24K Service needed

[alexp]

My bike is due for a 24,000 Miles service.  Can someone here tell me what is involved with this service and usually how much would cost meat the Stealer?  I do my brake flush myself and that saves me 100 bucks. 

[wbw6cos]

2015 BMW R1200RT 12k schedule

 

2015 BMW R1200RT Annual Schedule

 

 

You could call them and ask, as "prices in AK & HI are slightly higher"   You may also opt to inquire about how much they charge for an Annual Service, too.  Guessing that you did not own that bike when it had 12K on the odometer?  Depending on the timing and the mileage it would be simpler to have the Annual performed, but cost - you said.

[Corazon de Pollo]

Valve clearance check and adjustment (if needed) is the "big one", but to be honest I have found the Wethead 40,000km/24,000 miles service to be much cheaper than the Hexhead one.

[alegerlotz]

By default most dealers will quote/do the service with new valve cover gaskets.  If you''re concerned about costs, these gaskets can be reused many times, so if you ask explicitly for them to be reused, you can save some money there (around $80 I think).

 

Rather than pay the dealer to do my routine services, I spent the money for a GS 911 and a few tools here and there.  Unless its an (extended) warranty repair or something super complicated, I'll be doing it myself from now on.

 

I flushed my brake fluid a couple of weeks ago with far better results than the last time I had a dealer do it...  The screw heads on the master cylinder with chewed up (looks like the tech used a T20 instead of a T25 last time  ) and the rear pedal was quite spongy as well; the front felt ok, but not gerat.  I installed speed bleeders, flushed the fluid (along with the ABS unit thanks to the GS911), replaced the front pads, and replaced the chewed up master cylinder screws (probably unnecessary, but it bugged me).  No more spongy pedal and my front brake lever is solid too... The bike brakes like new now.  Even with a few things I had to purchase specifically for this job, I spent less than I would have at the dealer and got IMO a better result.  It took me a couple of hours to do it all, but it was probably still less time than riding to the dealer, sitting around the waiting room, and riding home.  Next time it will be quicker because the speed bleeders are already in place.

[RTinNC]

As others have stated the 24K is pretty much the same as the 12K.  You can save another $100 or so by doing your own oil.  The valves need to be checked but thy rarely need adjustment so labor ir pretty cheap there.   The only item that requires the body work coming off is the air filter.   I would guess depending on what parts you do your self that the 24K should cost about $450 to $650.   Oh .. .and most dealers with combine the annual with the 24K and not double charge you. 

[Bernie]

I would recommend the inspection of the drive shaft at the rear drive housing and lubing the spline of the rear drive housing.

You should also replace the rear drive oil at that time. 

[alegerlotz]

1 hour ago, Bernie said:

I would recommend the inspection of the drive shaft at the rear drive housing and lubing the spline of the rear drive housing.

You should also replace the rear drive oil at that time. 

 

+1

 

Dropping the final drive when you change the fluid is a good thing to do.  On Wetheads lubing those splines isn't called out as a maintenance item AFAIK, but it doesn't hurt to do it.

[Bernie]

6 minutes ago, alegerlotz said:

 

+1

 

Dropping the final drive when you change the fluid is a good thing to do.  On Wetheads lubing those splines isn't called out as a maintenance item AFAIK, but it doesn't hurt to do it.

When I checked mine at 12k, it was rusted in place. Why? Who knows. At 24k, it was normal. 

[RTinNC]

10 hours ago, alegerlotz said:

 

+1

 

Dropping the final drive when you change the fluid is a good thing to do.  On Wetheads lubing those splines isn't called out as a maintenance item AFAIK, but it doesn't hurt to do it.

 

Agree  ... that is part of what my dealer normally does when changing the final drive.  But a good suggestion. 

[PadG]

I was going to leave this alone, but heck, I just can't resist!

 

My recommendation regarding the spline is to leave it alone.  It doesn't need it!  For those of you who have dropped the FD and look at the spline, did you see any wear or even rub marks?  No?  So, why does it need lubrication?  I believe that the spline lubing part got carried over from the very important needs to do so with the 1100 and the 1150 boxers FD.  Those bikes had a lot of spline failures (destroyed splines) and one of the solution was to make sure that the FD splines were well lubed at all time.  My recommendation to NOT lubing the spline is so that the drive enclosure integrity is maintained, and well sealed from allowing outside element, in particular water, to enter the internal.  Otherwise, there is absolutely nothing wrong with lubing the spline, if you want to.

 

OTOH, if you had drop the FD and found rust inside, whether on the unprotected spline or elsewhere, you should realize that you have a potentially more serious issue than simply rust!  Scrubbing off the rust and coating the spline with lube will help to retard further rust formation, BUT the sign that you should pay attention to is that, somehow water had gotten inside the drive housing!  Why is that very bad?  Since the beginning of the 1200 boxers, there have been many cases of U-joint failures in the FD.  I claim, based on what I know, that the failures were mainly caused by water contamination!  I won't get into a lecture mode, but you can find out for yourself by Googling the phrase "Bearing grease water contamination" or "bearing lubricant water contamination".  Either one should find the same or similar data.  It's amazing as to how little water contamination it takes to wreck bearings.  Oh, I didn't mention that U-joints have needle-roller bearings that are lubed with grease.

 

The other part of the picture is that, based on various experiences that BMW riders have encountered, it is very apparent to me that BMW have occasional QA issues, and things on the bikes sometimes are NOT what it is supposed to be.  in regard to water inside the drive housing, it is a good bet that the water is getting in there through improperly sealed rubber boot.  So, if you have dropped the FD, or plan on doing so, please make sure that you make doubly sure that the rubber boot is properly sealed with BMW specified sealant.  Don't use the spline grease as a substitute for that sealant.  One inmate of the other forum, who had a U-joint failure and had made the repair himself, had followed others recommendation and used the spline grease as sealant.  Several months later, he dropped the FD to check, and out came about 1/2 cup of water!

[Bernie]

35 minutes ago, PadG said:

I was going to leave this alone, but heck, I just can't resist!

 

My recommendation regarding the spline is to leave it alone.  It doesn't need it!  For those of you who have dropped the FD and look at the spline, did you see any wear or even rub marks?  No?  So, why does it need lubrication?  I believe that the spline lubing part got carried over from the very important needs to do so with the 1100 and the 1150 boxers FD.  Those bikes had a lot of spline failures (destroyed splines) and one of the solution was to make sure that the FD splines were well lubed at all time.  My recommendation to NOT lubing the spline is so that the drive enclosure integrity is maintained, and well sealed from allowing outside element, in particular water, to enter the internal.  Otherwise, there is absolutely nothing wrong with lubing the spline, if you want to.

 

OTOH, if you had drop the FD and found rust inside, whether on the unprotected spline or elsewhere, you should realize that you have a potentially more serious issue than simply rust!  Scrubbing off the rust and coating the spline with lube will help to retard further rust formation, BUT the sign that you should pay attention to is that, somehow water had gotten inside the drive housing!  Why is that very bad?  Since the beginning of the 1200 boxers, there have been many cases of U-joint failures in the FD.  I claim, based on what I know, that the failures were mainly caused by water contamination!  I won't get into a lecture mode, but you can find out for yourself by Googling the phrase "Bearing grease water contamination" or "bearing lubricant water contamination".  Either one should find the same or similar data.  It's amazing as to how little water contamination it takes to wreck bearings.  Oh, I didn't mention that U-joints have needle-roller bearings that are lubed with grease.

 

The other part of the picture is that, based on various experiences that BMW riders have encountered, it is very apparent to me that BMW have occasional QA issues, and things on the bikes sometimes are NOT what it is supposed to be.  in regard to water inside the drive housing, it is a good bet that the water is getting in there through improperly sealed rubber boot.  So, if you have dropped the FD, or plan on doing so, please make sure that you make doubly sure that the rubber boot is properly sealed with BMW specified sealant.  Don't use the spline grease as a substitute for that sealant.  One inmate of the other forum, who had a U-joint failure and had made the repair himself, had followed others recommendation and used the spline grease as sealant.  Several months later, he dropped the FD to check, and out came about 1/2 cup of water!

If your spline in the ujoint and the spline in your rear drive is rusted together. Not coated with rust, but seized together, similar to welded, then your rear suspension can not move. Period. 
I had this discussion over a year ago. 

[PadG]

21 hours ago, Bernie said:

If your spline in the ujoint and the spline in your rear drive is rusted together. Not coated with rust, but seized together, similar to welded, then your rear suspension can not move. Period. 
I had this discussion over a year ago. 

Yeah, that was true with the 1100 and the 1150, but if you don't see any rub marks on the 1200 splines, then they hadn't nor need to move!  It all has to do with the geometry, in particular the pivot point of the swing arm vs the pivot point (U-joint location) of the drive itself!

 

That wasn't the point though.  The real big point is that, rust inside the housing should indicate to you that you have a very much larger problems that needs to be addressed.  Go ahead and lube up the spline if you wish, there is no harm in that, BUT if you drop that FD for any reasons, DO make sure that the rubber boot is properly sealed when you put it all back together again!

[alexp]

Ok I decided that I'm doing the 24K myself.  This week I got the tires replaced w/ RD-5GT and bled the brakes.  Got the maint mileage reset w/ GS911.  So does anyone here has a good video of all the necessary repairs? Such as air filter change, rear service and valve adjustment?  I do see I need to replace the spark plugs too.  Maybe I will use the money and get a GS911 for myself too. 

 

Thanks,

 

Alex

[AndyS]

 

[LAF]

You should lube the splines and use the proper sealant to put the gator back on. 

 

Here is a long thread and you can look for yourself to see what needs done or should be done.

 

FD Spline Lube

 

My 15 RT was rusted and my 17.5 was rusted worse.  It takes little time and as long as you seal the boot back on it is a very important maintenance procedure. 

 

If you have a new bike and the FD splines are rusted and you never touched them what does that say to you?  BMW did not seal the boot!

 

You will also read the correct sealant to seal the rubber gator and while it is costly you should not need  lot and I bought a small quantity off Amazon.

 

And when you go through the thread you will see busted u joints, some had to hammer the FD from the drive shaft it was rusted so tight.  It is a very easy and a very little time and effort to do.

 

You will also see some did water crossings and were pristine yet others never left the road and they have destroyed u-joints.   I also discovered when I did mine my entire drive shaft was painted something new from my 15 RT. 

 

On my next service I will take the entire drive shaft out and do the transmission splines.

[alexp]

Thank you all.

 

Alex