1150GS Part 20

[@peterbarwick4938]

Doh! At least you’ve shown how straightforward the change is. Hang tight.

[@normski3091]

Hi Tall Biker, Yes the rear shock is actually very easy to replace. With the right tools I am sure you could do it with only taking the rear wheel out. When I first saw Charlie Boorman change the shock on Long Way Round in the middle of nowhere I was in awe. But if I was going around the world I would practice many times before setting off. On their journey you know they will fail somewhere.

[@LordGrievous1970]

I love how you keep referring to Charley Boorman and 'Long Way Round'. My love for the GS's came from watching that series, and 'Long Way Down', (and also 'Long Way Up' on the Harley Livewire's). I've watched all 3 series too many times to remember, and like you do here, when I'm talking to friends and acquaintance's I quite often refer to them. I could talk about them for hours!

[@normski3091]

Yeh I have followed every mile of every series, just love it. Met Charlie and his Long Way Round bike at the big bike show after they did it. Then in 2016 when I was at a Bike Shed exhibition in London when Charlie came in a wheelchair with multiple rods sticking out of his leg after a bad bike crash😱

[@LordGrievous1970]

@@normski3091 I'd love to meet both Charley and Ewan, they seem such cool guys. I have Charley's book called 'Long Way Back' which is about his recovery after a major crash.

[@glideman]

I have the same 30" inside leg as you & I ride a 2006 GS Adventure which is even higher. You can ride the taller bikes with practice. I know what you mean about getting the bike off it's side stand though, I have the same trouble. I do think though that it's much easier to get the bike off the side stand with the bars turned LEFT! I know this is counter intuitive but with a full 32Ltr of fuel I can't get the bike upright with the bars turned RIGHT. One tip which I found very useful was to not try to put both feet down, just put one down & leave the other on the peg, also use the peg nearest to you to stand on while getting on the bike. Really enjoying the series of videos on this bike and I'm sure they'll help a lot of BMW owners. Keep up the good work.

[@normski3091]

Wow Glideman you give me hope. I just cannot handle an Adventure but your comments are brilliant. I just cannot test anything at the moment until the new shock comes from YSS in Thailand. The adjusted seat has arrived from Ross at CM Seats and looks perfect but until I can fit it and sit on the bike I have no idea. But I have solved the side stand problem...well maybe, again cannot try it yet. Hang in there!

[@LordGrievous1970]

3 weeks?? Oh, no, I know exactly what you're going through, Norm! The 2014 GS I bought only a month ago with only 4400k's on it, failed a week after I bought it, the camshaft sensor failed. I was taking it to get new Michelin Road 6's put on it, (I don't go off road very much), and the engine light came on and went into limp mode while riding the 60 odd k's to the BMW dealer. They said a new genuine BMW Cam Sensor would be about $200nzd, and would take THREE MONTHS to get here from Germany, (I'm in New Zealand). So I said go ahead and order the part and I will look elsewhere for another one. I had a sleepless night looking online EVERWHERE for one, (none in New Zealand), and finally found one in The Netherlands at a place called Boonstra Parts for only $83nzd landed in NZ, they are a second hand bike parts dealer. Should only take a couple of weeks to get here, hopefully, and that will get me back on the road until the brand new part arrives in 3 months. I feel lost without a bike, but watching your videos while waiting has been a most enjoyable experience. I'm aching for your part 21!!

[@normski3091]

Wow that was a shock after buying the bike🤷🏼‍♂️, but often something like that happens. But you will get there…

[@RiojaRoj]

Afternoon Norman, I've been waiting with baited breath for the next installment of the saga of the 1150 🙄. Especially the issue of the seat height etc. I've got an 07 GS ( last of the 06s ). My inside leg is about 29". I had a couple issues. Firstly, both my ankles are nakered with arthritis, so it was impossible to right the bike anyway when I got it, as it was leant over at a crazy angle on the side stand. I've now sorted that out in two or three ways. One, I made and bolted on, an Ali pad extension 20mm thick, ( I'm not a fan of the huge big foot things anyway) with most of the centre machined out, to take most of the mass out of it, worked perfectly ! I also backed the preload right off on the rear, as well as the front shocker. Those things made quite a bit of difference. I also swapped my old Sport Bike type boots for a pair of higher ankle Walking Boots. The added thickness of the robust Walking boot soles and the other mods, means I can virtually fully Flat Foot my feet, and that gives me much more confidence, and getting the Up isn't an issue anymore. Hope that helps you and anyone else 👍 Good Luck ! Roj

[@normski3091]

Hi Roj, Those comments are just so useful, thank you very much. With the original pre-load completely seized I could do nothing with the existing rear shock. Looked at getting it stripped down and rebuilt by specialist guys but around £250 I would rather put that towards a new Shock anyway. Then of course I made the stupid mistake of not noticing that you cannot adjust the pre-load on the 1150GS. Looking at a video of me installing a new rear shock on my sons 2006 1200GS I am sure I could get to the top of that one? Anyway just had to pay the extra, almost £200 and order the pre-load adjuster one. I also wonder about the front shock. I have two vintage guitars on Ebay this week (breaks my heart) after playing them for over 35 years in many a pub. At least they are proving to be an investment so I may splash out on a front shock as weII. The side stand is interesting. Reading google comments on what people do it seems an 'Ice Hockey Puck' is the favourite. Problem is that it looks like an ice hockey puck stuck onto the bottom of the footrest. The bike already has a Touratech large foot so I ordered a 30mm thick block of nylon and milled it to the shape of the Touratech part. Will try and include it in a video. If none of this works then cuban heels are my only alternative!

[@RiojaRoj]

After trying on n off most of my life to play guitar, and 10 yrs fairly seriously after retiring, and trying every conceivable size n style of guitar, I gave up, due mainly to my boney knuckles. I've now bought another piano.... long story. Anyway, bought a Puck, didn't work for me. Hence I made my Ali one. I'd send you a Pic but not sure I can upload it on here, the 20mm worked a dream 👌👍👍👌 Roj

[@normski3091]

Actually Roj you may have a point about the side stand catching the centre stand. Because the bike is on the centre stand with the rear wheel off I cannot try it….chicken and egg situation. You can email a pic : [e-mail]

[@RiojaRoj]

@@normski3091 no probs watch this space 👌

[@normski3091]

[e-mail]

[@fleetwarrior75]

Damn Norm… that’s a bummer, hang in there great video though, pretty straight forward install.

[@normski3091]

Hi Zero, yes I felt really stupid, how come I never notice that you cannot even see the top of the rear shock let alone adjust it. Sometimes you miss the obvious. Brook Suspension also didn't realise that the 1150GS 'hid' half of the shock. They agreed with me and said any adjustment would require the removal of the shock...can you imagine living with that!

[@fleetwarrior75]

@@normski3091 yeah what a nightmare!

[@firestorm755]

This must be a well sorted bike now.

[@neilhayes6769]

I understand about the height anxiety, when I had my R1150GS I always tried to make sure I parked on a flat surface or as near as possible, put the side stand out, kicked the side stand again to make sure it was out, nothing worse than seeing a GS roll off its side stand, dismount and always left it on the center stand. The bike on the side stand fully loaded with even turning the bars can still be a tough challenge. If you are getting a shorted shock you might find yourself shortening the side and center stand as well, so there could be more excitment to follow.

[@normski3091]

Hi Neil, Just that I have never had this before with GS1200 and 1250 models. Having a feelings that various owners have raised the height somehow to more Adventure specifications. But with the original shock pre-load adjustor completely seized, and now having the seat lowered surely I must be going in the right direction. I have made a part for the side stand to be 30mm 'higher' but cannot even test that until the new shock arrives from Thailand and I can try everything!

[@RiojaRoj]

The 20mm was actually made up of 2 pieces of 10mm alloy plate. Bolted together thtough the existing foot with M5 csk alley bolts and chrome domed nuts. ( PS Metals4U will sell you a slice of.... anything ) I also extended the profile by 5mm on all edges. Beware, on mine, anything over 20mm fouls the Mainstand when they're both up in the riding position. Roj

[@martynbrown3230]

Enjoyed the video Norm. Sorry it didn’t work out. Enjoyed thou.

[@normski3091]

Hi Martyn, it will not take me long to forget all about it...that is if the new one works and I can reach the ground.

[@bonesworld7178]

Nooooooo! What a bummer. This makes me curious. I thought that some of those hydraulic adjusters could be repaired and refitted to work with aftermarket spring set ups.

[@normski3091]

You may well be right Bonesworld. The problem I am having is finding a seized part or something that has never even been serviced and losing faith in it. Rather get a new part. Have put my 2 vintage guitars on eBay this week, they may cover all the costs!

[@jerzykorol6785]

very helpful video. I have recently become a happy owner of the R1150GS adventure and have already ordered new YSS shocks😊. I have a question, are the torque values ​​in the video is in lb/ft or Nm

[@normski3091]

Hi Jerry, good question..Nm. Hope you love your 1150GS😍

[@grhmnz4648]

With few frustrating moments along the way you are getting there Norm . I was going to tell you about the new Motorworks website,but you've seen it already . It worked ok for me yesterday ,and I set up a new account so I can log in again . Much better than the old site I feel , but just takes a bit of time to get used to it . I find their service excellent .

[@normski3091]

Morning Graham (well evening for you). Yes I couldn't Motorworks new website to work at all, maybe just teething problems. I will try again in a minute. For the first time for ages I do not need to order anything just at the moment...my whole life is on hold waiting for the new rear shock!

[@grhmnz4648]

@@normski3091 Hope the site works ok now .Your seat height/shock issue struck a chord ,in a round about way . I ordered a sidestand foot enlarger for my GS that didn't fit ..too small .Motorworks researched my bike and it's factory lowered,and has a different sidestand .My 2013 GS came from South Africa in 2016 . I have the low seat as I'm 5' 6"

[@normski3091]

@@grhmnz4648 So factory lowered, I forgot they could do that...I wonder if in 2003 they offered factory 'higher'? Everything just waiting until the shock arrives and I will know if it is cuban heel time. Got onto Motorworks site. As you said I had to register again etc etc, but all up and working now. Think it will take me a little while to get used to it. When I spoke to them about the GS windscreen that I had ordered not fitting and they also researched it and found that for a few months BMW used Adventure windscreens (Motorworks are just so good, saved me £70 straight away in windscreen fitting kit and swapped the GS for a GSA windscreen), anyway the guy said they had been working on a new website for a few years and it was getting close to releasing...good eh!

[@grhmnz4648]

@@normski3091 Hi Norm ,today I can confirm the excellence of Motorworks . Yesterday they sent me the part diagrams and part numbers,via email for the shocks on my GS and said to look for a seven number sequence amongst all the numbers on my shocks and BMW part numbers . I indeed found the sequences ,that confirm to me my bike is still factory lowered ,and not altered to standard as my dealer suspected .

[@normski3091]

Motorworks have saved my life a few times…that is brilliant how they helped you🤗🥳

[@martynbrown3230]

Morning. I was wondering if you could use the dog bone system to lower the shock ? I know my cousin did this on his Triumph Tiger.

[@normski3091]

Interesting 🤔. With a new adjustable shock and a lowered seat I should be fine, so let me try that first. I read that the wire wheels make the bike higher, like the Adventure. That is a thought, let me check the size compared to the alloy wheels 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@ВладимирВахутин]

Здравствуйте. Подскажите пожалуйста. Какая затяжка гайки оси передней подвески. Ось которая закрыта заглушками.

[@normski3091]

I am so sorry, I sold the bike almost 2 years ago and gave the new owner my Haynes Manual that had all the Torque settings so I cannot look any up. Try keying the question into Google with the model and year of your GS...it should give you the answer? Very best. Norman

[@edwelld]

What a nuisance! We’re you able to determine if there was something about the original shock that caused the increase in seat height? Is it possible that the original owner specified a higher than normal bike or someone has tinkered in the past? It seems very odd that it is that much taller than factory spec. Very entertaining series Norman

[@normski3091]

I am beginning to think that previous owners have fitted Adventure parts. I ordered a new windscreen from Motorworks for my actual model. It came and wouldn't fit? I rang Motorworks to order a new £70 fitting kit. They are brilliant and talked through it with me. Appears that in 2003 BMW started fitting GSA parts on some of the GS models.My windscreen was an Adventure model. That saved me £70 because they sent me straight away an Adventure screen in return for the GS one. Fitted perfectly. My biking mate that I do long trips with every year (as seen on my KZbin channel) is on his 4th new GSA, the latest 1250. I dare not even sit on his and this bike seems exactly the same.

[@edwelld]

You wouldn’t have thought that it could have left the factory with the side stand as it is. Sounds like tinkering by previous owner. I’m not familiar with the Gs setup. Could other parts have been changed too that would have affected the height eg dog-bones?

[@normski3091]

@@edwelld That is exactly what I thought David. However there are hundreds of threads on BMW owners sites about GS owners over the years not being able to lift their bikes off the side stand. But I think you are correct, previous owners could well have made changes, especially if one was a giant!

[@edwelld]

Platform boots might be the cheapest solution if you have any tucked away from the ‘70s 😀

[@normski3091]

Ha ha…may have to look for a pair in a vintage shop 🤣🤣

[@tojj29]

Bugger! Funnily enough, when you were showing us the new one and I saw the C spanner adjustment on it I thought you'd intentionally gone for the cheaper one. Have you got other stuff to do in the meantime or is it just the seat and shock left to do Norm?

[@normski3091]

Well Tojjer I had😢. Thing is with latest BMW bikes like my RT you just change your suspension electronically and don’t think anything about it. Well you do if it fails and cost you £5000 to fix it. But I should not have even considered a £200 saving😱. Yes other things to do while I wait🥵

[@tojj29]

@@normski3091 My RT has just ran out of warranty and I am toying with selling the bike or renewing the warranty and giving her another year. When you spout figures like that for the suspension, I certainly won't keep it without a warranty in that case. Decision time

[@normski3091]

@@tojj29 Yes my brother Stephen has just done the same. At the end of 3 years he exchanged his 1200RT for a new 1250RT. You either go one way or the other. Exchange after warranty or keep the bike and do all your own servicing making sure you do it even better than BMW...but hope the electronic rear shock doesn't go!

[@MillfieldWheels]

Did you measure the distance between centres on the old and new shocks? Was there a difference?

[@normski3091]

Hi Ian, Yes and they were almost the same, new shock a few mm smaller. I rang Marc at Brook Suspension and he told me that all Rear Shock makers make them to the original spec and you adjust what you can from there. So I fitted it and then tried to readjust which was when the awful truth hit me! Spoke to Marc, as it is their best seller for GS bikes and he admitted they had never had an 1150GS in their workshop. Look back to my KZbin fitting the YSS (with pre-damp adjuster) to the 1200GS and it looks as if you can get to the whole shock?

[@MillfieldWheels]

@@normski3091 Captain Hindsight: Maybe you could have dialed all the preload out of the shock before fitting and then sat on the bike to see if there was a difference? Just to make sure that the replacement with the remote adjustment will be usable for you. Also, was there any difference in the spring length?

[@normski3091]

@@MillfieldWheels Should have done that. Yes in hindsight I think I should have checked a number of things. The first being to sit on the bike when the guys in the white van arrived from Penzance. I started it, washed it and wheeled the bike into my garage. The most obvious thing would have been just to sit on it...However the plan was to take the train to Penzance and ride it back. With the height issue and 5-10mm movement on the bars I doubt whether I would have made it back alive!!

[@jamessparrow6549]

Evening hope you are well. I have serviced ma gs1200 and sometimes when ya Rev it it splutters it’s done it since owning it. Any thorts ?

[@normski3091]

Hi James, I appreciate that it could be a number of things but I would start on balancing the throttle bodies. I bought a Carbtune from Motorworks. Just tried to go on their website to see how much they are but they have released a new site, it doesn’t seem to work? Think they are around £60. I want to do a KZbin on how to use it, but I have to get the rear shock fitted so I can get the silencer and rear wheel on to be able to run the bike and balance the throttle bodies.

[@jamessparrow6549]

Normski am think al take the plugs back out and make sure the gap is right . A was hopeing you would say balance the throttel bodies because that what a was thinking the chap a bought it off did all his own work on it he gave me all the tools he had for the bike a don’t think he had ever had them balanced. Yes doing a vid would be very good 👍🏻 al odder one and get back to you thankyou p.s hope your well

[@TheThejpmshow]

58nm is the torque for top and bottom bolts of the strut

[@normski3091]

Yes you are right🤗.

[@TheThejpmshow]

@@normski3091Haynes manual to the rescue 😁

[@r13gbs]

Is Jeffs seat wider?

[@normski3091]

Hi Rick, you know I never thought of that?? All I checked was whether I could reach the ground, which I knew I could as I have owned 2 1200GS's and sat on many.

[@r13gbs]

@Normski Older bikes seemed to have a lot more foam and a wider base wehere as newer ones are a bit more refined, I found that out on my 2016 RT with only a 29" inside leg

[@normski3091]

@@r13gbs I think you are right Rick. CM Seats assured me that when he upholstered the two seats he never added any height but he gets more requests to lower the seat. Because, stupidly, I never even sat on the bike I didn't realise that it could indeed be too high. Anyway the seats have arrived back and Ross at CM Seats never even charged me the cost to lower the riders seat, and kept his amazing 'gel' insert in. What a gentleman he is, and so skilled. They look identical to me but I cannot fit them yet with no suspension...so waiting biting my nails to the arrival from Thailand of the new YSS.