R1150 GS Modifications for Long Distance Touring
Wednesday, 02 September 2009 00:00
Just how does one prepare a motorcycle for a long distance trip? I’ve done a fair amount of long distance riding but not a 6 month trip to countries where support and parts may be difficult to find. I’ve also never purchased a motorcycle for the sole purpose of taking a trip, so, now I was determined to go about preparing my 2002 R1150GS for a 20+ thousand mile motorcycle trip from Washington State to Terra del Fuego, Argentina.
What I decided to do was spend the next 2 riding seasons road testing the bike. Eastern Washington has riding seasons due to the snow covering the roads during the winter. I’d located my 2002 R1150GS in October of 2007, took it for a short ride and then put it away for the winter. The 2008 riding season would be the first year I would start road testing the GS.
Accessorizing a motorcycle is one of the fun activities you get to do after the initial purchase. I spend that first winter reading product reviews and how other riders had modified their motorcycles. By the end of the winter, I had a long list of items I wanted to perform on the GS.
My plan was to spend the first year just getting to know the bike and to determine what I really needed to add or modify. The second year was for riding the bike in the finished configuration.
During the first year (2008) I installed Ohilns shocks, Touratech 41L panniers and 41L gas tank. I then started riding the GS until I had my wiring meltdown. The meltdown was a disappointment, but I guess I was executing my plan to road-test the bike prior to South America. Anyway, having a wiring harness destroyed in someplace like, Nicaragua, would not be fun!
After the first riding season, I brought the bike to a local mechanic for a major maintenance checkup. Typically, I perform my own maintenance, but I thought it would be a good idea to have another set of eyes look at the bike. I had noticed during the ‘08 riding season that oil was seeping from between the transmission and engine and I wanted to check the seals and clutch. Sure enough, we discovered that the oil seal at the front of the transmission was leaking and had coated the clutch with oil. A new clutch and pressure plate was installed as were the transmission seals for both the input and output shafts. The final drive was also inspected and new seals installed. I had notice the throttle cable was a little stiff, and upon closer inspection found that the cable for the right injector was starting to fray – new throttle cables are now on the bike. The last modification I needed was to beef-up the subframe. A little welding and a powder coat later – job done.
The maintenance and modifications took a bit longer than expected, which means I won’t get a full riding season to road test the bike but so far, it’s running great!
To date, these are the modification/additions I’ve done to the “Beast”:
Luggage
- Touratech aluminum 41L panniers
- Ortblieb 24L Rack Pack waterproof bags
- Wolfman Expedition tankbag
Bike
- PowerPegz foot pegs
- Ohlins shocks front and rear
- Touratech 41L gas tank
- Touratech hard parts (came with the bike)
- Touratech crashbars (came with the bike)
- Touretech folding gear shifter
- Rich’s custom seat (came with the bike)
- Remus exhaust (came with the bike)
- Foam air filter
- New clutch and pressure plate
- CPC chrome plated brass fuel line quick disconnects
- Stainless steel braided break lines (front and rear)
- Center stand stump guard
- Auxiliary driving & flog lights
- Reinforced subframe
Navigation
- Garmin Oregon GPS and locking mount
- South American mapset
Looking Good, Jeff, but I'll bet you're gonna miss your Italian rocket in the corners!