BCR Upgrade Thread.

[damoace]

Trackdays:

August 2011, Snetterton with the BMW club:


October 2011, Brand Hatch for my Birthday:


Both shots showing just how good Darren's suspension setup is. Those tyres are hanging in there despite my best efforts to demonstrate every 'bad-positioning' fault in the Shockingly Lazy Riders Handbook.
This is the problem when you take the early sessions on a GS. It makes you dreadfully relaxed about it all :

[damoace]

From April 2012 - Gear Indicator Mod
"I use my BCR mostly for Trackdays and after I saw Buzz's original post I figured a nice large gear indicator could help me dial in to a shift pattern a little faster on the day (I normally take ages to get the rhythm). To that end the only real change that I made was to use a larger 7-segment display (1"/25mm ) so that it's easier for me to see at a glance as I set up for the turn in.

So after sorting through the Maplin catalogue and finding a display big enough (but not too big), and a box big enough (but not too big):





and somewhere on the dash to mount it all:



I brushed off my (very rusty) circuit building skills and got to work with the VeroBoard:





As you can see, I used to be good at this. Used to be. Now it looks like amatuer hour at the local Technical Collage but thats ok because I *am* an a amatoor.



Having done and bench tested, then re-done and re- bench tested a few times because I ballsed up some bits, I had a working design mounted on the bike and ready for a proper go:





The final, fitted and tested Pilots-Eye-View:



Regardless of the end worth of the project in use [as I hoped - very useful when setting the shift pattern in the early part of the day], it was very enjoyable to actually make something from base components and materials rather than just buy something already made by a big company somewhere and just bolt it on.

Thanks Buzz..."

[damoace]

April 2012: Odyssey Battery, Lennies Induct, Power Commander, Crankcase Breather Mod and Seat Foam Re-Shape.

So with a lot of overtime behind me, I had a little time and money to spend on the BCR. I managed to badger Clinicol.Chris of this parish into selling me his Lennies Induct (Thanks Chap):



I added a Wide-Band Power Commander:



And a lighter battery by Odyssey as the standard lead-acid one had given up the ghost and I have plans to lay it down after I get rid of the Datatool-from-Hell:



And, on the back of a theory involving 6'4" middle aged blokes on bikes with option 'Low' Seats, I handed my seat over to the guy's at A.R.Pound vehicle interiors at Baldock for some light 'customising':



The lower one is my spare OEM seat - also a Low-Seat*, the upper one is the finished article and is very much the MK1, with the foam stiffened up a little and the riders seating area cut down as much as possible at the back and the raised up quite a bit at the front to present as flat a surface for my posterior as possible. It also means my legs are given a little more room without dropping the 'pegs into the Peg/Tarmac interface zone.

The seat is currently undergoing the MK2 refit but more on that when it gets back from the lads at ARP.

*They were a popular option on the Series 2 BCR's as the bike had the tallest ride hieght of all the BCR's due to its GS suspension components, themsleves apparently fitted by BMW to the S2 Replicas so that the Boxer Cup teams could run those compents in the champoinship to get more lean angle in the turns under homogolation rules.

And finally, on the advice of my tuner during a Dyno-booking phonecall, I pulled the Crankcase breather off of the airbox and twisted it up under the tank with a small pancake filter stuck in the end to stop anything getting back down the tube. I was quite carefull to make sure the CCB Pipe stayed as upright as I could make it - the idea being that any oil that might accumilate in the vent woould drain back down to the crankcase when the engine isn't running and not gloop out under the tank somewhere where I cant see it**
As a final task, I stuck an old rubber bolt-cap over the airbox port to seal it.

Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of that bit at the time. When I next take the lids off of it, I'll take some to show - I have to remove the alarm soon (it's time has come) so that will lead me to re-arrange the electronics bay under the tank and I'll have the camera out for that at least.

** Some threads on the Webs have covered the Crankcase Breather mod in detail and I've seen that extending the CCB Pipe to the rear of the bike is popular but I'm never that comfortable with the idea of an oil-drip near the rear tyre (I dont use a lot of chain lube on the SMT for the same reason - I'd rather run it on the dry-ish side and change the chain a little more often than have lots of lube near the tyre).

It's academic really as the last time I took the lids off, the space around the CCB Filter was clean and dry, adding confidence to the theory that the oil trapped in the airbox of most R11's is 'sucked' there by low pressure in the airbox while running. Obviously it's not fantastically enviromentally friendly but then again niether are catalytic convertor's so I dont feel too bad.

So then it was off to the Dyno, for a custom point-to-point fuel-map and, hopefully, a little more power.

[damoace]

April 2012: Dyno Session to Custom Map the PC3

I took the BCR back to Simon @ Race Engineering at Great Dunmow ( http://www.raceengineering.info/index.html ) to get the PC3 mapped with a point-to-point fuel map customised to the bike in its new configuration.

The configuration in question:
BOS Twin-Pipe Cat-Back Exhaust with BMW OEM Headers.
Lennies Induct Air Intake.
No Air Filter (Just a sock from an old velocity stack over the end of the Lennies to stop birds and small children getting in) - my Val-Singleton Airfilter didn''t survive the Lennies fitting process.
Cranckcase Breather Mod.
Super-Precise Valve clearances - .15mm intake and .30mm exhaust
TPS Set 390Mv
Hall Plate to full ignition advance

All of which resulted in 91hp and 65ft-lbs with the principal at the top end of the rev-range, just where I want it:



Still moving the right direction, and encoraging for the 100hp target.

Of course I hadn't ridden it at that point but track time had been booked, reports to follow..

[el-nicko]

So enjoyed reading this mate. Great pic's too. Your saddle 'mod' is just what's needed, even on a road bike, for short blokes like me. How did BMW get it so wrong? Btw, What did you use as a sender unit for your gear indicator? Keep posting? Nick.

[tanneman]

The GS gear indicator fits on the back of the 1100 gearbox. You just need to work out the logic when making your own. Search for the thread Buzz posted on here and there is another thread on a french forum for the complete picture.

[el-nicko]

The GS gear indicator fits on the back of the 1100 gearbox. You just need to work out the logic when making your own. Search for the thread Buzz posted on here and there is another thread on a french forum for the complete picture.

Cheers Josef. I have already got a gear indicator fitted http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8300/7987 ... d98165.jpg that works by detecting movement of the gear lever but damoace's install looks a lot neater. Also, he seems to have managed to pack all his electrics into one box whereas Buzzz has, by cutting an apperture, fitted his display inside the instrument binacle.

[damoace]

Your saddle 'mod' is just what's needed, even on a road bike, for short blokes like me. How did BMW get it so wrong?

In truth, it's not the only stock saddle from them that was naff, every R12GS I've had (quite a few) has been uncomfy on the stock seat.
The main reason for the BCR seat mod was purely to get a better position for track work. Considering that the end-goal for the BCR is more of an 'Endurance' machine than anything else, a flatter seat makes it easier to shift my body mass backwards and forwards as I go around the lap, that means less effort and that means less fatigue over the longer runs.
More about that later but it did work to help sort out my positioning - the MK2 version hopefully will be the final version and will be about as good as I can make it before the next set of planned changes during the 2013/14 Winter off-season

With respect to the Gear Indicator switch: Josef had it right, mine came from a GS (i think) but my understanding is that any sender from an oilhead with a gear indicator should work - simple enough to fit - although a bit fiddley.

Pretty much all the credit here needs to go to Buzz - he did all the really hard work - and his in-dash install is a very 'Q' way of doing it but I needed a bigger display than he uses to make sure I have good enough visabilty of it that I only need to glance vaguely in the right direction to see my current gear. Plus, I dont mind a little 'function over form' Reminds me little of the old rally days when we had clonking great 4" gear displays slap-bang in the middle of the dash..

Plus, If I ever change the dash (unlikely but possible) then the GI can just be bolted back on the dash somewhere...

Last I read, Buzz was sorting out a pcb layout and component list, but as I only need the one, I just veroboarded it together. He has a thread on PelicanParts too..

[el-nicko]

Great stuff! I have just recently found a gear position sender unit so I think i now need to talk to buzzz.
Cheers, Nick.

[orange1]

Hi there,

Great stuff over here!
No more further developments?

This is the dyno-result of my BCR factory bike.



This is the bike I just bought ( found in a barn )



cheers!
Gilles

[tanneman]

Gilles if you are ever interested in selling or swapping the race BCR then give me a call. Did a search on the www and found this place that does race fairings for the 11S.

http://www.boxercafe.com/

[Corvus]

April 2012: Dyno Session to Custom Map the PC3

I took the BCR back to Simon @ Race Engineering at Great Dunmow ( http://www.raceengineering.info/index.html ) to get the PC3 mapped with a point-to-point fuel map customised to the bike in its new configuration.

The configuration in question:
BOS Twin-Pipe Cat-Back Exhaust with BMW OEM Headers.
Lennies Induct Air Intake.
No Air Filter (Just a sock from an old velocity stack over the end of the Lennies to stop birds and small children getting in) - my Val-Singleton Airfilter didn''t survive the Lennies fitting process.
Cranckcase Breather Mod.
Super-Precise Valve clearances - .15mm intake and .30mm exhaust
TPS Set 390Mv
Hall Plate to full ignition advance

All of which resulted in 91hp and 65ft-lbs with the principal at the top end of the rev-range, just where I want it:



Still moving the right direction, and encoraging for the 100hp target.

Of course I hadn't ridden it at that point but track time had been booked, reports to follow..

Would you like to contribute to the "dyno mystery" thread a little further down the list? I believe your dyno graphs perfectly illustrate my point but I don't want to hijack your own thread. If you decline that's fine. Cheers.

[tanneman]

You'll will have to PM him if you want an answer.

[Corvus]

You'll will have to PM him if you want an answer.

Thank you for the reply.

I feel as doing that is bordering on harassment. As clumsy as I can be, maybe that is not appropriate?

Cheers

[damoace]

Hi Gilles,
That's a great find. Complete with the all-too-expensive belly pan too. Just the rear bodywork and fittings to find. The RWB BCR bodywork is less common second-hand but they do turn up every now and then. A good UK resource is Motorworks (http://www.motorworks.co.uk). They dismantle all BMW's and sometimes part out a BCR.
Josef's link is not one that I've seen before and looks good. Sebimoto (http://www.sebimoto.com/motorcycle-fair ... w-r-1100-s) do single-piece Seat Units for when the track does eventually call. I've just ordered mine so I'll let you know what its like when it arrives.
Alternatively, perhaps it might be worth considering swapping to 'normal' bodywork for road use, its much cheaper to buy and pretty much every part is more available for less money. That way, you can replace the missing plastics for less and keep the BCR stuff for later.

That Dyno looks very good - I'd suggest not replacing any major engine parts until you've given them a really good inspection. I suspect that you will find quite a few tweaks and fiddles in there. Certainly dont change the Mapping for anything until you get a feel for the current condition, I'd bet it has the Lazer Chip that matches the exhaust (one of the few 'legal' race mods) or a custom-map of some sort or another. Check for Lennies Sprockets too, ported heads, bored-out TB's, In-Duct intake, Funky camshafts, etc, etc. In short, that's quite a good engine there, in terms of output at least, so it may well have some nice bits and bobs.


I pretty much completely missed the 2012/2013 season with my BCR (a new job after redundancy skippered quite a lot of my plans last winter), so over this winter I'm getting tons done. I'm probably making too many changes at once but that cant be helped.

So right now, the bike is off to be dyno'd and mapped again after this little lot got bolted on over the Christmas period:


Which consists of an 1130cc upgrade (albeit with low compression pistons for the moment):


Superflous shot of the new head and barrels during a bech dry-fit:


Reworked heads with a light skim in a thin attempt to claw back a little compression and port-matched intakes and some new valve-springs:




Reworked downpipe to delete the balance pipe and add a sniffer port to allow for independant cylinder mapping - there is some evidence to suggest that pot-mapping is a major power improvement. My tuner can do that so I'll get it done:


Since visiting San Jose BMW a while back, I've had a set of their exhaust accerators so they are going in too::






I'm going to try the Lennies Sprockets again, I had given them up for the track as the they brought the extra grunt too low down making for a difficult shift pattern on the lap and loosing out at higher revs in the high gears on the straight. Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of more gear torque allowing for less changing but the setup I had before didn't allow me to hold the extra speed in the turn - also my abilities, or lack thereof, was a limiting factor last time. I have reason to believe things will be different this time. I'd love a set for the GS but the BCR is priority right now. If time allows, I'll ask Simon to do a separate map for them. So I can swap them out and still have good fueling.

Not shown here are the new EBC Disks and Pads which hopefully will stop the annoying 'pad-melt' and the new, beefier top and bottom yokes. All to be fitted when I get it back from my tuner and hopefully before it goes back to Darren-the-Wiz at MCT for a final suspension tweak before the season starts. Unless I find a set of Ohlins first of course and then it'll still go to Darren-the-Wiz for a complete suspension setup, only with a lump of Golden Marvellousness bolted on each end as well as new brakes and a stiffer front-end.


@Corvus: It's always ok to PM me, Tanneman is perfectly correct to suggest it. I don't normally have enough time to browse the forums very much so to bring me into a topic, a PM is often the best way. I'll take a look at the Dyno thread chap, by all means. There are things to be said about comparing one Dyno output to another.....

A question: Has anyone out there seen/owned/played with/fitted/used or Dyno'd a DynoJet Ignition Module for the PC3? They are listed as an option but are not often used. I'm thinking that a custom ignition map would be the thing to do to make completely sure that the spark is arrive right on time...