Damn this bike is looking good!

July 2015 update...

Here we have the ST looking adventure ready with the aluminium panniers and top box from ARDcases in Ramsey (Cambridgeshire), including the really neat aluminium fuel tanks which sit on top of the engine bars for better weight distribution that Roger also custom made for me. 

 

The sump has been changed to allow me to fit a new sump guard as per G/S design, so that will give peace of mind in the rough stuff. I also have a single seat and extra rack fitted as per original R80 G/S, however this has slightly raised the seat height which is not ideal for my 27" inseam but heh ho, I will get used to it. 

Nice new Wolfman tank bag for quick access to my camera and new OEM hand guards complete with smiley face stickers as well. The left side panel has been changed (which I sprayed myself) to one from a G/S as I no longer have the original silencer cover as per original ST exhaust. 

The impressive looking new Heidenau K60 tyres should hopefully put me on the right footing to tackle the Dalton highway too.

 

 

March 2015 update...

Well after much work, the ST is back on the road again. 

Over the past few months, I have re-built the engine after having the heads converted for unleaded fuel, fitted all new stainless steel exhaust system from the down pipes to collector box and rear silencer.  

 I also now have a larger 26 litre fuel tank from an R100GS, plus a custom made (by my own hands) satnav bracket come screen mount with new tallboy fly screen attached and USB ports for on the go charging of electronic gadgets. 

 

But one of the best modifications is the new Surefoot side stand which now works like a normal side stand instead of being sprung and flying up when the weight is taken off it.

More problems...

Oh dear, I encountered more problems with the ST today. Whilst out on a ride I noticed it was backfiring quite a lot, then as I entered into Cambridge it done one all mighty backfire, the exhaust note changed afterwards but did appear to run slightly better.
I pulled over to take a look and noticed that I now had two holes in my rear exhaust silencer.  Never mind I thought, I will carry on with my intended route but the backfiring came back so I decided to head home, not wanting to get any further away with a troubled bike. I made it home but the mystery as to why it started back firing still remains. maybe it was that I run it extremely low on fuel the week before, or perhaps one of the holes in the exhaust silencer developed before the journey causing it not to have enough back pressure. All I know now is that I have to buy a new silencer and possibly collector box :-(

Moto-bins open day...

Today was my mates birthday, and I said to him that I was going to the Moto-bins open day in Lincolnshire. What's more, as it was his birthday, he could ride my F800GT as I was riding my beloved ST that day.
The journey encompassed a variety of roads, some of which I had done previously on my fantastic off the cuff ride a few weeks earlier.
Once we got there it was great to meet fellow BMW enthusiasts and talk about the bikes.
The journey home was just as  good taking lots of minor roads in and even coming across some other bikers on sports bikes which I just couldn't help myself when a couple of them over took me on the straight, but when it came to the bends I was all over them like a bad rash! My mate just a safe distance behind laughing to himself as he knew just what I was doing.

Oh dear, it broke down on me...

Today I set off on the ST heading for Scunthorpe to go and offer up a couple of screens to see which will fit best with my idea of mounting my sat nav above the instruments. Right from early on something didn't feel right with the running of the ST but none the less I carried on. It got me to my location where I tried the screens and decided on one which I then bought and fitted right there and then.
Then whilst riding on the homeward journey the engine started to cut out intermittently. I pulled over onto a narrow footpath along the side of the road, got off and I gave it a few minutes rest, and started the engine fine, revved it up and all seemed OK, so I headed off again. But it was not long before it started to cut out again so to check if I was losing electrical power I decided to flash the headlight to see if the blue main beam light lit when it cut out, and it did. But surprisingly it also picked up and appeared to run better when I did that so to get up the next hill I flashed my headlight each time it cut out which seemed to work bizarly! I soon came across a bus stop and decided this was the best place to stop and take a good look at what was going on.
Off came the seat and the fuel tank in just a few minutes. I then remembered reading a tip on the Moto-bins website saying that one of the very few unreliable parts for these bikes was the ignition coil and it could give an intermittent running behaviour. So out came the tools and I removed the coil. gave it a good clean up with an old duster I had stored under the seat thinking that if there was a slight crack any dampness would cause it to track. I removed the ignition leads and cleaned inside there too. There did seem a bit of dampness and I expect that is where I power washed the bike a few days ago, though it ran fine the day after the power wash. So with a clean coil re-fitted, I started the engine and all seemed well again, so I proceeded with re-fitting the tank and seat ready to ride off again and see what happens.
To my surprise it all ran very well, so I thought it must be that coil faulty. I then remembered that Moto-bins was in Lincolnshire somewhere and I was also in Lincolnshire right now too so I checked their website for the address and then used Google maps on my phone to see how close I was. It was in fact south east of me so still on my way home all be it away from my planned route. I decided to head over in that direction and see if I could make it, or close to it so I could buy a new coil. Well the bike went well and I popped in to Moto-bins and purchased one of the new type replacement ignition coils.
Not quite how I intended the day to go but a great learning experience showing that these bikes can be fixed on the side of the road quite easily!

Fantastic ride...

Today I had an unexpected, but truly fantastic ride on the ST.
It started out as a last minute ride to my local BMW dealer and after some slow boring congested traffic, I got fed up and took to some small back roads, many of which I hadn't been on before.


The sun was shining, I had no satnav, and was just making the journey up turn by turn. I found myself on some very small but paved roads in between fields of recently harvested corn with some open bends where you can see the road surface all the way round the bend and to the next one. The excitement of it all meant I carried on and on not thinking about my purpose of the visit for a while just soaking up every turn and bump in the road, enjoying biking like the good old days before lots of traffic about on a bike that was just perfect for these roads. I thought to myself, it doesn't get any better than this!


Of course, I eventually realised that time was ticking by and I had to get to the dealer and back, then pack my bags for a bike trip the next day to Yorkshire on my newer F800GT.

Back home...

That was an excellent four days at the HUBBUK event. Met some great people and got plenty of tips about the ST and overlanding. Bike went well on the way home and the dirty look quite suits it!