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What did you do to your R18 today?

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Noelpolar said:
Just make sure you don't catch "just one more jacket" syndrome. I've had that twice.... middle age spread noel... then don't want diabetes noel.
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I only have one summer jacket, one leather jacket, a Kevlar shirt and a Kevlar vest…. Oh, and 3 pairs of Kevlar jeans!
 
Probably the easiest "mod" I've done on her so far, and possibly my most appreciated one. This is a new turn signal button from DK Designs that moves the button to the left. I highly recommend this for anyone with a "wonder wheel" on their bike. On my R18 I always felt like I had to reach for the turn signal button but this resolves that and the action is much more natural now. On my R Nine T, I never had this issue as my hand was closer to the signal button.

No instructions in package or online that I could find but I just took a small flat screwdriver to push in where the clip is and lifted the old button off, then just push in the new one--less than 60 seconds for install time.

Product link:
https://www.dkdesign-global.com/product-page/dkdesign-bmw-directional-light-switch-lever

DK Design Button R18.jpg
 
New seat cover/foam is complete and on my bike (test ride, report and pics on the weekend).
Blank engine name plates have arrived, engraved tomorrow… Life is bR18t.
 
Got the Denali D3 driving lights and B6 tail light/turn/brake lights wired and installed. Wiring was a bit of a hassle, but turned out well.
 

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BAD MIKE USA said:
Do the driving lights have high and low beam? Are they street legal? Meaning DOT approved? Which version of D3?
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The driving lights do have low and High, but I only have the Low beam (60%) with the wide diffuser lens on them. long distance beam wasn't really what I was looking for but the wide beam is perfect for my taste. While they are not DOT approved, my understanding is since they are not being used as a primary headlight but as supplemental, you are ok to run them. There is a lengthy setup as far as aiming them is concerned so they're not blinding oncoming traffic, but once I got that taken care of all was good. I don't get cars flashing their lights at me complaining and the plus is I get to see where I'm going now. The stock lighting is a bit weak for my taste. As for the high setting, when I have more time, I have to open up the harness under the fuel tank and search for the feed to the headlight goes and look for the trigger wire that lights the high beams on the bike. I will only be using it as a trigger signal that will light my D3s to 100%. My entire setup has had to be hardwired because for whatever reason, my bike lacks the CANbus plugs some of the bikes have. The only thing my bike has is the ODB connector. Once I figured it out, though, it was a breeze, figuring out where to trigger everything was the challenge. At any the D3's are https://denalielectronics.com/produ...atadim-technology?_pos=1&_sid=500e348a6&_ss=r. Depending on where you mount them, they have a couple of options for mounting them. I started putting them on the crashbar but opted for the lightbar setup you see. Brake lights, running lights, and turn signals all work as expected. So far no error codes so I think I'm safe.
 
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BAD MIKE USA said:
I have these stock road lights. Good but no high beam. The Denali D3 web page really make them sound grI chose the Denali because I had them on my GSA and I loved the way they lit up the road.
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@BAD MIKE USA , I've used Denali on my GSA before and got used to how they lit up the road. I just wasn't sure how I was going to mount them on the R18B. I started out mounting them on the Crashbars, like I had on my RT (yes, I've had lots of bikes, don't judge). At any rate, being a bagger, I wanted to keep the bagger look. When I first mounted them using the long beam lenses, they were way too narrow and long for me. While still not bothering people, that lens is more for offroad than highway/dark roads. The switch to the diffuser lenses made all the difference. I'm very happy with how they've turned out. I wanted a bit of a break from all the hunting for power/grounds/triggers that I just put the bike back together and started enjoying the bike. I'll take some time later and go through taking off the tank and exposing the harness wiring under there. It's supposed to be where the high beam wire runs through. When I find it, I'll tap into it to merely trigger a relay that will be powered by one of the many sources available on the bike. I'll update when that happens. Oh, and FWIW, the D3's come with both sets of lenses.
 
skidward said:
You should have a high beam switch on your left handlebar.

View attachment 20337

Also if you turn on the aux lights it lights up the road in front of you very well.

View attachment 20338
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Right. My stock road lights/auxiliary lights don't have high and low beams but my stock headlight has high and low beam and adaptive lighting built in. I would like to get auxiliary lights that have high and low beams built in.
 
BAD MIKE USA said:
Right. My stock road lights/auxiliary lights don't have high and low beams but my stock headlight has high and low beam and adaptive lighting built in. I would like to get auxiliary lights that have high and low beams built in.
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I would think that you could swap out the stock ones for some D3's without too much of a problem. My challenge was I had no wiring for them. You've cleared half the battle. :unsure:...ohp, Never mind. You factory driving lights are powered by the ZFE module on the bike. You would most likely need a cansmart setup from Denali to run the D3's. But I can almost guarantee they're brighter than the OEM ones.
 
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jorgebri60 said:
I would think that you could swap out the stock ones for some D3's without too much of a problem. My challenge was I had no wiring for them. You've cleared half the battle. :unsure:...ohp, Never mind. You factory driving lights are powered by the ZFE module on the bike. You would most likely need a cansmart setup from Denali to run the D3's. But I can almost guarantee they're brighter than the OEM ones.
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The D3's do seem much better. Mine look great and work ok. The adaptive light in the headlight isn't much of a thrill... But the headlights do work well together, always room for improvement.
 
Using a Hex EZcan that I wired to my driving lights mounted on my crashbars - I programmed the EXCan to only supply about 20% power to the lights when on low beam and switch to full power when high beams are turned on. This way the lights act as running lights when on low beams. I also programmed the EZCan to turn the driving lights off when using the turn signals so that the driving lights don't make the turn signal less visible due to the other lights being on. The other thing I did was to program the driving lights to stay off until the engine is running.
 
IMG_5684.jpegThe seat….
Extra padding was added to the sides towards the front and removed the discomfort in my inner thighs. Padding was added to the curve at the back support area which not only feels like I’m in the seat, but it was shifted me slightly forward and given me a more comfortable seat to ‘bar position. I like it a lot more than the over stitched OEM cover and the white stitching is replaced with black, so it doesn’t look so busy and won’t show the dirt. Verdict - 91/2 out of 10.
I love the look of the new engine name plates - 11/10.
Started running on 98ron today and will decide if that is best after it has the first service in about 2 weeks.
Upper fork covers coming.IMG_5682.jpeg
 
Was going to go for a ride, but rain, thunder and lightning said I shouldn’t, so I gave it a really good clean in preparation for its first service next Thursday. I look forward to giving it a kick up the bum after it’s serviced.
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Larry77 said:
Probably the easiest "mod" I've done on her so far, and possibly my most appreciated one. This is a new turn signal button from DK Designs that moves the button to the left. I highly recommend this for anyone with a "wonder wheel" on their bike. On my R18
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I'd seen these some time ago and thought I might get one..... your post reminded me.... 2 arrived today (R18 and R9t). A minute to fit.
 
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