New Old Bike - hmmm?

[racurley]

Hello. New to the board. Been reading quite a bit and have found it very helpful and friendly.

Recently bought a 2003 R1150R with a little over 40,000mi. Very clean externally and am in the process of getting to know the internals. Not sure the PO was entirely accurate on the maintenance history. I have good records from a prior prior owner in 2010-2012 but a little murky after that. I trailered it home and have been working through some maintenance items. Engine oil was a bit dirtier than I would typically let a bike get. Transmission oil was fairly dark and had a bad smell. The FD is where I'm concerned. A fair amount of grey goo on the drain plug and the color and odor was not good. Found a few metal bits on the drain plug and in oil pan.

Here are a few pics of the oil contents...
http://s142.photobucket.com/user/racurl ... /BWMR1150R

According to the maintenance records I have, the prior-prior owner had the FD rebuilt at around 26,000mi.

Thoughts on this? I'm really hoping I didn't make a mistake with this buy.

[kirby]

There are many variables that make it hard to make any definitive calls about what you find on the drain plug. Such as type of lube and if any supplemental stuff was added as in moly which will turn the lub black but is slippery stuff.
I have never used an add on to my RD and the lube stays clear at the normal change intervals. I use 23/30K but if have been on allot of dirt (as in northern AZ or NM and some places dirt in CA. I change engine oil and tras/RD as soon as I return home. ( after several hundred miles of dirt)

You will almost always find a little,(more if has not been changed in a long time), black very fine sludge on the plug, (normal) what you don't want to see is small (big?) pieces/flakes as in chipped metal.

I have allot of miles on my rear drive and have had no issues. However allot of the longevity depends on how smooth you operate the machine and maybe how loaded you are . Some folks pack these machines like Jed Clampet truck..if you do go easy and don't try and set any speed records.

Enjoy, its a great machine.

mike :-)

[towerworker]

It's not unusual to see some gray goo or sludge on the magnetic drain plug, and I think especially after a rebuild. I saw sludge on my new '03 for a couple years of FD oil changes and finally I guess the bearings and cage got broken in and no more sludge. I now have an '04 with 55K and same thing except I now add a moly additive (http://www.guarddogmoly.com/) and have since 17K just as an extra precaution.

[P_Jensen]

One thing to remember is the final drive has a 6,000 mi change interval the same as the engine oil. The transmission has a 12,000 mi change interval. I would change the oil in both and change the FD again in 600 - 1,000 miles to try and clean any build-up out and then again at the 6,000 mile mark. Good Luck.

[kirby]

Really,
I don't know where these number come from???

My official from BMW maint. manual, my haynes BMW manual, and my Clymer BMW manual state the following"

"Rear drive fluid change no mileage every 2 years." (BMW factory manual says 24,000 or 2 years)

"Transmission fluid change, no mileage given but at 2 year intervals"

I have 185,000 and have used this information for fluid change except for unusuall ops.

Never have had issues with drive train.

This is for a Rockster, but the manuals cover all models of the r1150r's

Just the facts...

mike :-)

One thing to remember is the final drive has a 6,000 mi change interval the same as the engine oil. The transmission has a 12,000 mi change interval. I would change the oil in both and change the FD again in 600 - 1,000 miles to try and clean any build-up out and then again at the 6,000 mile mark. Good Luck.

[aretoo]

I just changed my FD oil on my recent purchase of an '02 r with 24,640 miles.

Previous owner let it sit for 5 (?) years and had only put 100mi on it during that time.

Alas, the FD scare is upon me.

I did find 2, yes two bits of metal on the drain plug.

They were tiny, but I suppose that does not matter.

Thoughts?

[towerworker]

I don't think I'd be overly concerned about "two small bits" unless they are sizable. Can you give some sort of size comparison? Maybe compared to the end of a sharpened pencil?

[aretoo]

A large grain of sand.

Smaller than a kitty litter granule?

Not trying to be difficult here.

[towerworker]

That's larger than I would expect and large enough to where I'd want to keep an eye on it. I think I'd run it a few thousand miles and drain the FD and examine the oil again. Hopefully it will be reasonably clear.

[aretoo]

The oil itself, and the tranny oil were both nice and clear(ish) looking. Nothing compared to the black sludge that came out of the motor.

I have also noticed a bit of oil at the swing arm/fd boot.

That has been cleaned off so that it is easier to check for as time goes on.

If FD goes, at least it is cheaper than dealing with those pesky clutch splines.

[towerworker]

That "black sludge" would be a bit more expected I think since the bike sat for so long with condensation and such. I'm inclined to think your bike is probably OK, it just needed a good owner to properly care for it, and sounds like it's got one now.

Concerning the oil on the rubber boot, I guess you know that's a dry housing? It's not at all unusual to have to periodically clean what looks like a big leak because it's gets so grimy. One or two little drops of oil attracts a lot of road grime. Just about every R I've seen has the same issue.

[aretoo]

I am totally dedicated to working on this bike myself, and loving it.

Zen moment, or "earthy desires equal enlightenment" if you are so inclined.

I'm sure that I will hit my frustration points too.

Alas, Just ran 300mi through it over the last couple of days, and there is some more black sludge at the boot.

Worried now that it may be either FD or Output shaft seals.

Must breath.