BMW  R1200R      
                                                                                                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Home
October 2011

So, after just over 4 months the 800ST and me have parted company. There was nothing wrong with the bike, in fact I loved riding it but if I was to be honest I did miss the torque of a big engine. I'd have been very happy though to keep the ST for a lot longer as it was a great little day out bike & very comfortable. It was only when Wesley asked Wee Jim and me if we'd like to do another Euro bike tour in 2012 with him and Morticia that the decision was made to get a more substantial bike for the trip. Carrying  a full set of luggage and a pillion would overwhelm the little ST over a tour of that size. As nice as it is, the ST always felt a bit flimsy - as though something was waiting to break on it. At first the plan was to keep it and buy another bike for the trip and sell it when we got back - which would have probably been another VFR800.  Then the decision was made for me, whilst mooching through the dealer websites to see what was out there, I stumbled upon the R1200R at Rainbow Motorcycles in Rotherham. The thing that interested me most about this one is that it's the factory lowered chassis version, so seat height isn't an issue for me as on a lot of other bikes. Not many of these were made so I grabbed it while it was going.

I went over to see the bike & take it  for a test ride and was immediately taken with it, it just felt right.  Low mileage and being sold by the most highly regarded BMW Motorrad dealer in the country, who did me a really good deal on the ST, kinda swung it.  So 4 days later I was riding it home over the Woodhead Pass and enjoying every minute of the beautiful wave of torque these bike produce plus the excellent paralever suspension. I had a BMW R1100R about 9 years ago which I loved. It's one of the only bikes I've owned that I truly regret selling. 

Of course, I can't leave anything alone for long and this is no exception, first thing to go on was a hugger - I like me huggers!  This was followed by painting out the clear screen in black.......

I bought this from Motorworks (BMW parts suppliers) for under half price as it was shop soil damaged.  A couple of bits needed sorting and there
 was a big chip missing from the rear edge which I was going to repair and paint. However, the hugger is coloured in the gel coat so it was a shame to paint
 it when it had such a good finish. In the end I decided to re-shape it on the bandsaw to look more pointy - as shown, which got rid of the chip nicely.

Having never been a great lover of clear screens, I was going to buy another but I like the shape of the genuine BMW item so just painted it to match the bike.

There's an 'ole in me axle

November 2011

Being an incurable insomniac has it's advantages sometimes! Before heading off for my usual struggle to find sleep in the "Wee small hours" one night last week, I decided to have a quick mooch around E.Bay beforehand. Getting to the Bike Farkles bit after logging in I noticed that someone had listed an Akrapovic Titanium Exhaust for sale, on a buy it now for silly cheap money.  These cost over £700 new from BMW dealerships, one UK indie will knock you one out at the bargain price of £658 but  that's still a lot of dosh. The previous week one had sold by auction for an ST800 - it went for over £450.  This one, at just 10 months old and having evidently done no miles to speak of, was up at just over half that!  No brainer really - It had to be bought and I was well pleased.  I was even more pleased when it arrived here a few days later, it looks like new and the guy had even sent it in it's original packaging plus the Akropovic legal use certificate. On the bike & with the baffles fitted it looks superb and sounds very understated, with a nice little burble at tickover, it doesn't get loud until the revs start to rise. Even with the baffles removed the noise isn't objectionable, just a lot nicer than the original item. One big plus is the low speed throttle response, with the original end can it tends to be a bit "on - off" in traffic jams etc. This is now smoothed out to a much more acceptable level with no notable changes in power delivery.  I like it a lot but I like a bargain even more!   

Nice little alloy oil filler farkle to replace the cheap 'n nasty plastic penny pinching BMW thing. Doesn't feel like it's going to break 
now when I take it out. ....BMW quality my arse! You'll find better on a cheap Taiwanese made motorbike these days!  

This is a modified version of the final drive filler plug that I'm working on. Shortly after the introduction of the R1200 Boxers in 2005(ish), BMW admitted that the F/D should have been designed with the facility to change the oil in the F/D rather than the "Filled for life" unit that emerged at production - which was a miserable failure. An announcement was made that the oil in the F/D units on the R1200 Boxer range should indeed now be changed at regular intervals. Oil in the older units could be changed but it was a messy process, so eventually they provided a proper drain plug at the bottom of the units and a filler plug on the rear face at around the 10 o'clock position. However, there was still the problem of the reported oil leaks due to blown seals. There was no breather incorporated into the casing to relieve the build up of pressure that all diff and F/D units experience and the only thing to "give" had to be the seals. So, a further announcement was made to reduce the recommended amount of  oil from 220ml to 180ml. This went some way to alleviate the problem but eventually they relented and fitted all later versions of the R1200 made after 2010 (the twin cams) with a breather, something that should have been done from the outset!. 

I was of the opinion all along that the very first 1200s should have had a breather fitted into the F/D casing, it was plain common sense. Thoughts turned to how to get a breather into my 2009 bike's F/D and save a bit of hassle from the inevitable blown seals. Initially I was going to do what a few others had done and take the unit off, strip it then drill and tap the casing. The easiest and less invasive way to do it I thought would be to simply provide a breather into the filler plug. This is the first version (I'm working on a second) that's been cobbled together by revamping a stainless steel plug bought off E.Bay for a few pounds. There's not a lot of room behind the rear brake disc to get a tube in there hence the sharp 90 deg bend in the plastic tubing (which is a Scottoiler vacuum hose). Once I've found a way of securing the hoses together so that no moisture can be drawn back into the unit as the oil cools, I'll devise some kind of concertina rubber bellows to ensure the whole thing is isolated from outside moisture. It's most important to ensure that the oil isn't contaminated in any way by water. The thing to overcome is that the connection at this point has to be tight enough to keep moisture out but has to be easily removable so that the plug can be taken out.  Although, the unit can be topped up via the speedo sensor hole if needs be, so the filler plug could actually stay in forever.  More photos and updates will follow  ....Eventually :o)       

Home