GSA Metamorphosis

[Randy]

As many of you have seen, Denver has had a fair amount of snow over the last couple of weeks. Fortunately I had received most of the items to accessorize my GS before the snow hit and I was able to use the days at home working on the bike.
Following is a description of the changes I made as well as some photos.

The bike I decided on was one that BMW of Denver already had on the way - White Aluminum Metallic with ABS, trip computer and fog lamps. The first thing I did was to convert the halogen fog lamps to HID. I used kits from XenonDepot.com as Steve provides long pigtails between the igniters and ballasts, which really help on a bike as tight on space as the GS. I mounted the ballasts in the tail of the bike, in the area where the alarm/TPS monitor would go. Since BMW is no longer offering TPS on bikes with spoke wheels, this space was open on my bike.

http://randy.bmwlt.net/gs/foghidbal.jpg

I mounted the igniters up front in the subframe.

http://randy.bmwlt.net/gs/foghidign.jpg

The stock fog lights used H11 bulbs, so I used a pair of H11 Xenon replacements. All I had was to drill the back of the housings to allow for the exit of the leads without bending them too tightly.

http://randy.bmwlt.net/gs/foghidlam.jpg

These lights put out a very broad pattern and with the HID conversion they are really effective at lighting up the area immediately in front of the bike as well as really lighting up the area beside the bike. I am really happy with the amount of coverage they offer, but they don’t have the reach of good driving lights. I had a set of Hella Micro DE HID lights I had purchased for an earlier LT, but never installed. These lights are really effective as driving lights with a nice tight pattern and a really long throw. I mounted these on the BMW auxiliary light bar directly above the factory fog lights. I used a single stainless screw through a nylon washer through the center of the bracket and a nylock nut and washer underneath. I used a smaller stainless screw with a nylock nut inboard to stabilize the bracket.

http://randy.bmwlt.net/gs/micromnt1.jpg

Since the center hole is elongated I am able to rotate the lights to obtain good positioning on the horizontal plane. The lights are rock solid and were easy to aim.

http://randy.bmwlt.net/gs/micromnt2.jpg

http://randy.bmwlt.net/gs/micromnt5.jpg

The Hella lights use an integrated ballast/igniter, reguiring the ballasts to be mounted close to the lights. I built a stainless strap and bracket assembly to hold the units up under the beak. These pictures show the ballasts very well but from a normal viewing position you can barely see them. I painted the ballasts and the brackets black so as to make them less visible. The bracket is held in place to the beak with stainless screws behind the GS beak extension.

http://randy.bmwlt.net/gs/microbal2.jpg

If you look closely you can also see my XM antenna at the front of the beak.

http://randy.bmwlt.net/gs/microbal1.jpg
If you look closely you can see the front Ohlins shock.

http://randy.bmwlt.net/gs/lights1.jpg

I also like the daytime visibility provided by MotoLights low on the forks, so I opted for a set of Black caliper mount MotoLights.

http://randy.bmwlt.net/gs/moto1.jpg

Again, due to the limited space I had to get creative with the electrical connections. I ran a 12V supply wire from the battery up to the area above the fuel tank on the right side. This is where the fuses were located for the factory fog lights. The supply wire is fused at 30 amps at the battery. I connected the power form the factory fog lights to the ballasts in the rear of the bike. Up front I mounted three fused, four relays and the associated wiring next to the fuses for the auxiliary lights. The factory fuse panel has six open fuse locations, but unfortunately no wiring or contacts for the fuses. I tried a number of supply houses trying to find connectors for this fuse block but was unsuccessful, so I used three standard automotive blade fuse holders. There are two 30 amp relays, one for the Hella lights and the other for the MotoLights. In addition there are two smaller relays, one for load shed purposes and the other for the Stebel air horn. I bundled this together and mounted it on a custom bracket to the subframe.

http://randy.bmwlt.net/gs/relay1.jpg

http://randy.bmwlt.net/gs/relay2.jpg

The wiring between the front and rear follows the frame rails.

http://randy.bmwlt.net/gs/wiring.jpg

The factory fog lights were controlled by a switch mounted down on the steering head. It was really difficult to reach this switch so I opted to move it beside the right control assembly. I had to notch the back of it a little, added a second switch and held it in place with a modified rubber and stainless clamp.

http://randy.bmwlt.net/gs/auxsw2.jpg

One switch controls the factory fogs and the other controls the MotoLights.

http://randy.bmwlt.net/gs/auxsw1.jpg

http://randy.bmwlt.net/gs/auxsw4.jpg

I also added a Wunderlich throttle lock while I was working there.

http://randy.bmwlt.net/gs/auxsw3.jpg

I really wanted to add a Rostra electronic cruise control, but there are some mechanical issues I will need to resolve on the throttle interface. More on that later.
The Hella Micro DE lights can be run independently or slaved to the high beam . I installed a three position, waterproof mini switch to allow ON, OFF or slaved to high beam.

http://randy.bmwlt.net/gs/slavesw1.jpg

I mounted a Pioneer INNO XM radio on a mount from Pirate’s Lair to the left hand control clamp.

http://randy.bmwlt.net/gs/inno1.jpg

http://randy.bmwlt.net/gs/inno2.jpg

I use a Velcro strap to stabilize the radio in its mount. The INNO audio is fed back to the Autocom Pro AVi, mounted where the ‘tool kit’ was.

http://randy.bmwlt.net/gs/autocom1.jpg

I like the INNO because it can record XM programs, store a small number of MP3s, has glove operable volume controls and a easy to read display. Despite the fact that my 376c has XM, I still would prefer to have the INNO.
The 376c is mounted on a Touratech locking mount.

The INNO, Autocom and GPS are all powered through the accessory plug provided by BMW for use with a GPS. I used connector number 83 30 0 413 585. This is a mating connector with three pigtail leads. I used the ground and switched power for the accessories and will use the speed pulse line for the electronic cruise when I resolve the mechanical issues.

http://randy.bmwlt.net/gs/gps1.jpg

The XM Weather antenna will magnetically mount to a steel plate on top of the clutch fluid reservoir. I do want to get the NexRad weather, but will not use the GPS for XM radio.

Since my Autocom took up the space for tools I added a GT Moto tool tube behind the right pannier mount.

http://randy.bmwlt.net/gs/tube1.jpg

http://randy.bmwlt.net/gs/tube2.jpg

While I was back there I mounted a set of BMW helmet locks (51 25 2 313 472) keyed to the bike, on each side of the topcase rack.

http://randy.bmwlt.net/gs/helmlock.jpg

And an Akrapovic exhaust – because it sounds better. It is very light and uses a trick carbon fiber mount. This is the one available through BMW dealers. These last three pictures were taken before the snow buried us. Right now our yard has over three feet of snow on it.

http://randy.bmwlt.net/gs/acro1.jpg

http://randy.bmwlt.net/gs/gs1.jpg

http://randy.bmwlt.net/gs/gs2.jpg

I hope this helps give some of you ideas.

[hschisler]

Beautiful work; obviously well-thought-out.

The GSA is already one bad-looking machine. With the fog lights and driving lights, if I saw this coming at me I'd run as fast as possible! :D
http://randy.bmwlt.net/gs/lights1.jpg

[grifscoots]

Ahh, Randy. Tis a beautiful thang. Pray tell, let's discuss the sealing job on the relay's.

[Randy]

Ahh, Randy. Tis a beautiful thang. Pray tell, let's discuss the sealing job on the relay's.They are some new units I found with bonded cases. The are supposed to be watertight, but I coated the base with RTV just to be sure. That is a locking plug mated to them.

[Randy]

Beautiful work; obviously well-thought-out.

The GSA is already one bad-looking machine. With the fog lights and driving lights, if I saw this coming at me I'd run as fast as possible! :D
http://randy.bmwlt.net/gs/lights1.jpgYup, it is beautiful, in an ugly sort of way. Or is that ugly in a beautiful sort of way ;)

[cfell]

I didn't need to see this..... gee, THANKS!

[hschisler]

Randy, you mentioned there was an antenna (XM antenna?) under the beak. Is "the beak" the body panel over the front tire? And does that mean that an XM antenna can be hidden beneath body panels? Through how much material can an XM antenna receive its signal?

[grifscoots]

They are some new units I found with bonded cases. The are supposed to be watertight, but I coated the base with RTV just to be sure. That is a locking plug mated to them.

Alrighty, enough of this "pray tell" stuff. Wheredjagetum?

[Randy]

Randy, you mentioned there was an antenna (XM antenna?) under the beak. Is "the beak" the body panel over the front tire? And does that mean that an XM antenna can be hidden beneath body panels? Through how much material can an XM antenna receive its signal?Yes, the beak is the body panel over the front tire. The Adventure comes with an ABS extension on that part and the XM antenna is under it. Most plastics will not affect the satellite signal strength. In the past I was under the impression that the satellite antennas needed some metal under them to act as a ground plane, but these newer micro antennas seem to have very good gain as long as they have an unobstructed view of the sky. On the front of the GS it is far enough out that nothing will block line of sight to the southern sky, regardless of the direction I am traveling. On my first two LTs I mounted the antenna on a steel plate above the headlight, under the nosecone, which worked really well. On my '05 I attached the antenna to a Hoon Hardware 'Roady Holder' and it had slightly less signal strength than the ones under the nosecone

[Randy]

Alrighty, enough of this "pray tell" stuff. Wheredjagetum?I'll let you know. My ace parts man dug them up for me through his automotive connections. I got three and used two, the spare is in the GS tool kit - just in case ;)

[grifscoots]

I'll let you know. My ace parts man dug them up for me through his automotive connections. I got three and used two, the spare is in the GS tool kit - just in case ;)

Kewl. Have you ever googled relays? And when looking for a waterproof relay, marine relays. Good grief, you could literally sit there all night long.

[Ruben]

Randy,

Awesome job! It looks great, and should work fantastic.

When you get the electronic cruise control figured out, please post, as I have one in the box that I've got to figure out how to install someday. I managed to install one on my previous V-Strom that worked great, but I haven't figured out how to deal with the throttle linkage hookup on the GS yet.

Was the improvement in the "fog" lights enough to justify the bother of converting them to HID?

I've got the Micro DE HID set ready to install on mine, and also a set of PIAA 600 HID, but I'm having trouble finding room for the 600's. They're pretty large.

[amarider]

Nice Mods Randy, Looks like your well on your way to get ready for the far North trip.

Your lights.....
http://randy.bmwlt.net/gs/lights1.jpg

Look a little like mine - different lights same idea.
http://www.bmwlt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=9062&stc=1

I love the over and under look for the lights.

[mantan]

Vey nice setup, certainly no shortage of light in the front! But what about the rear? I did not see any addition for the tail/brake light.

[Randy]

Vey nice setup, certainly no shortage of light in the front! But what about the rear? I did not see any addition for the tail/brake light.There is a Kisan VectraLight license plate frame:

http://randy.bmwlt.net/gs/kisan1.jpg

http://randy.bmwlt.net/gs/kisan2.jpg

The center is a flashing bright brake light when the brakes are on.

I will also add a couple of hyperlights (or equivalent) to the pannier support rails.

[Randy]

Randy,

Was the improvement in the "fog" lights enough to justify the bother of converting them to HID?
I believe it was. I like the broad coverage of the fog lights and with the brightness of the HID they are much more effective. They cover a great deal on each side of the bike and are designed with a fairly sharp vertical cutoff on top.

As soon as enough of the snow is gone I am going to get it out on some dark country roads and try to get some pictures that show the coverage of the fogs as well as the Micro DE lights.

[Ruben]

I believe it was. I like the broad coverage of the fog lights and with the brightness of the HID they are much more effective. They cover a great deal on each side of the bike and are designed with a fairly sharp vertical cutoff on top.

As soon as enough of the snow is gone I am going to get it out on some dark country roads and try to get some pictures that show the coverage of the fogs as well as the Micro DE lights.Cool, I can hardly wait. :D

I have to wonder where I'd put three SETS of ballasts though! Maybe I can just put an old milk crate on the tank, and pile all the ballasts in there! :histerica

Your installation is a LOT neater than anything I've been able to come up with. Does anyone make a lightbar for the GSA yet, like the GS has?

[Randy]

Does anyone make a lightbar for the GSA yet, like the GS has?Not that I have seen. All of the GS models will interfere with the GSA crash bars. I am glad mine came with the factory fogs.

[DaveDragon]

http://s3.amazonaws.com/advrider/bowdown.gif Randy,I'm not worthy! Farkleholisim is tough to kick; we're going to need a support group.

Lets call it a 1200 step plan http://www.bmwlt.com/forums/images/icons/icon10.gif

[BamaLT]

Randy, with the Stebel air horn, did you use a custom mounting bracket? and did the wiring harness/plugs interchange with the Stebel air horn?

[BamaLT]

Randy, with my Pioneer INNO XM radio, a few months back so I don't remember exactly all the details, but when I when to download music and use it like a MP3, XM offered a upgrade, which I opted for....wrong.... the next prompt offered me a full refund because of the new changes to the system, because of the upgrade, it had to do with replay of recorded licenses music, that you recorded on the INNO, the main reason I purchased it to began with...you if you ever prompted to upgrade, you may want to research the option first...

While they claimed to have enchanced the INNO in 12 ways.... I was going to lose the ability to replay recorded music and programs... I returned the unit Circuit City for the full refund.

Hopefully they have worked out the license agreements on the newer models.

[Randy]

Randy, with my Pioneer INNO XM radio, a few months back so I don't remember exactly all the details, but when I when to download music and use it like a MP3, XM offered a upgrade, which I opted for....wrong.... the next prompt offered me a full refund because of the new changes to the system, because of the upgrade, it had to do with replay of recorded licenses music, that you recorded on the INNO, the main reason I purchased it to began with...you if you ever prompted to upgrade, you may want to research the option first...

While they claimed to have enchanced the INNO in 12 ways.... I was going to lose the ability to replay recorded music and programs... I returned the unit Circuit City for the full refund.

Hopefully they have worked out the license agreements on the newer models.Don;

I am not sure what you read when you were doing the update. Because the upgrade to 1.16 caused the loss of the ability to use the FM transmitter outside of the automobile dock, they offered a refund. If you upgraded for the first time in September you probably were going from 1.05 to 1.30, which would have been 17 points of change and would have included the v1.16 update, which disabled the FM transmitter outside of the automoile dock. Here are the two updates for the INNO.

From 1.05 to 1.16: Due to regulatory issues, as a result of this upgrade, the FM modulator feature will not be available when the unit is used in the portable mode or when the unit is used in the home dock. The FM modulator will now operate only if the unit is placed in the optional car dock. If this upgrade is not acceptable to you by reason of the loss of the FM modulator outside of the car dock, you may return your unit for a full refund by contacting XM at 1-866-259-9771. (This offer is available only to consumers who purchased a Pioneer INNO XM Satellite Radio with software version 1.05.)

The factory default frequency for the FM modulator was changed to 97.9.

An issue in which scheduled recordings would sometimes not initiate unless the radio was powered up first in the home dock has been addressed.

Users will now be able to play MP3 and WMA files without XM subscriber activation.

The upgrade provides support for certain MP3 id3v2.3 extended headers that had previously resulted in continuous 'scanning files' message.

An issue in which the radio sometimes froze when a USB cable was connected in the midst of powering down has been addressed.

An issue was corrected in which quickly selecting 2 un-used XM channel numbers in a row with the remote control would cause the radio to change back and forth between these 2 channels until a subsequent valid channel selection was made.

An issue in which artist names longer than 16 characters resulted in incorrect tune-select pop-up text has been addressed.

An issue in which the radio would sometimes freeze on the start-up screen after playing music from a playlist followed by a hard restart has been addressed.

The time required for the radio to power up automatically when the USB cable is connected has been reduced.

A screen advisory has been added during firmware updates, telling the user to keep radio connected to external power source until the firmware update is complete.

A screen advisory has been added during a change in the memory partition, telling the user to keep the radio connected to external power source until memory repartition is complete.

If unit is in USB mode and activated over the air, “scanning files” will not occur. (Scanning files will occur when USB is disconnected.)

The scanning files dialog box was made larger to cover the animation graphic. From 1.16 to 1.30: Battery life when the radio is off is extended considerably when starting from a fully charged battery.

The “/” character is now always displayed correctly when the display is running in the large, scrolling format.

Corrected a problem in which the digital clock on the radio occasionally displayed the incorrect time.I am sorry you misunderstood the impact of the updates, because you are missing one of the most useful products I have ever owned. As you can see, both updates considerably improved the performance of the units. I have several of them and they remain the best XM solution I have ever used. When I head out for a trip I fill two or three of them up with recorded programs to use on the trip. I usually store about 35-40 hours of XM programming on each one. I still use them for live XM as well. They are very reliable and small and seem to have the most sensitivity of any XM unit I have ever used. They absoulutely destroy anything the little doggy company has to offer. Michelle puts 4 or 5 CDs worth of MP3s on hers. Since my company is a Pioneer service center we got the INNOs as pre-release items. They are all still working just fine, even with the two firmware updates. One even flew off of my GT in Canada and was cosmetically damaged beyond use, yet remained fully functional.

With them hitting the streets at well under $200 now, they are a very good value.

[BamaLT]

"If this upgrade is not acceptable to you by reason of the loss of the FM modulator outside of the car dock, you may return your unit for a full refund "



Thanks for the reply,
I remember now that I was going to need a auto dock for my truck, was going to have to purchase another one for the RV and use on the bike would require another one as well...

[Randy]

"If this upgrade is not acceptable to you by reason of the loss of the FM modulator outside of the car dock, you may return your unit for a full refund "



Thanks for the reply,
I remember now that I was going to need a auto dock for my truck, was going to have to purchase another one for the RV and use on the bike would require another one as well...I buy mounting tabs for $3.49. The vehicle cradle slips onto the tab and you can easily move the cradle from vehicle to vehicle. As long as the cradle is there you have an FM modulator.

On my bikes I hard wire a power supply, mount an antenna and install one of the tabs.

[vstromboli]

Awesome job Randy! I love the appearance with all the added accessories. Looks very Borglike. I think you ought to name him "Hugh". Trekkies will understand. ;)

[hschisler]

Awesome job Randy! I love the appearance with all the added accessories. Looks very Borglike. I think you ought to name him "Hugh". Trekkies will understand. ;)Hugh who? You mean "3rd of 5 (http://www.shelleymonster.com/3rd.of.5.html)"?

http://www.shelleymonster.com/liberty/gifs/hugh2.jpg

[Randy]

Awesome job Randy! I love the appearance with all the added accessories. Looks very Borglike. I think you ought to name him "Hugh". Trekkies will understand. ;)I don't name my bikes, but Hugh representing individuality rising from the collective, is a great choice.

"But you are Borg."

- Locutus

"No. I am Hugh."

- Hugh

[bslong]

Nice job! What would you charge to do mine?

[Randy]

Nice job! What would you charge to do mine?It would be a little expensive to do a house call in CT.