Service

[Felix]

Hello everyone,

 

my 60K service is coming up and I wondered if there is anything you could suggest I could do fairly easy by myself and save a few bucks at the mechanics?

 

Also, any suggestions how to winterproof the bike better for the upcoming rainy and salty season?

 

Cheers,

 

Felix

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

Hi Felix -

 

my 60K service is coming up and I wondered if there is anything you could suggest I could do fairly easy by myself and save a few bucks at the mechanics?

 

Everything. You can do the entire 60K service yourself. Suggest buying an official service manual; best price seems to be at www.motobins.com . You might also pick up some tips from the Tech Daze manual I wrote up a couple of years ago.

 

You will need ordinary tools like allen wrenches and box/open-end wrenches. You'll also need some specialty tools, like feeler gauges, torque wrenches, and a TwinMax (or other carb-balancing device; see a motorcycle shop for that). If you are not particularly mechanically experienced, you may want to have a friend who is more experienced (even if not with BMW bikes) help you out the first time you service your own bike.

 

If you're talking about your 1150, the brake bleed procedure is a little odd and requires still more specialty equipment. click here and here to see the procedure.

 

Also, any suggestions how to winterproof the bike better for the upcoming rainy and salty season?

 

Lots of suggestions, some of them conflict with each other. Click here. My advice is the best, but then I'm biased.

[Felix]

Thanks for your suggestion -

 

oh, how would I love to do it all by myself! Am not sure I would have the time though as this would be a first on the 1150 and probably take forever. And it is a bit far to travel for a Tech Daze, unfortunately. Do you know of any European version of that btw?

 

And thanks for the link to the thread, I had already read that but that is for when the bike is standing still for a while - I want to drive it through the winter, as I have done the previous years (I am sorry, but I cannot live without my Bimsey - that was what I meant with "winterproofing". We generally only have a few days with snow where riding is impossible but many days with frost and salty roads) but all the salt etc. is very tough on it and would really like some tips on what areas could or should be better taken care of in this case.

 

Regards,

 

Felix

[Marty Hill]

Felix,

 

I will hold a tech day as soon as my ticket arrives. Could we do it a bit further south where it is warmer?

[Ken H.]

If you're not willing or able to tackle the whole thing, certainly, oil and filter change, air filter change, checking the battery, checking for wheel / swing arm play; those things should be within the average backyard mechanic's reach.

[Felix]

Hi,

well, you guys have really made me think think twice about my booking for the inspection. Have a few days off in a couple of weeks so I could go ahead and do some work on the bike and leave those things I find too complicated (how about replacing the poly v-belt? Just the name and idea makes me tremble! ) to the mechanic. And - ugh and sigh, I would LOVE to be able to make my own throttle valve adjustment as it seems this bike needs it more often than every 6K. Right now there is a lot of metallic clicking from down below that I don't like, especially when cold.

 

Armed with the internet, this forum and a digital camera - what could possibly go wrong...?

 

Oh, and Marty, if I win the lottery you will be most welcome Denmarks weather is just a matter of propper clothing, hehe. But I am seriously thinking about shipping the bike over and tour your country at some stage.

 

Felix

[Marty Hill]

If/when you come...let us know. Any help you need will be available.

[Jerry_75_Guy]

Trust me Felix, you can do all of this. The first time will take more time, and may be a bit frustrating on occasion, but it is all pretty easy, definately Not rocket science.

 

I just finished my 36k service, and with a little help from Mitch, even the alternator belt (poly V belt), despite my initial trepidation, was a piece of cake.

 

Go ahead, really, you'll be glad you did.

[Felix]

Okay,

I have just got hold of a workshop cd-rom (2002 - 2003 guess that should do) on Ebay, so the excuses are getting less and less

I will see the motorcycleshop on wednesday and see what tools and parts I can lay my hands on in time. Worst case scenario will be firing up the RTP (which is already in wintersleep mode) until I get whatever problem solved.

 

Just one question: what exactly is that Twin Max carb-balancing thing, what does it look like? I spoke to a mechanic this afternoon and he did not exactly know but had an idea what it could be. I am sure it has a name in Danish too but sort of gets lost in translation...

 

Thanks for the encouraging words from ye'all.

 

Felix

[Uggles]

Twinmax

[Marty Hill]

Try a Morgan Carb-Tune. They are sold in the UK. Go on ukgser.com and I am sure someone will put you in touch.

[Jerry_75_Guy]

While I think the Twinmax is a good idea (I recommend a bit of 'search work' here in the thread archives to learn more), you also have the option of building a very inexpensive manometer (instructions on 'how to build one' are also in the archives) to do the job.

 

It is a bit 'twitchy' (read: hypersensitive), but it works pretty well once you get used to it.

 

Also, try the 'alternative parts' list at the top of the 'wrenching' threads for more reasonably priced parts; between these parts, and 'doing it myself', I've saved hundreds of dollars on services, and I've only done 2 (the 30k and the 36k) on my own, and I am Not very mechanically inclined!