[GrazingDog]

Does anyone have any experience yet removing the plastics on a GS? I want to get under/remove the fuel tank. Removed what appeared obvious with no luck.
I have owned three other BMW's and currently have a F800GT in addition to the GS so I have some knowledge of BMW's way of doing things but as this doesn't come from a BMW factory I don't want to get too ham fisted.

 

[Tickster]

Probably not too many owners of the few out there have removed the plastics.
I saw a parts schematic somewhere online, if I find it, I will post it.
Maybe that would be some help, or a shop manual if they exist yet online.
May I ask why you are getting into the guts?
Cheers,
Rick

 

[2Wheelz]

What's the point of removing plastic from that part of a motorcycle?

 

[GrazingDog]

I want to run some wires. In addition I was thinking of gluing some magnets to the underside of the plastic tank cover so I could still
use my favorite tank bag which worked fine on my Sherpa steel tank.

 

[Eccles]

Does anyone have any experience yet removing the plastics on a GS? I want to get under/remove the fuel tank. Removed what appeared obvious with no luck.

Yes I have done this to run the wiring for a Garmin GPS, there's lots of screws involved but only two types, plus the long front centre bolt.

What I referenced was the Max BMW Parts Fiche, it shows where the shouldered and non-shoulder screws belong.
http://www.maxbmwmotorcycles.com/fiche/DiagramsMid/B0009058.png?v=07242017
http://www.maxbmwmotorcycles.com/fiche/DiagramsMid/B0009070.png?v=07242017
http://www.maxbmwmotorcycles.com/fiche/DiagramsMain.aspx?vid=59125&rnd=07242017

Treat the plastics as the one unit even though there are two sides and a centre piece. If it is tight in one place then you've missed a screw. Once you have the whole tank plastics loose you then have to expand it slightly to get each side over the fuel tank 'wings'.

 

[GrazingDog]

Many thanks Eccles. I did remove all the screws from the tank portion, just like my F800GT and thought that would do. I will now approach it by removing it all. I see that the entire fuel filler cap remains in place.

 

[MichaelJ]

While we're on the subject - has anyone removed the headlight cover (diagram 46_1971 on Max's fiche?

[URL="http://www.maxbmwmotorcycles.com/fiche/DiagramsMain.aspx?vid=59125&rnd=07242017"[/URL]

What I want to do is install powerlet sockets in the two "wings" on either side of the instrument cluster. Diagram 46_1976 seems to indicate that there's enough space to accommodate them.

 

[G310User]

eccles, so you have to remove all the plastic, both sides and top tank cover together? Thats a lousy design just to get to the air cleaner.

 

[Eccles]

Yes, though the the one piece plastics arrangement is not so bad, doing it a second time would only take me 10 minutes, a lot better than some other bikes I've had.

You can see the airbox under the front of the tank in this pic.

 

[Desmo]

Yes I have done this to run the wiring for a Garmin GPS, there's lots of screws involved but only two types, plus the long front centre bolt.

What I referenced was the Max BMW Parts Fiche, it shows where the shouldered and non-shoulder screws belong.
http://www.maxbmwmotorcycles.com/fiche/DiagramsMid/B0009058.png?v=07242017
http://www.maxbmwmotorcycles.com/fiche/DiagramsMid/B0009070.png?v=07242017
http://www.maxbmwmotorcycles.com/fiche/DiagramsMain.aspx?vid=59125&rnd=07242017

Treat the plastics as the one unit even though there are two sides and a centre piece. If it is tight in one place then you've missed a screw. Once you have the whole tank plastics loose you then have to expand it slightly to get each side over the fuel tank 'wings'.

Not as easy as it sounds too .. on the 'r' which I spose is the same.

 

[bbbelanger]

Removing the plastic isn't so hard...compare to my CBR250.

There are 6 screws to remove, plus another 4 that hold the front of the tank cover at front (to help passing over the tank when removing.

For me the hardest part was reassembling...there is a gasket around the tank door that allways got pinched when seating the plastics on the tank.

VERY FRUSTRATING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


but finally got it.

 

[dejah]

but finally got it.

Me too. Once you got the right sequence dismount/remount, you finally get the logic. But without any support/explanation, the first time is quite a challenge !

 

[GMassey]

My primary frustration the first couple of times was the high rate of bending/failure of some of the clips that are used to attach the body panels. I tried repeatedly to reform or straighten them with minimal success. I finally ordered a bag of 10 of them and just replaced any that even appeared to be twisted or misshapen. I went through 8 of the 10 in two exercises of removing all of the panels (wiring initially and then installation of engine guards the second time). While at the dealer for the break-in service a couple of weeks ago I mentioned this to the shop foreman and he showed me in their service manual where BMW instructs the techs that several of the panel fasteners are "one-time use"! Well THAT would have been useful info to share... :surprise: I bought another bag of 10 and put them in a drawer for future use. Though admittedly now that I am done with initial setup I hope the need to strip the panels has mostly passed!

 

[tonnetje]

i hope the are cheap:wink2:
do you have a partnumber from the plugs/clips?

 

[MichaelJ]

My primary frustration the first couple of times was the high rate of bending/failure of some of the clips that are used to attach the body panels. {snip} I mentioned this to the shop foreman and he showed me in their service manual where BMW instructs the techs that several of the panel fasteners are "one-time use"! Well THAT would have been useful info to share...

Yes it would! I hadn't noticed any issues with the clips on mine, but think that I'll order out some just to have around. Better to have them and not need them than the other way around.

Thanks.

Oh yeah - and the Owner's Manual does cover this - it says to take your bike to the shop for any work. Yeah - right.

 

[GMassey]

i hope the are cheap:wink2:
do you have a partnumber from the plugs/clips?

"cheap" and "BMW parts" are unlikely to appear together!. :surprise: That said, yes the BMW part number is 46 63 8532314, Self-locking plug nut, M5, and they sell for US$2.94 each. So about US$30 for the bag of 10.

 

[GMassey]

Yes it would! I hadn't noticed any issues with the clips on mine, but think that I'll order out some just to have around. Better to have them and not need them than the other way around.

I am sure that my being a bit ham-fisted with them the first time through could have contributed to the number of failures that I had. Now that I know the story I am far more cautious. The key I learned, maybe obvious to others, is that you cannot allow the clip to become misshapen or misaligned to the point that it pressures the body panel. As I learned the body panel connection point will break, as a couple of mine did. Both of mine that broke were on the "beak" body piece and I guess I could replace it at some point. But for now I was able to use a washer and carefully align and tighten to get the job done. My advice would be that once a clip appears misshapen at all I would just replace it. The other indicator is that if it has become misshapen it can be very hard, if not impossible, to get the threading aligned. Hopefully helpful!

 

[Capolee80]

Body Panels

Thanks for all the info!Will try and remove mine
Need to run GPS and Running Lights

 

[Gtown]

This is probably the best video I’ve seen that shows the sequence of removing the plastic panels on the Baby GS. Hope it’s helpful.

 

[Capolee80]

Thanks that gives me some help!