How The Germans Soothe My Bum

Since moving to Singapore, my bumblebee has given me a severe case of Monkey Butt. The flesh/cordura/plastic interface is made horrible in the heat, and after 300km leaves me crying like a small girl.

So I searched out the seat alternatives, by way of 2 year birthday present to the yellow horse.

I took a look at the Corbin Seat, but it made me feel a bit "meh". If I wanted a Harley seat, I'd buy a Harley.

Then I had a nosey at the Sargent seat which is, for me, a bit OTT with the piped trim.  A bit poncey.  (Image courtesy of http://www.sargentcycle.com/)

All very nice but not what I was looking for.  Over on ADV Rider and the UKGSer forums, there are lots of posts on custom jobs and local guys who work miracles with memory foam.

I decided to take the easy way out with an off-the-shelf saddle from Touratech.

It's not a cheap option, but hey its the bumblebee's birthday.  And it's certainly the easiest option, I don't have to send my original seat away or wait while someone attacks the foam with a carving knife.  I made the decision for the TT seat based on the principle that if I don't like it, I can sell it and revert to the stock seat...this isn't possibly if Freddies Foam Fitters have hacked it up.  (Although in fairness you can probably buy a brand new BMW replacement seat for half the price of the TT seat...).  But the TT seat is the only one with a breathable option.

Now THAT sounds like a cure for Monkey Butt!

Anyway, the seat arrived today so I thought I would share some pix.  This is the Touratech Breathable Standard seat, about $800 Singapore dollars.

Side-by-side comparisons

Notice that the TT seat (on the left) has a distinct step to it, creating a flatter area of support for both rider and pillion.  The BMW is more of a Nike swoosh.

The TT seat is marginally wider at the rider seat/ass interface.  But definately flatter on account of the stepped design.

Off the bike, it seems that the very lowest point of the seat is comparable to the BMW seat, but in all other respects it is higher.  Remember, this is the Standard seat from TT.

Yes, there is a BMW seat alongside.

Here you can see how much higher the TT seat is.

The front portion is some faux leather affair, I guess for the hardwearing crotch zipper area.  The remainder of the seat is a breathable goretex that TT claims allows air to circulate inside the seat.

The underside of the seat is identical to the OEM seat, including the spaces for tools and first aid kit, but minus all the disclaimer stickers.

What is interesting to note, that the stepped design of the seat is not the same as that shown on the website.  Something isn't matching here.

Notice that the TT website picture are all more 'swooshy' like the original BMW seat.  There is no labelling on my seat, but given the height of it, it's certainly not a low seat.

Previously I could just about get both feet flat (I am 5'10" and 32" inseam, in jeans at least).  Now I can't quite manage that, but can comfortably get both balls (of my feet) down.  On the way home I noticed I adopted my usual right foot down position, fully flat and my bum had to shift sideways to achieve that.

So how does it perform?

Erm, well you'll have to wait for an update on that...only rode it 3km home so far, but a 800km jaunt to Kuala Lumpur planned over the next couple of weeks.

Whatever the verdict, I can bet it will be better than the 1cm of 'padding' my mate has on his SuperDuke R.  At least after 300km I can still walk  ;)

But for my next trip, just in case, I'll be taking a large tin of this...

UPDATE - Post ride
I did 1200km over three days through the mountains of Malaysia in temperatures ranging from around 25 celciues to 26 celcius.
I have got to say that the TT standard breathable seat is a million miles better than stock, as far as my own ass is concerned.  Comfort level is vastly improved with a broader, flatter base to move around on.  The front is narrow enough when you need to get up on the pegs, and if you really want to move around and have long enough arms you can sit right back on the pillion ridge.

Although the seat is standard, it is definately taller than than stock and I can't flat foot both feet any longer. It also take my head up into the air stream a bit more, but nothing uncomfortable for me.

It's the heat and sweat that kills me out here, and the back of my thighs get uncomfortable where they meet with the seat.  Prickly Heat powder helps some, but after 4 hours or so its pretty noticeable and uncomfortable.  Would like to hear if other riders in this kind of heat/humidity get the same problem?!

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Crash & Bash Protection

Available (January 09) or soon-to-be-available protection options fall into two main categories:

Crash Protection and Bash Protection

Crash Protection in the form of Engine Bars. Crash bars are not going to protect your bike in all circumstances, and in the case of a hard smash might even transfer energy to your engine housing. However, for low speed spills and 'adventure' drops, they will save you having to replace expensive plastics and indicators. For everything else there is insurance.

Bash Protection in the form of bashplates and handguards. Bashplates cover the lower front engine and the underside, sometimes extending as far back as the catalytic convertor. Most of them will need removing to change the oil filter.The metal bar in the BMW handguards arguably offers some crash protection for your levers.









NOTE: Bashplates will fit 800 and 650 models, however 650 owners will need a fixing kit from BMW, which includes the necessary 'silentblock' rubber vibration-proof mounts and bolts. (800 owners have this as standard with the stock bash plate). Some plate manufacturers may include this kit - check with them directly



Manufacturer offerings in Alphabetical order:



Adventure-Spec

Adventure-Spec bars are still in production, so no prices yet. Latest prototype looks like this:



Adventure-Spec Bashplate £130 silver or £140 black







BMW:

BMW crashbars, not yet available (August '08) approx £226



Metal BMW Enduro Bashplate £147, plus fixing kit for 650 owners only £23.69 (plastic bashplate standard on 800GS comes with fixing kit):



This BMW bashplate was powder coated by the owner. Notice that this plate extends as far back as the cat.



BMW Protector Bar & Screws £63.68 with large guard £23.50 and small guard £19.50 and spoiler £16





Also, it is possible to fit the 2008 1200GS handguards to the 650 and maybe 800.







Givi

Givi Engine Bars £103





Hepco Becker

Hepco Becker Engine Bars approx $200



Image from these forums, credit to gasman



No doubt HB will have a bashplate at some point in the future.



Metal Mule

Metal Mule bashplate £139

MM also doing crash bars for UKP199. See here

SW-Motech

SW-Motech Crash Bars £121 (available in black, shown in red for clarity)





SW-Motech Bash Plate £131/800 or £140/650 (available in black, shown in red for clarity)







Touratech

Touratech Crash Bars Lower £162.93 and Upper extension £78.01





Touratech Small Bashplate £77.02





Touratech Bashplate extension £43.44 (to fit BMW centrestand)





Oil Filter Guard £53.42







Touratech Handguards £74.06 and spoiler £19.75 all available in different colours

Wild At Heart

A South African company making their own crash bars. SAR3,980 or Approx US$435.
http://www.wildatheartadventure.co.za/bmw800gs.html

Wunderlich



Wunderlich Adventure Crash Bars 179€





Wunderlich Street Crash Bars (no pic available) 169€





Wunderlich Bash Plate 219€ and main stand protection plate 69€





Wunderlich Rectifier protector 35€









******************





I'm sure that manufacturers will expand their range of offerings. However, this brings together all the current options into one place for comparison.



Hope this helps.

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Tyre FAQ

Talk about tyre pressures, tubes, rim locks and puncture repairs.


Wheel Specs:

Rim, front 2.15 x 21"
Rim, rear 4.25 x 17"

Tyres, front 90/90 - 21 54V
Tyres, rear 150/70 - 17 69V



What pressures should I run my tyres at?

For stock tyres:

FRONT one-up: 2.2bar/32psi at 20 degrees celcius
FRONT two-up and/or with luggage: 2.5bar/36psi at 20 degrees celcius

REAR one-up: 2.5bar/36psi at 20 degrees celcius
REAR two-up and/or with luggage: 2.9bar/42psi at 20 degrees celcius

A quick internet search will throw up correct pressures for alternative tyres. 2.2front/2.5rear seems to be common. On the road I quite liked 2.5front/2.9rear only one-up on the stock Battlewings.



Can I use Tubeless Tyres on the 800GS?

Yes, Tubeless tyres (TL) are fine. So are tube-type (TT) tyres. See Chart above. But either way you will still need a tube (see rim sizes above).

That's because the wheels have spokes and air will leak out if you don't have a tube. The 1200GS has special spoke that go to the side of the wheel so their owners can use tubeless tyres - you can't on your 800GS.



Do I need Rim Locks?

Probably not, unless you're planning to do the Paris-Dakar on the 800GS in which case you should know a lot more about tyres and tubes already.



How do I check pressures at 20 degrees celcius?

Set the climate control in your garage to 20 degrees celcius and only ever check your pressure in there.

OR...bear in mind that a change of 10 degrees celcius is equivalent to a change of about 0.07bars or 1psi. So on a near freezing day increase pressure by about 0.14bars/2psi or on a very hot Death Valley kind of day reduce pressure by 0.14bars/2psi. This applies to 'cold' tyres that haven't been ridden on recently, I have no idea how hot your tyres will be after a few trails.



Should I reduce pressures when off-roading?

If you're going on sand, gravel or very gloopy mud you can maybe lose 5psi/0.4bars but much less and you risk 'tyre slip' where the wheel spins but the tyre doesn't. This will result in the tube valve being ripped out and sudden deflation. You could deflate more and use rim locks (see above).

Put it this way: the BMW Off-Road schools runs their 800GSs off road at road pressures. 'nuff said.





If I want to repair a puncture out on the trails, what tools will I need?

• 22mm socket for front axel


• 24mm socket for rear axel


• a wrench for the sockets


• Torx keys for M8 and M10 torx bolts (front axel clamps and front brake calliper)


• Tork key for the ABS sensor if you are clumsy and might knock it when removing/replacing wheel


• A centre stand (or lie the bike down)


• A large rock/block to go under the engine when you want to remove the front wheel on the centre stand (or lie the bike down)


• Tyre levers (two or three, depends how good you are)


• Rim protectors or bits of plastic bottle (so you don't scratch the rims, depends how precious about your bike you are)


• A bead breaker (or thick heavy boot heal)


• Some 4"X4" or something to rest the wheel rim on while you break the bead with your boot, or you will knacker the sprocket/brake discs. Or you can dig a hole in the dirt.


• Valve removal tool (to take the valve out of the valve stem to deflate the tube enough to get it out)


• A little spanner (wrench) to remove the lock nut on the valve stem


• A puncture repair kit (patches/glue) or a spare tube


• A inflation device (CO2 cartridges, electric compressor or hand pump)


• Some prior knowledge of how to repair a puncture. Best to practice at home before you need to do it for real.

Good grief thats a lot of stuff for a puncture? Isn't there any easier way?

Yeah. Push bike to nearest road. Phone BMW assist.



Har Har. Can't I just plug the tyre?

No, its got a tube, remember? Should have bought the 650GS.



What about tyre sealant? Can I use that?

Bit late once you have a puncture. There are special formula sealants for tubed tyres. Messy stuff though, and it won't work on gashes or big punctures, but it will gloop everything up and make the tube irrepairable. Also, a small nail in the tyre can cause a large rip in the tube as the tube 'squirms' inside the tyre at speed.


Any other advice?

Practice repairing punctures at home, until you are confident about removing wheels and tyres. Learn how to fix these things in your garage at home when its easy to get help. Once it is second nature, out on the trails it won't be an issue for you.

Oh, and make sure your riding partner has a spare inner tube also. If he gets a puncture and takes your spare, you can guarantee you will get a puncture a mile later. And you can guarantee he won't take your spare off his wheel now...

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Tyre Options

Wheel Specs:

Rim, front 2.15 x 21"
Rim, rear 4.25 x 17"

Tyres, front 90/90 - 21 54V
Tyres, rear 150/70 - 17 69V

BMW Recommended Tyres:




Road Bias:

Front: Michelin Anakee, 90/90-21 M/C TL/TT (54V)
Rear: Michelin Anakee C, 150/70 R17 M/C TL/TT (69V)







Front: Bridgetstone Battlewing 501 G, 90/90-21 M/C TL/TT (54V) COMES AS STOCK
Rear: Bridgestone Battlewing 502 G, 150/70 R17 M/C TL/TT (69V) COMES AS STOCK







Off-Road Bias:

Front: Metzler Karoo (T) Front, 90/90-21 M/C TL (54Q)* M+S
Rear: Metzler KAroo (T), 150/70 -17 M/C TL (69Q)* M+S







Front: Continental Twinduro TKC80, 90/90-21 M/C TL (54Q)* (Not manufacturered yet, go for the 90/90 54T model at present)
Rear: Continental Twinduro TKC80, 150/70 B17 M/C TL (69Q)*


* These tyres are rated Q (160km/h or 99mp/h) instead of V but can be used if "the permissable top speed is indicated by readily visible means (e.g. sticker affixed in the rider's field of vision)".




Tyres not mentioned by BMW:

The load index & size matches with slightly reduced speed rating are:


Front: Pireli Scorpion MT90 A/T 90/90 -21 TL 54V M/C
Rear: Pirelli Scorpion MT 90 S/T 150/70 R17 TL 69H







Front: Avon Distanzia AM43 90/90 -21 TL 54T
Rear: Avon Distanzia AM 44 150/70 R17 TL 69V







Front; Metzeler Tourance 90/90 -21 TL 54H M/C
Rear: Metzeler Tourance 150/70 R17 TL 69V




Front: Heidenau 90/90 - 21 M/C TL 54H K 60
Rear: Heidenau 150/70 B17 M/C 69T TL K60

TKC80 style tyre



Front: Heidenau 90/90 - 21 M/C TL 54H K 76
Rear: Heidenau 150/70 - 17 M/C TL 69H K 76

Tourance - style tyre



Edit 23/6/09:
Conti now have the ContiTrailAttack available:

Front: 90/90 - 21 M/C 54 H TL
Rear: 150/70 R 17 M/C 69 V TL

Recommended pressures are 2.5/2.5 or 36psi/36psi

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