Firefight911 Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 Well, the day broke with a great sun in the east! The EZ-UP was set up and the drinks were put on ice. It was FINALLY time to get the Wilber's installed in the R1200ST. The garage was prepared and the dirt bikes sat outside and about that time Timmer, on his 1200ST, and Joe G, on his 1150RT, showed up. Introductions were made and coffee was served. It was time to have fun! And fun we had! We got our sleeves rolled up and Timmer and JoeG put their shorts on. This meant that we had plenty of "glow" lighting on the subject at hand. Hey, it's Larry from Vallejo on his K1200RS. His first event from BMWSporttouring.com! Welcome, get your glow shorts on and join in the party! The rear shock was first. Wow, that was easy! Pop the seat, the rear wheel, exhaust, and the fender. Break free and remove the shock bolts and presto chango, we had the rear done. It truly was that simple. Hey, it's Ken, Ashley, and Larry from River City Beemers. Just dropped by to say hello as they jet off to ride the five passes in preperation for the club ride in October! Woohoo! I'll be ready for that one for sure!! A bit of fiddling ensued as we adjusted and confirmed the routing of the remote preload adjuster and the remote reservoir with the high and low speed compression adjusters. Once we sorted this out and cut an inner tube to protect the frame tubes we were on to the front. A little banter, some watermelon, chips and dip, some more water and the front was up for some nip/tuck. Tupperware, oh tupperware how do you hang on so?! Fiddle, change torx size. Ooh, that is a long bolt and that a short one. Oh, I get it and then she was laid bare with her tank exposed. Two bolts there and two more there, a quick disconnect fuel line or two and some electrical connections and the tank was displaced just enough to get to the upper shock mount. Don't forget the alternator cover. Would you look at that!!! Two different size and type screws! Whose uncle's, brother's, sister's, aunt's, father owns the screw/nut/bolt store???? Break them free and . . . wait a bit, what is that? Ooohhhhhh, it's lunch time!!!!!! Tri tip sandwich, onion lettuce, mayo, and mustard. How about some potato salad? Some soda, water, and gatorade and dessert. Ummmm, chocolate chip cookies!!!! Now we're cooking!! Back at it!!! Get the lower bolt out. Wow, that took some real effort!!! Get the upper bolt out and bada bing!!!! The front was swapped out! Fiddle, futz, blam. The tupperware is back on! Wow, that wasn't bad AT ALL!! There she sits, in all her glory. New supenders front and rear! With blue springs to match the silver and blue tupperware! Time to set the sag! Wow, way to go Wilber's!!! No adjustment on the front needed! Right in the meat of the adjustment range! As for the rear, the preload was at minimum, probably for shipping, so we cranked her in and voila! Sag set! As for the ride? Well, Timmer and I took her around my block at slow speed and there is DEFINITELY a difference! I'll report later on how that goes once I have some miles on the shock and I have a chance to confirm the factory settings. Needless to say, there was a great time had by all. I know we all learned a little something. Me, a lot! I cannot express to all the above mentioned criminals, err, cohorts in crime, just how much I appreciated their selfless giving up of their time to come and help out a fellow rider! I truly had a wonderful time with every single one of you!!!! You are all friends and I hope to some day be able to repay the generosity, laughs, good time, and friendship that we had at this event. Oh yea, my neighbor thinks you're cute Joe!!!! Now, before you blast away for not having any pictures. There are pictures!!! Timmer brought his camera and shot quite a few! Even got one of the stand for the drinks, raised up just so. This prevented anyone from having to bend over to get a cold drink!! Hopefully, we'll get some posted for you soon! I cannot forget one of the most important people who helped make this a wonderful time for all of us! Mrs. 1bmwfan, my wife Jamie! She took care of all our needs for food and drinks. She checked in on us and gave me my needed ration of kisses! She made homemade potato salad while we worked. She BBQ'd the tri tip and she set up the whole thing so that everyone was hopefully satisfied in the belly! Thank you my love! And again, thank you Larry, Timmer, and Joe! Your help and selflessness was overwhelming and appreciated! Link to comment
Marty Hill Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 Wonderful, glad it was such a perfect day. Link to comment
Paul_Burkett Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 Thank you for the encouraging post, I will be installing my Wilbers when they come in, and this gives me hope that it isn't too daunting a task. But 3:42 A.M.? I hope you got some rest. Link to comment
Timmer Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 Joe and I ride 130 miles to help a guy install his Wilbers, and he makes a crack about "glow lighting." I knew there was going to be payback for all those "dirty bike" comments... So Joe and I ride up and here's Phil using the engine stand to bring the cold drinks up to elbow level - what a host! Jamie was the consummate hostess. She made sure there were snacks, drinks, and fixed a wonderful tri-tip lunch. Thanks! Phil now has access to the rest of the photos, so he can post more details in the Hexhead wrenching section. Once we had Phil's bike back together, Joe and I decided to take the long way home up Rt 88 and then over Ebbetts Pass on 4 and back down the hills to home in the San Francisco Bay area. That made the return trip about 311 miles for me and 441 miles for the day. What a great day of wrenching and riding! Link to comment
R4ND0M_AX3 Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 Wow. After readig that I feel like I was there. Good times. Link to comment
NoLongeraK1200RSRider Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 What a great day it was! My first time get together with a couple of BMW folks and I felt like I was home with good friends all around. I want to take a minute to thank all of you guys.. you really made me feel at home on my virgin outing and even though my bike has 4 cylinders and all of yours have only 2.. they didn't fight even when left unattended for all that time on the sidewalk outside the garage.. lol. It was a great day and I felt like "one of the guys" after only a very short time there. I actually learned a lot about the bike and can hardly wait for the next get together. Link to comment
Timmer Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 Larry - it was good to meet you. Hope we see you again at future BMWST events. Link to comment
Firefight911 Posted July 30, 2006 Author Share Posted July 30, 2006 Here are some more pictures of the day's events. Enjoy! Oh, and don't feel too bad Tim, you know you had it coming! There is plenty of summer sun light left, hint, hint!! Removing the fender after getting the wheel and exhaust off. Note the leg on the right!! Eeewww, and no need for a flash on the camera!!! Stock vs Wilber's - No contest!! Supporting the rear end while we swap the shocks. That looks purdy! Our one area of concern after we got the rear shock installed. Note how far out the remote pre-load sticks out. The preload adjuster is all the way out here. Looks like a frame slider!! I'll be checking into a fabricated fix for this if I find any foot interference. Stock vs. Wilber's - Part 2. Still no contest!! Note the significant spring length differnce! Good times! Link to comment
Shaman97 Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 Phil, Sorry I missed the event - sounds like all had a good time. See you all soon, I hope. Bob Link to comment
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