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New BMW Owner: Need recommendations on rain gear, xm hook-up, lights

J

Jet_Gorilla

Guest
Hi all,

I just got married and my wife is tired of riding on the fender of my old harley so I bucked up for a 1200LT.

On my hog, I never rode with rain gear because I never stopped if my bike was running, the lights rarely worked , and sound was out of the question. :)

We put 1600 miles on it last week and decided the following so I need some recommendations:

Best rain gear and where do i get it

Recoomendations on hooking up XM to the bike

I saw another 1200 that had little driving lights on the forks and those would have been nice on the back roads at night. Which ones should I get?

Is there such a thing as discount parts in the BMW world or a dealer that sells for volume? I saw an ad for BMW of Chicago that seemed to be lower than anybody else when I checked prices but i am all ears.

I look forward to many miles on this bike.

thanks for the advice in advnace.
 
Greetings and welcome to the madhouse!

I'll try to answer a couple of your queries. The little driving lights on the forks are known as Motolights, by a company of the same name. They come in brushed aluminum or powder-coated black, and I had them on a previous bike. They worked pretty well. Other folks have gone for PIAA lights, which I have on my GS. Which kind is better? The Motolights help fill in the ditches and don't do so much for long-distance. The PIAA's will depend on which kind you get, but they can turn night into day.

Rain gear - a lot of us (it seems) wear riding suits, from one manufacturer or another. I do, also. The attributes I look for are weather-resistant (is anything really weather-proof?), ventilation, armor, visibility, pockets, and comfort. There are numerous makers. You didn't list your location, but an item you may find of interest would be an electric vest/jacket liner. Plugs into your bike's electrical system and they work well. Getting back to rain gear, though, since getting into riding suits, I don't have any. Once or twice a year I'll spray my suit with some Scotchgard to restore water-repellency. While on summer tour I'll usually wear a T-shirt and short pants under the suit.

There are all sorts of other items and suppliers. Don't be in a hurry, find out what others use and like, then make your best choice.
 
XM Setup

You may want to check out CycleGadgets.com for solutions for XM on the bike. They have lots of options. I just wired mine into my AutoComm and have been real happy with it. I am using a RAM Mount to mount the Delphi SkyFi to the clutch cover and am pretty happy with it.
 
Jet_Gorilla said:
:)

We put 1600 miles on it last week and decided the following so I need some recommendations:.
Looks like you will fit in here fine :rocker


Jet_Gorilla said:
:)Best rain gear and where do i get it.
One of tne more popular rainsuits is frogtogs, they breathe, are light, easy to pack, and somewhat comfortable when you have them on. No rainsuit is totally waterproof, and if they are, they will make you swet so bad it is like getting rained on.

Jet_Gorilla said:
:)Recoomendations on hooking up XM to the bike.

I will defer this to other Light Truck users
Jet_Gorilla said:
:)I saw another 1200 that had little driving lights on the forks and those would have been nice on the back roads at night. Which ones should I get?.
the ones you have seen are motolights, and they are awesome for filling in between the tire and out to the low beam, and great coverage of the sides of the road (bambi etc.) I also have driving lights installed on my bike, it all depends on what you want to do to the bike, and if you want to look like one of the spaceships in Close encounters of the third kind.

Jet_Gorilla said:
:) Is there such a thing as discount parts in the BMW world or a dealer that sells for volume? I saw an ad for BMW of Chicago that seemed to be lower than anybody else when I checked prices but i am all ears..
:rofl :rofl :rofl :rofl The only thing cheap on a BMW is the rider. BMW chicago does offer the best online pricing. I try to find my accessories elsewhere and adapt them to best use.

Jet_Gorilla said:
:) I look forward to many miles on this bike.

thanks for the advice in advnace.

We welcome you to the forum, and look forward to seeing you and the bike at one of the many rallies and get togethers. :wave :thumb

Using the search feature will help you find answers to a lot of questions you have, and you dont have to wait for answers . Once again Welcome!
 
Rain Gear and XM

I have Frog Toggs and they work fine. Most others do also.

I didn't have a good place to keep my XM receiver out of the rain on my K75RT so I keep it in the fairing pocket. I cut a small notch in the forward end to allow the cables to fit. The disadvantage is that you have to stop to change channels. I don't have any other electronics so I just plug a Radio Shack inline amp with a volume control into the headphone jack and my ear plug headphones into it. It works perfectly but eventually I'll get AutoComm or something similar to hook up my cell phone and maybe bike to bike communications. I mounted the antenna on top of the topcase with velcro and routed the cable under the seat and tank.

LR
 
I love my Frogg Toggs and Moto Lites. No radio for me. I pulled mine out of the RT for more storage space. I loved the storage in my Connie. I just listen to twin and get a lot of thinking done
 
Thanks for the Info

Thanks for the input everybody. I REALLY love this bike. Another 300 miles under the belt so far today. I just love this bike.

I think I'll go to California next week. I almost feel like I can any distance I want to in comfort.

I should have done this a long time ago. Excuse if I gush all over myself but I'm having so much fun I can't stand it.

No spare parts strapped to the bike.

Wife in a seat

No chain oil spray up my back or hers

Heated hand grips (who would have thought)

Stereo?!?

I can hear when we stop

A clutch where my hand is and a front brake that actually works.

What was I thinking.
 
Great to see that things are changing for the better for you AND your SO. Now woncha Phill in your profile and send us some fotos? We gots to see that light truck!

Tim
 
boofer said:
Great to see that things are changing for the better for you AND your SO. Now woncha Phill in your profile and send us some fotos? We gots to see that light truck!

Tim


:thumb Yeah, baby.
 
In case you haven't found it yet. K1200LT riders have a great forum. Some may argue even better than this one :brow You can check it out at
www.bmwlt.net
:thumb good choice!!
Doug
99 K1200LTI
03 M800
 
welcome aboard.
regarding rain gear. fwiw, i have a waterproof jacket that i wear all the time anyway - so if it rains no biggie. my SO bought me a belstaff 2 piece rainsuit and i use the pants from that and keep them in my saddle bags during rainy season (which is michigan is every month except January). the only leakage i get once in a while is where the jacket and gloves come together, but you have the advantage of a fairing so that might never be an issue for you.
enjoy your rides and post some pics up here.
 
New BMW owner

Suggest you check out Aerostitch. I think the Darien Light would be a great match for an LT rider. (Just raved about it on another thread, in fact ). Jacket and pants are Have GoreTex...best waterproofing outside of rubber or plastic. Mine hasn't leaked in the 9 years I've had it. Once they're broken in, they're quite comfortable. Zip in Polar Fleece liner, lots of pockets. Isn't fancy looking, though. But is a hardworking, versatile piece of riding gear.
Enjoy the mile!
 
SkyFi II

I added an XM SkyFi II to my LT this winter. The SkyFi II has a built in FM modulator (if you don't have an intercom) so there is no wiring to do to the bike except to supply power. I fabricated my own mount that sets the radio just above the stock radio buttons and bought a cover from cyclegadgets.com to keep the rain out. They also have some reasonably priced mounts, too. This set up worked great on an Indiana-Florida trip that included snow and rain. The only drawback to the FM modulator is that you have to periodically change the channel that you are using when a local station is on the same frequency. Over a 10 day trip, I only needed to do this about six times.

XM is great on a long trip (no radio channel fade) and a I got back saddle bag space by taking out the CD changer.
 
Gadgets

Check out hoonhardware.com they have a mount for the XM Roady. Also get on the LT Forum for detailed information on LTs. I just bought my wife a nice rain suit from TourMaster for about $89 and it works great...I have the one piece BMW rainsuit which is great, but always a hassle to get on and off so I'd get the two piece suit. If you want "light" get the HID Xenon light, but it's about $700+. Welcome to the Board and to BMW riding! :thumb
 
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