BMW update..

I am looking for parts now to allow me to ready the fairing to be painted, striped, and fit to the bike. Guages need to be sorted out, electrics run, switched, fused, and mounted. Driving lights will be replacing the directional signals, and new mirrors with directionals found and mounted.

GPS, Sat Radio and it's antenna, the MP3 player need to be obtained and fixed in place.

The oil cooler and horns attach to the original fairing, so mounting options and brackets need to be fabricated for them. The Stainless high pressure hoses need to be sorted out and built up depending on final locations. Brake lines (flexible) also need to be obtained.

All this is pretty straight forward as I know what I want, but setting up the bike to bike radio, passenger intercom, and tying in the radar detection is challenging as I am not yet sure what I want to use for components. Without settling on those parts I have no idea of how much space is needed for each of them, and that stalls the whole process.

The cylinder heads will be coming off and sent to the west coast for machining necessary to install a second spark plug in each combustion chamber. I am doing this (as I did on my last BMW) to allow the use of gasoline with less octane rating without lowering the compression ratio. This is possible because it allows the ignition timing to be retarded with no power loss as there will be two flame fronts in the cylinder upon firing. Result is a smother running engine and no pinging under load. I may do a NOS system sometime (easy horsepower) in the future, and the second plug setup is sure to shine then..

Update..

Leg is hurting pretty badly tonight.. think I pushed it maybe a little too hard yesterday. Actually, It's a good hurting feeling (if that makes any sense) and I am pleased with the flexibility I have this soon after being cut. Therapy towards building back strength starts in earnest tomorrow

Got a funny story to relate to you about this last surgery, but I'll share it as I see you all... I don't want to print it here..

Leg surgery done...

In last Monday and out Thursday... Got a new 16" scar on my thigh and am sore as hell, but not quite as bad as I suspected. Not moving about too easy right now, but a little better each day as the swelling decreases. Got a CPM machine to move my leg constantly through its range. Tip for you I hope you never need to use.. If you ever need to be on one of these things, take it from one who knows.. Deal with the pain and stay on it as much as you can. Use the pain meds.. It will still hurt, and if it stops hurting turn up the range setting because you are not pressing yourself as hard as you should. I slept two nights with it running (48hours straight) and have a lot more flexibility because of it. Regaining the range of motion I had before the surgery is progressing much more quickly than the last time I was on the machine, because I am spending longer using it. So if a nurse tries to take you off it, don't let it happen. This is definitely a case of more pain now is more better in the long run.
I'll be glad when the dressings are gone and I can do strength building both on land and in a pool. Hunting Rangeley is looking like it will happen for me this year. God willing..

Grab handle / small luggage carrier has been found..

Hope this rack will work with the Renolds rack, however, if it won't I will need to find one of these grab bars in the pic below.

They turn up on e-bay from time to time, but they are always way overpriced.

These simple rails always sell for over one hundred dollars, which is on average the same as for the more complex rack above! Go figure...

Update: I now have the alternate grab rail coming to me from a source in New Jersey, so, at this point all the luggage rack problems are covered... I hope!

Front End Parts...

Parts to improve the suspension and handling of the BMW have been on my mind.

My previous BMWs have all had a little too much flex in the upper triple clamp area. When the bike was loaded heavy, you could feel the flex in a fast turn. It was never something that would scare you, but I never liked the feeling. I think this machined aluminum billet part will certainly take care of that...

This is overkill design...

I bet this part is 1000% stronger than the stock upper triple tree, which is only perhaps 3/16" thick. This should also lower the front end of the bike about 3/4" to 1". There will be no flex here!

Tracking in the turns will certainly be improved.

Not sure yet if I will anodize the part in gold, blue, or leave it in natural polished aluminum... I kinda like the way it turned out in natural aluminum.

I will also need to polish the bar backs to the same high gloss finish. Should that prove too difficult, I will just anodize both parts to match.

Although probably not needed, I will also do something to stiffen the lower legs to assure the fork tubes always remain perfectly parallel through all their travel.

This sturdy tubular steel fork brace from San Jose BMW holds fork tubes in precise alignment and exerts a self-aligning torque as cornering forces increase. Provides smoother fork action, sharper steering response and more stable, predictable handling. They are rare and hard to find.

More comfortable seat is here...

Got a more comfortable Corbin Duel Tour seat for the bike. Looking forward to trying this out on a long tour.


Since I now have screws in my hip holding a rod where my femur used to live, every little edge in comfort is much more important.

Although Corbin seats feel firm at first, it is this firmness that allows the seat to support your body over the miles. I'm told it takes a couple thousand miles of use to break them in.

This model is extremely popular on RT models for two-up distance riding. Ergonomically engineered platforms provide deep supportive bucket and long range comfort. It is sculpted to eliminate hot spots and provide better weight distribution for longer riding range.