Call me crazy but I love BMW switchgear

[galaxiid]

........but I much rather be riding my moto guzzi! Having sold my previous Bimmer which hummed rather than sang along one thing I do miss is the teutonic switchgear. The left/right thumb stabs for indicators and the integrated heated grips were great. This despite the constant trashing the traditional BMW switch gear gets from reviewers. If I could transplant a set of the switch gear to replace the fiddly Aprilia gear on my Cafe Sport I'd be pleased. Anyone know if this is at all possible? The Cafe sport has the gold tapered bars on it. I have a oxford heated grips kit which sticks out like dogs.. its about to crap out as well, I can tell. Heated grips BMW switchgear

[Murray]

Crazy? more like blind and dyslexic. you'd have to check the handle bar diameters the actual switchgear itself would be too much of a problem its the wiring and associated relay logic associated with the BM gear. Wires that currently run the rh indicator would need to be changed and the cancelling system on normal bikes is a simple mechanical system where as for the bm you would probably need some kind of relay arrangement.

[galaxiid]

Crazy? more like blind and dyslexic. you'd have to check the handle bar diameters the actual switchgear itself would be too much of a problem its the wiring and associated relay logic associated with the BM gear. Wires that currently run the rh indicator would need to be changed and the cancelling system on normal bikes is a simple mechanical system where as for the bm you would probably need some kind of relay arrangement.

oh well worth a stir, thought it would generate some debate given how beaut the bmw switchgear is. To me its clean and tidy and... intuitive...for a bipolar cixelsyd.

[Skeeve]

........but I much rather be riding my moto guzzi! Having sold my previous Bimmer which hummed rather than sang along one thing I do miss is the teutonic switchgear. The left/right thumb stabs for indicators and the integrated heated grips were great. This despite the constant trashing the traditional BMW switch gear gets from reviewers.

 

Yes, the reviews in moto rags always slag the BMW switchgear as being horrid, when what they mean is "different," with the emphasis placed on "I can't deal with the fact that my muscle memory doesn't work with this setup." Harleys have gotten the same treatment, too. Buell finally switched to a J4-standard a year or so before H-d pulled the plug on'em, just to stop getting such niggling reviews.

 

I've never found the switchgear on Harleys to be anything less than intuitive when I've test ridden them, & wondered if there was a way to just put everything on a weight loss plan [their buttons were HUGE! ] and graft it onto a bike with some pretensions of performance [i don't need actual hyperbike performance, that's not my cup-o-speed... obviously, or I wouldn't own a Guzzi! ], but kinda sorta recognize why the reviewers are the way they are every time I hit the horn to start the Guzzi! - that sh!t drives me nuts.

 

:

Still, one wonders why none of this stuff ever came out in reviews back before 1972, when ALL the bikes had different control setups, so you never knew going in whether the brake was right or left, shifting likewise plus whether it was up or down, and switchgear wasn't even mandatory and you had to use hand signals! Kinda puts things in perspective, don't it?

 

Ride on!

[Lex]

Yes, the reviews in moto rags always slag the BMW switchgear as being horrid, when what they mean is "different," with the emphasis placed on "I can't deal with the fact that my muscle memory doesn't work with this setup." Harleys have gotten the same treatment, too. Buell finally switched to a J4-standard a year or so before H-d pulled the plug on'em, just to stop getting such niggling reviews.

 

I've never found the switchgear on Harleys to be anything less than intuitive when I've test ridden them, & wondered if there was a way to just put everything on a weight loss plan [their buttons were HUGE! ] and graft it onto a bike with some pretensions of performance [i don't need actual hyperbike performance, that's not my cup-o-speed... obviously, or I wouldn't own a Guzzi! ], but kinda sorta recognize why the reviewers are the way they are every time I hit the horn to start the Guzzi! - that sh!t drives me nuts.

 

:

Still, one wonders why none of this stuff ever came out in reviews back before 1972, when ALL the bikes had different control setups, so you never knew going in whether the brake was right or left, shifting likewise plus whether it was up or down, and switchgear wasn't even mandatory and you had to use hand signals! Kinda puts things in perspective, don't it?

 

Ride on!

 

This isn't a poll on turn signal preference but I have to add the the people who like BMW (and Harley) switch gear*. Skeeve nailed it perfectly, the moto-press criticizes anything that is different, like BMW switch gear or Moto Guzzis in general. If you want to stop progress just have clowns like these guys in charge. But what do I know, I also like the Harley clutch and brake levers and nobody else seems to like them. Both preferences may be related to my large and less then dexterous hands.

 

On the possibility of swapping to BMW switch gear, it actually shouldn't be that difficult. The "normal" layout is three (or sometimes 5 if there is a "soft on" position) electrical switches, left, right and cancel just like BMW. The only difference is that the three switches are obvious on the BMWs, the normal layout has the three switches controlled by a single external thumb lever. You'd need both wiring diagrams to work out "BMW blue with white stripe has the same function as green with blue stripe on the new bike" type questions. Lots of work but not difficult. The Harley layout (my favorite) is completely different since it only has two switches and uses a discrete microprocessor for the self canceling function.

 

 

Lex

 

*At one point I had all three types in my garage at the same time. This led to more then one "oops" swapping between bikes. I found most of the time when I screwed up the used a "BMW motion" on a non-BMW turn signal switch.

[raz]

25 years ago I had a Yamaha FS-1 moped with first gear up, rest down. Then I had a Yamaha RD 125 (air cooled, the newer was just a wet dream) with normal shifting. Near redline in second gear on the latter, I managed to put first gear in... mweeeep I think it was 15000 rpm or something. But no bad things happened

 

I rode a BMW once and I didn't get used to it. I just skipped indicating. But I reckon anything is good once you're used to it.

[GuzziMoto]

Not sure how having three switches to do the job of one is better, but if that is your idea of "progress" then sure it can be done. Obviously you will have to run extra wires from the location of the original one switch to the other side of the bars, but if you want three switches instead of one it is just a matter of wiring them up.

I'll stick with one switch.

[gstallons]

25 years ago I had a Yamaha FS-1 moped with first gear up, rest down. Then I had a Yamaha RD 125 (air cooled, the newer was just a wet dream) with normal shifting. Near redline in second gear on the latter, I managed to put first gear in... mweeeep I think it was 15000 rpm or something. But no bad things happened

 

I rode a BMW once and I didn't get used to it. I just skipped indicating. But I reckon anything is good once you're used to it.

 

 

at least you weren't on a late 60's/early 70s British bike and jabbed the rear brakes on a panic stop.........you would have found second gear !