Pottering around...

[mag00]

Most of my sound increase is because there is no filter in the front echo chamber. The stock filter position would muffle the sound some. With the airbox still intact, it acts like a resonating chamber. I'm most likely going to get a real coarse pre filter and just put it in the front. I have seens some scotch bright material, thicker like for cleaning a grill, that might work nice.

 

[Greg Jetnikoff]

RE: The short brake line. Contact HEL in brisbane and give them the fittings and the angle and the banjo bolt threads ( you get new Stainless banjo bolts and proper copper gaskets with the line) and they will make you a custom brake line in whatever colour you want in what ever length you want. Don't it many times for my race bikes ( ususlly shorter for rearsets and clipons). In most bikes it will improve the braking as well but the std Husky brake lines are very high quality low expansion so that extra benefit won't be there. NOT EXPENSIVE and usually cheaper than oem ones. You can even get titanium banjo fittins and bolts ( I wouldn't even on a racing bike). And very prompt service. VERY HIGH QUALITY Aussie made product. I have bought heaps of pairs over the years and even have them on my BMWF800R ABS system ( wider bars, master cyl to ABS)
http://www.helperformance.com.au/

 

[Greg Jetnikoff]

Just looked at the new site. They have a custom line build section now but if you are unsure ( banjo bolt threads can be a pain) ring them)

 

[glitch_oz]

Excellent write up.

The BMW X-country counter sprocket cover is a mod I want to make as well. I don't want to use the Husky provided torx wrench and have to fiddle with getting that stupid cover off to change oil mid trip. I have been googling around trying to find the X-Country CS cover but no luck yet. Trying not to pay retail prices.

Did your foam strip work for dampening the sound from the air box?

It's amazing that some things on our bikes are so well designed but others almost seem an after thought.

I'll see if the stock sprocket cover is modifyable for function without turning out looking too shabby.
Re: foam strip. It keeps most of the extra filth out of the airbox (the hacksaw cut finished up ~1-1.5mm/ 1/16 wide once cleaned up) and baffles about 30% of the extra noise as it stops the different frequencies caused by the 2 differently shaped+sized airbox-lid halves.
Mag00 is right, though...the thing acts as an echo chamber and some "baffle" material would be good.
Will try the stocking-ed OEM-filter frame first though.

Most of my sound increase is because there is no filter in the front echo chamber. The stock filter position would muffle the sound some. With the airbox still intact, it acts like a resonating chamber. I'm most likely going to get a real coarse pre filter and just put it in the front. I have seens some scotch bright material, thicker like for cleaning a grill, that might work nice.

Was thinking of some very coarse stainless steel wool (coarse pot-scrubbers used mainly in commercial kitchens.....and Staintune exhausts ) as that can also be quickly washed in petrol/ soapy water/ kero....whatever is around at the time.

 

[glitch_oz]

RE: The short brake line. Contact HEL in brisbane and give them the fittings and the angle and the banjo bolt threads ( you get new Stainless banjo bolts and proper copper gaskets with the line) and they will make you a custom brake line.....

Thanks!
Been talking with John from John Stamnas/ Goodridge in Cooroy about it at length (as they also make custom braided lines etc and we've known eachother for a long time)
The problem with the line is that it's a machine-joined single line made from 2 different tubings, the rigid line from steering head back to ABS unit and the front part braided line from steering head to master cyl.
The joint is NOT a screw fitting, but pressed. Essentially it's a one-piece line from m/c to ABS pump. The flexible part can not be detached and/ or replaced. The rigid line follows certain hookup points and guides around various other components and can not easily be replaced by a flexible line without modifying all the fixation points/ changing routing etc etc.

Anyway, it's all fixed now and I got the "extra" length required out of a slight straightening of the rigid line around the engine.
Looks like someone just wanted to make some extra curvy bends that day on the assembly line and ate up about 40mm/ 1.5" in length that way.
Nothing new...been mucking around with Italian bikes for years and just about NOTHING is impossible

 

[Clete]

I like the BMW X-Country sprocket cover as well, but also looking at the two available case guards, the Scheffelmeir and the Rafel.
Cover or case saver, what's your preference, aside from the cost of either?

 

[Hansi]

Excellent write up.

The BMW X-country counter sprocket cover is a mod I want to make as well. I don't want to use the Husky provided torx wrench and have to fiddle with getting that stupid cover off to change oil mid trip. I have been googling around trying to find the X-Country CS cover but no luck yet. Trying not to pay retail prices.

Did your foam strip work for dampening the sound from the air box?

It's amazing that some things on our bikes are so well designed but others almost seem an after thought.

+1 on the write up, glitch. Took me a while to place your name, but than I remembered your posts on the "Thinstrom" : http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=251613 Awesome stuff !!!


trzcharlie : Looked for some sprocket covers too, Touratech and Scheffelmeier respectively, but was not willing to pay the $$$$$. Had some 3/8" aluminium plate and 1/4" spacers in the shop. Came up with that:

 

[glitch_oz]

+1 on the write up, glitch. Took me a while to place your name, but than I remembered your posts on the "Thinstrom" : http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=251613 Awesome stuff !!!


trzcharlie : Looked for some sprocket covers too, Touratech and Scheffelmeier respectively, but was not willing to pay the $$$$$. Had some 3/8" aluminium plate and 1/4" spacers in the shop. Came up with that:

Oh boy...that "ThinStrom"-stuff is starting to become a trade mark
That was the first 650, The Shrek.
It's sold and living on as a Super-Motard in the cleaner road-environment, raising hell where ever it appears, hehe Great bike :-)

Here it is between the 2 earlier VStrom 1000's

Whow, that's one hell of a sprocket cover!!


For some decently priced Xcountry covers log into Ebay.de and pop this into the search box:
Ritzelabdeckung BMW G650

There are currently 2 listed, used, @20Euros each plus postage (which won't be much on a small article like that.
When buying, tell the seller to remove the German sales tax (MWST 19%) from the listed price as the article
is sold to a place outside the EU.


In the meantime, here's one version of what can be done with the stock-cover.

Pics to folllow, upping now

 

[glitch_oz]

After the first chop, grinding away about the left 1/3 of the cover, keeping the fixing lugs and cutting through part of the top edge for access to the oil-filter screw.

Screw is clear, that part's out of the way.

Following the Xcountry theme...

Looking fine after "freeing up" the top locating lug

Time for a good clean-up, de-burr, re-sealing those ground edges and cuts with an open flame and soldering iron to get the black colour and finish/ texture back, remove the paw-prints and try to cover that shallow scratch where the drill slipped with a rag soaked with some still-wet satin-black out of the rattle can.


Not bad for what started as a " I'll give it a quick whirl and see how it turns out" and finished up the usual "2hrs, 1 bandaid on the bloodblister and a burned lip from the hot tea affair"

 

[drzcharlie]

That looks really good! Nice job...but damn, now I gotta try it.

 

[Clete]

Ya, very nicely done

 

[drzcharlie]

Ok, it was a fairly easy mod thanks to Glitch! Draw the lines to your liking, buzz em with a jig saw, drill six holes for the slots, connect the holes with the jig saw, and now I have to debur. Works fine, gives access to the CS bolt and the oil filter housing and it's free. Thanks

I also decided to take a piece of 2 1/2" aluminum conduit I had around and make a rear brake reservoir cover.

All in all not a bad day. I saved about $140 USD by doing this DIY

 

[macntatsch]

This looks like a good 3D printer project. Maybe we can talk one of the ADV guys who volunteered on the airbox mods to draw this part.

 

[drzcharlie]

This is very easy to do. Took me all of 45 minutes to complete. But the 3d idea is a superb one.

 

[glitch_oz]

This is very easy to do. Took me all of 45 minutes to complete. But the 3d idea is a superb one.

Nice going.
Like the shape. :-)
And yes, it's easy enough to do... and costs nada.

 

[Thumpa]

+1 on the write up, glitch. Took me a while to place your name, but than I remembered your posts on the "Thinstrom" : http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=251613 Awesome stuff !!!


trzcharlie : Looked for some sprocket covers too, Touratech and Scheffelmeier respectively, but was not willing to pay the $$$$$. Had some 3/8" aluminium plate and 1/4" spacers in the shop. Came up with that:

Hansi - what ya' got goin' on there mate, is that an auxiliary tank line i see? Do show and tell if you get a chnce, looks interesting!

 

[glitch_oz]

Made from an old V-Strom handlebar-weight bolt and various rubbers, spacers, washers etc to principally make a rubber-"dowel"/ plug for the steering stem-tube that will be a pivot for a tankbag front-mount-loop at the same time.
Sounds complicated....but easy...just a bit fiddly.
The tankbag is an old Aprilia-Pegaso OEM jobbie, garage-orphaned for years...great quality bag, but not the right shape for the current D/S bikes.

Frame plugs made from some EVA-offcuts I had floating around at work.
Siliconed into place, removable if need be. Weight 1/4 ounce (pair), solid, waterproof.

Heavy alum fly-mesh from the hardware store and a bit of Polyprop sheeting (leftover stiffeners cut out of some old soft-luggage bags) make for some radiator protection (bug screen + " first defence") , together with some mud/ spray guard for the lower portion.
Easily removable/ cleanable/ lightweight/ cheap/ ....and black!

Top of the mesh us just cut and bend over the top of the radiator, using the 2- hanger-screws to hold it in place.
Bottom is semi-wrapped around the crash-bar crossbars and cable-tied.

 

[drzcharlie]

Glitch, Your mod Looks good!

I tried the screen material you have. My bike got too hot after clogging with mud. I ended up changing it out for expanded metal. Works fine without overheating. I painted it black
with a rattle can of truck bedliner material. Tough as nails.

with

 

[glitch_oz]

Glitch, Your mod Looks good!

I tried the screen material you have. My bike got too hot after clogging with mud.

Fair enough...I'll see how I go. Planning to do something about that front guard, too....hopefully preventing that sort of thing.


Finally got the last few bits for the Pod-Mod, finishing off that chapter, hopefully.

Xmas came early....a small mountain of 2. hand/ but as new stuff bought here, there and everywhere over the last 3 weeks.

More garage fun on the coming weekend :-)

 

[Hansi]

Hansi - what ya' got goin' on there mate, is that an auxiliary tank line i see? Do show and tell if you get a chnce, looks interesting!

Went to a single left side exhaust and had the right one to play with and after gutting it and adding a 3" piece of stainless pipe I ended up with a 1.25 gal aux. tank.

It is a work in progress, still looks rough and I have yet to find the right color paint to match the can on the left.

 

[Thumpa]

Went to a single left side exhaust and had the right one to play with and after gutting it and adding a 3" piece of stainless pipe I ended up with a 1.25 gal aux. tank.
I half wandered if that's the route you'd gone, as i'd contemplated the possibility of adapting the second pipe as an aux tank. Well done and thanks for posting this.

It is a work in progress, still looks rough and I have yet to find the right color paint to match the can on the left.