RS after-sales Accessories

[Richard230]

I sometimes tend to drop my motorcycles while stopped. Most of the time little damage is done. But I figure that the valve covers of my RS are likely sort of expensive and would not look good with some asphalt or gravel scrapes on the surface. So I investigated cylinder valve cover protection. BMW sells a set of crash bars for the bike, but that looked too GS for my taste. I then checked for plastic valve cover overlays like I had on my R12R. BMW sells a chrome steel set for something close to $300, but I wanted black plastic, which I thought would look better on the RS dark grey valve covers. It turns out that Machineartmoto sells such a cover for a price around $180. So I ordered a set, received them yesterday and installed them today. The attached photos illustrate the parts and installation process.

The installation instructions are very complete, in English, include photos and list all of the tools that you need to install the "X-Head LC" valve cover protectors. Just a few comments: When they say to remove the spark plug cover, that would be the black plastic cover in the middle of the valve cover. One screw secures it at the rear and an extension of the injector cover secures it at the front. The stock spark plug cover is not reused. Getting the rubber gasket off of the protrusion of the long screw at the rear of the valve cover so that you can fit the screw head over the Machineartmoto protector requires a bit of lube and a hard tug. Getting the long screw back into the cylinder head is not easy, as the new rubber cushion and its plastic cover make aligning the male screw threads in the mating female threads hard to do because of the flex involved with the parts. But it can be done, it just takes some pressure and getting things aligned properly. When it comes time to tighten the rear screw to 10 Nm, things get kind of scary. The rubber cushion compresses a lot and I worried about stripping the threads in the cylinder head. I gave up around 8 Nm and left it that way. It seemed the better part of valor. I note that it didn't take much force to loosen the screw, which was installed at the factory. To me it seemed like the screw was tightened to less than 10 Nm. Hopefully these comments will help a little should you also want to install the Machineartmoto "X-Head LC" valve cover protectors on whichever LC bike you own.

[notacop]

I guess that is for the new 1200RS. Friend of mine just got one. He should get these things 'cus he tends to have the occasional oops. Probably won't because of the cost.
He had his up at John Day, I do believe.

[Richard230]

I guess that is for the new 1200RS. Friend of mine just got one. He should get these things 'cus he tends to have the occasional oops. Probably won't because of the cost.
He had his up at John Day, I do believe.

I saw two RS bikes at John Day. One fully ($$$) farkled and one mostly bare.

[Mokkybear]

You're on the wrong forum with this info Richard - or are you just gloating.

http://www.r1200rlc.com/

[Yoda]

This forum is entitled R1200RS discussion Other forums are available http://r1200rsforums.com/

[TelemarkTumalo]

Looking good Richard. At $180 and a bit of your time, I think a good investment. As we all know, we never know when we will have to make that emergency stop, or put a foot down on slippery ground. I agree with you about crash bars. There is a f800 ST locally with brushed aluminum finish crash bars. Surely well protected in case of a drop, but it looks garish. Can you post us a before and after photo of your bike?

[Richard230]

You're on the wrong forum with this info Richard - or are you just gloating.

http://www.r1200rlc.com/

I just happen to like the F800Riders forum more than any others that I have visited. Since many F800 owners also showed an interest in the RS and the forum administrators decided to establish a sub-forum for the R models, I thought that providing information about the RS might be helpful to some people considering buying one. You might be interested to know that I still prefer to ride my F650GS when I just want to relax and enjoy the ride. The RS makes you feel like you need to race around a bit and takes more effort to ride, which you notice after a few hours on a trip. I might also note that all of the electronic gizmos on the RS really don't add all that much to the riding experience.

Thanks for the links to the RS forums. I'll check those out should I have any mechanical problems or need suggestions for adding more farkles.

[Scorch]

I'm the same. I've had my RS for 5 days now, and am joining the various forums as I find them, but this one has been 'home' for 7 years now while I've been on the F800 series. Also, I get to stay because the F800ST is staying in the garage and has been signed over to my wife

[Scorch]

Also, thanks for the heads up on the Machineartmoto protectors. I've just ordered a set

[notacop]

"but this one has been 'home' for 7 years now while I've been on the F800 series."

Here, here! Best attitude by members and most forgiving towards posts.
A real Motorcyclists forum regardless of the possession of a F800.
I think I still have a F800 filter oil filter in the garage, does that still qualify me for the invite to be here?

[Richard230]

I agree. I visited the two RS forums referenced in previous posts and they seemed too "clinical" to me. This forum feels like a friendly old home, while the newer forums feel more like going to an office. At my age I prefer to stay at home. Now that I am retired I have had enough of working for someone else.

Besides, the other forums don't even try to encourage nutty members to post their worst jokes. Maybe they don't have any nutty members?

[Richard230]

Looking good Richard. At $180 and a bit of your time, I think a good investment. As we all know, we never know when we will have to make that emergency stop, or put a foot down on slippery ground. I agree with you about crash bars. There is a f800 ST locally with brushed aluminum finish crash bars. Surely well protected in case of a drop, but it looks garish. Can you post us a before and after photo of your bike?

Here are before and after photos of my RS showing the BMW top box with the RS cover and the valve cover protectors.

Speaking of the top box, it is on but I can get it off. While the red handle comes up and I can open it, the black handle stays locked and you need that to open that handle to get the box off of the rack mount. It is a mystery to me why the carrying handle stays locked as the two sliders that lock both handles should operate together, but they don't. You would think that for the money and over-engineering that BMW does with their accessories they should continue to function at least a few times before breaking. I bet it has something to do with plastic.

[Yoda]

I've noticed that the top box for the RS is of considerably lighter construction than the similar capacity one I had on my ST and GT. I suspect that the "over engineered" nature of the latter may have had something to do with the tendency for the base to crack (a well documented phenomenon on this forum). Or maybe the new one is just cheaper to make

No problems with my attachment so far, touch wood.

[Richard230]

Dismantling the RS top box

As I mentioned above I had this apparent problem with my new RS top box. I had installed it on the rack mount and then couldn't figure out how to get it off. So I took it apart. Once I did that I was able to detach the thing. So now I know how to take the box apart and I will now explain it should you ever want to do the same thing, such as when you need to install the lock on the box:

The first thing you do is to open the lid, find a T-20 screwdriver or bit, remove the four screws and the cover plate shown in photo 1. Be sure to remove the two locking sliders under the plate. If you don't do this the cover plate will hang up and be hard to remove. Then you remove the two screws (shown partially removed) at the inside back of the box shown in photo 2. When you do that the entire locking mechanism will fall forward as shown in photo 3. You can then remove the lock assembly cover by removing the two screws shown in photo 4. That exposes the assembly shown in photo 5. Photos 6, 7, and 8 shown the sliding lid lock parts that you can remove and play with if you want to. Photo 9 shows the lock assembly, which can then be just picked out of its hole, or dropped in if you are installing a new lock. Photo 10 shows how the sliding catches fit together. The upper one secures the lid and the lower one secures the top box to rack fastening system. Reassemble the little pieces in the order and the way you took them off and lock the box on to the rack. I did this about four times so you won't have to.

Oh yes. The reason my top box wouldn't come off the rack is that I (accidentally) finally discovered that in order to get the handle to unlock so that you can lift it all the way up (as shown in photo 11) you need to turn the key clockwise past the locking position and to the green dot on the case. There was nothing wrong with my top box. It would have (and now does) work perfectly once I followed the green dot. Gee, that was fun.

[Richard230]

Dismantling the RS top box

As I mentioned above I had this apparent problem with my new RS top box. I had installed it on the rack mount and then couldn't figure out how to get it off. So I took it apart. Once I did that I was able to detach the thing. So now I know how to take the box apart and I will now explain it should you ever want to do the same thing, such as when you need to install the lock on the box:

The first thing you do is to open the lid, find a T-20 screwdriver or bit, remove the four screws and the cover plate shown in photo 1. Be sure to remove the two locking sliders under the plate. If you don't do this the cover plate will hang up and be hard to remove. Then you remove the two screws (shown partially removed) at the inside back of the box shown in photo 2. When you do that the entire locking mechanism will fall forward as shown in photo 3. You can then remove the lock assembly cover by removing the two screws shown in photo 4. That exposes the assembly shown in photo 5. Photos 6, 7, and 8 shown the sliding lid lock parts that you can remove and play with if you want to. Photo 9 shows the lock assembly, which can then be just picked out of its hole, or dropped in if you are installing a new lock. Photo 10 shows how the sliding catches fit together. The upper one secures the lid and the lower one secures the top box to rack fastening system. Reassemble the little pieces in the order and the way you took them off and lock the box on to the rack. I did this about four times so you won't have to.

Oh yes. The reason my top box wouldn't come off the rack is that I (accidentally) finally discovered that in order to get the handle to unlock so that you can lift it all the way up (as shown in photo 11), which allows you to remove the box from the rack mount, you need to turn the key clockwise past the locking position and to the green dot on the case. There was nothing wrong with my top box and all of my dis assembly and reassembly was just a waste of my time. It would have (and now does) work perfectly once I followed the green dot. Operator Error, apparently. Gee, taking the box apart and putting it together again over and over was fun. What a way to spend an afternoon.

[hound]

I too am thankful for the RS forum. I don't think I will ever sell my F800S for two reasons 1) It's my first bike and 2) They are incredibly rare in the US (estimates less than 350 made stateside?).

I have taken a handful of 2-3000 miles trips on the F800S and although I love it around town, the buzziness of the engine tends to fatigue my arse. For this reason, I am seriously considering a R1200RS for anything longer than short trips up the canyon or running around town. I have not ridden the new watercooled boxer engine yet but have heard nothing but praise about how smooth it is. That, along with an extra 45 HP over my 800S, should make long trips that much more enjoyable. While I was back I the States last month on leave, I tried to get in a test ride of the new R1200RS but they were too rare yet for the dealership to have a demo model. Next year for sure!

[Richard230]

My SF Bay Area dealer has an RS with a dealer plate on it that is being used for test rides.

[Richard230]

I received my Wunderlich bar risers ($126, including USPS shipping and 9% CA sales tax) an hour ago and have already installed the risers. In spite of the included complicated instructions I just did the obvious and bolted the risers in place. Just for luck, I loosened the clutch reservoir mount and moved it as close as I could toward the bike's center in order to provide a little more clutch cable slack when the bars are turned to the right. The risers noticeably improve the seating position and reach to the bars. Photos attached.

[TelemarkTumalo]

Looking forward to the post-test ride report Richard.

[Richard230]

I like the risers. They allow a more upright seating position and make it easier to turn to full-lock as your outward arm doesn't have to stretch so far which can limit the amount that you can turn the bars if you have a tank bag mounted and your forward movement is restricted. They work well with a larger windshield, but when using the stock windshield your wind coverage will be reduced slightly - which might be a good thing for some people.

[TelemarkTumalo]

I am curious how the new RS in lupine looks with the factory panniers. I've seen the black/gray, but have yet to see the blue. Does anyone have a pic of this? Are the factory panniers similar to what is found on the f800 GT?

[Richard230]

I didn't buy the factory bags, but the ones that I have seen look exactly like the F800GT bags. Except that they won't fit on the RS because the high-mounted muffler is on the other side. Those BMW guys will do anything to get you to buy a new $1500 set of luggage...... Perhaps the BMW RS accessory web site has a photo of the RS with the bags mounted.

[roger44]

I will shoot some pictures for you.
I have new panniers, the lids are the same as the GT ones, only the bases are different to clear the exhaust and luggage rack.
My GT liners fit easily so I believe there may be about an inch more room in the RS pannier



sorry about the setting and quality, couldnt be arsed to get it out on the road, but hopefully you will get the idea. They seem wider than the bars

[Yoda]

I was pretty sure the mirrors were wider than the panniers (at least that's what I assumed on my run through France ) but now I'm going to have to fit them to check again....


...and yes you are right, the panniers add about 2.5 -3 inches to the mirror width

[TelemarkTumalo]

Thanks Roger. They look nicely integrated on the bike. I agree with Richard about the cost of the bags, but after looking at offerings from some of the other bike maker's factory bags, they seem in order price-wise. The more I see the RS, the more I like the looks.

[ishtachi1]

I was at the dealer on Tuesday servicing my bike. They have used RS with all options including 2 side case, top case plus pre wire GPS housing. They are asking $16K bike has 2200 miles on it. If I wasn't putting riding on hold for few years, I would of trade my bike in. Mrs said it was ok as long as I can find the time to ride. To bad there is only 24 hours in one day and you have to sleep 6 of those hours.

[TelemarkTumalo]

... To bad there is only 24 hours in one day and you have to sleep 6 of those hours.

Oh, your children must be grown!

[ishtachi1]

I only wish, oldest is in middle school so I have ways to go.