If I were to list everything here it would go on far too long and even the most assiduous bike nut would be asleep before they got to the end! Instead I will post a couple of general views of the bike and some specific mods.
This is on the day that I collected it, as supplied. The BMW options I listed were all black seat (as opposed to yellow and black) BMW alarm/immobiliser, BMW Nav II GPS Satnav, heated handlebar grips and Evo III ABS brakes. Lots of Touratech extras, most noticeable being the big shiny Zega panniers. These are aluminium and have lids that lift off revealing 41 litres of carrying capacity, lashing loops on the top and I opted for the inner bags to allow the contents to be removed without unpacking individual items.
The modifications are in the main safety or protection (of the bike) oriented such as the twin fog lamps (these are good as day-running lights because they have a diffused beam that doesn't dazzle), a Xenon main beam conversion, a protector for the (expensive) headlamp, additional sump protection, extensions for the hand-shields amongst the many. The full list ran to one and a half A4 pages!
As you can see from this photo (don't forget you can click on the image to enlarge it) I've removed the nasty yellow bits on the tank(!) and the bike is generally turning more black. I was directed towards a supplier of the materials to cover the vast expanses of shiny aluminium by another GS owner on the UKGSers website. It was one of many really good tips I have gleaned from the website. In fact most of the solutions to various modifications I have found I needed were from the community of GS owners on www.ukgser.com A really nice group of people.
I managed to scrounge some off-cuts of red high visibility tape to add to the rear of the panniers in the interests of conspicuity.
Mounted on the rear carrier is a small box that is made by Al Jesse in the USA, maker of another form of aluminium panniers. This box is actually designed to mount one of his top-boxes. I have no intention of fitting a top-box because I will need to carry a waterproof hold-all with my camping gear inside. I quickly saw that if I strapped the bag straight onto the rear rack, the bag would lie across the pannier lids meaning that I'd have to remove it every time I needed access to the contents of the pannier! Mounting this little box with another rack fitted to the top overcomes this issue. The box has a lockable side door so it also means that I have been able to move the tool-roll from under the seat, plus have other tools and odds & sods all in one handy place!
Not having to remove the seat to access tools allows me to have a rear seat bag in which to carry anything that might need charging from the bikes rear power socket such as digital camera, mobile phone or laptop.
This is a Powerlet dual adaptor. It plugs into the rear power socket. The lead can be run up to the rear seat bag or to a tank-bag. The bike has a second BMW power socket at the front but it's advisable not to use this whilst running because of the potential for trailing wires to foul the steering! Sensible advice indeed! I've run a couple of journeys with my camera and phone happily re-charging in the seat bag. (This Powerlet adapator also shows how much current is being drawn.)
Mounted on the left-hand engine (protection) bar is a one inch Ram ball.
This with a five inch Ram arm and camera mount will allow me to have my camera just ahead of my knee to get some photo's whilst on the move. Either that or photo's of whatever bug kills itself on the lens!
The BMW Nav II should mount on the handlebars but again thanks to the UKGSers, one of whom makes some brilliant mods (you know who you are Migsel!), I've been able to move it directly above the instruments better to be near my eye-line while riding.
(The above photo shows the display in low-light mode. Normal light gives different colours for contrast).
The Navigator is not cheap but has too many really good features to list here. One of the useful things bearing in mind my trip is that it's possible to swap the readout into Kilometres. As the function automatically displays road speed it saves trying to squint at the almost unreadable KPH figures on the speedo. Trying to imagine just how many maps I'd need to cover the whole of Europe and to the scale that the Nav provides, not to mention that maps don't give you audible instructions makes the expense seem worthwhile.
I've also fitted an Autocom. The principal use of this bit of kit is to provide either rider to pillion or bike to bike radio communication but it also allows music and in my case the Satnav audible instructions to be piped into my helmet. If I'm listening to my Walkman when the Satnav advice comes through, the Autocom mutes the music to allow me to hear what she is telling me. (Yes it is a female voice. I was disappointed that she doesn't have a German accent though!)
I hope that this gives you an idea of some of the modifications I've made. It is by no means all of them. Few have been for purely aesthetic reasons but as to whether they are correct or even needed, only the trip will determine.
Stay tuned! All my camping gear has arrived. It's like the best Christmas ever! I'll post a list with some photos next time (bet you can't wait!).
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