New to me 2003 k1200gt, any suggestions for improvements?

Hi,

Just picked up a K1200GT 2003 for $4900 with 26k miles. Not a steal but satisfied so far with the bike quality. Reasonable history documents provided buy local Chicago BMW dealers. It appears maintenance and recalls were all applied. Did my own first oil change yesterday. Worked out great with a large youtube collection to give warning and show-and-tell.

Now interested in adjusting the bike to my style. 6ft height, 13 foot size, 250lbs, pegs are already at the lowest position. Appears to be only two positions (up/down). Gear shift seems to have only two positions, straight down now but pulled back is another. My foot too big for the pulled back position. Maybe there is an after market shifter to be more forward? I guess everything is ok as-is.

I haven't played with the higher/lower seat.

Raise the handle bars a couple inches to be more upright? Any options here? i think it is ok as-is but prior owner complained about too much leaning on long trips.

Shock adjustments. Owners manual says to set it on the loose end and firm it up as travel gear added. Any experiences here?

What about GPS and radio installs people have done? Any pictures of your setups appreciated. My bike's prior owner just used his cell phone for gps maps and radio. I probably need a USB connector for phone charging. My phone drains too quickly. I will probably add a dash camera recording. Mostly for my story/his story for Texas police in small towns.

Where do you connect the wiring as your favorite? I am interested in some LED lights for extra signal and brake lights. I hate to mess up the ABS system, though.

Appreciate your ideas. Thanks

On the electrical farkle side, I think you may be in the market for a fuse block (I happen to like the FZ-1) I like to connect the relay wire to my parking light via a Pos-tap. There are several vendors that will supply a water resistant 12volt to USB port for charging. Changing or adding a brake light or turn signals shouldn't mess with the ABS (unless you're cutting into the OEM wiring harness). I'd look for a system that is designed to work with motorcycles (Skene and Admore are two that are favored by many)

Electrical idea thanks

Thanks, exactly what I am looking for. The bike is 99.9% stock with no mods except some guy put a battery trickle charger connector on it. I had a charger already but with a cigarette lighter connection. Napa auto parts had a two prong connector that matched. Problem solved.

I see a BMW connector for what I guess is a jacket warmer. Bike is real clean and I hate to get my jig saw out to install my 8 tracks tape deck without seeing what others did. I haven't see the wire tap connectors you mentioned. I will buy a sample for experiments. So exactly the information I am seeking. Appreciated.

I do want to be more visible with turn signal displays and maybe headlight pulsing. I don't know if the pulsing headlight annoys others more than helpful. More research needed.

Anyone with pictures of their riding gear helpful. I saw one for CB radio in the forum. He had a metal bar under neath to mount the radio without cutting into the panel. Others used double stick velcro with a hold for a short wire connection. The velcro used to hide the radio in the lockable saddle bag. Thanks for the pictures and links. john

I’m the same height and shoe size. The stock windshield is poor, especially if you raise the seat, which I found necessary to get relief for my knees. Aeroflow made the best windshield for these bikes but they no longer make it—if you find a used one snag it. I have a tall Parabellum on my GT—much better than stock but still not quite there. Great company to work with, tho. And, I’ve seen a couple riders get satisfactory results by just adding a Laminar Lip to the stock screen.

The seat can be fiddly to get into the high position, much easier when done from behind the bike. As was already mentioned, you’ll want to get a power distribution device like Fuzeblock. Brake fluids need to be flushed every other year, a task that is actually best farmed out to a good dealer so the necessary post-bleed pressure tests are run and passed.

BMW made a GPS mount specifically for these bikes. I ordered one about 18 months ago and AG still had over 150 of them in stock. Part number is 71 60 7 683 660 and is only $106.

These are great bikes! Enjoy yours and take care of it, it will then take care of you.

Best,
DG

I put RAM mounts on both the front master cylinder and the clutch master. Their spherical mounts allow you to attach most anything, and position it just the way you want. I usually put my GPS on the left bar and my EZ Pass transponder on the right.

With your size you'll want to be sure the seat is in the upper position. There are aftermarket peg lowering kits, but I'd be leery. Because of the width of the bike at the peg position, I've scrapped the pegs in the stock lower position, and I'm no knee-dragger. Much lower pegs may well limit your cornering.

I added barbacks to my RS, but your GT has more upright bars as stock. If they're still too far forward for you, you could add barbacks to them, as well, I suppose.


Meanwhile, enjoy the smooth, endless power.

Go to Pirates Lair, http://www.pirateslair.net/ . They have a lot of farkle for the K bikes.

For even more visibility (and just better lighting overall), how about some auxiliary lights like these? There are plenty more manufacturers out there, but the set on my former R1150RS has over 120,000 trouble-free miles on them so far!

https://motolight.com/

Oh, and maybe something for the back end too...

http://www.hyperlites.com/bmw.html

buying little parts here and there

More research needed on your ideas. Let you know what I pulled for my mods.

Fuzeblock was a must and starting point. I did get an A119 dash cam with gps ($70). It was usb connector ($4), so a dual USB connector to the bike and the wire taps ($10) as suggested. I have an older Garmin I could use or via the cell phone. I think better to just have a cell phone in my jacket than on the dash. Feel free to disagree for improvements. Last I got an adaptor ($4) to the Euro accessor connection. Not sure what I will use it for yet. So for nothing with a USB connection on the dash plugged into the fuse block.

I know many think having a dash cam crazy, but too often it is an argument on what happened and few believe an old man. I don't need to video me out running the cops or anything. But in all my cars, I have these continuous looping recordings. Not much argument if someone bumps my car. Anyway, that is why in case you are curious.

I forgot about my iPass. I like the idea of putting things on the clutch/break boxes. Good idea there. I saw somewhere to look on the tires for year. Mine are 2012. 6k miles is my estimate. Still 3-4mm on the tread.

I added air filter changing to my list of dealer TODO items while he is there. I appreciate the tip on flushing the Brake fluid every 2 years. Probably do. Brake, clutch, tire changes, water cooled parts I will leave to the dealer. Chicago area, BMW of Countryside did the maintenance from 2003 thru 2012. Then to a Barrington BMW. Both seemed good guys.

Let me build on your ideas and get back to you. Thanks much.

RAM Mounts look good

RAM mounts look pretty good. I always wondered how I could carry my water bottle. Looks like a good solution on devices. Thanks john

jrmull said:

Thanks, exactly what I am looking for. The bike is 99.9% stock with no mods except some guy put a battery trickle charger connector on it. I had a charger already but with a cigarette lighter connection. Napa auto parts had a two prong connector that matched. Problem solved.

I see a BMW connector for what I guess is a jacket warmer. Bike is real clean and I hate to get my jig saw out to install my 8 tracks tape deck without seeing what others did. I haven't see the wire tap connectors you mentioned. I will buy a sample for experiments. So exactly the information I am seeking. Appreciated.

I do want to be more visible with turn signal displays and maybe headlight pulsing. I don't know if the pulsing headlight annoys others more than helpful. More research needed.

Anyone with pictures of their riding gear helpful. I saw one for CB radio in the forum. He had a metal bar under neath to mount the radio without cutting into the panel. Others used double stick velcro with a hold for a short wire connection. The velcro used to hide the radio in the lockable saddle bag. Thanks for the pictures and links. john

Click to expand...

John,

As far as headlights go, check out “Triangle of Light” on Motolights’ website. It is a citation of independent research conducted to determine the best placement of headlights. Vertical light separation is key. A stock headlight and a front axel-height light greatly increase the viewer’s (those who would pull out in front of you) depth perception. It’s very convincing. The lights don’t have to be Motolights (though I’ve put a total of 140,000 miles on Motolights on three different bikes with no failures).

glenvine said:

John,

As far as headlights go, check out “Triangle of Light” on Motolights’ website. It is a citation of independent research conducted to determine the best placement of headlights. Vertical light separation is key. A stock headlight and a front axel-height light greatly increase the viewer’s (those who would pull out in front of you) depth perception. It’s very convincing. The lights don’t have to be Motolights (though I’ve put a total of 140,000 miles on Motolights on three different bikes with no failures).

Click to expand...

Yep, I did a triangle of lights on the 2003 K1200GT bike. It was my first safety thought to add. I have some LED lights attached below the headlights. There are two panel screws holding the headlight cowling just above the fender. Not at axle level but a triangle of bright LED lights. I went cheap price for now. I wasn't anxious to mess with the brakes assembly. Well for now.

My second safety item was to start wearing a bright construction green jacket with reflector stripes. Nobody wants to hit a road worker. Bikers, no problem, road workers get you jail time. I am having good success with the jacket.