Big Red has arrived

[ffutures]

I picked up the "new" bike this afternoon and so far it's pretty good and really immaculate, so I've been shopping for odds and ends such as the kit to put a 12V socket at the front for a satnav. I had one amazing bit of luck a few days ago, and got a real BMW top box for £13.51 plus postage - it's the small one that won't take a crash helmet, unfortunately, but it fits perfectly which is more than I can say for the boxes on the last two bikes, which were basically held on with bits of Meccano and cable ties, and is big enough to hold things like a padlock and chain, cover sheet, some shopping, etc. An utter swine to fit on, it needs about four hands and something to exert some leverage, but rock solid once I had it in place.

The main snags so far are that the last owner adjusted the handlebars for a riding position I find a little uncomfortable, with the hands raised slightly higher than I like - it looks cool but I personally find it uncomfortable, and will have to adjust them down a bit - and an annoying but unfortunately common omission - there's no tool kit, a previous owner must have kept it. Needless to say one actually made by BMW is ridiculously expensive, about £65 and up, but most of it is bog standard stuff like screwdrivers, Allen keys, spanners, etc. and my game plan for tomorrow is to visit a few pound shops, street markets etc. and see what I can find. Last time I got most of it for a tenner or so, the only difficult part was a special spanner for the rear shock absorber, which I'll need to use to adjust for my weight. I suspect this time won't be much different.

I'll try to get some photos in the next few days, but the one I put up a few days ago gives a pretty good impression.

Comments

[gonzo21.livejournal.com]

At least it clips on properly, my friend Holly used to have a box thing on her bike and it seemed like every time she went round a corner it either fell off, or cheerfully ejected all of her belongings across the road in front of traffic.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

it's pretty good and really immaculate,

Excellent news! I hope you have many happy miles together.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Yes - there often seems to be a big disconnect between the bike designers and the luggage designers, with BMW the big problem is that there is very little clearance underneath the luggage rack - most top box makers assume that you will have room to put a steel bar underneath the luggage rack and bolt the mounting plate to that, with BMW the space just isn't there so (if you're me) it ends up bodged.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

That's the idea!

[gonzo21.livejournal.com]

How many miles to the gallon do you get with it?

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Not terribly good - remember, most of my driving is short city distances on very congested roads. I'd reckon to get about 50-60 miles on £20 worth of petrol in town, maybe 80 miles on a motorway. Not sure how that converts to MPG, I never think of it that way.