BMW F900XR some accessories for the F900

02/08/2023

BMW F900XR some accessories for the F900 – part 1.

I wrote a couple of weeks ago with my first thoughts and impressions of the BMW F900 XR.

Since that post I’ve managed to get out another couple of times, but nothing like as much as I wanted to due mainly to the unusual weather system that seems to be currently stuck over parts of the UK.

You’ll know from an earlier post that had the weather been ‘normal’ I would have been away in Ireland and Scotland – but of course I postponed that trip.

At the moment I am still hopeful of getting away somewhere on my bike but it’s looking unlikely that it will be the trip I had wanted to make this year.

Belly pan

Nevertheless and despite the poor weather and disrupted plans I have been able to get a few bits and pieces done with the bike.

I had seen a few pictures online of various F900s – the R and XR versions fitted with with some pretty neat colour keyed belly pan/skid plates

It didn’t take me long to resolve that was something I would look at adding to the bike sooner rather than later. I think it really adds to the look of the bike and makes a nice sort of finishing touch.

A quick Internet search brought up a variety of options including some decent looking items from companies you would expect.

For example these included the likes of Powerbronze, Pyramid and others.

It’s wasn’t a next day offering

But there were also links to products on Amazon. Some of these appeared to be more physically substantive than others, with different designs and each seeming to have some appeal and merit.

There are some versions that are seriously heavy duty and perhaps aimed at those who have thoughts and intentions of taking their bike off road. How suitable the F900 XR is for serious off road usage is another question.

I made my choice of belly pan as much on the visual appeal than on any real practical case. Along with that, I also took account of comments from others on various F900 online forums.

The product I opted for was not at all costly.

That wasn’t the only reason I bought it, but at less than £50 (including delivery) it seemed to be identical to some products offered by ‘bigger named brands’ and that were retailing at more than twice the price.

The product I bought should be at this link.

It’s worth noting that this product ships from a company called Xin Mei Da Trading based in Kowloon in Hong Kong. I think they do much of their trading on Ali Express. Buying via an Amazon seller gave me a level of reassurance but coming from Kowloon means it was not a ‘next day’ offering.

So what is it like for the money?

Communications from the seller were good so I knew when the item had been dispatched. Although it ook a couple of weeks to arrive it actually ended up being delivered sooner than I had expected and sooner than the online tracking had been indicating.

When it did arrive the product was well packaged along with all the required fittings (bolts and brackets) and pretty usable instructions.

To be honest the first thing I did was to check the colour match.

Although a slight mismatch would not have been noticeable due to the panels not butting up against any of the OEM panels on the bike I was glad that I had no need to be concerned – you really can’t tell that it has not been produced in the same factory.

What was it like to fit?

Fitting was quite straightforward really and the simple pictorial instructions were easy enough to follow.

There were a couple of the fittings that were a little bit fiddly but nothing more than that. The quality of the three plastic pieces – the left and right panels and the black centre piece were all fine. Furthermore the fit and finish of the two black metal brackets was also fine.

The individual bolts and fasteners were all included and of good quality and everything went together as it should.

I put my bike on the hydraulic lift to raise it up and make access easier but you could still get the job done with relative ease without a bike lift, undoubtedly using one does make access easier.

In the eyes of the beholder

Of course what one persons thinks looks great may well be awful and of zero appeal to the next person. Beauty so often is in the eye of the beholder.

I’m really pleased with my purchase and think it looks great. The fact it cost so little is a bonus.

I have posted pictures of the bike with the the new belly pan on fitted so you can make your own mind up about how it looks. Click here to see that post.