Drone's BMW G650 XCountry Mods

[DRONE]

Originally Posted by Gadget Boy

Beautiful work!

I'm going to have to add this thread to the G650X index thread.

Cool!

[DRONE]

With my size 48 boots, and flat feet too, the OEM pegs work OK but sometimes they feel too small, like especially when going uphill on a gnarly road. You guys with little feet are lucky!

So I got me some RocStompa pegs! These pegs are what RocStompa calls the "LongStomp".







Here you can see how they match up with my 48's--



Installation took 10 minutes. The kit does not include new cotter pins so you'll need some if the old ones get broken when removing the OEM pegs. Here are some close-ups--











I got my set from ETMOTO -- he's an inmate from Singapore with some kinda pipeline to RocStompa HQ in Australia. Here's a link to his thread in the Vendors section.

EDIT - two years later - I love these footpegs! They ROC!

[paul_g]

Truly inspiring work. Those hand guards and the red color really give the bike a whole new character.

[DRONE]

Originally Posted by paul_g

Truly inspiring work. Those hand guards and the red color really give the bike a whole new character.

Thanks! The HDB handguards come with two sets of shields - black and white. I could paint the white ones red and put them on there but I keep thinking that red handguards will be too flashy for a bike that actually DOES go off pavement. What do you think?



The bike sure looks bigger when I'm not on it!

[paul_g]

Originally Posted by DRONE

Thanks! The HDB handguards come with two sets of shields - black and white. I could paint the white ones red and put them on there but I keep thinking that red handguards will be too flashy for a bike that actually DOES go off pavement. What do you think?


The bike sure looks bigger when I'm not on it!

I think the black hand guards are perfect. There is plenty of red as is and in all the right places.

How big are you?

I'm 5'11 and 190ish

Of course, getting all suited up makes a difference too.

BTW... what is the exact model of hand guard? I went to the site but they had a few quirky variations that I did not understand.

Thanks

[DRONE]

Well I'm a pretty big fella. In fact, ALL motorcycles look small when I'm onboard!

On the BMW page of the HDB website, click on 30x98 bolt pattern, then click on XCountry under Handlebar width, then choose no anodizing and no flip-out mirrors and no Billet Protector. This gives you the $145 base model which is what I have. I also ordered the mirrors but have not mounted them yet.

[paul_g]

Originally Posted by DRONE

I'm just shy of 6'2" and if I lost 100 pounds I'd be at my college weight!

On the BMW page of the HDB website, click on 30x98 bolt pattern, then click on XCountry under Handlebar width, then choose no anodizing and no flip-out mirrors and no Billet Protector. This gives you the $145 base model which is what I have. I also ordered the mirrors but have not mounted them yet.

cool. thanks! Those have already made my mod wish list.

I have sooooo much learning to do. Maybe if i'd discovered riding 10 years ago i'd have a chance to get somewhere!

Here's a question that begs to be deflected to another thread...

I need to learn some real basics here in terms of the early critical stuff that's needed, like the right initial set of tools and emergency tire care items, and the best way to carry this stuff on the X-Country, etc.

Any pointers? Anyone?

Found this thread that focusses on motion pro tools.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showt...ssential+tools

I want to assume these things are universal, but not _knowing_ the Beemer intimately... I must leave room for doubt.

Thanks

Paul G

::: d'oh! ... found this just now! http://www.advrider.com/forums/showt...ssential+tools :::

[paul_g]

Still marvelling at your mods.

Did you need to get a custom fuse box as a necessity to deal with all the gadgets you were adding to the system?

I am interested in a brighter light and heated grips for the X-Co but doubt I have the acumen to deal with electrical work without voiding my warranty.

What would be the easiest route to a brighter light and heated grips for someone with little to no experience working with electric systems ?

Paul G

[DRONE]

Originally Posted by paul_g

I need to learn some real basics here in terms of the early critical stuff that's needed, like the right initial set of tools and emergency tire care items, and the best way to carry this stuff on the X-Country, etc.

Any pointers? Anyone?

Paul--here is the main toolkit thread. You don't have to read the whole thing. The first few pages covers most of it and will get you to thinking. No reason to carry tools you don't know how to use so keep your toolkit only to what you need. PM me your e-mail address and I'll send you a list of what I carry.

Originally Posted by paul_g

What would be the easiest route to a brighter light and heated grips for someone with little to no experience working with electric systems ?

The first question you need to answer is "Switched or Unswitched?" This means, do you want the accessories to function ONLY when the ignition is turned on?

The danger of going Unswitched is leaving the accessory turned on when the bike is turned off will drain your battery quickly and could leave you stranded somewhere. But hooking up accessories directly to the battery is very easy and won't affect your warranty.

I prefer Switched because I'm an idiot. There are several different ways to add Switched accessories. One way is to wire all your accessories into a heavy duty relay, power the relay with wires directly from the battery, then just have one low amperage wire go from the relay to a "switched" power line on the bike somewhere. This line will switch the relay on and off when the bike is turned on and off. A common place to splice into a "switched" power source is the tail light wire. On my bike, I used the wire that goes to the charcoal canister. This method should not affect your warranty because you are not using the bike's main wiring harness, fuse box, or ECU for your stuff. In essence, you are creating a separate electrical system as the bike's electrical system which just happens to share a common battery as the bike's main system.

BTW, if you get the Oxford heated grips like mine, you don't need anything else. They connect directly to the battery and have a built-in relay that turns off the grips when the bike's electrical system drops below 11.5 volts. In other words, they turn themselves off when the motor stops running. So any noob can wire them up easy.

On aux lights, some lighting kits are similarly easy to wire up. Some of them are designed to use the wire from the back of the H4 headlight to power both the aux lights and the OEM headlight. Very easy to do. PM me if you want more info -- we can discuss this offline.

[plumber mike]

Paul- My first cheap mod was a PIAA replacement H4 bulb. It's not the end all be all, but it has made a definate improvement. The PIAA website was the cheapest, so I called Summit and they beat them by a dollar. Summit always treats me well and ships Fast. Drone's bike is an inspiration to me as well.

[paul_g]

Originally Posted by DRONE

Paul--here is the main toolkit thread. You don't have to read the whole thing. The first few pages covers most of it and will get you to thinking. No reason to carry tools you don't know how to use so keep your toolkit only to what you need. PM me your e-mail address and I'll send you a list of what I carry.


The first question you need to answer is "Switched or Unswitched?" This means, do you want the accessories to function ONLY when the ignition is turned on?

The danger of going Unswitched is leaving the accessory turned on when the bike is turned off will drain your battery quickly and could leave you stranded somewhere. But hooking up accessories directly to the battery is very easy and won't affect your warranty.

I prefer Switched because I'm an idiot. There are several different ways to add Switched accessories. One way is to wire all your accessories into a heavy duty relay, power the relay with wires directly from the battery, then just have one low amperage wire go from the relay to a "switched" power line on the bike somewhere. This line will switch the relay on and off when the bike is turned on and off. A common place to splice into a "switched" power source is the tail light wire. On my bike, I used the wire that goes to the charcoal canister. This method should not affect your warranty because you are not using the bike's main wiring harness, fuse box, or ECU for your stuff. In essence, you are creating a separate electrical system as the bike's electrical system which just happens to share a common battery as the bike's main system.

BTW, if you get the Oxford heated grips like mine, you don't need anything else. They connect directly to the battery and have a built-in relay that turns off the grips when the bike's electrical system drops below 11.5 volts. In other words, they turn themselves off when the motor stops running. So any noob can wire them up easy.

On aux lights, some lighting kits are similarly easy to wire up. Some of them are designed to use the wire from the back of the H4 headlight to power both the aux lights and the OEM headlight. Very easy to do. PM me if you want more info -- we can discuss this offline.

Great info DRONE. Nice to know about the grips. Those do look like the ones I want.

So... you are saying that hooking accessories direct to the batter = unswitched. Does that mean that turning these items on and off may mean disconnecting them from the battery? assuming they don't have their own onboard switch that is... but then there are phantom loads which could draw on the battery even when a device is off.

I'll take you up on your offer and ping you off line about the lights at some point. I don't want to get too far ahead of myself here! (don't even have the bike home with me yet. Just put a down payment!)

Thanks

Paul G

[paul_g]

Originally Posted by plumber mike

Paul- My first cheap mod was a PIAA replacement H4 bulb. It's not the end all be all, but it has made a definate improvement. The PIAA website was the cheapest, so I called Summit and they beat them by a dollar. Summit always treats me well and ships Fast. Drone's bike is an inspiration to me as well.

Hi Plumber,

Would you say that the brightness improvement from the H4 was enough to make a difference in terms of your conspicuity ? That is, was it pretty obvious people noticed you more?

Hard to be scientific about that I know.

Thanks for the info.

Paul G

[plumber mike]

Originally Posted by paul_g

Hi Plumber,

Would you say that the brightness improvement from the H4 was enough to make a difference in terms of your conspicuity ? That is, was it pretty obvious people noticed you more?

Hard to be scientific about that I know.

Thanks for the info.

Paul G

I can't say if others notice me or not. I purchased it so I could better see animals in the night. The low beam has a purple tint that might look a little different than the others. I'm sorry I couldn't be more help.

[tbarstow]

Originally Posted by paul_g

Hi Plumber,

Would you say that the brightness improvement from the H4 was enough to make a difference in terms of your conspicuity ? That is, was it pretty obvious people noticed you more?

Hard to be scientific about that I know.

Thanks for the info.

Paul G

I did this on my XChallenge. Its a big improvement in making the headlight functional after dark, but I am still planning on putting a HID in it. Figure the HID is about the cost of 4 light bulbs.

[DRONE]

Originally Posted by paul_g

Hi Plumber,

Would you say that the brightness improvement from the H4 was enough to make a difference in terms of your conspicuity ? That is, was it pretty obvious people noticed you more?

Hard to be scientific about that I know.

Thanks for the info.

Paul G

Not to put down PIAA--they make great products for motorcycles and their heavy duty bulbs are very tough. My HID light kit from Martin Fabrication uses PIAA bulbs. But . . . their H4 bulb has the same yellow color as the BMW bulb--about 4000k. I tried one and didn't like it. It does not improve conspicuity. It's just a tougher bulb with "perhaps" a slight bit more light output than stock (not noticeable to me). But I had a chance to swap bikes with a buddy last month and see my 6000k H4 Halogen Bulb from Luminics USA in the rear view mirror and it's really brilliant silver white--very conspicuous in daylight. Like a shiny diamond. The one I got they call the "Pure Blue" bulb, not the "Krypton Blue". They only cost $35 for two bulbs.