Broke down and dove in!

[kimzx1000r]

Well I could not stand it anymore and dove in. Ordered a new 2011 GSA 1200. Grey with all options. Now for the big question. I got the potentiometer guard, fuel line guard, and pinion cover. What else should I consider adding. Plans are for gravel, unimproved roads, fire roads, maybe a ATV trail here and there. Probably not anything really difficult but for sure out of the way roads. I use a KLR for this now.

[lax]

Get some good protective gear for your body too. I just picked up a pair of Sidi Adventure boots. More flexible the MX boots and they have tread. But man were they expensive.

[pdxrmccgs]

Way to go...high five, they are great bikes. So here is my take:

I would purchase and install engine or cylinder(s) head guards
as one of your first "farkles". These are high spirited steeds and
the "tip over" is not if but when. The engine guards save a little
"road rash". The only other thing might be a wide/big "foot"
for the side stand. The balance of the "farkle madness" is
in the air and you can't avoid it...its part of the fun. Hopefully
some guys will jump in and get you dreaming.

You didn't specifically ask but I would spend some time pre-delivery
increasing your knowledge base on the cockpit stuff and orientation.
The knobs, buttons, switches and computer are kind of mini-space
shuttle. If you can get a hold of a owners manual and have at it.
A large portion of questions that invariably come up appear to be
in the owners manual. I use the term "appear" because as you will
find out the owners manuals are a little "quirky" in a BMW way.

[kimzx1000r]

I will get the manual and see if I can start getting the lay of the land. I did order a service manual as well. So is the camel toe the way to go

thanks

Originally Posted by pdxrmccgs

Way to go...high five, they are great bikes. So here is my take:

I would purchase and install engine or cylinder(s) head guards
as one of your first "farkles". These are high spirited steeds and
the "tip over" is not if but when. The engine guards save a little
"road rash". The only other thing might be a wide/big "foot"
for the side stand. The balance of the "farkle madness" is
in the air and you can't avoid it...its part of the fun. Hopefully
some guys will jump in and get you dreaming.

You didn't specifically ask but I would spend some time pre-delivery
increasing your knowledge base on the cockpit stuff and orientation.
The knobs, buttons, switches and computer are kind of mini-space
shuttle. If you can get a hold of a owners manual and have at it.
A large portion of questions that invariably come up appear to be
in the owners manual. I use the term "appear" because as you will
find out the owners manuals are a little "quirky" in a BMW way.

[pdxrmccgs]

I not sure what a "camel toe" is but if it refers to engine guards
most of them well, do look like a "camel toe". I opted for
kind of a simple one a couple of years ago and it does fine in a
tip over but that is about it. I continually see new and better ones
on guys bikes.

Some guys just stay simple, and figure if the valve covers or such get
a little road rash it makes for a better road warrior look. You might check with your
dealer to see what they recommend as some diy folks report
installations that get kind of kinky. I had the dealer put mine
on and the hour or so labor was well worth it.

[PBGS]

I was originally going to get full engine guards but I settled for the simple valve cover protectors. I just want to cover a simple parking lot drop.
I figure if I go sliding then I'm either paying to replace the valve covers or paying to replace the engine guards - which are usually more. All of which insurance would cover anyway.. so, I prefer the look of the bike without the guards, so ultimately... no guards.

[marc]

I had the plastic protectors when the bike was new and they didn't. Protect that is. Not even for a driveway tip over. They were replaced with Hepco & Becker bars.

When you low side the bike on pavement at 30-40 MPH the bars don't take much damage. A minute with a file to remove the sharp edges and some touch up paint is all that is required. The marks on the valve cover were from that earlier driveway drop with the plastic protectors.



This is what happens to the bars when a deer runs into you when you're going 40-60 MPH. The bike did not go down. I don't know if the result would have been any different without the bars. However, the force of the hit was enough to drive the bars back into the valve cover before springing back some. You can feel the bar shaped indentations where the bars hit the cover.



That happened Friday on the way to Death Valley. The valve cover isn't damaged enough to warrant a replacement. I think I can bend the bars back into shape for continued use.

[kimzx1000r]

Camel Toe! Kickstand addition to increase foot print.

I like the crash bars!

[pdxrmccgs]

Roger on the camel toe.

The crash bar stuff seems to fit into a couple of categories.
The first is the minimalist that protects from a side load...think
tip over, and the more robust, which will take a front load or frontal impact
of varying degrees. As you can see from the above the Hepco Becker
seemed to do pretty good on semi frontal impact.

[maduko]

I have Adventure crash bars AND the aluminum valve cover guards on my bike. If I had to pick only one I'd opt for bars.

Even though a rock can puncture a valve cover and leave you stranded, the bars protect more of the engine.

Plus you can hang stuff on them! I mount cameras or aux lights on mine quite often.