BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

Hi,

Sorry if anybody has already asked this question.

I am very very happy with the 1150 R and do not like at all the look of the
1150 GS / 1200 GS.

I would like to know if somebody has tried to adapt the 1150 to a kind of GS (just to make a few miles on dirt road - no enduro race).

I know the changes are higer handlebar / lower footpegs but ...
is there any sugerence ?
Has anybody installed the lower motor cover protection from the GS ?
Has anybody tried to have a bit more of clearance ?
A different type of tyres (currently using Pilot Road ) ?
Is it interesting to install the rear wheel mudguard ?

Any hints will be wellcomed

The bike is certainly capable of a few miles of gravel and dirt roads without any modification.

I did this ride last fall.
http://DSKYZD.smugmug.com/gallery/2171788/1/112809271

DSKYZD

There are threads related to this conversion in the archives. Here are some of the salient posts:

This poster asked about dirt-worthy tires:
http://r1150r.org/board/viewtopic.php?t=5372

Here the same poster showed the Avon Distanzia tires he mounted:
http://r1150r.org/board/viewtopic.php?t=6531

Here's an earlier discussion of tires:
http://r1150r.org/board/viewtopic.php?t=4607

Here's a more recent discussion:
http://r1150r.org/board/viewtopic.php?t=8807

Do a search for past posts, others have converted their R's to GS "lights" by doing only a few basic mods. Consider mounting the GS handguards; these work well on the street too, esp. if you ride in the cold or the rain. Definetely consider adding engine guards at minimum, or even better, crash bars. Here's a recent thread on that subject: http://r1150r.org/board/viewtopic.php?t=9344

Keep us posted on your conversion and let us know how it works out.

DSKYZD wrote:The bike is certainly capable of a few miles of gravel and dirt roads without any modification.

I did this ride last fall.
http://DSKYZD.smugmug.com/gallery/2171788/1/112809271

DSKYZD

Ahhhh, very nice. Is this in VA? Looks like it was a great day to be out. Just out of curiousity, how long was the ride and what tires do you have?

Yes, in VA. Into and out of Burkes Garden on different non-paved roads. The rough one in from the east was about 7 miles, the better gravel road going out to the south was 10 or so.

Tires are Metzeler Z6's.

To keep a little more OT, you can add the shorter GS paralever arm (brace under the shaft drive) to shorten the wheelbase and raise the bike a bit. Others have done it to add flickability in street riding.

DSKYZD

DSKYZD wrote:The bike is certainly capable of a few miles of gravel and dirt roads without any modification.

I did this ride last fall.
http://DSKYZD.smugmug.com/gallery/2171788/1/112809271

DSKYZD

DSKYZD, Those are really great pictures, Thanks for sharing them, Den

Thank you DSKYZD for the pics. The pics are fantastic. The type of ride I would occasionally do is those kind of gravel roads and even when I am in Europe I could not tell the difference with the rides I have about 20 miles from my home.
This does not mean I would do this every weekend for Friday, Sat an Sunday, but I insist on occasionally return to this kind of ride which I like very much.

I would appreciate if you could tell us what kind of preparation do you have on the bike (higher handlebars ... etc )
Do you have problems with the bike clearance ?
Do you have problems with supensions reaching the top ?


Thanks also for the tip of the paralever length on the GS bikes - this is the type of tip I am looking for.

By the way, I am also very fond of photograpy and I noticed the small bag on top of the petrol reservoir. Is it a camera bag ?



Many thanks again in advance.

fj - welcome to the board.

Do a search for some old posts by a member named beemerphile who did some extensive mods to his bike, including the GS paralever I believe. There are some tricks to doing it, as best I remember.

If you stiffen the stock susupension up, you shouldn't top it out on gravel roads. If you are, you need to check out getting a KTM!

I do dirt and gravel roads too on my R, certainly not dirt bike trails, but the R does really well. As long as you remember that the suspension travel is, I think, 2 inches less than a GS, you'll be fine. I only remember bottoming it out a couple times, I was more worried about bending the alloys, but no damage yet.

No mods to my bike for off-roading, I just don't do it that often and I don't go that fast. Like mentioned above, I keep the speed down to keep from bending the wheels. The only times I've read of that happening were when the rider nailed a particularly deep hole in the road with a sharp lip.

Dual sport tires, and some crash protection for cylinder heads would be at the top my list if I did much REAL off-roading.


DSKYZD

Many thanks for your comments.

I think we have more possibilities of bending a wheel on open road (due to the sharp edges of the concrete ) than when driving on dirt roads.

In fact the GS come with alloy wheels ??? !!!!

However, I would like to know if there is a way gaining some clearance, if it is expensive etc ???

None uses the motor protector ??

Thanks again

I attach a link to an spanish page where you can see what I have at less than 1/2 an hour from home.

http://www.bmwmotos.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/Y ... 2809591/15

Normally the trails are in good shape, so after the comments I have seen in the forum I will try to ride on them with the 1150 R.

Best regards,

Your reading my mind! I didn't think I needed the off-road capabilities of the GS, but alas, when the tarmac ends I can't keep myself from continuing. I need to replace the shocks anyway so I'm contemplating: GS length shocks, GS front sliders, GS paralever( and sidestand - centerstand), laced GS wheels, bash plate and that's about it.

Now, where can I find a totalled GS . . .

Change the paralever strut to the 1150's shorter one. Will give you more clearance and flickability.

Cheers

Cat