Claude and CSM have sent me on my way and I'm learning, I've had my rig home for about 2500 miles and have adjusted it this and that and am back almost to where I started.Its hauling my dog and I and or insignificant other around pretty nicely, mostly neutral steering, enough power (there's never really enough) and even managed 32 mpg in the Coulees in the Mississippi River Valley ( greatly surprised). My 04 GSA I've owned since new with 81k as of today,set it up with a 32/11 final drive from an RT for just a touche deeper gearing and welder buddy whose shop I hang out in all winter did a Dedone style trail reduction (thanks to inmate Twintwin) we shortened the front A-frame Telelever 3/4" and extended the ball joint mount (Lower triple clamp) 3/4" to leave the fork in the stock position yet change the trail, it seems to not need allot of spring as I'm only up to Ohlins # 12-58 and no bottoming yet. The stuff laying next to it is soy beans as part of my learning curve was to overheat a rt turn and opt for the bean field (sorry Claude, I didn't apply what I'd learned) . The real fun in picking this up was going for a ride with Claude, him in the Red Baron me on this one, having been around the stock car dirt track business a bit years ago I was not surprised when he was off like a shot and I was working like a dog to catch up. Claude raced sprint cars and a guy I used to help always swore southern circle track racers only talked slow (Claude's from Florida) once they are on or in their particular foil they are no longer charming bubba's but men looking for the edge of traction.It was fun, I'd never would have gotten going that well without someone to follow. Future plans are another of Strokers wheels for the front ASAP, possibly a different set Wunderlich boxer boost cams, the bikes got 81k but after running the hell out of it for a couple weeks she hasn't gulped any extra oil so I think she's still pretty healthy and the other cams will probably kill a little compression. I have another complete top end with re chromed cylinders and 11/1 rt,rs,s pistons and a fresh set of heads but I'd love to get this stock gs past 100k first. Onward and forward.DB
Nice looking rig, Dave! I like it when guys put in a little extra effort on the paint. There's no reason a rig can't look good and run good too! Any chance you got some close-up pics of the work you did to the A-arm? And can you explain how shortening one side 3/4" and lengthening the other side 3/4" changes the trail because I can't picture it in my mind.
ricmachado, I am coming up your way first week of October. I will let you sit on mine . BTW, how is your KLR rig?
http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=786238&highlight=Dedone Drone Think of it this way : a straight line through the two ball joints(one at each fork clamp) too the ground is your steering head tube angle or frame head tube angle (telelevers don't have head tubes), moving the lower ball joint back steepens that angle changing the trail.Trail being the difference between where that line touches the ground and a line dropped from the axle center line touches the ground. Lengthening the lower clamp leaves the fork at the stock angle and just steepen the steering head angle. It works well, Claude liked it, we used parts off ebay the R1100 would be even easier due to the way it attaches to the fork sliders.Given I'm retired and help out in a welding shop all winter it was way cheaper and allowed me a Stroker rear wheel budget wise.After steeriting the 83gl1100/ural setup I tried last year(worked great) I didn't like the way it lowered an already too low a bike. Had I not sunk the front,and dragged the oil sump in a frost patch on a gravel road early this spring, I'd still have that bike.DB You'd never know the telelever had changed they're not usually black powder coat, and the profile of the bike is exactly the same thanks to Twintwin who I noticed had an r1100gs with the mod done by Dedone a French sidecar builder discussing it in another advrider thread.Thanks Didier !
Very nice setup Dave, and glad that the Dedome style trail mod works for you. For Drone, drawing from Dedome website, explaining how the trail reduction on the BMW with telelever is achieved. Sorry it is in French, but basically the drawing shows you how your can reduce the trail without changing the angle of the fork and the position of the wheel. The OEM trail is130mm, and with the Dedome mod it is reduced to 45mm If you need some translation, I can do it tomorrow.
I traded the KLr and attached the hack into a sportster. KLR + HACK was a blast, Send me a PM if you come to this area, maybe we can go on a ride...
Even with that explanation, I still had to grab pen and paper and draw myself a picture. Which worked--I now see how it works! But, if my drawing is right, then all of the trail reduction comes from the fork clamp mod, and the A-arm mod solely acts to restore the forks to their original rake angle. Is that right? And, the big question is--how WELL does it work?
Drone I think we can say the goal is to reduce trail and retain the stock angle (ride height) lengthening the wheel base by changing fork angle is going to change the lever angle compressing the front spring, which is why I liked this plus I personally have less than $300 in it in parts and powder coating,the welder and I collaborate but neither of us knew much about sidecars, allowing me the rear wheel purchase. I have only ridden 4 sidecars in my brief career a Ural at a dealer demo, my 83 wing/ural with Steerite, Claudes Red Baron and mine, Claude liked it thought it worked as well as his, but he liked my gsa gearing open exhaust and unrestricted airbox and was pretty impressed with the whole thing, so his opinion may be biased. I couldn't tell any difference in the way they handled except his sat lower not being a gsa and had the regular 1150gs single plug, I'm a little lean a little plugged up blues, which we worked on. I'd personally like to try leading links but I don't want to pay for them. If I started over I'd use a R1100 it's lower overall,geared lower is just as easy to warm up a bit and cheaper to start with, or an r1150r trying to get the weight lower to the ground.I think I remember you scaled yours around 850 and I'd bet mines even heavier.If I didn't mind going to BMW rallies without a bike mine would be a Mini Cooper.DB
A short couple hr outing in the Mississippi River valley MN side, insignificant other along, at 63 in Oct I'm a I've always failed to make a commitment sort of lout. The leaves have only started to turn here and we had our first frost this weekend, so falls not to pretty yet. River Valley near Wabasha MN (Grumpy Old Men) from the MN side, the far off bluffs are WI where the riding is actuaully much more interesting and 98% of the roads are pave even though some are in pretty poor shape.I think it has to do with huge dairy operations and the need to get milk trucks in an out daily. My main partner in crime Justin refusing to cooperate (ear up) for a photo !
Lake Pepin,Lake City MN birthplace of waterskiing, Mississippi 1-2 miles wide for 18-20 miles,bluffs are MN side. Typical MN side Not Maintained road has been used for some hardwood logging, the state may or may not try and grade it a bit once a year.
Well fellow travelers I mistakenly bought a 33/11 final drive the other day(poor recreational shopping control) so that will be going on if its tight,I'm becoming a fan of as low as you can go gearing as it seems most of the clutch stress is starting the rig moving and especially with a cold engine, and I'm anti long warm up(blow by pollutes oil).DB
Hey DaveBig, I really am envious of you (and Drone's) GS's. Hope to go that route some day. Your setup looks perfect for running all the winding gravel roads in the bluffs along the Mississippi there in SE MN. I grew up in Red Wing and still have family there. Maybe we can meet up next summer when I'm back visiting with my wife. Wish I could drive my old R100 hack back there but SWMBO says H*LL NO! What is the lowest gearing you can get for one of these BWMs? 37:11? More pics please. Enjoy seeing both your hack and my old stomping grounds.
Yet another Not Maintained road adv into a valley near Mississippi River on MN side, not much color yet but the Maples in town are all red an yellow. Whitman Deering road in WInona Cty near Rollingstone MN
I believe this old dead end near Weaver MN was originally part of Hwy 61 that runs along the Mississippi River in S MN we didn't see Dylan but did meet someone. Pretty sure this isn't Bob
Midwest stuck in a drought, winds not even blowing with it's usual enthusiasm, one seldom see's Lake Pepin this calm.Is that Elvis on the left or just his haircut ? Maiden Rock WI where a Indian maiden is said to have killed herself over a fathers refusal to allow her to marry who she pleased.
I've been moving forward with my threat of change my cams on my tug to a set of Wunderlich, I did, it was a fools errand ! Actually its not quite that simple bike runs good and in the lower gears 2-3-4th it pulls like a demon and one can feel pretty decent power above 5 k rpm but its so lean it refuses to work in higher gears. I can either get a FI tweaker like the techlusion or Wunderlich version and continue to tune or go back to the stock cams. I was hopping for an unrealistic outcome, my hot rod GS more compression and flowed heads,Wunderlich cams works well with the stock Motronic, not so this time. I'm thinking we'll be back to stock yet this week.DB
