Screens
GS "Tubes"
Melvin Hunter Custom Seat
Solid Handlebar Mounts
Fairing Mounted Mirrors
E=MC "Endurance" Shocks
The First UK R11xxRS Rideout
I rejected the Parabellum as being too ugly but many people rate it highly. The Aeroflow has many fans and is probably the best looking. It is also available in the UK from Calamander if you are not a fan of internet shopping. It is however only 2.5mm thick not the 4mm of the Wudo and the standard screen. Its price of £104 in the UK is also a little steep. Although users of the Aeroflow rate it highly (I believe it pre-dates the Wudo) it cannot be used in the more upright positions at speed.
Fitting is simple, the screen uses the existing screws and lines up perfectly. For those of us who are less than fastidious about motorcycle cleanliness, it is important to clean behind the screen as the mounting plate and top of the fairing are clearly visible behind the fairly light tint of the screen. Despite the fact that you do not look through the screen while riding, I prefer the translucency of the Wudo to the opaque nature of the standard screen. It simply looks more "right" in my opinion.
The effect on the bike is impressive. At a cost
in top end speed (which I don't think anyone has recorded), you gain a
significant increase in "urge" in the midrange. In general, rideability
is improved all round, especially in the "real life" rev range of 3,000
- 5,000 rpm. Another benefit is in town riding where the "shut off" on
a closed throttle is much less pronounced making it much easier to ride
smoothly.
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I had put replacment seats on the lottery winning list until I saw a mate's Pan European with a custom seat made by Melvin Hunter at Custom Motorcycle Seats in Coventry. Once I was told that his quality was good, prices reasonable and customer service impeccable, I was hooked.
I spoke to Melvin the following day and was quoted £180 including contrast piping and a "gelastic" insert for the rider section. The only catch was that he works from an existing seat and I need my bike for the daily grind to work. A quick call to James Sherlocks found a secondhand seat at £35 for the front and £25 for the rear including VAT and delivery. Another hit on the plastic and the seat is despatched directly to Melvin "sight unseen". This way of course I get to keep my "classic/rare" Teal Blue seat in the vain hope that one day it will make me a fortune on eBay !!!
A week later my new seat arrives. It looks gorgeous. The front section slots in nicely but the rear will not latch into place. After some close comparison, there is a "eureka moment" when we remember that fitting the topbox support rails to the rack involved cutting down the underside of the rear section to fit. Two minutes with a Stanley knife and we're "good to go"
On my first trip to Ashford (just over 100 miles), I was somewhat underwhelmed. The seat felt nice and firm but after about an hour I had the usual pains in the cheeks. It was however vey cold (just before 6am - first frosts) and I think the gelastic may have been unable to mould to my shape. The return journey was considerably better and the seat now really lives up to expectations. It looks great and is only subtly reshaped so it doesn't alter the look of the bike too much. It's much more comfortable than stock and best of all, it doesn't break the bank.
Personally, I consider the solid mounts an
excellent mod. They are machined in an "8" shape out of billet
aluminium and are available from the "usual suspects", Verholen, Wudo
and a number of places in the USA. I bought mine secondhand from a "K
bike" rider in the UK BMW club and paid £25 (if memory serves).
Not only do they make the bike feel as though it is handling better,
they also make the bike much easier to wheel about and put on and off
the centrestand. To my mind, there is no real increase in vibration but
that may simply be because I am insensitive !
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I am certain that the mirrors from a Triumph 955i Daytona would be ideal (the TT600 seem the same). However these are in the region of £70 a pair. For the dedicated cheapskate, Hein Gericke have the answer. They supply a range of mirrors for Japanese bikes. Part numbers 24000508 & 24000509 are pattern mirrors for the Kawasaki ZXR400/750 and cost £11.95 each (inc VAT).
Received wisdom suggests that the shock absorbers are the
weak link in the R1100RS suspension setup. At 50,000 miles, it became
clear that I needed to replace the shocks on my RS. Research pointed to
the Ohlins, or possibly Fournales as the premium choice with Hagons as
an economical alternative. There are two problems with the Ohlins. One
is that they are hideously expensive. In the UK, a pair work out at
£720. This is a result of there being far too many middlemen in
the spully chain. A further problem is the supply situation. When I
ordered from Motorworks,
I was quoted 12 weeks for delivery. The Fournales have no supply
problems and are about the same price as the Ohlins. They are
oleopneumatic (air) shocks and therefore need a special pump for
adjustments. Hagons are much cheaper at £468 for a pair (and
British !!), but advice I received suggested that they are "built to a
price".
Despite having the Ohlins on order, I continued to search for shocks. A friend manged to find a leaflet from an old Ally Pally racing show for French made E=MC Endurance shocks. After I tracked down Tim Rose of T.R.Engineering, the importers (01933 229670/07970 684816), I decided that here were my economical alternatives to the Ohlins.
At
£235 each plus £25 for Tim's "assisted DIY" fitting and
setup, the price was right and Tim's obvious expertise over the phone
lead me to conclude that even if the Ohlins were of a slightly better
quality, properly set-up E=MCs would leave the bike handling better
than badly set-up Ohlins. Tim also suggested an 18mm "hike" on the rear
to sharpen the handling without upsetting the high speed stability.
Delivery was quoted as one week but it turned out to be nearer three -
a bank holiday in France being the culprit.
Fitting was remarkably simple. The rear wheel does not need to be removed completely, just unbolted and moved backwards about six inches. However, in order to completely remove the top bolt, one of the seat height brackets has to be unbolted but this is hardly a major job. The photo also shows the "self aligning" bush which is also found on the bottom of the front shock. At the front, things are also easy. The fuel tank needs to be moved back slightly to reveal the top mount and it was necessary to jack under the engine to drop the telelever arm (wishbone) to allow the shock to be eased out.
With
everything bolted back together, the static sag was measured and set
using the spring preload adjustment. Correct sag should be 25 - 35mm at
the rear and 8 - 15mm at the front. After a quick ride, I found that
the bike felt much more "planted" at any speed. It rolls into slow
corners in a much smoother manner and the bike was entirely stable
hauling down from high speed with the ABS thumping like a hammer drill.
It did however feel slightly harsh at first but 1 turn on the
infinitely variable screw cured that immediately.
The shocks appear to be constructed extremely
well, with blue springs, a single combined compression/rebound damping
adjuster and neat preload rings. The damper rod is titanium nitrided
and this should protect it from the rigours of the road.