Who has DIY'ed their 12k mile service?

[Rick Lee]

My R12S should turn 12k in another few days. I got it at 7500 miles in late April and am trying hard to put 1000 miles a month on her. At 9000 miles I flushed the brakes (calipers only), changed engine and tranny oil. Since then I've changed spark plugs and put in a BMC air filter.

So besides a valve adjust and final drive fluid change, is there anything else I really need to do for the 12k mile service? The BMW factory maint. schedule is 90% check this, check that, fleece the customer. I'm around my bike enough to know what needs attention when. Kinda wondering if I need to flush the ABS system or maybe just reflush the calipers. I think alt. belt is good for 36k, right? Anything else I'm missing? I used Mobil 1 75/90 gear oil in the tranny. Anything special I should use for the FD?

[Bob Hancock]

At 12k all you really need to do is the valves, oil, air and oil filter. I wouldn't even bother with the FD. I was gonna change mine at the 24,000 service but it looked so pretty I didn't. Of course if you love to tinker and show it love....then that's another story.

[cageyar]

Permit me to disagree a little with Mr. Hancock and confess that I am a ranking member of the DMTIRBTM club. (that's Doing More Than Is Recommended By the Manufacturer). My only defense is that when I sell my bikes, I get all the money and more for them.
I changed the FD at 600 as recommended and I plan to re-do it at 12,000. I also changed the tranny fluid at 6,000 and will again at 12. (Try the Red Line Heavy Duty fluid-it works great) Same for greasing the driveshaft splines. Plugs were updated to NGK Iridium out of maintenance sequence around 3,000 and will be renewed at 12. This winter at about the 10,000 miles mark-I don't think I'll hit 12 before that but you never know, I'm getting both Ohlin's serviced with a fluid change. I'm thinking the front pads will be due-I'll need to look. Oh, and I change O/F every 2,000.
Excessive: Yes.
Crazy: IMO, no.
These maintenance schedules balance the minimum necessary with the desire to prevent ownership from being an endless trip to the dealer. I should mention I do all my own work, buy the right tools and my bike has never been back to the dealer since purchase. I'm no Ricky Racer but I ride my bike hard, shift at redline often, brake very hard (it takes a lot of brake to haul down my....mass.) I think I'm doing what is necessary to maintain as close as possible, perfect condition which as I mentioned, always pays off for me at re-sale time.
So, join the club! All it takes is a willingness to always do too much and be a BMW owner-you're halfway there!

PS: Of course, valve adjustment and throttle body sync again. Oh, clean the K&N. Oh.....................................

[AndrewA]

I believe that the BMW recommended FD fluid amount is now 180ml (level with the "drain" hole at 9:00).

It was 220ml, but was recently changed by BMW due to "excessive" seal failures.

[Rick Lee]

Ohlins rebuild? Yikes. Who does that? Is that DIY'able? My bike is my main transportation and if it's down, then I drive the 993. I can't afford to have it down long enough to send the Ohlins away for work.

[ckcarr]

You asked about the 12K service.

Follow Bob Hancock's lead.

He is a long time, well respected member of the board. And know of what he speaks.

[bradzdotcom]

+1.
some people are overly obsessed and the frequency of maintenance they perform only adds profits to the oil companies, but doesn't do anything to extend the life of a bike.
keeps them off the streets i guess.
as they get older and more OCD, i wouldn't be surprised if they changed oil on a daily basis.
there's a difference between "all you really need to do" and doing everything you can possibly think of doing, just because it can be done.

excuse me...gotta go....my spark plugs have over an hour on 'em, thus desperately need to be changed...

[geothepencil]

On the unlikely possibility that the rear splines were not serviced at 600 miles, I would do that and while you are at it, the fluid in the drive at the correct level. Our dealer has encountered several of those spline situations that are dry and in a couple of cases, frozen and ruined.

geo

[cageyar]

Originally Posted by bradzdotcom

excuse me...gotta go....my spark plugs have over an hour on 'em, thus desperately need to be changed...

Wow, as a so-called journalist, you think you'd recognize self-depreciating humor and that I don't take my maintenance proclivities too seriously.
You can hook up with Officer Carr, Senior Member-in-Chief, polish your badges and make more snide comments about innocuous posts.
Maybe it's time to take a walk and stop j**king off in front of the computer.
Then again stay. It's really very funny.

[Rick Lee]

I will certainly do the splines. I always did them on my GS when I did FD service.

I change my fluids often because I live in a very hot, arid climate and do a lot of short and long trips on my bike. In a given week I may only put 20 miles on the bike in 10 trips and then 400 miles on Saturday. I have never not ridden somewhere because it was too hot out. These days my temp gauge is usually one or two tick marks away from the top. Since I DIY just about everything, cost is not much of an issue. If I had to use the stealer, then I'd not be able to afford this bike.

[Rick Lee]

BTW, last week I got a coupon in the mail from AutoZone for $19.99 for five qts. of any kind of oil. I think their standard price for Mobil 1 was $6.50/qt. So at $4/qt., this job is not costing too much. I'll get some more gear oil, already have a box of oil filters, need a few O-rings, a crush washer or two and that's it. It will cost me under $50 if I don't drink too much beer while doing it.

[cageyar]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

Ohlins rebuild? Yikes. Who does that? Is that DIY'able? My bike is my main transportation and if it's down, then I drive the 993. I can't afford to have it down long enough to send the Ohlins away for work.

No, its sure not DIY for me. I'm taking the units off and handing them over to Pro Pilot suspension in Jackson, NJ. It's only about 30 miles from me. I'm going to have them install the two-step up springs I have and also install the hydraulic pre-load adjuster in the rear and installed the same in the front along with the remote resevoir and compression damping adjuster.

[AndrewA]

Originally Posted by cageyar

Maybe it's time to take a walk and stop j**king off in front of the computer.

Quoted.

[cageyar]

Originally Posted by AndrewA

Quoted.

You're right-I suggest you take the advice.
At least I'm not sending you more Toto remakes.
Hey, the Yankees have the best record in baseball, .34 percentage points over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim near Disneyland or whatever their name is this week. And we're 6.5 up over the Dead Sox. (The Angels are the only team who could knock the Yankees out)
PS: Remember, keep your hands on the handlebars!

[bradzdotcom]

Originally Posted by cageyar

Wow, as a so-called journalist, you think you'd recognize self-depreciating humor and that I don't take my maintenance proclivities too seriously.
You can hook up with Officer Carr, Senior Member-in-Chief, polish your badges and make more snide comments about innocuous posts.
Maybe it's time to take a walk and stop j**king off in front of the computer.
Then again stay. It's really very funny.

it's amazing in how short of a time here you've managed to insult and irritate so many people.
thank god for the ignore button.

[Rick Lee]

I'll guess I'll start another thread for my photos of the 12k service work.

[Bob Hancock]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

I'll guess I'll start another thread for my photos of the 12k service work.

Do it, Rick. We like doityerself reportage.

[cageyar]

Originally Posted by bradzdotcom

it's amazing in how short of a time here you've managed to insult and irritate so many people.
thank god for the ignore button.

Only those deservingly susceptible.
By the way, Mr. Journalist, you spell God with a capital "G".
I'll just sit here and wait for the next Toto "music" update.
Tata.

[cageyar]

Originally Posted by Bob Hancock

Do it, Rick. We like doityerself reportage.

Just to end this mess, all I said what to permit me to disagree with you and explained tongue-in cheek about my own 12K maintenance. That's not OT or offensive.
What is offensive is left-coast pin-heads who have to deride anything that doesn't fit their view of world. Sorry to Mr. Hancock and Rick Lee, but I'm not going to be pushed around by DB's like that. My original comment was on topic.

[Rick Lee]

Bring it on. Just post it in PARF.