BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

A few weeks ago I decided I was going to take a little ride to Key West, and in order to do so I was going to need to perform the big 24,000 mile service.

With the mileage I've been putting on my bike, doing my own maintenance has become a necessity for me. Besides saving money, I'm getting more familiar with the working's of my bike by doing so. Knowledge that could come in handy on trips when I might be in the middle of nowhere with a breakdown...

**This is not a comprehensive DIY guide of how to do maintenance on your bike, more of an example of what you can do yourself if you're motivated to do so.

Let me start with the info I had in order to do this.
I ordered a Jim von Baden instructional DVD and a bootleg BMW Service Manual off of ebay.
http://www.jimvonbaden.com/
Jim's DVD and the BMW DVD have all of the info one might need to do all of the maintenance, without both of them I would have been lost. If you're like me and had never done most of this kind of work before, I recommend getting both to start...
I ripped Jim's DVD down so I could load it on my iPhone to watch, while keeping the BMW service manual program running in windows on my Mac.

I'm not going to list the rest of the tools.... it's all in the DVD's. I'll just take you through what I did in a non-technical way.... if that makes any sense.
I went to MotoWorks to get most of my filters and fluids, what I couldn't get there I picked up at Chicago BMW. Both dealers were helpful getting me everything I needed, and after they knew the miles I had put on my bike this year were understanding as to why I was doing it my myself.



Tools and stuff




Changing the air filter:


First I removed the side covers





pushed in these two clips and gave it a good pull











then pulled out this tab


















new filter in place



At this time I put everything back together in the opposite order..



Then I also drained the engine oil and removed the oil filter, no pics of me spilling oil all over my floor, I really need to invest in better catch pans...




Transmission Oil Change




Removed fill plug




Removed drain plug





Drained oil





While the gear box and engine oil were draining I started on the final drive oil by removing the exhaust can, you can just rotate the can, but I decided to just take it all the way off.










After removing the rear wheel, I then removed this nut, leaving the bolt in place.





removed the brake





I then hung the brake out of the way with a rok strap.







loosened the speed sensor







removed the clip holding the wire going to the speed sensor





pull the wire out of the other clip





removed the speed sensor, the sensor is magnetic and in Jim's DVD he had a bit of metal flakes to clean off, mine didn't have any.





After removing the bolt holding the rear end to the ( telelever? ) I gave it a good pull and it popped down like this







I then removed all of the old grease and applied a generous amount of new grease.




New grease on the boot too




It took a few tries to get the spline lined back up, and some forceful pushing, but it eventually went back together.





installed the drain plug, with a new o-ring.





Filling the final drive, it does take about 4-5 minutes to do like Jim says, rotating the brakes to get the oil down in there.





After filling the rear end with the proper amount of oil I replaced the speed sensor, clip, and installed a new nut on the bolt holding the telelever as per BMW recommends.




After replacing the drain plug I then moved on to fill the gear box with the proper amount of oil, using a different bottle of course.













Time to do the valves.










This is where I had a problem. It appeared that the rubber insert from my spark plug socket had stuck to the spark plug from the last time I did my valves and was now wedged in there.






I ended up needing to take a drill to it to break it apart and pull it out piece by piece. It was a little disturbing to be taking a drill to my bike, but I managed to not damage anything, and spent plenty of time cleaning the plastic bits out...







On with adjusting the valves, go to go here, no need to adjust...








I did need to do a little adjusting here, but it doesn't really take too long, though every time I do it, it seems I take more time because I'm obsessed with them being perfectly matched.



intake




exhaust




After I did both sides I put everything back together, I replaced the spark plugs, filter ,and oil with new one's.

After inspecting the rest of the bike, and filling my tires I was good to go South in January. While on this trip I knew I was going to need to change the rear tire, so carrying my spare, I planned on doing it myself, but because of weather related things I ended up going to a dealer in Tampa to have the tire changed. While they were changing it I asked if they could hook the bike up to the BMW computer and balance the throttle's, which they did, and only charged me for 15 minutes of labor.


Since this service I put 3500 more miles on my bike, it hasn't burned any oil and has been running great!







Like I said this isn't exactly a comprehensive DIY, more for entertainment purposes really. If I can do it.......
I hope you enjoyed!

That is one kick a## report.

Great pics + very brave. My hands only get dirty when i refuel

E

ChiTown,

Nice job documenting your 24k service. I too purchased JVB video and found it enlightening. One question, on JVB video it reflects a R12GS being used. Are the torque specification the same on the R12R as that of the R12GS? If not can you advise where I can find them for the R12R, the manual is weak on that data. Also, you mentioned the BMW DVD, where would get a copy of it?

jgp

JGP wrote:ChiTown,

One question, on JVB video it reflects a R12GS being used. Are the torque specification the same on the R12R as that of the R12GS? If not can you advise where I can find them for the R12R, the manual is weak on that data. Also, you mentioned the BMW DVD, where would get a copy of it?

jgp

As far as I can tell by comparing JVB's spec's to the Service Manual for the R everything is the same that I have covered.
The only thing I found to be different was Jim said to replace and cut away the crush washer on the gearbox drain plug. The SM did not say to replace it and Chicago BMW confirmed that it was a permanent washer and doesn't need to be replaced.
The BMW manual is a program that only runs in Windowz.... not a PDF.
I tried to make a disk image and upload it to my server to share unsuccessfully so.....
You can get a copy of the Service Manual here, it comes from Canada and take a few weeks to get here.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-R120 ... 0016443368



-Joe

Man I wish you lived in Sweden - I'd be round your place with a boot full of beer faster than you could say "Service"!

As it is I have to take mine to the dealers for stuff like that!

Wow! That was fabulous. It should really be a sticky. I doubt I will do that service myself, but it was interesting to see how it's done.

Nice post dude, thanks!

Where'd you get that oh-so-useful squeeze bottle for your tranny oil?

Also, how do you find TDC on the hexhead motors? Did you just look at the piston thru the sparkplug hole?

Klink wrote:
Where'd you get that oh-so-useful squeeze bottle for your tranny oil?

Also, how do you find TDC on the hexhead motors? Did you just look at the piston thru the sparkplug hole?

I bought the squeeze bottle's at a beauty supply store. Sally Beauty to be specific.


On the right side of the engine there's this gear, on the gear there's an arrow. You rotate the engine with the wheel until this arrow is pointing straight to the right. That's TDC for the right side. Directly opposite of the arrow on the gear there's a protrusion thingy, when that's pointing straight out ( to the right) that's TDC for the left.
Sorry I don't have a better pic....








I hope you guys are getting the real point of this, if I can do it, you can do it! I'm sure there's plenty of reasons one might have not want to do your own maintenance, but because you can't shouldn't be one of them....
It's really not that hard with a few tools and a little homework, it's quite satisfying once you do.

Thanks for that. I've always done "basic" maintenance on my bikes: oil changes, air filter, brake pads, chain and cogs, clutch adjustment and replacement.

I've generally stopped at brake bleeding and particularly throttle body / carb adjustment. When I've tried to do this with a friend's borrowed gadget, I've never got the result I wanted.

I've not tried ANY maintenance on the R1200R. Partly because hey, it's a low maintenance bike, and partly because of the warnings on forums (maybe including this one) that balancing the BMW R throttle bodies requires some kind of factory computer gadget to get the secondary butterflies to lie flat. Or something.

I noticed you did not refer to throttle balancing in your original post. What's your take on it?

Great work! I can never take the time to take pictures as I'm going. I usually remember after the job is done!

I like the ground down shifter! You really use everything the bike has to offer!

Klink wrote:n I've tried to do this with a friend's borrowed gadget, I've never got the result I wanted.

I've not tried ANY maintenance on the R1200R. Partly because hey, it's a low maintenance bike, and partly because of the warnings on forums (maybe including this one) that balancing the BMW R throttle bodies requires some kind of factory computer gadget to get the secondary butterflies to lie flat. Or something.

I noticed you did not refer to throttle balancing in your original post. What's your take on it?

In the original post I mentioned that I asked a dealer if they could do me favor while changing my rear tire by balancing the throttle, since they charged me a half hour to change the rear. I hinted that it didn't quite take a half hour to change the tire, and balancing the throttle couldn't take long.... so they added about $18 to the bill and did it for me.

My take on balancing them is that in order to have a perfect balance you have to have the bike hooked up to the BMW computer to do so.
I've been following various debates on this subject for months on advrider.com and bmwmoa.org. It's my understanding that there's electric servo's on the throttle's that make minor adjustments to keep it balanced at idle. I'm sure it's way more technical, but that's my basic version.
Now in the various debates, which included many posts by Jim von Baden, it was said that a person could get it close with a Twinmax, but for the few bucks it costs me to have it done right seems logical, plus checking for faults on the computer isn't a bad thing either.
At $20 a pop I have quite a few miles to ride with throttles balanced by BMW verses buying the twinmax and maybe getting it right. I want it to run as best as possible...

As for brakes, I'm still undecided as to doing the bleed myself or not. Jim's video makes it look pretty easy..... I talked with my dealer about it last time I was there, they said don't worry about it, I won't need to bleed them for another year. They said you don't need to change the brake fluid yearly on this bike. I need to research this more....


Here's a DIY post by JvB on syncing the throttles.

http://bmwbmw.org/bmwforums/viewtopic.php?t=8152

Other sync threads

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=131613

Good sync debate
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthre ... r1200+sync



-Joe

Thanks Joe.

I once spent a lot of time, and all the swear words I know, trying to bleed the rear brake on my Aprilia Tuono using the push pedal down - twist bleed nipple, push bleed push bleed system. Then I took it to a mate who owns a car workshop. He hooked the caliper nipple up to a vacuum feed and had me add fluid to the reservoir. Did the whole thing in about three minutes! It was a lesson in the importance of having the tools for the job.

I think It's a shame one can only do the throttles / check for faults using a big BMW dealership diagnostic computer though. I understand that the Buell aftermarket scene has created a little PDA-like gadget that performs all the dealer diagnostics and can also be used to change the fuel and ignition maps. Cost about $250 from memory. Maybe someone will do one for the BMW ECU?

Klink wrote:Thanks Joe.


I think It's a shame one can only do the throttles / check for faults using a big BMW dealership diagnostic computer though. I understand that the Buell aftermarket scene has created a little PDA-like gadget that performs all the dealer diagnostics and can also be used to change the fuel and ignition maps. Cost about $250 from memory. Maybe someone will do one for the BMW ECU?

You can get a Diagnostics tool to read the fault's, but it won't help with the balancing...


tool

http://www.hexcode.co.za/


Diag tool topic

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthre ... ult+reader

Doesn't the GS have the previous-generation servo brakes, instead of our more conventional ABS system? If so JVB's bleeding procedure might not apply.

Hey Joe,
Did you use 75w-90 ..... in both the Final Drive and the Gear Box?
(what brand of oil in both .... BMW?)

..... also what type of grease did you use on the Final Drive Boot?
(when I had mine apart I used White Lithium..... hope that is OK!!!)

NeilS wrote:Doesn't the GS have the previous-generation servo brakes, instead of our more conventional ABS system? If so JVB's bleeding procedure might not apply.

I'm not sure about the GS, more research needed.

poochar wrote:Hey Joe,
Did you use 75w-90 ..... in both the Final Drive and the Gear Box?
(what brand of oil in both .... BMW?)

..... also what type of grease did you use on the Final Drive Boot?
(when I had mine apart I used White Lithium..... hope that is OK!!!)

75w-90 in the gear box, 75w-140 synthetic in the final drive.

I used the grease that the dealer gave me... I can find the part # if you need.

Anyone else doing their own maintenance this spring?

ChiTown wrote:You can get a Diagnostics tool to read the fault's, but it won't help with the balancing...

That's on their list of things to work on.. I expect to see that option on the GS-911 before long. (I'm fairly friendly with Stephen the developer of the tool..)

http://www.hexcode.co.za/

The big thing the tool will do is simply set both steppers to the same position - allowing the user to do the critical balance - which is the cable balance. As it is now - the use of a TwinMax without the stepper motor parking is still probably "good enough" - the bypass circuits adjusted by the steppers are small compared to the actual throttle openings you're adjusting when you adjust the cables. And the difference in the two steppers is likely even smaller.

Nice to have BMW do it, but IMHO not manditory.

ChiTown wrote:

poochar wrote:Hey Joe,
Did you use 75w-90 ..... in both the Final Drive and the Gear Box?
(what brand of oil in both .... BMW?)
..... also what type of grease did you use on the Final Drive Boot?
(when I had mine apart I used White Lithium..... hope that is OK!!!)

75w-90 in the gear box, 75w-140 synthetic in the final drive.

Chi, hopefully - the other way around? The gearbox is fine with 75W-140, the rear drive in the only printed specifications BMW-NA has released calls for 75W-90 Synthetic.. White lithium should be fine for the splines since they aren't sliding splines (unlike the early K bike splines..) I'l probably use Wurth-3000, the stickiest grease I've ever found.. (think of grease with the stick of chewing gum..)

deilenberger wrote:

ChiTown wrote:

poochar wrote:Hey Joe,
Did you use 75w-90 ..... in both the Final Drive and the Gear Box?
(what brand of oil in both .... BMW?)
..... also what type of grease did you use on the Final Drive Boot?
(when I had mine apart I used White Lithium..... hope that is OK!!!)

75w-90 in the gear box, 75w-140 synthetic in the final drive.

Chi, hopefully - the other way around? The gearbox is fine with 75W-140, the rear drive in the only printed specifications BMW-NA has released calls for 75W-90 Synthetic.. White lithium should be fine for the splines since they aren't sliding splines (unlike the early K bike splines..) I'l probably use Wurth-3000, the stickiest grease I've ever found.. (think of grease with the stick of chewing gum..)

Yes that makes sense, thanks for the correction.
I had to buy the rear end oil at the dealer, and bought the other oils at a independent shop.

On another note, I'm going to be changing my alternator belt soon, and in the manual it specs using a BMW Belt remover tool. Can it be done without it? Anyone changed theirs?


Thanks


-Joe