Keep 'em Flying: Periodic Maintenance By Matthew Parkhouse (April Owners News)

April 5, 2007 Page 1 of 3    123

The "Major" 10 K Service

We've changed the engine oil and filter, have done a full tune up on the engine, lubed the cables, checked the air filter, inspected the battery, checked the wheels and their bearings, checked the brakes, and generally inspected the bike. That was the "minor" service. If it has been eight to ten thousand miles since the last "major" service, now's the time for the complete servicing. Of course, you wouldn't do a full minor service; stop and then proceed with the added tasks of the high mile work. It is better to blend the two lists of tasks together. I'll describe this as a full service on a new bike, complete with the things we looked at last month.

When I get a bike for major service, changing all fluids is part of the job. Later owners' manuals separate out some jobs as "annual" services and do not include them in the list of what to do every 10K miles. I would suggest doing the major service every year, regardless of the miles covered. You can always leave out parts of the list if you know they were done on a bike that only was ridden 1,500 miles since the last major service. Fluids, however, get changed every year. They become contaminated and contribute to wear if not replaced. If you're starting on a warmed up bike, pull the drain plugs all around. This includes the engine, gearbox, driveshaft (some later BMWs run a dry driveshaft), rear drive and the forks. If you're starting on a cold bike, do the tune up part first, including the setting of the valves. The last part of the tune up is balancing the carbs, which is done with the bike thoroughly warmed up.

After you have gotten the bike good and hot balancing the carbs, then attend to the oils. Replace the drain plugs (with fresh crush washers) and replace the oils. The drive line runs on hypoid gear oil which can be purchased at any auto parts outlet. For the fork oil, I use the BMW 7.5 weight oil sold at BMW shops. It helps to have a plastic marked beaker to measure out the oil for the various compartments. The later rear drives for example, have a system to check the oil level that involves removing a third plug to allow excess oil to flow out. This is a messy procedure and the threads of that plug are prone to stripping out. I prefer to leave the plug in place, drain the oil and measure out (150ml) the gear oil to go back in. With the folk oil, you have to measure it out. I measure it in the beaker, transfer it to a squeeze bottle with a hose attached to get the oil into the small openings at the fork tops. The last fluid to deal with is the brake fluid. BMW calls for DOT 4 oil. DOT 3 will work just fine; it has a lower boiling point. DOT 5 oil is incompatible with the seals and should NOT be used.