Well it's been three years since I won this bike on ebay with a low ball bid, I had great plans but no funds. Finally this winter I took the plunge and started stage 1 on my "Shelter Dog" bike. I named it Shelter Dog because the R1100R seems to be an unwanted mutt, totally skipped over by all the aftermarket producers and abandoned like an unloved dog. But as we all know mutts can surprise you. I'm not sure where this bike falls into as far as category...naked street fighter perhaps? I thought of making it a cafe racer but the geometry is just not there. So my main goal, besides cosmetics, was to strip as much weight and extraneous components off as possible. The bike started at 518 pounds, so when I pulled off the stock exhaust system which weighed 44 pounds and replaced it with a GPR Deeptone from Italy weighing 7 pounds I got the bike down to 481lbs in one shot. Then I pulled the passenger footpeg assemblies, the grab bar, the two luggage rack bars, the charcoal canister, and the rear fender w/tail light for another 18 pound drop to 463lbs. Finally I swapped the 4 stock turn signal stalks for X-Arc micro LED lights which netted me another 4lbs off for a final weight of 459lbs. At 59lbs lighter the bike is really maneuverable, twisties have become a lot more fun.
On the cosmetics side I had the bike painted in Frozen Bronze Metallic which is a 2015 BMW M6 special order color. I complemented it with the use of Rustoleum "oiled bronze" accents on the headlight, instrument cluster, gas filler, and tank trim. The stock mirrors were replaced with bar end mirrors off a Thruxton and the grips are Tomaselli natural gum in Bourbon brown. The platinum bronze exhaust wrap was more for aesthetic appeal...if there is any performance gain I have yet to feel it. The seat was re-uphostered by Pirate Upholstery in Kingston NY who did a great job but the color was chosen to pair with the stock silver at the time, I'm going to change it to brown leather this summer. Lastly I swapped the Dunlop Road Attacks for Dunlop Trail Attacks which give me a little more confidence on our broken and uneven roads in Rockland County NY.
Stage 2, when the funds are available, will be to pull the entire instrument cluster and replace it with a Motogadget Motoscope Pro along with a tubular bar setup. When the riders seat is re-upholstered I will have the pillion stripped down to the pan and then fabricate a cowl in matching frozen bronze. These three swaps should level the horizontal lines of the bike enough to give a slight cafe racer look I'm hoping.
On the performance side I installed a Beemer BoneBox which is really a Techlusion, made by Dobeck. I haven't programmed it yet so it's running open right now(a bit rich). I welcome any advice on performance enhancements, I'm new to Boxer's and haven't worked on a bike in over 25 years...so be gentle
