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R1200GS Oil Change

java1968

New member
Have done it before, but not immediately after having changed oil on a car.

The contrast is pretty funny.

Car - One socket for the oil plug. Removed the filter by hand.

R1200GS - Three different sockets needed just to get the skid plate off. Then, a mail hex socket needed to get the plug out. Then, a special tool I had to buy - can't remember when, from whom, and for how much - to get the oil filter off.

Oh, and you need a tool to get the filler cap off so that you can refill with new oil.

Right now I feel like I own a 1970s MG.

But the bike sure is awesome to ride. I'll give it that.
 
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Plus, you had to use a new crush washer when reinstalling the drain plug.

You have to do this, too, on German cars, but it's now mostly irrelevant as they're all designed to have the oil vacuumed out via the dipstick tube.
 
"Removed filter by hand" Really? I've never owned a car that didn't require a filter wrench of some sort.

The GS has pretty much everything you need in the toolkit except for the filter wrench. I don't have to put the GS up on ramps to get under it to remove the filter and drain plug. My GS is far simpler to change the oil than any of the cars I've owned. But, I do think BMW could have given just a little more thought to the nuts and bolts on the skidplate :) Technically the skidplate is probably optional for the 90% of GS riders that never leave the pavement.
 
I only take the filter off by hand when I am under there and have forgotten to bring the wrench with me.

Sure would like to do work on my bike beyond just changing the oil, like a lot of you guys do, but I am just plain chicken. I have no fear tearing my car/truck/boat apart, but maybe because I love my bike so much I am afraid to break it.
 
I'm doing a clutch spline lube and also complete major service on my R1150R, plus all those other little things encountered while doing all of that. Oil change? Not so bad.
 
I have the BMW large skidplate on my and it is 6 bolts, but all the same size so that helps. And on my truck it always seems to need a wrench on the oil filter partially because it is so hard to get a hand on it. So that is a wash. Upside to the bike is I don't have to lie on my back to do the work.

Truck oil change is faster though, but I don't find the GS to be that bad.
 
And darn it that I think I overfilled the BMW.

The car I changed first is my wife's Saab 9-5 wagon, which has a high-pressure turbo that allows for 260 HP out of a 2.3 liter 4 banger. That car eats a quart every few thousand miles and my frame of mind was "more rather than less".

My 1200GS uses almost no oil, and I tried to put in the full "4.1L" stated in the manual. That came out by my crude methods to be 4 quarts plus around 5 ounces of quart number 5. The level is now such that the oil level is above the site glass.

All in all though, I'm sure the big GS can handle it and all will be okay...
 
Special tool for the filter? Really? It's been a couple of years since I had a hexhead GS, but as I recall, I was able to use a good old strap-type filter wrench. There was a trick to it, as the exhaust or something played interference, but if I jiggled it just right I could get it onto the filter and get just enough motion to do the trick.
 
Did that last time. 4 qts and 4 ounces. Over the check window for 1,000 miles . Its finally down to the top of the window cold.

My 1100 would be at the bottom of the window by the 1,000 miles.

Next change 4 quarts with a BMW filter.
 
Yes. Last time I did 4 quarts plus empty filter. Level was just barely to the top of the glass. Had a brain cramp this time.
 
I just did the first DIY oil change on my R12R. The last change was during the 600 mile service. I have never had a bike that had the filter on as tight as this. I do not know if it was installed dry or not, but I barely got it off even with the proper wrench. Maybe super glue was used on the gasket instead of oil. Other than that, a simple job and only took 10 minutes.
 
Plus, you had to use a new crush washer when reinstalling the drain plug.

You have to do this, too, on German cars, but it's now mostly irrelevant as they're all designed to have the oil vacuumed out via the dipstick tube.

Oh I don't know, back in the good old days everything leaked. You put a cookie sheet under the bike to catch all the drips. If you don't change the drain plug washer it may bring you back to the good old days.
I spoke to a guy over the weekend with a 1974 Norton Commando. He was about 6'3" tall. This model actually had brakes. It had a single front disc with a rear drum.
Remember how small the old bikes were?
Everything leaked!
Nice piece of history though, didn't idle without help, classic up-swept pipes with leaks at every opportunity.
I like the new bikes better.
Sorry to steer your thread in the wrong direction.
 
I spoke to a guy over the weekend with a 1974 Norton Commando...Everything leaked!

I used to know a guy with a Norton. If he left the petcock open after shutting down, it would leak fuel onto the starter. I always made sure to keep well away from that bike after he parked it.
 
So I noticed oil spots on the driveway this week. Ramped up the Saab and had a look and it appears that the crankcase is blowing off the dang excess oil I put in there, too. I was not having a good day apparently last Saturday.

An airplane A&P mechanic (old term, I think) once told me that the average four cylinder air/oil cooled Lycoming or Continental aircraft engine only needs one quart of 5 or 6 in order to lubricate. The rest is for cooling. Can that possibly be true?

In any case, I"m not going to overfill anymore, accidentally or otherwise.
 
Some of us do this;

PRIME the filter before install! I always have, just figure less engine fatigue trying to fill filter and oil NOT getting through it quick enough. You mentioned empty filter. This has nothing to do with total oil capacity, but good practice on all engines with filter in upright position to hold primed oil in them, before starting engine:). I pour 4 complete qts in my GSA1200 every time, which is FULL sight glass at first and it always seems to settle about 2/3rds mark after a few 100 miles. Remember, prime your filter. Randy:usa
 
PRIME the filter before install! I always have, just figure less engine fatigue trying to fill filter and oil NOT getting through it quick enough.

do this in all Boxer applications, as well as my Dodge diesel...doesn't work on the Wedge K's however with a side mounted filter:banghead
 
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