BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

OK, what the heck is Sea Foam? Who makes it? Anything like Techron?

The "skinney" is ... you can't do any better than Redline: RED LINE SHOCK PROOF GEAR OIL Technical Information Red Line Synthetic ShockProof Gear Oil provides unequalled protection for high-performance differentials and transmissions, which are heavily loaded or which see shock-loading. Th...

I contacted Redline ... and they recommend Redline Heavy for both transmission and final drive. I've been using their products for years in all my cars and motorcycles with great results.

Joejeweler - All modern engines have charcoal cannisters to catch exhaust fumes that would otherwise be vented into the atmosphere. The only "benefit" to removing it would be losing a couple of pounds. I wouldn't do it. Small price to pay for clean air.

What an impressive board this is! Taosports, how on earth did you come up with this picture of the insides of the tank?

Mixr's right ... the charcoal cannister just traps exhaust fumes. It has zero to do with how well the engine operates. There are a ton of posts on this board about people running all sorts of permutations where the exhaust is concerned -- some without a cat, but a collector or y-pipe; some with no c...

If you got an FZ1 for $3000, you got a helluva deal! The FZ has been on my short list since it first came out in 01. It's a fabulous all-around bike. It has the engine of the R1, but real world ergonomics. It's basically bullet proof and there are a ton of accessories available for it, everything fr...

It's not the tax breaks that are forcing a switch to ethanol ... Congress has mandated it! Ostensibly, it's to make us less dependent on OPEC ... but since that would account for only an infinitesimal proportion of the fuel used, the real reason is a sop to midwest farmers and the corn lobby.

You all know that BMW cars and bikes require premium unleaded. Well now BMW has issued an alert to its dealers about quality concerns with many common brands of gasoline sold in the US. Technical Service Bulletin SIB130206 notes that most US gasoline manufacturers have reduced the concentration of d...

"BMW does not recommend synthetic on either Boxers or K-bikes until the 12K service interval." Pneuby - Where did you hear this? My dealer (Bob's BMW) put in synthetic at my 600 mile service. The idea that bikes or cars need "break-in oil" has long since gone by the boards. Many ...

My brother (who is a damned good rider) never used to wear a helmet and rarely wore even a jacket, just jeans and usually a tee shirt. Too macho for dorky protective gear. A while back, I was riding out west to meet him in New Mexico. My last memory was of passing an 18-wheeler at 80 MPH on the inte...

Challey's right. If you want to get rid of the heat, ditch the cat. I never heard of anyone trying to paint a cat and I imagine you would end up with one big mess. The cat is stainless steel and get's hotter than H -- not a good combination for paint, especially high quality BMW body paint which is ...

I agree with WNCBMW. I'd like to know what rules or regulations GWB has imposed that limit your freedom? Certainly, he hasn't required you to wear a helmet. The party that is big on limiting individual freedom is the Democrats. They want to regulate everything, including how fast you can drive, what...

Hirsty - Why did you have to take off the center stand lug bolts ... or did you mean the torx screws attaching the cat?

Lots of good advice, here. A couple of points: practice, practice, practice in a parking lot until you can balance your bike virtually at a stop without putting your feet down. Theoretically, there is nothing wrong with what you are doing ... but it certainly shouldn't be necessary and will just get...

Whoa! That picture is for removing the center stand! You don't want to do that. All you need to do is remove the two torx screws that mount the cat to a tang that comes off of the center stand. There is no locktite on the torx screws. I am struggling with the same exercise (unfortunately, I don't ha...

I agree with Owldaddy! And get an Odyssey! You won't regret it. As for jump starting, there should be no special problem. Several outfits make jumper cables specifically for motorcycles (smaller, more portable), but I would just follow the instructions for jump starting a car (I think the drill is p...

I've had Sargents and Corbins on other bikes. The Corbins were all tops for comfort and quality. On my current Roadster, I had the seat re-done by Cee Bailey. It looks terrific (black with red piping) and is way better than that stock board.

Boxermania's description of the Porsche airbox, vintage 75 to 83 is similar to my experience with my 83 Alfa GTV6 which had L-Jetronic fuel injection. On occasion, you could get a backfire on start-up that would blow the intake manifold off the engine if it wasn't really firmly attached. Happened to...

Guys, it really isn't that complicated ... and you don't need to cut or file anything. It took me some fiddling, but eventually, everything just fell into place. Start by cutting the wire ties along the handlebar. This gives you some freedom to maneuver the cables; you can retie them later. Loosely ...