Scheduled Maintenance

Erik Stordahl · Post by **Erik Stordahl** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 11:01 am

Well here goes nothing.....
I am a first time rider with the first posting of my short lived riding career. I have an '03 for 6 weeks now and ride daily to work. Just hit the 18,000 mark and looking to do the maintenance.
My question is....
I rode over 2k miles in the 6 weeks, so basically I would be doing service on the bike every 4 months? That seems like a lot of service.

Any suggestions?!........

Post by **ProductUser** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 11:46 am

BMW's seem to require a lot more servicing than other bikes. However, the R bike is very simple to perform most of the work yourself. If you decide to do the work yourself, be sure to keep all receipts and document everything you do per the checklist.

Did you research the maintenance costs before you bought into the BMW brand?

ProductUser

Post by **r1150rider** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 1:16 pm

Besides "character" or "personality" (which the boxer engine delivers in spades) a large part of their charm lies in the fact that they are so easy to maintain. And often (at least in my experience) the dealers are supportive and helpful with advice to assist owners who do their own routine maintenance.

Best of all, beemer riders are typically knowledgeable individuals who are happy to share their wisdom and often can do so via the 'net with great results. We are very fortunate on this forum to have the likes of CycleRob and others who are very savvy and able to communicate their knowledge very well.

With a little effort and research, I think you'll find the "R" to be an easy moto to do the routine maintenance on, and you'll have the satisfaction of knowing that it's been done right.

Post by **MikeCam** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 2:08 pm

Based on your riding report it is not really clear how much you are riding...

18000 in 6 weeks or 2K per month .... oh never mind. You bought used, right?

Okay, so every 6000 miles requires a minor service consisting of an oil and filter change, valve check, nuts and bolts inspection, brake pad check and general overall mechanical/electrical soundness inspection.

Every 12000 miles is called a major service which is the 6K service with a more thorough check of some items and some fluid check/changes in addition to oil.

Every Year is an annual service... and so on.

Oh and every day is oil, air, spark, gas, lights and brakes checked (right?)

This is the same level of service as every Kawasaki and Ford I have ever owned.

And it is so easy on an OilHead BMW that it is shameful that everybody doesn't do it themselves.

Post by **towerworker** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 7:49 pm

I have an 03 with 35000 miles. I have done all the service since the first service at or around 900 miles. Other than oil and filter every 3k, new battery last year, one new headlamp bulb, new brake pads front and rear, numerous new tires and a couple of quarts of 75/90 gear oil, I have spent 0 dollars on service. Maintenance is a breeze, valve adjustments are fun and quick and taking care of the bike is a joy. My coworkers spend more time trying to get their bikes started than I spend maintaining mine.

They don't make a better bike.

Wayne

def38 · Post by **def38** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 8:58 pm

Erik Stordahl wrote:Well here goes nothing.....
I am a first time rider with the first posting of my short lived riding career. I have an '03 for 6 weeks now and ride daily to work. Just hit the 18,000 mark and looking to do the maintenance.
My question is....
I rode over 2k miles in the 6 weeks, so basically I would be doing service on the bike every 4 months? That seems like a lot of service.

Any suggestions?!........

Change engine oil at 6000-8000 miles and use synthetic. Quality oils can easily go 6000 miles + without harming anything. I change oil twice annually regardless of mileage. I use the BMW OE filter. I change all other fluids annually along with the air filter. Your BMW is simple to service and does not require oil changes at 6000 miles if you run a good synthetic of proper viscosity. I use Mobil 1 15w-50 auto oil from Wal-Mart. My annual service costs are about $120.00. I perform all the service myself.

def38 · Post by **def38** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 9:04 pm

towerworker wrote:I have an 03 with 35000 miles. I have done all the service since the first service at or around 900 miles. Other than oil and filter every 3k, new battery last year, one new headlamp bulb, new brake pads front and rear, numerous new tires and a couple of quarts of 75/90 gear oil, I have spent 0 dollars on service. Maintenance is a breeze, valve adjustments are fun and quick and taking care of the bike is a joy. My coworkers spend more time trying to get their bikes started than I spend maintaining mine.

They don't make a better bike.

Wayne

Wayne, changing oil at 3000 mile intervals is, well.....wasteful. Even if you use cheap oil, your boxer does not need new oil this frequently unless you race and/or ride routinely in traffic in Phoenix AZ...even then, a good synthetic will easily go 7000 miles.

Erik Stordahl · Post by **Erik Stordahl** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 4:54 am

Thanks for all the info guys.
I didn't think it would be to tough, but just wanted to get some feedback from others.

There is one more thing maybe everyone can help with....
I know the bike is fuel injected, but has a choke on it to warm up.
I notice that even on a 70 degree morining I still need to warm the bike up before taking off.

Is this normal?

Hogan's Hero · Post by **Hogan's Hero** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 6:56 am

You want to be careful about what you call "warm up". You do not need to wait. Simply start the bike and ride. After a few minutes, you can release the advance/choke and continue on your trip. I believe this is recommended to allow for maximum seat time.

def38 · Post by **def38** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 8:04 am

Erik Stordahl wrote:Thanks for all the info guys.
I didn't think it would be to tough, but just wanted to get some feedback from others.

There is one more thing maybe everyone can help with....
I know the bike is fuel injected, but has a choke on it to warm up.
I notice that even on a 70 degree morining I still need to warm the bike up before taking off.

Is this normal?

The "so called" choke you refer to is nothing more than a fast idle lever. Once you have started the engine, ride off (10 second delay max) without warming up the bike. Use moderate throttle while the engine is coming up to 5 bars. This is the best practice and is recommended by BMW. After a bar or two is showing on the RID, return the fast idle lever to the normal position.

Post by **towerworker** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 9:27 am

Dennis-

I appreciate the response on the oil change interval. I realize that every 3k is a tad wasteful but I picked up that habit from my Dad many, many years ago. I am 52 and can not count the number of bikes, cars and trucks I have owned and have serviced them all with pretty much the same frequency as did my Father. My Father is gone now but he never had a major engine failure in his lifetime and to this point neither have I. I know my truck or my bike could come apart tomorrow but I feel pretty confident that they won't. Some extra quarts of oil and filters--small price to pay in my opinion.

That being said I did change to synthetic in my engine this past winter after some difficult starting issues one cold morning and I have extended the interval out to 5000 miles. I guess I could push that a little but I feel comfortable with 5k.

Thanks for the input!!

Wayne

Croc · Post by **Croc** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 2:50 pm

After a bar or two is showing on the RID, return the fast idle lever to the normal position.

Def - what is the RID???

Croc

Post by **bransan** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 6:50 pm

towerworker wrote:I have an 03 with 35000 miles. I have done all the service since the first service at or around 900 miles. Other than oil and filter every 3k, new battery last year, one new headlamp bulb, new brake pads front and rear, numerous new tires and a couple of quarts of 75/90 gear oil, I have spent 0 dollars on service. Maintenance is a breeze, valve adjustments are fun and quick and taking care of the bike is a joy. My coworkers spend more time trying to get their bikes started than I spend maintaining mine.

They don't make a better bike.

Wayne

Ditto! I love doing the service on My "R". Even basic mechanical skills will be sufficient for these bikes.

Post by **Daryl_stamp** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 5:27 am

What is the procedure for synchronizing the throttle bodies?
I read in the PDF manual that I picked up here that it involves BMW tool XYZ & ABC. I assume this is a set of vacuum gauges. Anyone have experience with this?

DLS

Post by **Buckster** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 6:37 am

Daryl,
There was a post on that not long ago. If you click on search at the top of the page and put in keyword for throttle bodies-adjustment. I am sure you find alot of info on prevoius posts.
I would like to get with someone so they could show me how its done.
I'm not ready to take that one on yet though it sounds like if you have the right tool that it is fairly simple.

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