I'm going to catalog all that is being done on my son's GSA. It was a low side on ice that resulted in no human Damage but enough bike damage to warrant the insurance totaling the bike. I took the price of the bike including 5k of farkles minus the buy back of the salvaged bike for $2,600. I also had to get a salvage title. First step was to peel away all that was broken. Then to make my parts list. I got some used stuff off eBay and ordered the rest of the parts. There are sure to be more part orders to follow. New beak ordered from Beemer boneyard after the front frame assembly was bent back into acceptable shape with a crow bar. valve cover cracked. These two holes had to filled with a helo coil and surrounded with epoxy. Now waiting for the first round of parts to be delivered. If you have tips, I'm all ears. Meanwhile I'm hoping to help someone in the future who may encounter a similar challenge. Thus far the financial models are heavily in my favor. We bought the bike from a good friend so we know all the history. Currently has 61k on the odometer.
I purchased a crashed r1200gs a couple of years ago. great fun. I replaced the following: Main new components I got were: New forks. Both. - Decided not to muck about with forks. One was stuffed but other was only slightly bent. They are light tube and I decided it could not be reliably repaired. New bearings in front end. (Wheel bearings, steering etc.) Found a wrecked bike in Australia. (I'm in NZ) From wreckers I got the following: Front frame. (Cut the frame number off the old one and glued it to new one) Sub frame for speedo etc Telelever from beemer boneyard. (3 day delivery from US to NZ) => This was from an r1200RT and was actually different to the GS. On the RT the hole for the ball joint is set slightly back. I worked out that it steepened the steering about 1 degree. You change the geometry more jacking up the shock a few turns at the back. It rode great. I fixed/repaired a lot of components as I was happy with the quality. Rocker covers both worn through. I got them welded up and painted. They have lost their writing but look fine. My best tips: 1- BMW repair manual. 2- gs-911. This tool enabled me to reset the errors resulting from the crash. (ABS etc) I included gs-911 in my budget and have kept it. Went to x-challenge after my 1200 and now have an F800gs. It was great fun.
Glad everyone is ok Brian, your title worried me that you had been in an accident. Glad your son is ok. DH
I appreciate your concern. All is good. On another note, I'm still looking forward to hooking up and having that conversation you wanted to have.
You were able to buy yours back for $2600!? My 09 GSA was totaled in Sandy, the engine and electronics were corroded and shot (salt water), yet the insurance by back was $9000....!
Actually, their first offer was 2650. I negotiated down to 2,200. I don't mean to gloat or rub it in. Rather, your post is confirmation that they were treating me ok. They said their buy back option was unusually low. Now I believe them. Meanwhile... Still waiting for parts.
Dairyland took good care of me but I had to change carriers. They would not insure a salvaged Title. Even with accident on record, Geico was good to go.
When the bike crashed, all spokes were broken. When I got it off the truck at home I thought the front axel was being hung up in the spokes Si I drove it out with a punch. Actually what happened was there were still 3 threads to go before the axel was released. Therefore, my threads in the lower fork were jacked and the threads on the axel were jacked as well as the end being gnarled by the punch. My dremel regrouped and shaped the axel. This mongo tap took care of the fork. All is good and waiting for the rebuilt wheel from woody's
The financial models may seem to be in your favor now, but that may turn if the engine suffered main or rod bearing damage from oil starvation while running on its side. Does your son know if It kept running after he went down? Looking at the valve cover damage, its hard to tell, but maybe ice hung up the rocker arms, or was in gear high enough to stall the motor and prevent further damage. Luckily, used motors are more common than used FD's and pretty cheap.
Engine was shut off immediately. When I adjusted the valves, compression was solid. As soon as I get my new coil, ill fire it up and let you know.
I found switches from an 05 gs and they were different looking than the 06 GSA. Different color orange signals and a hazard button but works perfectly.
Put a new coil in and added 2 quarts of cheap oil to be replaced after first road test. Fired right up! Just waiting on front wheel rebuild from woodys and ill give it a road test.
A mounting tab on both handguards was broken. When I tried to find the part on max BMW I found out that you have to buy a complete set of the new style since they don't make anything for the old style any longer. It is a bummer financially at $175 but definitely a superior product. We also heat gunned our old touratech extenders to make them fit. Found some used aftermarket mirrors from Beemer boneyard for $75 and used handlebars for $120
Took the first spin today and... Houston we have a problem... I have something wrong with my oil cooler. I noticed it about 2 miles from home. I turned around and went back. Hopefully without having too little oil in the engine. Other than that, it ran great. The only wierd thing is that it wasn't making a connection on 1 out of 5 starts. Wierd.
Pulled out the oil cooler and blew air through it. There is an obvious breach at this little plate, top side left. I bought a used one from England. While I wait for it, I may try to plug this as a temporary stop gap so I can continue to test other repairs. I'm open to counsel.
