Dual Sport Taillight

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Another example of BMW being indecisive on whether the G450X is a street bike, a dirt bike or a dual sport…the tail assembly. Since I use it off road only, the smashed frame and bent plate are an indication that maybe the tail wasn’t suitable for off road riding.



So, I removed the big clunky main bracket, got a tail tidy and attached the plate right to the mud flap. This was okay until I changed the front fork springs and the tire started banging on the mud flap. Honestly! Improve the front, screw up the rear.



So, I looked around for another solution and found…a “sport bike” taillight and bracket. Yeah! It’s a Universal Taillight and Bracket for SPORT BIKES. So I paid my $59.95, plus $11 shipping and got it today. I cut that damn mud flap right off and then cut the universal bracket to allow just the taillight base to be mounted along with the license plate frame. I still used the tail tidy because the license plate didn't fit (made in China, I guess). I rewired the taillight in and viola...It’s a sport bike!  



Next order of biz…find a way to divert the exhaust from my Leo Vince competition pipe before it completely melts my right blinker light.  

[flapug]

The new tail light assembly looks better (at least to me). Sportbike flush mount turn signals might be an option.

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Yeah, sport bike parts might open up a bunch of avenues. Searched the flush mounts and they look like they’d mount right up where the current flashers are…thanks!

The new taillight looks a lot better on there. It’s LED too, and a nice bright one.

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Hah! Knocked that new tail light and everything clean off today. Sweet.  

Did anyone notice my avatar? Here’s the full-size photo. I did that because this motorcycle is a SCREAM!

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Okay, just to close this chapter of the “Scream Machine,” I got this tail assembly problem straightened out. I had to reinstall the taillight and bracket after smashing it off two weeks ago; nothing damaged. What happened I believe is when the tire hit the assembly it yanked the nuts/washers that came with the kit and were holding it on straight through the plastic mud guard (or what’s left after I cut it off). So I reinstalled it with these huge like 1 inch washers on “both” sides and torqued it down pretty good. I also bent the license plate up for a little better angle while I was at it.

It really shouldn’t be banging on there in the first place and as best I can tell there’s plenty of distance, so it’s a suspension problem. It’s got an Ohlins Monoshock back there with three adjustments (SAG, Compression and Rebound). Last weekend I double checked the laden SAG. That’s how far the shock compresses with just me sitting on the motorcycle. Ohlins and BMW provide specs, and while it was already pretty close to minimum spec I took off about three-quarters of an inch (i.e. it sags three quarters of an inch less than before I adjusted it), so I’m slightly outside of spec. I had to do that in the garage. The other adjustment that I worked on today was the compression stage that adjusts how quickly the shock compresses. It’s a little knob with clicker settings, so it’s easy to tinker with out on the trail. Anyway, I found the stiffest level that was still okay for riding, which was only a few clicks from where I had it before, but no banging. I don’t know how close it’s coming in the rough, but it didn’t bang today…and everyplace is rough up at Croom.



So, we’re good.