R1200S Self Service?

[Dids]

Gearing up to service the R1200S that I bought in November, ready for the Spring

Thought that I'd be able to do this myself......

But.......

Checked the Haynes manual and it tells me that I need to take the bike to a BMW dealer for a brake fluid change.

The brakes are ABS, not sure if the ABS function is user serviceable either.

A friend who has a 1200GS tells me that to properly balance the fuel injectors, as well as using a pressure gauge the bike needs to be hoked up to a diagnostic machine as well.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...........

Just thought I'd check with y'all before I put my tools away and check it in for a service.

Cheers

[milleplod]

I'm not too sure re the brakes on the S, some boxers have servo ones, some don't, and I think its servo ones that might be dealer-only - my 1200ST is non-ABS, so its nice and simple. The rest of the servicing is a piece of cake though really, I suppose the most involved bit would be throttle-body balancing - you're not thinking of letting a dealer do everything, are you?!

Pete

[Dids]

The brakes on my R1200S are ABS but non-servo, so different to yours.
Dunno, maybe the ABS feature makes them dealer only serviceable??

Do you think that it's OK just to use pressure gauges for throttle body balancing?
My 1200GS owning friend thinks that the bike needs to be hooked up to a diagnostic machine as well....

[fontana]

The 1200S did not have the terrible linked servo system that they inflicted on a lot of other bikes of the era, so even though it is abs, it should be quite straightforward.
The best advice is to invest in a decent workshop manual and work through it slowly.
I don't trust Haynes.
Over the years I've come across too many errors, a few of which could have been catastrophic.
Oh and if you're going to balance the throttle bodies, it would be good practice to check and adjust (if necessary) the valve clearances.
Unless they changed post oil head, these are nut and bolt tappet type adjusters, so again, nice easy job.
Get a proper BMW workshop manual

[Herb]

My bike has always been self serviced. Most of it can be done yourself with basic tools, and with the loan or purchase of a Twinmax (or similar) you can balance the throttles.

You need a diagnostic tool or GS-911 to reset the idle stepper motors I believe.

I was under the impression that brake fluid can be changed conventionally and there is no need to hook up to the diagnostic system to do this, that was purely to ensure there were no error codes, but I seem to recall being corrected on that assumption, but can't find the thread? I'll keep looking, but why don't you phone your dealer and ask to speak to one of their technicians. They will put you right.

Last time I had my brake fluid done, Pidcocks only charged me £13 as it was in for a recall anyway. Time before I had it done at Motoscot (Dunstable) and he charged approx. £30 for brake and clutch fluids with labour.

I would do everything you can yourself and then either book it in to a dealer or independent just for the stuff you can't do. That way it costs very little.

[Justcruising]

The brake fluid can be easily changed on the R12S by conventional methods. As mentioned, a diagnostic tool (eg. GS-911) is only essential to identify any error codes in any of the systems (incl. ABS) & useful in diagnosing issues and some tests.

Throttle Body Synchronisation does require some measurement equipment (numerous types & brands available) and some have made a simple mamometer at home to do it successfully (and prefer it!) ... Google! You can find a wealth of relevant information on servicing in the Tech section, as well as the 'Pelican Parts' forum and other similar boxer forums.
Cheers!

[Dids]

Thanks everyone............

Yup, looks pretty straightforward, so I guess I'll do the servicing myself.

Going to go shopping at Motoworks for:
* R1200S service kit
* Vacuum gauges (maybe Carbtune, but probably Davida)
* Tub of their £4.99 Moly grease

I also need a spark plug wrench but Motoworks want a crazy £23.10 for one!
Saw this on Amazon which looks a better buy:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sealey-AK6557- ... B0016WLFGY

Some Castrol Syntrax Longlife for gearbox & final drive, engine oil & a bottle of Dot 4 & I should be sorted.

Thanks again for your help.

[Herb]

Some Castrol Syntrax Longlife for gearbox & final drive, engine oil & a bottle of Dot 4 & I should be sorted.

Thanks again for your help.

You will need two 1 litre bottles if you are going to do both gearbox and final drive, but then you will have the best part of a full bottle for next time.

Buy a load of final drive o-rings, gearbox and sump plug washers too, then you will have plenty for next time.

[dave the german]

try a Halfords pro spark plug socket - not sure of the price but if you need to get a socket set as well the socket comes with it

[Dids]

You will need two 1 litre bottles if you are going to do both gearbox and final drive, but then you will have the best part of a full bottle for next time.

Buy a load of final drive o-rings, gearbox and sump plug washers too, then you will have plenty for next time.

That's good to know - you've saved two trips to Halfords for the Castrol Syntrax Longlife.

Looks like Motoworks sell the washers & O rings:
Final drive pivot point O ring 34 x 1 | TRA04693 £0.60
Engine drain crush washer | SIA63252 £0.36
Bevel drive oil filler plug crush washer | SIA63140 £0.34

I'm going to use the ABBA stand I have for my R1100S to hoist the R1200S for it's final drive service.
Noticed that there's a little black plastic cap over the left swing arm pivot.
I'll need to take it off to fit the ABBA stand.
Not quite sure how to remove it...... Don't want to damage the thing...... Do you just lever it off?

[Herb]

Yes. The plastic cover just pops off. If you look closely you will see a raised section of the moulding big enough to pop a small screwdriver behind.

[Dids]

Yes. The plastic cover just pops off. If you look closely you will see a raised section of the moulding big enough to pop a small screwdriver behind.

Cheers

Nul points for me then - did look closely but didn't see the screwdriver slot........

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..............

Hope that I'm a bit more on the ball when I start wielding spanners on my lovely R1200S .......

[Herb]

Just take your time. You'll be fine.

[Justcruising]

I've still only been able to source the Castrol Syntrax Longlife from my local BMW dealer over here, at about $60/L! Doesn't seem to be carried in our general auto stores. I recall i've only needed a 1L container but it was borderline empty! FD capacities were reduced from the earlier 220ml specified to 180ml (much content online about this). Which should just keep you within 1L all up. See how you go, no harm having a backup on hand.

[Herb]

The oil quantity in the gearbox is 0.9 litres, the final drive 0.18 litres, so if your going to fill to spec you need just over 1 litre.

Over here the cost of the oil is approx £14 per litre, so no harm having some left over for next year.

http://www.opieoils.co.uk/search/go?w=S ... &view=grid