Setting up a BMW R1200

Crash bars are one of the first things we need to put on the bike for adventure riding, you have just spent a large sum on the bike we want to look after it. We recommend SW-Motech with a variety of upper and lower bars available depending on your BMW model, these are super tough and one of the most popular brands. If you want bars a little cheaper but still following SW-Motech’s design we are the exclusive distributor of Mastech accessories in Australia, these are manufactured in Columbia and designed off the SW-Motech’s bars. 

Barkbusters are less common on the BMW’s but still look very nice. Barkbusters are a very well known brand that was first manufactured in Australia in 1984. For a Barkbusters set up, you first need to purchase the frame which is easy to install in minutes, then you select your guards, the options we provide are Storm, Carbon, VPS and Jet. The most popular guards are the VPS which comes with a wind deflector and has the option to add on skid plates and/or end weights to help with vibration. The VPS and Jet come in a variety of colour options to choose from, allowing real personalization to the bike. They help protect your hands from the elements while still allowing easy maneuvering of the gears and bars. They are a hard piece of kit to kill!

Bash Plates along with crash bars as we need to protect BMW’s uniquely designed engines, again SW-Motech or Mastech is the way to go. Bash plates also known as Skid Plates are fitted to the underside of the bike to protect it from rocks, debris and uneven roads from causing damage to your motor, transmission, water pump. All the important parts that can set you back thousands if damaged. 

Something no rider wants, your riding on an awesome trail with your mates and all of a sudden a rock comes flying up and hits your headlight… now we have a massive crack or even hole in the headlight, the light could be damaged too and of course, we don’t want to ride with a cracked light it could get so much worse. Mastech and SW-Motech manufacture guards for the majority of the BMW adventure bikes, some bikes even have the option of polycarbonate or the aggressive-looking wired guards, jump on the website to see what we have available for your BMW!

For the water-cooled BMW’s we need to protect that radiator! Jump on the website to see if we have options for your bike. Our most popular guards are manufactured by RadGuard who are Australian made and owned, bonus!

There are a couple of extra luxury parts that should be mentioned for your BMW, making for an easier adventure ride.

Centre stands are becoming more and more popular with the adventure bikes, being able to lift the bike straight up with ease instead of it leaning and possibly falling over if the ground is too soft, frankly I don’t trust those little stands to hold up the weight of BMW’s. SW-Motech manufacture stands for most of the BMW models and set around the $280-$400 marks depending on the bike.

Now if you are happy with the side stand to hold up the bike then let's add a little base stand to it, giving a larger surface to hold the bike and a sleek look. They are easy to install and sit around the $80-$120 marks. We supply both SW-Motech and Mastech foot stands.

A lot of the BMW’s come with hard cases if you do not have these hard cases we have the solution for you, hard or soft. We need to start with frames, SW-Motech and Barrett make hard pannier racks for the main BMW adventure bikes, the choice is up to you. Barrett is manufactured in Australia and has Rotopax mounts built into them. SW-Motech is German made and can easily be taken off the bike quickly with their “quick lock” system but don’t fret we can still get an adapter to mount Rotopax.

Keeping with luggage lets pop on a rear luggage plate if we want to carry a few more things there too! SW-Motech is the popular choice for luggage plates, they are light and super tough with a variety of adapter available to put on your top box. But if you just want to pop on a soft tail bag and strap it down we would recommend B&B Off-Roads plates, however, they currently only make plates for the R1200 GS 13-17 and F800 GS/GSA. 

A windscreen is another one of those extras which a lot of riders have benefited from!

We offer windscreens for the R1200 GS 04-12, R1150GSA 99-05 R1150GS 98-03, F800GS/F650GS Twin and the G650 GS 11+. With a range of tints available you can choose the one to personalize your BMW!