HPN - anyone got any experience of their specials?

**Dan 23** · #1 29 Nov 2002

Er, that's it - has anyone got any experience of HPN specials. Good? Bad? Indifferent? Off-roadable? Cheers, Dan Walsh

**Alfie** · #2 10 Dec 2002

Dan.

I have a little bit of experience with HPN BMW's. I visited them in Germany earlier in the year and took an HPN sport out for a test ride. Absolutely lovely bike, very light, very flickable and lots of silky smooth power. Unfortunately they are very expensive and even if you can afford one the waiting list is something like 6 months.

In terms of using the bike for overlanding, it would be spot on providing you went for the "sport" or "rally" versions which use the R11XX oilhead shaft. The other versions use a modified monolever shaft which is extended by 100mm - if this snapped on you in the middle of nowhere, getting a replacement could be very time consuming although I do believe there is a company in Italy who also manufacture 100mm extended shaft drives.

There are also a couple of BM special builders who are based in the UK. If you are really interested in getting one it would be worth getting hold of the BMW club UK magazine and checking out the adverts. Andrew Sexton is very well respected and has built some fantastic BM specials over the years - actually owned one myself for a short amount of time.

HTH and good luck!

Alfie.

**gsworkshop** · #3 7 May 2011

Just wondering if you have grossed paths with any HPN's since.
I have been building these bikes over the last 6 years and have been riding them in some of the harshest riding conditions known to adventure biking, and I simply love them.

One note though on the previous comment; the welded swing-arm of the Paris Dakar with dual shocks is virtually indestructible and the best model for over landing or RTW tours.

**dc lindberg** · #4 14 May 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan 23

Er, that's it - has anyone got any experience of HPN specials. Good? Bad? Indifferent? Off-roadable? Cheers, Dan Walsh

I use the low 1st and high 5th gears in the gearboxes on all my beemer gearboxes. If/when I get a new one, HPN gears will be installed in it as well.

All HPN parts that I have seen have been top of the line products.

**gsworkshop** · #5 16 May 2011

I agree, their workmanship is simply top notch.

I find that if I use the longer 5th gear on standard models with the standard final drive that the bike is very under powered in fifth gear.
Accelerating to overtake is very sluggish and on steep uphills I need to shift down more often.

My HPN is fitted with the longer 5th gear off coarse, but It has the Mahle 1043cc conversion and I am running a 32/10 final drive, the same ratio as on the R80GS.
With the shorter final drive ratio it is off coarse necessary to fit the longer 5th for highway cruising, although I like to avoid highway cruising as much as possible as you can see from the pictures.

**adventure950** · #6 16 May 2011

Can anyone tell me are HPN shafts using the later sprung cush drive on the shaft or are they still using the older shaft with a nut coupling at the end - if so is this having any adverse effect on the gearbox more so on tarmac surfaces, do the shafts run in oil on the p/d twin shock model or dry like the later monolever ?.

**gsworkshop** · #7 16 May 2011

The shaft is the old solid drive and it runs in oil to lubricate the splines.
The advantage is that the shaft can be removed from the swing-arm without stripping.

If it will cause trouble on the gearbox I don't know but I presume the spring coupler was installed to reduce the shaft effect more than anything else.