New to riding, new bike... recepie for trouble?

[petvet]

Hi, my name is Emanouil. I have been staring after BMW bike since I was a kid. Now after quite a few years I took the bold step and got one, 2000 R1200C.

Also, since I had no previous riding experience, short of a safety/licensing course in my native homeland ( Bulgaria )18 years ago, I took the MSF basic rider course and barely graduated. I am afraid I sorely disappointed my rider coach BMW MOA Ambassador Michael Friedel. But never the less with some extra coaching from my cousins during my recent trip to Bulgaria I am riding on my own.

New bike, first bike, new headaches.
The bike that I bought has some signs of moderate abuse. So now I am faced with the task of returning it to its former glory and making it comfortable and safe for riding.
The local BMW dealer Cliffs Cycle Revolution pronounced safe and sound to ride but I still have a long battle ahead with chipping chrome and rust. The exhaust pipes right out of the cylinder heads look particularly bad.

I am open for suggestions on the above mentioned issues and also on touring bags, luggage racks, lighting, tuning and maintenance.

Thanks in advance
Emanouil :wave

P S I found at another forum info on replacing the R1200C cams and throttle bodies with R1150RT ones. Is that safe on the long run?

[petvet]

One more thing. How can I find some the original paint for repair on the tank and fender. The dealer told me it is not available in US?
Canyon Red code 708

[sudani]

One more thing. How can I find some the original paint for repair on the tank and fender. The dealer told me it is not available in US?
Canyon Red code 708

Try http://www.coloritepolymers.com/sales.html. I just ordered paint to match my bike. Or maybe an auto repair shop can match it.

[SIBUD]

Welcome to the forum. Glad to have you here.

Good luck with the bike projects. There are a lot of folks here who can help you.

If you ask your questions in the Oilhead section you might get better answers.

[dancogan]

Welcome. Wishing you many years of happy and safe riding. For particular information on the "C" series you might viist: http://chromeheads.org/. They have lots of great advice and information over there.

[Semper_Fi]

Welcome Emanouil - good luck with your projects, they can be hard but final results are worth while.

Also glad to here you have ben getting coaching for your riding.

One thing I found helpful and stiull refer for refreshing every once in a while is a very good book by David Hough - Proficient Motorcycling

Here is a link for more information if you are interested.

http://www.soundrider.com/archive/safety-skills/proficient_motorcycling.htm

Again welcome to the forum.

[petvet]

Thanks for the worm welcome.
I will certainly be asking a lot of questions at the forums for a while.

Thanks to the advice Semper_Fi. I got both books of his and I am looking for some more. I also read his recent interview in the MOA journal and I cant agree more with him. In some places in Europe it is required to have 45 hrs of training before you can take your test. Wonder why Europe has higher speed limits but much lower accident rate in motorcyclist.

[BubbaZanetti]

welcome to the forum!

good luck with the R12C and don't worry, i HIGHLY doubt you disappointed Mike, he's been teaching a while and is a professional. us rider coaches are never disappointed in anyone!