Problem:
How to carry all the stuff on my
R1200RT that I need for overnight and long distance riding and at the same time,
having easy access to my stuff.
Solution:
BMR Products FlatBed. After completing another IBA event in the summer of
2007, I contacted Brett at BMR Products and expressed the desire for a shelf of
some type that could solve the problem of hauling my bags on my BMW R1200RT. I
wanted the shelf to provide "quick and easy" access to my stuff, be secure,
allow the ability to quickly load and unload and not take away from the overall
clean lines of the RT. BMR
Products answered the call with a new product called the FlatBed for the
R1200RT.
Design:
As figure two shows, the FlatBed sits on top of the rear seat (not touching the
seat) and extends over the side cases. Not touching the rear seat is important
to me since I do not want anything rubbing or chaffing my leather seats. The
FlatBed stops just short of where each side case is split allowing the side
cases to still function as before.
The FlatBed comes with rubber strips that help the load from sliding. The
FlatBed fit perfectly with my stock seat and my custom seat. The FlatBed sits
about one inch above the seat ensuring that the seat is not being rubbed by the
FlatBed. The FlatBed comes with plenty of places to connect tie down straps.
Mounted under the FlatBed are two red reflectors for added visibility (insert
figure 6). The reflectors are cleanly mounted out of the way under the far left
and right edges providing a wide reflective range. The FlatBed includes a
rubber-padded handhold on the left side that can be used to raise the RT onto
its center stand. A nice design benefit and testimonial to the design and
engineering of the FlatBed mounts.
The FlatBed is made of 1/8 inch 3003 aluminum alloy and the mounting brackets
are made of 14 Gauge Galvanized steel. The FlatBed comes in black and silver and
powder coated with a very durable finish. The attention to detail in the design
and manufacturing is evident.
Future Enhancement:
The FlatBed is designed to receive an additional rack that will attach to the
rear of the Flatbed that will extend the FlatBed all the way to the rear of the
RT providing a 25”X25” surface for those who choose to carry a lot of cargo. The
additional rack will include an additional bracket that will attach to the
existing factory rear cargo rack. I can foresee many uses for this additional
rack including supporting an auxiliary fuel cell for IBA events.
Installation:
The FlatBed came with everything required to mount the FlatBed including
an Allen wrench to remove the factory screws, printed color instructions with
pictures and four new (replacement) screws to attach the mounting system. I
would have liked to see the four new mounting screws come in black. From the
time I opened, the box to having my FlatBed mounted was less than 10 minutes.
The mounting system is strong, mounts cleanly and looks like it was a factory
option.
The mounts hide themselves under the rear handholds and are unnoticeable even
when the FlatBed is not mounted. The FlatBed is secured to the mounting system
with two thumbscrews on each side. With the mounting system installed, I can
easily install the FlatBed in just a few minutes and remove the FlatBed in less
than one minute. During my first two rides, I stopped every hour or so to check
the mounting system and my load to only find nothing moved or came loose.
Watch a quick video review of
the BMR FlatBed.
Click to download the video in
Microsoft Windows media format. (~11MB) |
|