New 1250 owner

[Andy63]

They come with waterproof inner bags

 

[Arsey]

Wow those look good @Jersey_GS
@Gavla04GS thanks for that link - hopefully they still there post pay day! I think soft luggage is the way for the panniers for me. We do prefer that look. I do like the hard case for the top box though.

Are those panniers waterproof or do you need their inner bags?

The Xtremada panniers are genius . You can get so much more in them due to the pliable nature. Had them for a few years on various bikes .

 

[Sly]

Welcome!
I’ve got a 22 plate 1250 40th Anniversary. I’ve had it 2 years & have covered 34000. 1st MoT next week & its having the Cardan shaft replaced that BMW will do free every 37000km (Cardan shaft mileage & not bike mileage).

1) I have the Vario box & panniers. I use the top box all the time & the pannier occasionally. They’re very easy to take off ‘ on. I wear a Shoei Neotec 3 & it fits in the top box. You’ll need to put the second lid in the left hand pannier. The panniers do lock.

2) I use an Optimate 4 charger. You can leave it attached & it will maintain the charge for extended periods.

3) I changed my indicators for Weiser Wizards. They are brighter than the OEM ones & have white DRL’s instead of amber (obviously when indicating they change to amber). I also fitted the Weiser brake light module that means the tail light is on as a normal tail light & operates as a brake light. So the rear has the indicators & central tail light on red, they all light up when braking & the indicators go amber when in use.

I really like my GS. It does everything I need it to, is very comfortable & economical-I get 50+mpg & around 230m to a tank.

I use the optimate 4 battery monitor together with the supplied SAE flying fused lead connected to the battery via the red positive post and negative terminal located behind the RHS black triangular side pannel. I also use the lead to power my Airman pump and keis heated vest.

Good morning Sly,

Hello and welcome and I post my musings on two of your subjects,

1) Givi Trekker top box, big enough for two lids and its on my bike most of the time, easy storgae and out of the way when riding. I had vario panniers before (on my 2004 bike) and indeed you could fit a lid in one, but I didn't take to them. I have lone rider panniers but again only use when I have a need to carry/hold more stuff.

2) Battery charging via an optimate and fly lead.

Show off being only 31, but good to have another member of the Under 50 team.......

Gentlemen - does your optimates trickle charge or do you unplug them when fully charged? I'm looking to plug mine into the side of the bike on the left when not riding to keep the battery in condition.

Any recommendations on which Optimate to go for? I also need to figure out which battery I have!

 

[littleade]

Gentlemen - does your optimates trickle charge or do you unplug them when fully charged? I'm looking to plug mine into the side of the bike on the left when not riding to keep the battery in condition.

Any recommendations on which Optimate to go for? I also need to figure out which battery I have!

The optimate isn't a trickle charger as such. You just plug it in and it does the rest.
It monitors your battery and if it requires a top up it decides how many amps to supply based on how discharged it is and tops the battery up until full. It then goes into a maintence mode, checking the battery again at set intervals until it needs another charge and then repeats the process. Mine stays on all winter. I've have the optimate 4 since 2015

 

[Sly]

The optimate isn't a trickle charger as such. You just plug it in and it does the rest.
It monitors your battery and if it requires a top up it decides how many amps to supply based on how discharged it is and tops the battery up until full. It then goes into a maintence mode, checking the battery again at set intervals until it needs another charge and then repeats the process. Mine stays on all winter. I've have the optimate 4 since 2015

Dumb question but - does it auto detect the battery in your bike or must you manually set it?

 

[littleade]

You just plug the optimate in into the SAE lead and then switch it on at the mains plug. It then does the rest. If you choose the canbus option I think you have to plug it in to the bike and switch it on at the mains within a certain period from when you switch the ignition off. I use the fused SAE lead as its simple and reliable

 

[Gavla04GS]

Dumb question but - does it auto detect the battery in your bike or must you manually set it?

No such question but I just plug mine in, it does its own thing. It’s cleverer than me…
I do mine in weeklong bursts and unplug it occasionally and always wait a week after shutting bike down before putting it on charge. In the summer when I’m lazy I bring it in the garden with an Oxford optimiser on it which sits in pocket of an Oxford cover and I leave that connected….

 

[Sly]

Mmhmm - worried I plug the Optimate into the side of the bike and the thing explodes

 

[Victor c]

Dumb question but - does it auto detect the battery in your bike or must you manually set it?

To use the din socket on the left side of the bike, you need a charger which is capable of waking up the socket. These are usually labelled up as “Can Bus” compatible, or something to that effect. BMW have a couple of variants that will do this, along with companies such as Optimate. I think the Optimate 4 will do this.

On another note, I’ve just seen you’re eyeing up the Bumot soft panniers for sale on this site. Just be aware, if you have a standard GS, you will need the GS Adventure oem pannier frames to mount them.