? That’s a taller process. However by god, I went out to Micro Middle for some warmth shrink and a warmth gun, and I gave it my all.
…Yeah, I’m simply kinda hoping the warmth shrink holds the whole lot collectively. The alerts have already survived a nighttime freeway experience by a thunderstorm, so I’m considering they’ll be okay. If one thing breaks, it’s simply extra solder observe.
As for a way the alerts truly work, my emotions are blended. They’re a lot brighter than the inventory indicators, and far more compact — you’ll be able to see within the prime shot how little they stand out from 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 alerts had been recessed, and my adapters don’t fairly fill all that area, so these are fairly tucked in. Nonetheless, they’re vivid, seen, and securely connected — higher than what I had earlier than.
Windscreen Woes
One other characteristic the F800GS Journey will get over the bottom bike, past the navigation bar, is a taller windshield. This alone appears 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 might suck extremely on a experience out to Connecticut, and one dwelling from Massachusetts. So, a taller windscreen was so as.
I did quite a lot of analysis right here. A $41 choice from Alibaba was on prime of the record for some time, till it turned far too late to truly get the $41 choice from Alibaba in time for the path experience. So, Givi it’s — identical 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 successful there, from a wind perspective.
Cell Carrying
Have I discussed that I hate RAM mounts? This bike got here with one for a cellphone, an enormous ungainly X-grip mount that at all times tried its greatest to hit my telephone’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 telephone is on a Quad Lock mount, charged by a six-foot-long Lightning cable that runs all the way in which to the battery. That is a lot cleaner, even with the brand new mount’s vibration damper in place.
Highway Journey Prepared
With that, the bike needs 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 may use substitute — however it’s in adequate 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 dwelling from my buy was sketchy as hell.
Now, I simply should strive to not damage it an excessive amount of over the weekend. I’ve successfully no filth expertise beneath my belt, so the place higher to begin than a 500-pound BMW? Sit up for a collection of blogs popping out of that, assuming I make it out in a single piece. I’m certain it’ll be high quality.
