mneblett Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 Now off the trailer and in the garage [/url] Link to comment
gordiet Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 Nice! I brought its twin home last week. Now I've got to get busy and buy all the toys for it. See ya on the road. GT Link to comment
mneblett Posted March 11, 2015 Author Share Posted March 11, 2015 Thanks. The plan at the moment is to pull the tupperware and have the nose, trunk lid and knee panel sections color-matched so the top half of the bike is blue, contrasting with the lower drivetrain portion's silver. I'm fortunate to have found a painter that was able to reproduce the blue on my '09 RT's trunk, down to the density of metal flake particles in the paint -- hoping he can do it again! Link to comment
TEWKS Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 There's a picture floating around on one of the sites with a San Marino blue RT with a similar paint change. Looked good. Pat Link to comment
RSH Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 That pic makes my '12 RT look like it is an antique! Nice bike. Link to comment
mneblett Posted March 12, 2015 Author Share Posted March 12, 2015 That pic makes my '12 RT look like it is an antique! It's "different" from a camhead, but the '12 RT is still an excellent bike -- so much so that my wife decided she liked her 2012 RT better when we had a '14 RT demo bike over a weekend last fall. Link to comment
Kathy R Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 Just in time for the snow melt. Link to comment
Alfred02 Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 I still like the two tone on the blue version with the front being grey. Congrats Link to comment
TEWKS Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 Not the pic I was talking about but I can see where you're aiming. Pat Link to comment
AndyS Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 Pat, very nice colour adjustment. That colour change to the nose and tank lowers the centre of graviy on its own! Link to comment
ipnman Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 I'm looking at the same bike/color Link to comment
MotoBones Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 Congrats...enjoy the ride. Link to comment
mneblett Posted March 12, 2015 Author Share Posted March 12, 2015 Not the pic I was talking about but I can see where you're aiming. Pat Exactly (except the radiator outlet rims will also be blue). The trunk lid will also be matched (there's another Photoshop of that, without the kneepad sections blue). The original kneepad sections have a satin finish (not matte) -- it will be interesting to see whether they come out gloss or still satin. Either way, I'll be happier with the blue than the grey. Once all the paint is done, all of the painted surfaces get 3M'd with a tankslapper.biz full RT kit. Link to comment
AndyS Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 Once all the paint is done, all of the painted surfaces get 3M'd with a tankslapper.biz full RT kit. Looking forward to seeing detailed pictures of it. Link to comment
MotoBones Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 Looks great...much nicer to my eye than as supplied by BMW. Link to comment
mneblett Posted March 14, 2015 Author Share Posted March 14, 2015 Shouldn't be too long -- I dropped off the parts to be painted on Friday morning (although I also told him that I want them back when they are done "right," however long that takes. Link to comment
narcosis Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 Beautiful bike Mark, congrats! Nice trailer too. This post motivated me to go do a thorough wash and wax on my ole '14 RT. Looking forward to seeing the new paint. Link to comment
mneblett Posted March 28, 2015 Author Share Posted March 28, 2015 As promised, pics of the painted/reassembled bike. Before: After (much different lighting, but you get the idea): I'm actually a bit surprised how well the front decals "work" with the all-blue nose -- the silver stripe seems to visually "lightening" the nose a bit. Still not thrilled about the saddlebag decals: The light/angle makes the tank center section look a slightly different shade in the pic, but it is not: One of my objectives was an overall "blue on the top half, silver on the lower." Pretty much what I got: Last step for this initial round of farkle installation: currently waiting on back-ordered mounts for the Clearwater Ericas. About where I'm holding them they will be within the protective envelope of the Ilium Works engine bars, but still well clear of the fairing side panels: All in all, I have to say I'm a pretty happy camper. Link to comment
TEWKS Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 You did no harm! Actually, darn nice! Pat Link to comment
mneblett Posted March 28, 2015 Author Share Posted March 28, 2015 Another tidbit: I found that a motorcycle-sized EzPass unit will easily fit under the dash cover hump (in front of the GPS mount) -- it sits well aft of the Sirius antenna that is also under the dash cover. I used double-sided sticky tape to mount the unit; didn't see any reason to use zip-ties or other mounting that would require drilling holes. Link to comment
Jim VonBaden Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 Beautiful! Looks exactly like my friend Kermit's new RT. Jim Link to comment
WBinDE Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 Another tidbit: I found that a motorcycle-sized EzPass unit will easily fit under the dash cover hump (in front of the GPS mount) -- it sits well aft of the Sirius antenna that is also under the dash cover. I used double-sided sticky tape to mount the unit; didn't see any reason to use zip-ties or other mounting that would require drilling holes. By "motorcycle-size" what size is that exactly? I used to have one that was about 3x3 just under an inch thick, now I have one that's about 2x4 and somewhat over an inch. Link to comment
mneblett Posted March 31, 2015 Author Share Posted March 31, 2015 By "motorcycle-size" what size is that exactly? I used to have one that was about 3x3 just under an inch thick, now I have one that's about 2x4 and somewhat over an inch. Mine is ~3 x 1.5 x 1.25 and sorta wedge-shaped. Yours would be a bit tighter, but I would not be surprised if you find that a 4 x 2 x1 fits. Link to comment
WBinDE Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 By "motorcycle-size" what size is that exactly? I used to have one that was about 3x3 just under an inch thick, now I have one that's about 2x4 and somewhat over an inch. Mine is ~3 x 1.5 x 1.25 and sorta wedge-shaped. Yours would be a bit tighter, but I would not be surprised if you find that a 4 x 2 x1 fits. Sounds like the same size/shape as mine, thanks. I rounded the dimensions. Good to know there's an invisible theft-proof place to put it. Now if only BMW had provided a way to theft-proof the GPS... Link to comment
mneblett Posted April 5, 2015 Author Share Posted April 5, 2015 Last initial farkle task completed -- Clearwater Ericas and CanOpener3 installation complete. My objective was an installation that cleared the fairing, while remaining within the "safe" envelope of the engine bars. The lights are mounted on the Ilium Works engine bars using Ilium Works' aux light mounting arms: The arms are located so that they rest against the middle bar (can't rotate down farther), and with the nut holding the Erica bracket to the arm end *just* off the engine bar. Also, FWIW, normally the arm's pivoting end would go behind the Erica bracket, so the bolt head inside the bracket would not interfere with rotation of the light in the bracket. The arm ends are solid aluminum blocks with a through hole to receive an M6 bolt. I decided I wanted to minimize the forward extension of the lights from the bar, so I milled a countersink on one side of the arm end, inserted an M6 countersunk screw, and placed the arm in inside of the Erica bracket. The result is a more compact mounting, without any bolt head interference with rotation of the Ericas in their mounts. Link to comment
mneblett Posted April 5, 2015 Author Share Posted April 5, 2015 Probably the last picture in this thread. After 3+ weeks of installations, waiting on parts, and finding time to work on it -- and still without even once having ridden it yet -- she's ready for her first break-in run today :D Link to comment
Alfred02 Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 LOL Great pictures (thanks for them), but maybe the next post should be how your ride went. Get going..... Link to comment
mneblett Posted April 5, 2015 Author Share Posted April 5, 2015 Lol2! First ride done, and very pleased. Only ~20 miles, but enough different road types and speeds to know I like it better than my K16. I had three primary concerns before the ride: (i) how much vibration, particularly at idle (my K16 was glass-smooth, my R1150RT-P isn't); (ii) how was the riding position (the handlebars appeared to be a bit far forward and grips spread apart -- something I *really* dislike about my wife's R1150GS); and (iii) does the bike have an inherent pull to the right or left (my K16s pulled to the left, my '99 R11RT pulled to the right). 1. I was pleasantly surprised at how smooth the engine is at idle. At speed, there's just enough vibration reaching the rider to make you aware there's a motor down there, but not intrusive -- easily the smoothest boxer at speed I've experienced, including any of the airhead/oilhead/hexhead/camhead bikes I've owned. BMW really nailed it this time in quelling the secondary and tertiary crankshaft balance compensation. 2. Another pleasant surprise. At 5'7" on a tall day, I've used barbacks on most of my bikes, as I generally prefer an upright seating position. For some reason, though, I've found the slight forward reach and relatively narrow grip width on my R1150RT-P to be nearly ideal. Despite how the RTW's bars looked, I was very pleased to find that the seating/body position was much closer to the RT-P than to the K16. 3. The bike has no pull!!! It's a long story, but I can't tell you how much of a relief that is. Overall, a very positive initial experience. I like the slightly more guttural sound from the exhaust, and the transmission is considerably smoother than the K16's. One negative was the windshield -- no matter how low/high, a lot of noise/buffeting at the helmet. On the other hand, the clear wind deflectors on the top of the dash were *very* effective, creating a still air region above the tops of the hands that is much higher than is created by the fairings of the RT-P, camhead RT or the K16 (even after adding Aeroflow's excellent K16 wind deflectors). A very promising start. Link to comment
gordiet Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Man!? You were able to do all that in 20 miles? Try about a 200 mile ride with some grab a.. Twisters and some hard acceleration Link to comment
mneblett Posted April 6, 2015 Author Share Posted April 6, 2015 Don't I wish! Home/work stuff gets in the way. The second 20 miles will be the commute to the office in the morning! Link to comment
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