"glove" compartment in 2010 RT

I just got a 2010 RT without the sound system option. There is a glove box opening in the right fairing which is very awkwardly shaped. It's also deep enough that any small object you put in there will be lost. I wish I could use it for things like garage door opener, EZ pass etc, but it's very difficult to reach in there, particularly if you're sitting on the bike. I've even contemplated putting a false bottom in to make it shallower, which would of course waste alot of the room. Has anyone come up with a creative solution. I come from a touring cruiser which had a windshield bag that I found very useful for small items. That's the only thing I miss about my old bike. Thanks.

PABLOH3 said:

I just got a 2010 RT without the sound system option. There is a glove box opening in the right fairing which is very awkwardly shaped. It's also deep enough that any small object you put in there will be lost. I wish I could use it for things like garage door opener, EZ pass etc, but it's very difficult to reach in there, particularly if you're sitting on the bike. I've even contemplated putting a false bottom in to make it shallower, which would of course waste alot of the room. Has anyone come up with a creative solution. I come from a touring cruiser which had a windshield bag that I found very useful for small items. That's the only thing I miss about my old bike. Thanks.

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I saw a great idea on the BMWST.com site for this -- heavy duty stick-on pads with velcro or hooks, attached to the inside walls of the compartment near the top -- a bit of velcro on your door opener, a key ring to place on the hook, etc., and your items are always at hand at the top of the compartment.

I've got the same thing on my '09 RT, but haven't minded the depth. Maybe I've just got skinny hands.

An insert is available for the empty box that lets it be used as a more convenient glove compartment. I've been tempted to buy one, but like I said, the empty hole is a nice bottomless pit for me to store all kinds of little-used items.

Here's a couple links to a dealer site that describes the insert:
http://www.sierrabmwonline.com/r120...id=20&osCsid=eb1a4f75e0696732a8e2e7b8c87bed52

mneblett said:

I saw a great idea on the BMWST.com site for this -- heavy duty stick-on pads with velcro or hooks, attached to the inside walls of the compartment near the top -- a bit of velcro on your door opener, a key ring to place on the hook, etc., and your items are always at hand at the top of the compartment.

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I actually did this with the garage opener this weekend. But I haven't tried riding with this setup yet, so I don't know if the velcro will hold. The drawback is that it makes it even more difficult to reach in and out of the box.

Glove box

Do not bother with the insert, it provides a very small / useless storage slot
I have a small cloth, and some other less frequently used items in it instead of the Tank bag.

BMW had a nice little zippered bag that would hold a quart of oil. That along with spare gloves, helmet leash, and the owners manual pouch fit nicely in there.

sniff....we sold the RT last weekend and I'm still sad....

The compartment has a small psuedo shell to the rear of the opening. A pocket or keyring garage door transmitter fits there nicely with velcro tape. Easy to get to even with gloves on and it is hidden under the closed cover. The rest of the compartment holds my owners manual, BMW anonomous book, and insurance/registration info.

It is awkward to get into. I use mine for essential things like spare gloves, maps. Pretty much the things that I would use with the bike parked (because you can't get you hand in very far while seated). One fine use I have found is that it will hold the BMW brand quart of oil. I just squeeze some of the air out of the bottle and it slides in.

It's definatly not for easy access!

I bought the insert pouch when I took delivery of my R1200RT back in 2006 (was $32 back then!). Holds spare sunglasses, eyedrops, ear plugs, headache meds and a few other little items.

When I remove it, beneath is a can of Plexus, wrapped in a dish cloth, for cleaning of the windshield, mirrors and faceshield.

It's a BMW accessory that is still available, and I find it quite useful.

http://www.ascycles.com/detail.aspx?ID=39131

Good Luck with whatever you choose.

The BMW pouch insert is a good investment. I also use it for a spare pair of sunglasses and also slide my Navigator IV GPS in there when not riding the bike. The GPS removes with the single click of a button and is too tempting to less honorable riders. The pouch removes easily so you have access to the remaining waterproof room in the well, like a tire gauge, registration, RT handbook, accessory cord, etc...

Gee whiz! I never thought of that type of use of the empty radio hole. Mine is stuffed full of microfiber towels and various cleaners and polishes. The clip under the lid holds a little flashlight also.

Buy a pouch? There's this new technology called Ziploc bags and they work great. Money, pens, tire pressure gauge, scratch paper....etc. Also keep the Anonymous book in there.

A .45 fits nicely under the pouch. I'm just sayin'!

savategreg said:

A .45 fits nicely under the pouch. I'm just sayin'!

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Okay this was my laugh for the day!

Don't cross the border into Canada with that though, you may land up in jail, confiscated bike and lost .45

Thanks for all the ideas. Not to hijack my own thread, but what's this stuff about carrying oil around. I've ridden Japanese bikes up to now, and I have never had to put a drop of oil in them, except during routine oil changes. Should I expect my new RT to burn oil??

PABLOH3 said:

Thanks for all the ideas. Not to hijack my own thread, but what's this stuff about carrying oil around. I've ridden Japanese bikes up to now, and I have never had to put a drop of oil in them, except during routine oil changes. Should I expect my new RT to burn oil??

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Up to about 12K, yes -- more in the first 5K. The cylinders are lined with an *extremely* hard plasma-sprayed material, and the rings are hard -- they take much longer than the average bike to fully seat and stop using oil. A minor pita, but on the plus side the bores last forever -- there have been any number of 100K+ bikes torn down with the original cross-hatch hone marks still visible on the cylinder walls.

One thing that makes the break-in period last forever: babying the motor.

Oh boy, a different kind of oil thread.

Yeah, some new bikes use some amount of oil. Not all. And the amount varies. And it may have to do with the way the bike was broken in... or not. Worse for me was my '02 R1150RT. It used about 1 qt/3000 miles until it had 18K on the odometer, then the oil use went to almost nothing between services. My worse wasn't very bad. Some have reported oil use in the 1 qt/thousand mile range.

My '05 GS went through a qt the firs 3,000 miles. But since then not much. I add about 3 1/2 quarts as part of an oil change and then add the remaining 1/2 quart sometime before the next change.

I said the RT was the worse... perhaps not. My old airhead (R80RT) didn't like being full. If you filled it up to the full mark it would soon burn off about 1/4 quart. Real soon. If you tried to keep it full you would have sworn the engine was a piece of crap. However, if you ignored the fact that it was 1/4 quart down from the max mark it would stay at that level until the next service.

That taught me to leave well enough alone. I only add oil when it is at the bottom of the sight glass and only add enough to bring it up to the center.

And no, I don't carry oil with me. If I happen to need some during a trip I'll buy it the same place I buy gas. I've yet to have that need.

I used to be obsessive about carrying extra oil on long trips, but after years on the road I now realize how strange it is.

If you get that low, just stop and buy some.

You don't need the oil touching the dot all the time.

I bought the pouch from BMW. If something goes to the bottom, the pouch is easily lifted and keeps items from being scratched.

Easy

Two answer both the original idea, and the hijack:

1. I put a strip of velcro around the small maglite I kept in the clip on the door of that compartment, and lined the inside of the garage door opener clip with velcro, then slid it on the maglite. It hung there nicely and was immediately available when I opened the door. I could never get any glue or velcro to stick to that surface. I used the compartment for insurance papers, Anonymous Book and other small stuff.

2. Having had a quart of oil spill in my trailer while towing it with the RT, one of the many pleasures of owning a Wing is that there is no need to carry oil. Many Wingers check their oil each time they change it, to make sure the level is correct, then no more until the next change. YMMV

cowboyatheart said:

Okay this was my laugh for the day!

Don't cross the border into Canada with that though, you may land up in jail, confiscated bike and lost .45

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Not to worry. On vacation when I get to the Canadian border I explain to the mountie that inasmuch as I'm an American with certain rights I will choose to keep my guns and dollars on this side of the border.