Welllll, bit the bullet and ordered the gear shift assist. BMW said 2 days to get the enabling code from Germany, so today I popped in and they had everything ready. Had my coffee (no muffin, shame on you Zambesi!!

) and after 20 minutes the mechanic came back to me.
"No, sorry, no can do. Since you bought the very first generation of LC GS, you have no harness to make this work. You will have to get a new harness that has been specially covered in whale foreskin which will cost a fortune."
So much for early adoption, thanks BMW.