KIT REVUE after 25,000 Kms.
Just to finish off my trip report, for those who haven't already run off bored to tears, the following is a few thoughts and experiences with various bits of kit which maybe of interest:
The Bike
What a machine the R1250 GS Adventure TE is. The more I ride it, transiting from a K1600 GTLE, the more I like and admire its comfort, versatility, reliability and sheer plain out and out fun. She has performed flawlessly since delivery new from the dealer last May and 25,000 Kms ago. Unlike the K1600 she rides as straight as an arrow and hasn't used a thimble full of oil. Happy days.
Bits I’ve changed/added of note
Wunderlich clear fold down-able headlight protector. Excellent bit of kit, particularly being able to fold it down and clean behind. Judging by one or two minor chips in the glass it has already earned its money, protecting the ludicrously expensive GS headlight assembly from stray stones etc. Patience required to fit but well worth the trial ;-)
Puig Touring screen with factory fitted Aerofoil and Cymarc screen supports. I’m 6’5” and needed more protection than the OEM Adventure screen which, for me, was like doing 10 rounds with Mike Tyson due to the battering it gave from buffering above 50 or so Mph. The screen supports from Cymarc are well built and rock solid and any speed. The combo is recommended giving very near buffet free riding.
Cymarc pillion seat replacement luggage rack. Another well built bit of kit from Cymarc that saves the pillion seat from a battering when stowing a bag in the pillion position. It's easily installed/removed using the seat key. Thumbs up.
Bumot Panniers Top Box and Tool Box. The panniers fit directly to the OEM GSA rack. The top box requires a plate to be fitted to the OEM rack which is easy, allowing removal of the top box using the keys supplied. These three bits from Bumot are really excellent quality and very heavy duty. I also bought the internal bags and lid bags for them, which are again very well made with Cordura. Nick Hodges does a great YouTube revue of them.
There is a downside. The toolbox is NOT built to the same standard as the panniers. On my last trip the lock broke again. Moreover the build quality in general is not to the same standard as the panniers etc. Also the box is far too small and really does not take a tool kit worthy of the name. I use it to stow my Oxford half bike cover. (Excellent cover which folds down into a small lightweight parcel and is vvcheap to boot, thumbs up for Oxford.) That said this cover fills the Bumot tool box…..The box is destined for the bin.
Ram Quick Grip Waterproof Wireless phone charger/holder. Not a cheap choice but…..for me at least, well worth the admission fee. So far, after well over 20,000Kms in all weathers it has performed flawlessly with a Samsung S21 Ultra keeping the phone charged to 100% whilst using the BMW Connectedride APP/telephone/media player etc. I hard wired this via a TecMate USB 100 controller and extension cable direct to the battery (fed under the Tupperware then piggy backed with zip ties on the cables to the left handlebar where the charger is fitted via a Ramball to the base of the mirror). The Tecmate controller automatically switches the feed on and off dependent on battery charge and time not used. Altogether a good combo.
Russell Day Long Seat. This is not cheap, that said I would not ride without one, end of story, period. For me the OEM seats on both my K1600 and the GSA are designed to torture, simple as. BMW should, IMHO, be ashamed of themselves furnishing these long distance bikes with the rubbish they do. The RDL enables me to do back to back 10 hrs rides in complete comfort. I cannot recommend the seat and the company highly enough. Ps I’ve also tried Sargent seats as well as other brands. Frankly none of them hold a candle to a RDL and are a waste, again IMHO, of money. That said some do enjoy even the OEM seats, I wish them well. For the GSA I went for the single riders seat and fitted a Cymarc luggage rack in the pillion position. The OEM pillion seat still fits in combo with the RDL for those times the boss hops on ;-)
Metzeler Tourance Next. These replaced the OEM Michelin’s supplied from new. They’ve now completed 12,000Kms heavily loaded most of the time on twisties and a lot of freeway. There’s little signs of wear considering the mileage and most important of all, wet and dry grip is limpit like. I’ve become very confident in the tyres abilities in ALL conditions, including snow blizzards ;-) I’ll be trying the latest Metzeler Tourance Next 2’s shortly.
Riding Kit. On this last trip temps ranged from +22 celsius to minus 4. As you can imagine riding kit for the cold was vital. Everything hung off a Warm n’ Safe 12v Heated Shirt and 12v Heated glove liners, plugged in directly to the GSA’s battery via an TecMate SAE cable and plug, fixed just below the tank on the left side. A dual channel bluetooth controller velcro’d to the top of my Nav 6 mount does the needful thermostat/temp wise enabling easy access whilst on the move. Several layers of microfibre thermal’s underneath a KLIM Hardanger suit did the rest with a pair of Gortex, bullet proof Daytona Boots from Germany.
Helmet/Comms. As always the trick as we all know with helmets is to pick one that fits. This is difficult for me (size 3 XL noggin). After expensive flirtations with BMW System 7, Schuberth C4 Pro, Shoei and HJC in recent times I fell on the X-Lite 1005 Carbon Flip Up. Whilst not perfect its as close as I’m going to get enabling hours of flip down comfort. Moreover the helmet is coupled to the N-Com 902X (which I understand is a Senna unit). It performs well with long battery life well over 12 hours, it hasn’t quit on me yet, loud clear voice and tunes with a clear microphone set on a boom. It also readily connects to the GSA TFT system and my Samsung S21 Ultra phone using a RC3 Senna handlebar remote to control volume (Operates flawlessly). The best helmet and the best comms I ever had sums it up.
Navigation. I used the newish BMW ConnectedRide APP on the Samsung S21 Ultra for Navigating my last 8,000kms around Europe. Save one hitch, the system performed flawlessly and was a pleasure to operate. For some reason after the first day or so the entire BMW Connectedride App stopped working. I erased the app and downloaded everything again from my hotel room on WiFi, including ALL the maps. Since then the system has worked very well indeed. As a general rule I plan the next days ride on my MacBook Air using Google Maps, then create a GPX file from that URL, sending the GPX via What’s App from laptop to phone. A simple press on the What’s App sent GPX file on the phone opens up the BMW APP automatically. I then download the GPX into the APP (merely a case of following the simple prompts) and we are ready to go. So far that system has worked very well with the App following the route to the letter.
THE PROVERBIAL IN THE WOOD PILE. My GARMIN NAVIGATOR 6 (REFRESH) is an utter piece of ***** ****** ****** JUNK. I bought a NAV 6 new with my K1600 GTL. By no means a cheap option. I think BMW/Garmin have the gall to charge something like €800 ++ for the so called ‘Refreshed’ piece of…..Çrap. Garmin have replaced my NAV 6, I think I’d be right in saying, including this one, 5 times. Delivering this latest IMPROVED ALL SINGING DANCING ‘REFRESHED’ GARBAGE last year when they were first distributed. Almost from the get go the thing started shutting down all of its own, but only 2-3 times so I sort of let it go. On this latest trip the thing started ‘Ghosting’ again. Just like the older versions this latest ‘Refresh’ was supposed to have fixed, but worse. Flashing various pages at random on the screen, even unilaterally changing destination, then giving erroneous directions as a result. Imagine, as happened to me, driving along at night on an unlit twisty motorway whilst the NAV 6 strobed pages at maximum brightness before your eyes giving turn left, turn right, make a U turn voice commands continuously, with nowhere safe to stop, remove the dam thing from its mount and switch it off. Garmin are about to receive a fizzer post-haste.
Anyway guys, sorry to end on a bad note. I hope some of this helps someone and starts to repay the great amount of knowledge I’ve had the pleasure of gleaning from these pages. Stay safe and well out there…..best regards, Tony.
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