New 12R owner needs help for long distance touring

[flashy_bmw]

My wife and I are about 3,500 mi from finishing a RTW from China to Cabo. We started in China on a Changjiang which died in the Ukraine. I bot a R850R with side car that we drove from Germany to Fairbanks where the BMW dealer convinced me to finish on the 12R. GREAT DECISION!

I have BMW bags now but will probably move to Jesse, lg BMW screen, Garmin GPS w/Touratech mount, TT cyl head protectors and will add a new Bar Enterprises seat before we head off to Cabo from LA (where we are now) and return.

We will either ship the bike to China where we will tour the entire country (I am working on a special tour now) or we will head to south to Mexico, C America and S America.

Any suggestions that any of you may have for useful farcles and stuff 'n junque would be very much appreciated. Seems like many accessory mfgrs have forgotten us R people.

Thanx in advance[/url]

[NoRRmad]

Far effin' OUT, maaaaaan...

I don't ride a 1200, but I'm sure you can get some advice here.

And, Welcome!

[deilenberger]

Jack,

Sounds like a great ride on a great bike. Spend a bit of time looking through the messages here - lots of us have added things to our bikes and aren't hesitant about posting our experiences and opinions..

[britguy]

What a great adventure yu are having.

Question.....Is your wife going to be riding pilion behind you, or are you thinking of adding a sidecar?

[flashy_bmw]

Right now we plan to go 2 up. We were just carrying too much stuff, mileage was bad and I just didn't feel safe. So, we will head out to Baja just after Thanksgiving and then decide where to go--S America, Oz or maybe back to China. In any case we will be on the road again soon.

[TWI]

Unless your better half is excruciatingly petite, 2 up on an R12R isn't going to work. The rear seating area is a joke. Perhaps with an aftermarket seat you could get something reasonable.

OTOH, I haven't ridden back there. I don't plan on it, either.

[Radar in oz]

For touring & 2-up, I prefer the BMW Sport Screen to the BMW touring screen (having used each for about 2500 Km) for 2 reasons. It is much quieter, and also results in less pressure on my wrists at highway speeds so for me it is more comfortable over extended periods. Others have posted more elaborate findings in other posts on screens. Also, I have it on good authority the pillion seat isn't all that great, so my wife uses an airhawk cushion on longer trips, which apparently makes it comfy, but I see you are planning to replace the seat anyway. I've found the BMW luggage to be very good so far and certainly waterproof, but with less than 8000 Km on the clock it is probably a bit early to tell whether it will withstand harsher/longer term treatment.

[flashy_bmw]

My wife is not thin but then she isn't a BBW either. We did make it from Fairbanks to LA in relative comfort (considering we were on a stock seat). The truth is we were so tired from almost 15 mos on the road that I doubt that the seat would make much difference.

The BMW bags were terrific. I plan to visit Jesse and see Al to see if he can fit his touring cases to the bike. The reason for this is to drop as much weight as possible as low as possible. The extra capacity (39L to almost 50 L) will help with providing the little extras that "old folk" need when on the road for extended time.

Appreciate all the feed back, hope I can be of help sometime.

[8b]

Here is the skinny. I am in NYC, and my cousin (currently a silent lurker around here) is in LA (Calif.), we both have R12R's (fast black ones).
We'd like to have one of us ride solo across the entire width of the country to unite the bikes. We would then ride across country together, and the first soloist would now be home, and the other would still have their solo journey ahead of them. Looking for ANY suggestions, routes, must go places, what to bring and not to bring in detail. (Assume sport shield, system cases only, no trunk. Also, what are the bare minimum farkles we should add to take on such an endeavor, Thanks!

[deilenberger]

Here is the skinny. I am in NYC, and my cousin (currently a silent lurker around here) is in LA (Calif.), we both have R12R's (fast black ones).
We'd like to have one of us ride solo across the entire width of the country to unite the bikes. We would then ride across country together, and the first soloist would now be home, and the other would still have their solo journey ahead of them. Looking for ANY suggestions, routes, must go places, what to bring and not to bring in detail. (Assume sport shield, system cases only, no trunk. Also, what are the bare minimum farkles we should add to take on such an endeavor, Thanks!

I'd suggest putting this in a thread by itself.. but questions which might help give you intelligent answers:

Need to know:
1 - Time of year to do this?
2 - Doing it via slab or backroads?
3 - Long-distance riding experience?

[Skippy]

I would have a look at the rear spring if you are going to put that big jesse luggage on the back. I suggest having a rear spring mounted that is right for the weight for two up and luggage but you realy should ask an expert about that. I would also suggest that you arange for a spare ring antenna and learn what to do with it when things go wrong. I imagine technical back uo to be very difficult in China and it would be a shame if the ring antenna spoils your trip. Maybe you can work out a deal with your dealer where you buy it for the trip and maybe return it when you are back and didn't need it. Don't know how the roads are going to be but maybe a tire that is also suitable for light dirt might be an option like the Pirelli Scorpion Sync that a boardmember(Chi-Town) mounted and is very pleased with.

Have a great trip and be save and maybe you can put some great pictures up for us afterwards.