R1100S - 10mm Shortened Telelever - Page 11

motoyoyo · 11:22 AM

Good to see you guys having some fun with this thread.

Before you guys get too OT though I thought I would answer the clearance questions with the 10mm and 12mm offset. There should be no problem on the R1100S with the standard headers. I think the HP2S mainly had a problem because the headers came together directly behind the front wheel. There is plenty of room on the R1100S.

Here are a couple quick pics I took this morning of the bike with the 10mm offset.

Markus, thanks for the great observations on your experience with the 10mm offset. Very spot on. Also, there was a thread I posted here years ago about the exact ball and spring replacement sizes for the stock front shock damping knob. Here is the link to that post, http://forums.pelicanparts.com/bmw-r1100s-r1200s-tech-forum/173134-front-shock-parts-question.html#post1418467

Lars · 12-16-2010, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Markus from Oz

Quick question. When I took the A-arm off the bike, I also removed the front shock. When I pulled the preload adjuster cap off I didn't notice anything falling out but when I put it back on it doesn't 'click' and hold its position. Looking inside the cap I can see the ridges - was there a small ball bearing in there that fell out without me noticing? R1100S manual and Clymers manual doesn't have enough detail about this cap...

Markus, that's your bike telling you that it's time to dump the OEM front shock in favor of an Ohlins

Quote:

Originally Posted by motoyoyo

Good to see you guys having some fun with this thread.

Before you guys get too OT though I thought I would answer the clearance questions with the 10mm and 12mm offset. There should be no problem on the R1100S with the standard headers. I think the HP2S mainly had a problem because the headers came together directly behind the front wheel. There is plenty of room on the R1100S.

Here are a couple quick pics I took this morning of the bike with the 10mm offset.

Markus, thanks for the great observations on your experience with the 10mm offset. Very spot on. Also, there was a thread I posted here years ago about the exact ball and spring replacement sizes for the stock front shock damping knob. Here is the link to that post, http://forums.pelicanparts.com/bmw-r1100s-r1200s-tech-forum/173134-front-shock-parts-question.html#post1418467

Scott, what's that strange frosty-looking stuff all over the tail section of your bike? I thought SoCal was supposed to be warm and sunny around now?

Seriously, I do miss fall/winter riding down there- especially highway 33/166/58 etc. It's butt-cold here now, looking forward to 5 straight days of rain starting tomorrow. Once I get a few more things wrapped up on the plane project I'm going to round up an a-arm and get busy on the mod.

motoyoyo · 12-17-2010, 12:50 PM

Lars, that frosty looking stuff on my bike was from leaving it outside for 3 days while my son finished a project in the garage. Got it inside just before the week of rain started. Glad I rode last weekend when it was 80F and sunny.

Good to hear you are going to do the a-arm mod. As fast as you push that ol donkey, you will really appreciate the improved handling. Goes great with the stiffer clamps too.

Guest24 · 12-17-2010, 01:33 PM

EZ got the hard part done and now all that's left is the powder coat and new bearings and seals. The welding is as good as it gets IMHO.

EZ-RIDER · 12-17-2010, 02:21 PM

It's finally finished now for a good bead blast and powdering and new bearing and seals and we will be good to go!

motoyoyo · 12-17-2010, 03:28 PM

Very nice EZ. I aggree, really nice welds. Be sure to stuff the ball joint hole and pivot bearing holes before powdercoating. BTW, I recently tried a new Rustoleum paint that works really well. I used to prefer Krylon over Rustoleum but the quality has totally switched. Krylon is now crappy and Rustoleum is great for rattle can paint. The satin black color matches the rest of the black parts perfectly. Just another option in case you don't want to wait for powdercoating.

Guest24 · 12-17-2010, 04:55 PM

Scott, I was going to powder coat it Ohlins Blue but EZ talked me out of it.

We're going to see how we like 12mm before we mod the A-arm that we remove from my 11S. Really is nice to have a friend like Tom to do this. The boy has skills and that's a fact.

12-23-2010, 02:17 PM

Hi Markus,

If you haven't already you need to replace the ball bearing in the adjustor knob of you standard front shock otherwise the knob rotates around until it reaches the softest setting whilst you are riding along How do I know this? As it happened to me. Also you do not need to take the knob off by removing the phillips head screw, you need to undo the nut underneath the knob, then the whole knob with ball bearing inside comes off as one unit.

Cheers,

Frank

joenuclear · 01-20-2011, 11:38 AM

Who is doing this modification for U.S. customers?

EZ-RIDER · 01-20-2011, 11:39 AM

I am

cageyar · cageyar's Garage

Are you sure that hole is centered?................................

PFFOG · 01-20-2011, 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cageyar

Are you sure that hole is centered?................................

The hole is good, Tom is a little off center though..............................but aren't we all

pmc847 · 01-20-2011, 12:19 PM

EZ,

Did you do the 12mm and if so have you riden and what is your opinion?

Philip

EZ-RIDER · 01-20-2011, 01:25 PM

I resemble that remark 8-)

EZ-RIDER · 01-20-2011, 01:30 PM

Scott and I have both did a 12mm, I am waiting to install it on Bubba bike, will have it installed in a Couple weeks !

motoyoyo · 01-20-2011, 10:11 PM

EZ and Nail have made a 12mm offset a-arm to test, so I decided to make one for myself to test as well so we can compare notes on the same setup. I have installed mine and have put almost 300 miles on it so far. Overall I would say it is successful but with mixed impressions so far. Unlike the 10mm offset which feels great immediately, the 12mm requires a lot more attention to suspension setup and even riding technique.

Let me start off by listing my original specs before any offset mods took place. My bike is equipped with a GS 365mm torque arm and a 5-1/2" wide rear wheel. The following is a typical setup for a good handling BCR spec'd with Ohlins shocks.

Rider Weight - 230 lbs
Ohlins Rear Spring - 17.0 kg/cm
Ohlins Front Spring - 6.2 kg/cm
Rear Laden Sag - 32mm
Rear Shock Length - 323mm
Front Laden Sag - 34mm

With the 10mm offset a-arm installed, the only change I made was to lower the rear Ohlins clevis to 318mm overall length. This is basically the stock position the Ohlins come set at when you buy them. I did not change any other suspension settings and the bike performed really well right from the start. After a few thousand miles I did not feel the need to change the settings.

When I mounted the 12mm offset a-arm, I again attempted to ride the bike without making any changes in the suspension. Right away, I felt the bike needed more laden sag up front, and adjusted it to around 35mm rider sag. I rode the bike for a good 100miles and felt the front end was very harsh and did not seem to settle into turns too well. I came to the conclusion that the front spring was too stiff due to the geometry changes and not allowing enough suspension travel.

Before the next ride, I swapped the 6.2 kg/cm spring for the original 5.7 kg/cm spring and adjusted the laden sag to around 34-35mm. I also added some rear preload to bring the rear laden sag to around 30mm. I took the bike out for another 100 mile test run and found it to be much better than the previous test run. The suspension felt well balanced front and rear and it was very quick yet still stable.

I did feel that a more aggressive riding position was helpful in making the bike fall into turns as easily as the 10mm offset. A little more forward body positioning with arms bent gave the bike some pretty dang quick turning response. After another 100 mile ride I am still slowly gaining more confidence in the handling but can not say for sure yet if I would recommend the 12mm offset. I never felt any instability issues but it definitely takes a bit more concentration to feel comfortable on faster turns. It carves the tighter stuff like mad, but as far as an overall setup for all kinds of riding, it is still too early for me to say for sure.

I can still say without hesitation that the 10mm offset is an amazing ride that anyone will appreciate. The 12mm offset can be fun for an aggressive rider with the ability to work on suspension settings, but it is probably not necessary for having all the fun you could ever want, and still turn way quicker than any stock offset R1100S. I have one more a-arm to mod and I may try an 11mm offset just for kicks but I will take my time testing the 12mm a bit more first.

When I get a chance I will also try to get some measurements of the actual rake and trail on the current 12mm setup. Off hand, the rake looks steeper than I had perdicted it would be. Before making any more conclusions it would be helpful to know just exactly what rake numbers we are dealing with. I can say with a fair amount of certainty that any offset position more than 12mm would probably be too much for this bike and I won't even consider going in that direction.

I will be very curious to hear what conclusions EZ and Nail come to when they try out their 12mm offset a-arm. Also, EZ is more than qualified to make a-arms for anyone interested. I can easily recommend the 10mm offset, but if anyone is considering another offset I can not vouch for anything else as yet.

pmc847 · 01-21-2011, 05:14 AM

Thanks for the info. It's time I got in the garage to get the a-arm off. It is -9 degrees this morning. I hate winter and miss Texas.

Philip

Guest24 · 01-21-2011, 05:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pmc847

Thanks for the info. It's time I got in the garage to get the a-arm off. It is -9 degrees this morning. I hate winter and miss Texas.

Philip

If you are going to replace the bearings in the A-arm while you have it off (highly recommend unless you are low mileage) order them now. They were back ordered at Chicago BMW.

Markus from Oz · Markus from Oz's Garage

Hey Fast Frank, thanks for the tip. Sorry it's taken so long to reply, I have been busy with other stuff lately!

The whole Pelican R1100S/R1200S community throws their collective arms up in horror - what, there are more important things to keep you busy other than your Beemer R1100S and this forum ?!? - sadly, yes...

Bubba, nice welds on that A Arm, mate.

Scott, interesting write up on your impressions re 12mm offset. I'm sticking with the 10mm offset - well, obviously because it's already done and on the bike but I'm extemely happy with it.

EZ-RIDER · 01-21-2011, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Markus from Oz

Hey Fast Frank, thanks for the tip. Sorry it's taken so long to reply, I have been busy with other stuff lately!

The whole Pelican R1100S/R1200S community throws their collective arms up in horror - what, there are more important things to keep you busy other than your Beemer R1100S and this forum ?!? - sadly, yes...

Bubba, nice welds on that A Arm, mate.

Scott, interesting write up on your impressions re 12mm offset. I'm sticking with the 10mm offset - well, obviously because it's already done and on the bike but I'm extemely happy with it.

So Markus you like my Fabrication work