New Owners - Stupid Questions Thread

[LaPorte]

Monstman

These are approx numbers. The grove is about 5mm below the bottom of the fork tube cap. I raised the fork tubes another 13mm for a total of about 18mm.
If you get the bike and are interesting in my Hyperpro fork springs let me know. They are 25mm shoter than the stock springs and lowers the front of the bike by 1"
I thought it handled very well with the front lower. It turned much sharper. The problem with the Hyperpro spings for me was, they were little soft for some of the off road riding i did.

LaPorte

[Two Moto Kiwis]

Originally Posted by LaPorte

If you get the bike and are interesting in my Hyperpro fork springs let me know.

LaPorte

Great info, many thanks.

Got a fella wanting my SMR so will know over the weekend where I am at I spose, would love to keep both but can't afford them both.

I am 74 kg without gear, so probably 84 -85 ready to race.

[Dragoon74]

Dunno if this is the right place to ask this. But, what would it cost to put ABS on a non-ABS F8?

[MCMXCIVRS]

Originally Posted by Dragoon74

Dunno if this is the right place to ask this. But, what would it cost to put ABS on a non-ABS F8?

Way too much to be worth the effort and may not even be feasable to do at all for the electronics side of the system. Cheaper and easier to trade bikes for one with it.

Not just that I have stupid questions, I am a stupid dude. That's ok because I have a whole life to learn.

Here are my 3 questions:

1) Is it very difficult to change the brake fluid on my twin w/ ABS? Couple inmates said it's a pain in the buttock to do it. . I'll have the repair manual early next wk.

2) Valve adjustment, is it a must do thing for every 12k miles? With this I mean: there's nothing wrong or no valve adjustment needed for the twin for every 12k miles if the bike is ridden & maintained properly.

3) Does anyone know a place that has the Michelin Anakee2 rear tire (140/80 17) in stock now & ready to ship? After 2 wks, I only have the front one & don't even know when they'll ship the rear one.

Many many thnx.

[EnderTheX]

Originally Posted by VitBike

Not just that I have stupid questions, I am a stupid dude. That's ok because I have a whole life to learn.

Here are my 3 questions:

1) Is it very difficult to change the brake fluid on my twin w/ ABS? Couple inmates said it's a pain in the buttock to do it. . I'll have the repair manual early next wk.

2) Valve adjustment, is it a must do thing for every 12k miles? With this I mean: there's nothing wrong or no valve adjustment needed for the twin for every 12k miles if the bike is ridden & maintained properly.

3) Does anyone know a place that has the Michelin Anakee2 rear tire (140/80 17) in stock now & ready to ship? After 2 wks, I only have the front one & don't even know when they'll ship the rear one.

Many many thnx.

Those certainly are some strange questions... I'll give it a shot.

1. Sorry don't know the brake fluid change procedure, I had mine done under warranty after the fluid turned black (I think this happens to every F8 in the first year). There was no performance degradation that I could notice when the fluid turned black but they changed it anyway, since then my fluid has been clear.

2. Valve adjustment is recommended every 12k miles but you will find 95% of us have not had to adjust the valves at the first 12k and probably 75% have not had to adjust at 24k (I'm making the percentages up but that is what it sounds like from what I've read). I skipped my 12k valve check when I did the service myself but I will tackle it when I get to 24k.

3. Best thing to do is pick up the phone and start calling. Go on the web and find all the bike stores near you (or away from you) and just call and ask, the parts guys will let you know if they have one in stock. I usually order online from one of the huge motorcycle online parts stores because they have good tire discounts since they can buy in super bulk.


Good luck!

[MCMXCIVRS]

Brake fluid change is pretty easy even with the ABS. Not any different than any other bike really. Just flush new fluid through using whatever brake bleeding technique you prefer, i.e., pumping with the lever, vacuum bleeding or pressure bleeding.

The newer R and K bikes with the EVO brakes are the more difficult ones to do.

[HighFive]

Originally Posted by EnderTheX

2. Valve adjustment is recommended every 12k miles but you will find 95% of us have not had to adjust the valves at the first 12k and probably 75% have not had to adjust at 24k (I'm making the percentages up but that is what it sounds like from what I've read). I skipped my 12k valve check when I did the service myself but I will tackle it when I get to 24k.

Hhhhmmm....can't say I'd recommend skipping a valve check. All motors are not made the same. You're never sure what the factory set them to in the beginning. If set on the tighter side (which seems common with many new 4T motorcycle engines), then some wear could put you into the danger zone of being too tight. That could lead to some ugly results.

If most bikes are not needing any adjustment at 12k, then you're probably ok. But "probably" might keep me awake at night. That's the problem, you don't really "know" until you've had a looksee under the hood. Me....I just got to know!

But, I'm only in the 4k range....I've got lots of riding to do yet before I get to that point. So, what do I know?

HF

p.s. kind of like the wheel bearings.....you wanna risk it or have a look? Granted one is considerably more difficult to evaluate than the other, but the principle is the same.

[inmate-n00b]

For aftermarket bash plates, do you also need to purchase (from BMW)
additional mounting hardware?
Where do you get those screws with the rubber mounts? Does that come
with the F800GS?
I just bought a F800GS. I haven't received it yet, hence the stupid question.
I've just started the farklelization process....
I like the adv spec bash plate.

thx in advance.

[EnderTheX]

Originally Posted by OMG_WTF

For aftermarket bash plates, do you also need to purchase (from BMW) additional mounting hardware?

No, hardware should come from the aftermarket manufacturer to install to a brand new bike, no extra purchase necessary, this should apply to all aftermarket bash plates (and more accessories).

Originally Posted by OMG_WTF

Where do you get those screws with the rubber mounts? Does that come with the F800GS?

You should be able to get them from your dealer or at an online BMW parts store... but you shouldn't need them unless you destroy the ones that come with the bike. If you have a brand new bike coming it will have these bolts installed, just remove stock bash plate and read instructions for installing new one.


Good luck and have fun!

[SlowRide13]

Originally Posted by EnderTheX

If you have a brand new bike coming it will have these bolts installed, just remove stock bash plate and read instructions for installing new one.

I believe that some bikes come without a factory bash plate? Maybe just the F650's? Anyway, if your bike comes with the little plastic stock plate you will not have to order the mounting hardware. If it comes with no bash plate at all, you will have to order the mounting hardware from BMW, I think.

Thank you very much, EnderTheX. I'll follow your advice. About the tires, I found out about 4-5 places online that they don't have my tires in stock. Did not call any of them. When I placed my order at one shop, I thought they have both tires. Next time, I'll call them to make sure.

Thnx alot, MCMXCIVRS. You gave me the confidence.

[JoelWisman]

Originally Posted by SlowRide13

I believe that some bikes come without a factory bash plate? Maybe just the F650's? Anyway, if your bike comes with the little plastic stock plate you will not have to order the mounting hardware. If it comes with no bash plate at all, you will have to order the mounting hardware from BMW, I think.

Correct. All 800GS's come with plastic bash plates and 4 rubber mounts as well as one bolt.

The F650GS does not. For that bike, the mount kit that aftermarket manufactures are expecting comes as an excessively priced kit, available from any BMW dealer.

(Shameless plug). The optional metal bash plate from BMW is quite robust, plays nicely with nearly all aftermarket crash bars of which SW motech is my favorite (not a shameless plug, I have no vested interest in SW motech sales) and the BMW metal bash plates is one of the few bash plates that protects the cat which is an order of magnitude more expensive then the oil pan.

Someone else asked if anyones heard of any problems with bolting crash bars to the engine. No, that's what the lugs in question were made for. The only bars I have ever heard of hurting any part of the bike are the adventure tech bars and they only hurt the plastics and air box up top when the super tall bars bend in.

Somewhere around here is a picture of some bars that took a head on collision with a car and the mounting tabs to the motor folded back 180 degrees.

The mounting lugs on the engine are strong.

[Olvi]

Originally Posted by EnderTheX

You should be able to get them from your dealer or at an online BMW parts store... but you shouldn't need them unless you destroy the ones that come with the bike. If you have a brand new bike coming it will have these bolts installed, just remove stock bash plate and read instructions for installing new one.

Those "rubber bolts" are real beasts to take off . If you just change the plate and the new one seats to original fastening, you may not need spare ones, but if you ever need to take those "rubber bolts" off the you should have spare ones.

[CycleRider]

Depending on your style of off roading, there is bash plate that is about as low priced as you can find that does provide CAT protection. Check out the Ricochet ( <- click ) - Doesn't provide as much protection as some of the others that are popular, but it does provide "good" protection in important areas, for about 1/2 the price. I know I will get bashed for suggesting that you not get a plate designed to protect a tank, but I think for the buck, this is a very good value.

T...