BMW S1R: Technology Farkles

March 3, 2021

I’m thinking about a long ride covering a few thousand kms, and I’ve got some farkles on the brain to satisfy before I splitski.

This time though I’m thinking about updates to technology. I’ve done long rides before, when I picked up the Ducati back at the start of 2013 I rode from Queensland to Melbourne with nothing but a roll bag and a shit helmet.

Looking back at that ride, I was ill prepared. I had no idea how the bike was even going to be in terms of road-worthiness, I had some clothes, no tools (not that they I could have done much to that bike) and a stupid helmet for such long distance riding (see review on Arai XD4 here) and I relied on pulling over every time I needed to make a decision or check a map on my phone.

Now I’m riding the BMW S1R and apart from being brand new, run in and ready for a big ride, I’ve also adapted it to fit me a bit better (see Adaptation). Here is an overview of one ride I’m looking at to visit my sister in Northern NSW.

The technology that is on my mind is mainly, GPS and a bluetooth headset for my helmet lid. No matter which way I carve it up, there are some long boring distances along the way when I’ll really appreciate my new found enjoyment of some music on the way. It helps turn the endless chatter into really bad singing.

I also remember getting lost on several occasions as I attempted to take the curly way home last time. At one point I think I wound up in pig phucking country which is scary when you are alone and somewhat exposed. I ain’t no big tuff guy really and I’ve seen Wolf Creek and it stil haunts me.

So I want GPS, and I want it to work seamlessly with my helmet via bluetooth, which should also sync to my phone which also needs to be charging while I ride, for all this to work over that kind of distance.

The solutions I have decided on are:

Garmin Zumo 590LM

Main selling points: USB charger! The Garmin Zumo 590LM comes with a USB charger that solves the phone charging situation while riding with a handy cable that ends in a female USB port. Perfect for hooking up the Nexus 5 while it streams music and directions to my lid.

uclear HBC 100

Main selling points: The way the uClear HBC100 PLUS mounts via adhesive means no messing around with the lid to slide bits in between shells etc. This stopped me mounting the Bauhn version I got at Aldi to my Shoei GT Air.

And it’s boomless! This means, amazingly, there is no fluffy mic smushed in front of your face. The mics are mounted cleverly in the ear pieces. I took my helmet for a faux fitting at a local store and discovered this makes installation piss easy, and my head still fits without the speakers rubbing up against them to badly.

Ram universal mount

I’ll need to secure my phone to the bars so I can charge it on the go, the Ram Mount Universal X-Grip
is one the best on market and think for around $50 locally can’t be looked past.

Last but not least is my desire for an action cam that is yet to be satiated. Until now.

Sena Prism Bluetooth Action Camera

Sena have finally released stock of what I must say looks like a pretty amazing action camera.

It’s called the Sena Prism Bluetooth Action Camera” target=”_blank”>Sena Prism Bluetooth Action Camera (model SCA-M01) and it’s incredible for two reasons.

1. Bluetooth recordable audio.
2. 3hr battery life.

To be able to hook all of these technology farkles up to a camera with a decent recording time unlike the GoPro I currently have, would be good enough, but to be able to hook it up to bluetooth headset and use it to record some commentary (or rebirth my interest in MotoVlogging?) is just the icing on the cake. Want!

It also comes with a massive array of attachment options right out of the box. No add-ons necessary you get a bar mount, suction cup mounts, waterproof housing, and of course helmet mount options. It’s too early to tell yet if it is ‘all that’ because it is new and I haven’t really been able to find any real user reviews as yet so I sit and wait for now.

I’m also conscious of not being kitted out with the right clothing for long distance touring. This happened because all of my full weather gear (the four seasons type, Goretex) was sold when I traded the Ducati. I couldn’t really see myself wearing a full Dainese/Ducati Goretex suit on the BMW (or Dizzy for that matter) so I eBayed it, but never replaced it.

I’m currently sporting an Icon 1000 Beltway Jacket which I love, but isn’t waterproof at all. Being resin coated canvass, it wicks water pretty well which mostly keeps you dry unless you are in a down pour that lasts more than 10 or so minutes, then it seeps through to your under clothes and that’s it, you’re saturated and twice as heavy.

It’s not a four seasons jacket, but for short commutes and rides that don’t involve wet weather, it’s perfect. It’s made out of a resin coated canvas with CE approved armour for the back and elbows and it’s a long cut, which I prefer, and has a removable winter liner. It’s got more pockets than I know what to do with, large zippers and the liner is a wicked blue satin material which sets it all off perfectly imho.

I think I need to at least get a cheap four seasons jacket, just in case, something with a winter liner for up in the mountains where the temperature can drop and into the forest areas, where some rain is most likely.

My Red Route Kevlar jeans are farked. I got them in the UK two years ago and have worn them every day since and they are paper thin, even the Kevlar lining is looking pretty shit. So I’m after a set of new Draggins and I really like the cut and design of the new Razzo. I found this store in Sydney selling them $50 cheaper than anywhere else so I bit the bullet and ordered a pair after trying them on for size instore elsewhere (cheeky bastard I know). They fit really well without being too hipster, and have a new way of providing protection via the Kevlar liner, which is an inner tube instead of patches of lining attached the jeans.

Stay tuned and subscribe for my detailed review on these later.

This of course, all costs money. And I’ve just packed in full time work and have no income to speak of. Damn you farkles!

Of course I can do this ride without any of that stuff above. But I don’t want to. And the coffers are there, but they have to last me until I get some business plans off the ground and that elusive income coming back in.

Had any experience with any of the technology farkles I’m looking at? Got any words of wisdom you’d like to impart on the purchasing of shiny things?

Drop your opinion in the comments below.

Jim D. Smith

Biker and content writer at Daily Bikers Blog. Addicted to Bikes, aviation, fragrances, sushi and tacos.

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ADR: DAY 3 – PORT ELLIOT TO MILDURAToday started out hot and got progressively hotter until it felt like riding on molten lava while trapped inside a firefighter’s gear. At 110 km the wind was creating the impression of wearing a scarf that had been cooked in the microwave on High for 2 mins. It was hot. We started at my old stomping ground, the Adelaide Hills – the final destination Mildura, back in Victoria in the centre of the Riverlands. How we got there… was up to me. I was excited by the prospect and had decided on winding back through Strathalbyn, where I went to high school and then further into the hills before heading up to Mt Lofty. I remember from my early childhood going up and down the steepest of all dippers in the world called Tregarthen Road with my mum in a V8 Ford, and I couldn’t wait to take everyone along that road. Sadly as is the way, I grew up and those massive dippers seemed more like a couple of bumps in the road. Maybe the sensation was more sensational in a cage? The ride up to Mt Lofty is beautiful though, it’s a real highlight of the Adelaide Hills so we cut around the back of Ashton and past all the apple orchards before heading up to the summit. Sadly some of us didn’t catch the ‘master plan’ though and missed the turn off to Mt Lofty, then once up there the group broke up looking for one another, and before you knew it the majority were down in the city scratching heads as to what had happened to the ‘lost few’. Somewhere amongst that kerfuffle time got away from us and it was decided that we better get going and slab it out on the highway for Mildura so we could jump in the pool. There was nothing else to do, the group had been split up and it was the night’s destination. It was now 40 degrees Celsius and just the ride through the city forewarned of overheating problems, dehydration and imminent heat exhaustion. We made a plan, every 100kms we’d all stop and take in water, cool down and get going again. It was probably the longest five hours in the existence of all motorcyclist adventures (yes I’m a drama-queen). I remember passing through Renmark at the halfway mark and reading a billboard that said 44 degrees. Delirious I cackled wildly into my helmet, totally demented. Then something happened though. I adjusted to the heat, I adopted new techniques (thanks Steve for the wet t-shirt tip) and I buckled down and got on with the job. Sitting on the speed limit (thankfully out in SA it’s 110km p/hr) and cruising in and out of the pack to break monotony, I was able to barrel down the Sturt Highway, kilometre after kilometre. The Ducati never skipped a beat. I found new love for my massive machine. 4th gear is perfect for roll ons from 60km towns back up to the 110km limit and the sensation is fantastic. Torque pulls you back in your chair as you roar up to that limit then kick it up two gears to sit nicely on 4k rpm and cruise. It also lifts the front wheel in first under gradual acceleration in Sport Mode quite easily. It’s an awesome confidence inspiring machine and how it managed to keep its cool and deliver me safely at the end of every day I have no idea. Technology, such wow. It also has just the right amount of electronic wizard to keep a bored highway rider entertained. I pulled an average of 109 km phr for 5 hrs and got 4.2L to the 100kms travelled. I can easily do 300km on one tank and if things get tight I pop it down to Urban mode cutting power to 100 ponies and saving fuel I can do 350kms on a tank at this pace. I adjusted each trip-meter to catch current mileage on A and overall mileage on B, faffed about with the seat height by adjusting the Pillion and Luggage selections and found some perfect settings that I’m really happy with. Not a fan of luggage I managed with a single Kriega US-20 tailpack strapped to the rear luggage rack no sweat for 4 days. My only complaint about that is nowhere to store several bottles of water, which is where a single pannier (top box maybe) for longer tours would be better. It sounds beautiful humming at this speed, 4k rpm, pinned to the tank slipstreamed the heat up and over my head. Just a gentle hum of valves and pistons working harmoniously to carry me through this sanctimonious heat to my destination, that sweet sound kept me company the whole way, making my heart sing in unison (or delirium potentially). There was no other bike I would have rather been on at that point and I think others may have even sneered at amorously at me occasionally. At one point, a lady pointed at my bike in a car park somewhere and said ‘I like that one, it looks like the Bat Bike’ un-prompted, in front of everyone, and my life was complete. Bat Bike MFW! Thank the mighty lord baby cheeses for Sargent Seats too. I could never have done it without you. Whatever magic pixie dust you put into that foam on your seats, it’s a flaming miracle. I never once had CAF (Chronic Arse Fatigue) that plagued every single one of my fellow riders. And another shout out has to be given to Shoei for the Best Touring Helmet available award for the mighty GT-Air. This is easily the best helmet on the market for long distance touring. The air flow is just incredible. Even in this heat, I managed to keep a relatively cool head when most were on fire, like that guy in that movie, I also put this down to my decision (finally) to try a white helmet. The GT Air has the most brilliant design white helmet IMHO, a honeycomb pearl finish with a black racing stripe straight down the guts. The quietest lid I have ever owned too. By miles. I have more to say about this helmet soon in my full long-term review, stay tuned for that (or just go buy one now, you won’t regret it). So it was after about 5 hours of this type of torture that we pulled into the Mildura Plaza Motor Inn on Calder Highway and within minutes I was in the pool. It was so nice but also had the adverse effect something akin to an ice headache. I guess when you have been roasted like a potato chip for 5 hours then jump into cool water it’s lucky we don’t explode like cheap crockery. One day to go, a survivor and a new level of respect for the road as well as my ability to endure heat for that long, I was pretty relieved to retire for the evening in front of a re-run of Iron Man 2 on the box. Job done. Home stretch tomorrow, should be straightforward and we have planned an early start to beat yet another 40 degree day.

Today started out hot and got progressively hotter until it felt like riding on molten lava...