What accessories are must haves on your 1200R?

[toronto.gal]

Off the top of my head I can think of:

1) windscreen
2 shields for the engine
3) an accessory plug that circumvents the CAN-bus and goes direct to the battery - so my Gerbing heated gear will work
4) tank bag

Maybe:

1) a GPS - Zumo - not BMW
2) side bags
3) hand guards
4) extra lights

Probably not:

1) crash rails
2) after market pipes
3) after market shocks



What have the rest of you done to your bikes?

TG

[Lost Rider]

Telling us your riding style would help.... are you going to tour on it?

Custom seat
Throttlemeister
throttleRocker
LED tail/brake lights
back-backs, way more comfort - for me
remove ugly DOT reflectors replace with black reflective tape all over the place-invisible during the day, looks like a UFO at night
AirHawk seat pad - makes LONG days pain free
Sw-Motech, bags connection tank bag - no straps, no magnets, doesn't touch and scratch the tank + you can get a powered version and GPS mount to use on the bag.

enough free time to RIDE it!


-Joe

[celticus]

1) windscreen
2 shields for the engine
3) an accessory plug that circumvents the CAN-bus and goes direct to the battery - so my Gerbing heated gear will work
4) tank bag

Maybe:

1) a GPS - Zumo - not BMW
2) side bags
3) hand guards
4) extra lights

It looks like you have been looking at my bike. If you are like me you will need a new seat. I am using a very nice Rick Mayer leather seat that I love. Another thing I would hate to be without is my rear tire hugger. It keeps whatever is on the back much cleaner. I really like the BMW tank bag. I am using the sport windshield now but have grandiose plans for a Wudo "S" fairing.
I am using a throttle locker I got on an adventure site with geared edges for ease of activation. I have the BMW panniers and a set of soft bags I got at a flea market for light duty. Hand guards but no extra lights yet. I am thinking of getting the Kissan moduator.
Welcome to our site.
Mark

[kudzu]

As my sig says, this is my back-to-basics bike. I came with only the Equipment PKG 1 (Heated Grips, On Board Computer, White Turn Indicator, Center Stand) and ABS. I added only:

1.) GPS
2.) Sport Windscreen
3.) Side Cases w/ Liners
4.) RKA Rear Seat Bag
5.) Öhlins Shocks

Might add:

1.) Oil Cooler Bug/Rock Guard
2.) Hugger
3.) Side Stand Foot

Less is more!

[lewellen]

Must-haves?

A road, my helmet, and the right frame of mind.

All else is optional. (But potentially helpful, depending on what you're trying to do....)

Good roads,

- Lewellen

[toronto.gal]

Riding style - 600 mile days for a week or so are what I enjoy the most. Always on paved roads. Always one-up - no-one wants to ride behind a girl

I had a Russell on my F650GS and loved it - might buy one but would wait until winter so that I can ride as much as possible. Being from Toronto we have far too much winter for my liking.

As for attitude - I love to ride -> but it is always nice to have some extras.

TG

[Caroanbill]

What have the rest of you done to your bikes?
TG

Are you kidding? We're farkleholics!

FARKLES
BMW ABS + ASC (never be without ABS)
Wilbers shocks front + rear (didn't like the choppy front end, the pair are a vast improvement over stock)
Screens (BMW touring + bracket, Parabellum 22", swap between - tried Cee Bailey 18" & prefer Parabellum 22")
AMHP Headlight protector + home-made oil cooler guard + Ilmberger CF hugger (keep crap off me and crap off bike)
Verholen bar-backs + BMW low seat + Suburban machinery lowered footpegs (the duck's disease kit) plus Airhawk pad
BMW centre stand + BMW cylinder head protectors
BMW panniers, rack and top case (NB - if you want the rack you need the specific pannier mounts + rack kit)
Kathy's liner bags + SW Motech tank bag and locking ring (attaches to fuel cap - bag doesn't actually touch the tank)
Kaoko mechanical cruise control (easiest to use on the move)
- just fitted Wunderlich "clear protect" foot shields (s'posed to remove hot air in summer, keep water off in winter)
- next up some form of hand (wind + rain) protection, maybe the R-GS ones, for our (a-hem) winter
(my ex is from the Soo, TG, so I knoweven Aussie snow is warm by comparison)

BLING
.. colour match (crysytal grey) on top case + pannier lids
.. BMW pannier protectors (rubber pads) and Hornig film (top surface of pannier lids)
.. black spring option on Wilbers (makes 'em disappear)
.. Hornig cover for swing-arm journal (just tidies that spot up)
.. remove R1200R decal on tank (crystal grey looks sooo much better without it)

PHEW!

[ShinySideUp]

http://tinyurl.com/3qodc2

[Echo]

Motolights for the front.

P3 Skene or Hyperlights for the back.

And a full tank of gas for the middle.

[r12r-don]

My riding style
My dream day is 7am to 7pm, twisties, casual straightaways and agressive turns. The biggest joy in riding for me is the lean. The open air, the rush and all the other goodies are perks. I play hooky on Fridays fairly often during the spring, summer and fall when the weekend is predicting bad weather. A worthwhile hooky day for me is 300+ miles. Usually solo as it is last minute (give notice on Wed or Thurs at work) and a weekday. ChiTown - read your bit on solo riding...ditto. I head out to the Poconos, the Hawks Nest, the Delaware River - all those fun places.

Must haves
- Autocom system wired into the helmet
- Zumo 550 GPS (yes I like the bluetooth so I don't have to pull over to see if anyone called, and yes I pull over if I decide to chat and take the call)
- noise isolation earplugs so I can listen to my tunes, the GPS and block out some wind noise
- 2GB of tunes on the SD card in the Zumo (http://ita.sourceforge.net to sync an iTunes playlist to the card)
- Heated grips
- ESA
- sport windscreen
- All extras must blend. Sorry farkle masters. I do appreciate the extras you all use, but so love this bike I insist on keeping the lines and hate when I do have to go against them.

Optional
- Wife riding two up
- Even better optional, wife is on her bike (F650GS, would love for her to go the route of R12R+1 but the 800 was a bit agressive for her to start, hopefully next year so their is another one in the barn I'll want to ride. )
- Kenwood Radio connected if the wife is on her bike with her autocom and wired helmet

On my wish list
- Rear hugger
- Bag Liners
- A NEW SEAT!!!!!! it feels like it is getting worse. It doesn't help that my own personal padding just got thinner.

[deilenberger]

http://www.eilenberger.net/R1200R_Roads ... Rindex.htm

Riding style - pretty much everything. Commuting, day rides, weekend rides, rallies, week long rides. Preference for back roads, but will use the super-slab to get to the good back roads.

[icecave]

I'm partial to twisty state and county roads and the bike easily handles that task as well as the commute, interstate and off-roading travel. I can recommend the following:

1. ASC - keep the wheelies under control
   ESA - great for greati transition from the slab to the twisties at a stop sign
   Sports screen - I don't like scraping bugs off the instrument cluster
   System Bags - get's the laptop to work
   3M black reflective tape - very impressive reflector on the system bags and else where
   TPC (very useful for monitoring leaky tire)

Other useful things

1. handheld GPS (pull it out of the bag when needed)
   reflective vest

[toronto.gal]

A question about ESA?

I ride alone always - do I really need ESA - I tried it out but it didn't seem to make a huge difference on the demo rides I did on the R.

I can see the value if I was riding two up - but it's just me, myself and I on the bike.

TG

[MJB]

I have ESA
It was not an option I was going to buy, but the bike came loaded, and buying a loaded 2007 was cheaper than buying a 2008 without ESA

Still playing with it. I only have 3,000k on the bike.
I'm sure it works.

[AllanCook]

Obviously a windscreen of some kind. I like my fly screen, but I'm always looking. Cylinder protectors are a cheap investment in keeping your valve covers pretty. I'm reasonably good at maps and directions, so I don't need GPS. And if you're riding 600-mile days, you're definitely going to want to look into an aftermarket saddle: The stock seat is misery-inducing after 200 miles. And I love my Cee Bailey's case liners. And retro-reflective film for your cases.

[r12r-don]

A question about ESA?

I ride alone always - do I really need ESA - I tried it out but it didn't seem to make a huge difference on the demo rides I did on the R.

I can see the value if I was riding two up - but it's just me, myself and I on the bike.

TG

I have the ESA. LOVE IT!!!!!!
There are two aspects if I remember correctly:
1 - The damper(sp?) setting: Sport, Norm and Comfy. Sport mode really gives you feedback from the road without rattling your teeth. Norm is as you would imagine in between and then the third mode. Comfy is nice when on the super slab or heading home after a long day. It does give a little mushier feel and is a bit easier on the back side after a long day.

2 - Loading of the shock: There is 1-up, 1-up with luggage and 2-up modes. I know when setting to two up, the bike litterally lifts another inch higher and is a perfect setting for my wife and I. When I have the luggage loaded it helps too.

Most of all, I like the ESA because it allows me to change the shock loading before I start or a traffic light. The damper setting can be changed in flight. It really helps maintain the all-around versatility of the bike. I change the setting depending how I am set for the day....off to a picnic lunch with the wife, heading out to the hawks nest by myself, or heading home after not realizing how far I've actually ridden throught a day.

Also, the tire pressure monitor has alerted me to problems before I've gotten stuck. Nail in the tire from driving up the side entering the Lincoln Tunnel. Serves me right I guess.

[MJB]

Another issue with the ESA, is I believe you can not upgrade to Ohlins, as the ESA is connected directly to the factory suspension.

[r12r-don]

Another issue with the ESA, is I believe you can not upgrade to Ohlins, as the ESA is connected directly to the factory suspension.

Ithought Iread in one of the threads that you can send out your ESA component and they will fit Ohlins into it. I remember because I was considering it after I finished my wish list.

[lewellen]

toronto.gal wrote:

Riding style - 600 mile days for a week or so are what I enjoy the most. Always on paved roads. Always one-up - no-one wants to ride behind a girl

Hm. I, for one, usually like riding behind women riders; some of the best motorcyclists I know are women, and I usually learn something riding behind good riders (either on my own bike or as a passenger).

Anyway, I've done quite a bit of riding like this. Sometimes I want a windshield, sometimes not; depends on the temperature, how good my helmet is aerodynamically, and what the bike ergonomics are like.

Paved roads ... well, sometimes you don't have much of a choice in the matter. But that's another story.


I had a Russell on my F650GS and loved it - might buy one but would wait until winter so that I can ride as much as possible. Being from Toronto we have far too much winter for my liking.

Definitely heated grips, then.

As for attitude - I love to ride -> but it is always nice to have some extras.

Also agreed. I suppose, over time, regardless of what I wind up doing to a bike I come back to a minimalist mindset.

Right now, on my R1200R, I have:

• o what came with the package
  • - centerstand
    - heated grips
    - side cases(good for grocery shopping...)
    - trip computer
  o a magnetic tank bag
  o a tire pressure gauge and flexible LED light for the toolkit
  o a disk lock

Next for me will either be a windshield (maybe a Wunderlich Vario - need to do some measurements) or some running lights, and maybe some ergo adjustments. Will probably wait on bar risers and peg lowerers and such until I get a new seat, however.

Anyway, it's a wonderful bike, both as it comes and as a platform on which to build.

Please post as you modify!

Good roads,

- Lewellen

[deilenberger]

Another issue with the ESA, is I believe you can not upgrade to Ohlins, as the ESA is connected directly to the factory suspension.

Actually - you can, you just loose the ESA functions. Quite a few RT owners have done this already.

Works Performance offers a service where they'll transfer your ESA controllers (the parts on the shocks) to a set of their shocks.. giving you ESA ability on a rebuildable shock. The only downsides I see to this might be cost (probably still less than replacement ESA shocks from BMW) and a few day turnaround while they remove the bits from your old shocks and install them on the new shock.