Help me Farkle my GSA

These are great suggestions! Keep them coming.

The bike did come with a few of the items suggested, so I'll try listing them here to reduce the redundancy a bit.
  1. Windshield brace
  2. Headlight Protector
  3. Sargent Seat (and Stock one too)
  4. Toolbox
  5. SWMotech Skid Plate
  6. 3 windshields (Stock BMW, VStream, and an unbranded one that was working well until it failed a gravity test)
@Marc11 , I'll PM you about those parts. I've just been pretty busy spending money on Amazon and other sites lately. :D
 
BigLew55 said:
These are great suggestions! Keep them coming.

The bike did come with a few of the items suggested, so I'll try listing them here to reduce the redundancy a bit.
  1. Windshield brace
  2. Headlight Protector
  3. Sargent Seat (and Stock one too)
  4. Toolbox
  5. SWMotech Skid Plate
  6. 3 windshields (Stock BMW, VStream, and an unbranded one that was working well until it failed a gravity test)
@Marc11 , I'll PM you about those parts. I've just been pretty busy spending money on Amazon and other sites lately. :D
Click to expand...

Ha don't I know it! Bike came with good upgrades, good start.

No rush on the parts, they are here when you want them, hate to see you waste a good Yeti set up or buy a new hydration mount when I can help you at a fraction of the cost.
 
A few more farkles that I forgot to mention earlier.
  • My mirrors kept coming loose and flopping around, so I replaced them with mirrors that use RAM mount hardware. They never flop around plus they are a bit larger than stock. I don't remember what brand, but Doubletake makes some similar to what I have.
  • I use ADVance hand guards - huge upgrade over stock hand guards and they adjust for more/less wind protection.
  • I bought a set of bar risers off eBay for less than $20, they look just like the risers costing 4x - 5x times as much and they work well. I couldn't see paying $100 for what is essentially a piece of cast aluminum with a few holes drilled in it.
  • I added auxiliary LED brake lights that mount on the side of my license plate holder, they flash when I hit the brakes - normal GSA brake lights are kind of anemic.
  • I use a Puig clear headlight protector - it a bit of a pain to clean but I like it better than the metal grill headlight protectors I looked at and I think it offers better protection.
  • Finally, I bought a set of cheap highway pegs that I mount to the bars beside the cylinders. I think I paid $20 for them on eBay. Folks tend to make fun of them but they work well and add a bit of comfort when on long distance rides. Brings to mind the old saying; The only thing cheap on a BMW is the rider.
 
Jim Craig said:
A few more farkles that I forgot to mention earlier.
Click to expand...
A couple more farkles and useful trinkets - I added a RAM ball mount w/an X-grip for my phone that mounts to my mirror mount. My previous ball mount was mounted to my handlebars and I had to look around it to see my speedo. Mounting it to the mirror mount keeps it up and out of the way. One caution though, I now have to use the rubber thingy to keep my phone in the X-grip since it's now in the air flow and not behind my windscreen. It's never blown off my bike but it's come close a few times.

I use an Apple wireless charging puck for my iPhone because the darn thing refuses to charge via the lightning port when it gets wet. I put the charging puck behind the phone on the X-grip and while it doesn't charge as well as the lightning connector, it will maintain the iPhone's charge when I'm running InRoute, SW Tracker, Google maps, and playing a book on Audible. I tried a no-name brand puck and it wouldn't maintain the iPhone's charge. The Apple puck is USB-C which meant that I had to use a USB-2 to USB-C adapter to plug it into my USB port. Needless to say, it cost a fraction of what I would have paid for a mount with wireless charging built in (plus no extra wiring).
 
Lew, here is another little secret sauce I have setup on my GSA. I do not have a BMW Nav 6 GPS so I removed the BMW GPS mount / cradle from the bar above the TFT screen and I added 3 Ram Mount balls ( RAM Mounts Torque Small Rail Base RAM-B-408-37-62U ) to the bar. They slipped a little on big bumps so I added a set screw on back of each one that keeps the Ram mount from slipping. I have my radar detector on one, my phone on another and my Spot tracker on the third. Zoom in and look close to the images. This is secret stuff so don't tell anyone. :p

gregrice-ram-2.JPGgregrice-ram-1.JPGgregrice-ram-4.JPG
 
A small update:

I have installed 2" bar risers.

I bought Marc's exhaust extenders and mounting kit for a hydration unit. They are taking the slow brown truck from NY. I also ordered some items to fill out my hydration unit without stripping everything off of the Harley. It is en route along with some deflectors for the windshield.

Amazon is benefitting from this endeavor. I am tired of a special trip for hardware every time I move or mount something, so I ordered a box of assorted fasteners in metric sizes. I have added a few things with SAE because I have 1/4-20 in every corner of the garage. I plan to change that out to reduce the tool variety and confusion down the road.

I am also working with my local (loco?) friend on a custom GPS mount to replace the GPS prep mount since I don't plan on buying a Nav VI. I hope to use it to mount two units above the TFT. We shall see.

I may have to wait until spring for the Aux lights and Aux tank. The stock illumination seems to be pretty good, and the stock tank is already pretty big. I am blowing through my coffers like a parolee in a strip club!!

If I get some of the other stuff mounted this weekend, I'll try to snap a few pics (not of a strip club...).
 
Ha slow brown truck is better than the no show red, white and blue one! I paid extra to make you wait longer....:p
 
I saw those, but I wanted to go with a different configuration than that. I hope it works out.

@Marc11 , just last week, I had to walk a box across the street that red white and blue delivered to the wrong house. I watched him walk by the garage window with his phone stuck in his ear....:mad:
 
Lew, I did not use any of those options either. I put the 3 Ram Balls on the bar ( earlier photo ) and then added 2 phone mounts and mount for my radar detector. When not using 2 phones the mount on the left is for my Spot.

gregrice-gsa-dash2.JPG

gregrice-gsa-dash1.JPG
 
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