Member Question and Assistance

Happy Friday All

We've had a member reach out with the following - I've directed him to the Forum but wanted to start the ball rolling. I'll be happy to forward any responses to him:

"Hello, this is my very first post to any type of social media ever, so be gentle. I am a 68 year old semi retired reasonably fit man. Before i go any further i would like to say that i am over whelmed, totally blow away by your organization. Simply superb is the only superlative that comes to mind.
The reason for this post is my upcoming journey from New Orleans to Fairbanks departing ~ May 15. My daily mileage goal is 350 to 400 all things going well. My questions are: has anyone got a recommended spare parts list for a 2016 R 1200 GS? Any input on which route from Prince George, BC, north on 97 or west on 16 to 37 the Cassiar Hwy? Both routes end up at Watson Lake.

Thanks again for your wonderful organization and any information or advice will be appreciated.

Regards,
John Paul"

Send him here, we will be on the lookout for him and will get him going just fine.

Link him direct to this thread where he can click on this thread-

https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?72733-How-to-post-on-the-MOA-Forum

Which is Kurt's tutorial on how to post.

He will be in good hands Ray.

Gary

Hello, this is my very first post to any type of social media ever, so be gentle. I am a 68 year old semi retired reasonably fit man. Before i go any further i would like to say that i am over whelmed, totally blow away by your organization. Simply superb is the only superlative that comes to mind.
The reason for this post is my upcoming journey from New Orleans to Fairbanks departing ~ May 15. My daily mileage goal is 350 to 400 all things going well. My questions are: has anyone got a recommended spare parts list for a 2016 R 1200 GS? Any input on which route from Prince George, BC, north on 97 or west on 16 to 37 the Cassiar Hwy? Both routes end up at Watson Lake.

Thanks again for your wonderful organization and any information or advice will be appreciated.

Regards,
John Paul

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Welcome John, sounds like a great trip. I used to live in Prince George and have been in both directions that you are contemplating, but not all the way up to Watson Lake. It was quite some time ago though, so I suspect the roads have improved/changed since the early 80's.

Having said that, if your trip isn't a one-way one and allows it, doing one on the ride up and the other on the ride down would be my choice, both are memorable. However, I'll defer to anyone who has been through that area more recently and/or travelled the entirity of it.

Unless you are very unlucky you will not need any spare parts. I would pack a tubeless tire repair kit and one of the many compact air compressors.

Pack for wide variations in weather. have good camera and enjoy!

bobzeliff said:

Unless you are very unlucky you will not need any spare parts. I would pack a tubeless tire repair kit and one of the many compact air compressors.

Pack for wide variations in weather. have good camera and enjoy!

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What Bob said. I would be familiar with the locations of the dealership network along your route. You have a 2016 GS. If you have the GARMIN NAV VI, the dealership network data base is in there. I would do some pre-route planning and see where my route married up with dealerships, and identify those stretches of road that put me "out there".

I would also invest in the platinum BMW MOA road side assistance program with tire protection. Using these pre-mission planning options may serve to effectively reduce your need for a traveling tool/parts kit.

When on the Cassier there will be times when it is over 1,000 miles to any BMW dealer. Have a tow plan with unlimited mileage. The Allstate Motor Club offers such a plan.

As the others have said, barring some unpredictable failure, you shouldn't have anything to worry about except tires, which can take a flat anywhere, anytime, but for most even that rarely happens.

Depending on the length of your trip and where you'll be when (as in if) you will hitting the scheduled maintenance intervals and/or end of safe tire-wear, you should identify if any of those will be a significant distance from a dealership/motorcycle shop. If so than plan for that. Otherwise, the water-cooled boxers have shown themselves to be quite trouble-free and most use very little oil. Mine 2014 gets well ridden on a fairly frequent basis (triple-digit mountain runs, 600+ mile days, etc.) and used virtually no oil (1/4 liter) between oil changes (6,000mi/10,000km).

I always travel with this setup:

(https://www.stopngo.com/tubeless-puncture-pilot-for-motorcycles-scooters-atvs/)

(http://www.sierrabmwonline.com/product_info.php/stop-puncture-pilot-tubeless-motorcycle-tire-repair-kit-bmw-service-items-03630055-p-9)



If you need to use it, remember not to use the pump for too long with the engine off - you don't want to drain your battery beyond its ability to start the bike, as some folks have done. There are several other good setups, this is just the one I have.

I also travel with this: http://www.sierrabmwonline.com/product_info.php/airman-motorcycle-valve-stem-extension-hose-bmw-service-items-074-201-p-3145

I find some gas station air chucks are very difficult to use with big disc brakes and this makes adjusting pressures so much easier.

AlanColes said:

I also travel with this: http://www.sierrabmwonline.com/product_info.php/airman-motorcycle-valve-stem-extension-hose-bmw-service-items-074-201-p-3145

I find some gas station air chucks are very difficult to use with big disc brakes and this makes adjusting pressures so much easier.

View attachment 67479

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That’s a great idea! I was lookin for something for this reason.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Alan, How much air do you lose while unscrewing the extension?

akbeemer said:

Alan, How much air do you lose while unscrewing the extension?

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Virtually nothing Kevin, that is a major reason why I use that specific item and keep it with me.

The screw-on end has a purchase on the threads before it depresses the valve-stem valve and it is valved at the other end as well, so there is likely less than 1/20th of a psi lost. I've used it for myself a couple of times and several times for others who don't have one and can't get the air-chuck to fit around the brake disc and get a good seal. One of the best $5 bills I've spent. ;-)

AlanColes said:

Virtually nothing Kevin, that is a major reason why I use that specific item and keep it with me.

The screw-on end has a purchase on the threads before it depresses the valve-stem valve and it is valved at the other end as well, so there is likely less than 1/20th of a psi lost. I've used it for myself a couple of times and several times for others who don't have one and can't get the air-chuck to fit around the brake disc and get a good seal. One of the best $5 bills I've spent. ;-)

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Thanks, worth a try. The 90 degree extensions I tried ended up losing much more air.