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In Praise Of The F700GS Oil Change

glenb

New member
Just did my first oil & filter change on the F700GS.

Over the years, between my wife and I have done oil changes on; Virago's, an 1100 V Star, a 2004 Gold Wing, FJR1300, a couple of Victory Visions.

I am pleased to say, the change on the F700GS was the easiest oil change I have every done.

No dismantling to get at stuff, no awkward contortions to get at stuff, no burnt fingers checking the oil (on the Vic.'s), no spillage, no cursing etc.


As if I did not already have enough reasons to like the F700GS :)
 
Just did my first oil & filter change on the F700GS.

Over the years, between my wife and I have done oil changes on; Virago's, an 1100 V Star, a 2004 Gold Wing, FJR1300, a couple of Victory Visions.

I am pleased to say, the change on the F700GS was the easiest oil change I have every done.

No dismantling to get at stuff, no awkward contortions to get at stuff, no burnt fingers checking the oil (on the Vic.'s), no spillage, no cursing etc.


As if I did not already have enough reasons to like the F700GS :)
I agree with the ease of oil change, with the exception of having to drop the skid plate first. There than that, it sure beat having to change the oil in my K1200 RS. Talk about a mess with having to dig out the filter from inside the oil pan......
 
Annie has two F bikes and they are easy to maintain, but for ease of maintenance it is hard to beat the R1200R hexhead.

Glad to hear you are enjoying your F700 Glen. It only gets better.
 
I am reminded of the oil change torture on my F650 (single) Dakar. I knew it would be fun when I read the instructions in the factory manual which began, "Remove the left front turn signal." Truly!!
 
I remember my 75 Moto Guzzi instructions, "Remove the oil pan to replace the filter." Guzzi put a scew on filter inside the pan! Took me about ten minutes to change the oil and filter on my 700GS this weekend.
 
I am reminded of the oil change torture on my F650 (single) Dakar. I knew it would be fun when I read the instructions in the factory manual which began, "Remove the left front turn signal." Truly!!

A BMW design engineer made VP on that one.
 
I agree with the ease of oil change, with the exception of having to drop the skid plate first. There than that, it sure beat having to change the oil in my K1200 RS. Talk about a mess with having to dig out the filter from inside the oil pan......

Forgot that some have the skid plate.

I'm not a rue GS-type :blush, mine stays strictly on the pavement, so there's no skid plate on it. ;)
 
Reviving an old thread to concur on how easy an F700GS oil change is. Spin out drain plug, spin off filter, both readily accessible. Very simple.

One hitch is that BMW has discontinued the original 12-fluted filter (part #11427719357), and replaced it with a 14-fluted filter (part# 11428409567). The 14-flute is physically larger. So the clearance between the filter and exhaust header pipes is VERY tight.

I ended up having to grind the lip off the 14-flute oil filter wrench to make it fit, and even then it barely fits. In future I would be interested in identifying an aftermarket filter with slightly smaller dimensions...
 
Has anyone tried these KN oil change kits?

KN Oil Change Kit BMW F700GS

They are less pricey by about $15 than the kits sold by various BMW shops. They use Motul synthetic 15-50 and the KN filter has a handy 17MM nut for removal (rather than using a tight fitting oil filter wrench.)
 
Has anyone tried these KN oil change kits?

KN Oil Change Kit BMW F700GS

They are less pricey by about $15 than the kits sold by various BMW shops. They use Motul synthetic 15-50 and the KN filter has a handy 17MM nut for removal (rather than using a tight fitting oil filter wrench.)

I don’t see a crush washer for the drain plug. Last one I bought through the MAX BMW/Amazon site, MAX had automatically taped a CW to the filter.
OM
 
Not a fan of K&N and they have not done well in comparison tests with other filters when it comes to how well they filter.

I agree the F twins are an easy bike on which to do basic maintenance. Not so much when it comes to checking/adjusting the valves. You need a cardiac surgeon's rib splitter.
 
I don’t see a crush washer for the drain plug. Last one I bought through the MAX BMW/Amazon site, MAX had automatically taped a CW to the filter.
OM

Yeah, this change I recently did was completed with a kit from Max BMW, purchased off their Ebay shop.

Except for the change in filter design/part#, I was very pleased with it. Not only did they include the crush washer, but they also tossed in a small funnel, a set of latex gloves, and a bag of M&Ms!! (I so happen to love M&Ms.)

It was a bit pricey but they sure made it easy for me. I would certainly recommend them.
 
Not a fan of K&N and they have not done well in comparison tests with other filters when it comes to how well they filter.

I agree the F twins are an easy bike on which to do basic maintenance. Not so much when it comes to checking/adjusting the valves. You need a cardiac surgeon's rib splitter.

I agree with Kevin - here's a great writeup and testing that BestRest products did with various oil filters: https://bestrestproducts.com/oil-filters-in-the-nuclear-age-teaser/ (theres's a video too)
 
Not a fan of K&N and they have not done well in comparison tests with other filters when it comes to how well they filter.

I agree the F twins are an easy bike on which to do basic maintenance. Not so much when it comes to checking/adjusting the valves. You need a cardiac surgeon's rib splitter.

Okay, thanks for that feedback. I really like the idea of the 17mm nut to improve clearance, but beyond that I have no experience with their products.

Btw, since purchasing this bike a few weeks back now, I’ve been poring over maintenance threads here and on the F800 forum. The consensus over there is don’t bother with the valves. Apparently among those few who have bothered no one reports ever needing to adjust them. Have you had to make any adjustments?
 
Okay, thanks for that feedback. I really like the idea of the 17mm nut to improve clearance, but beyond that I have no experience with their products.

Btw, since purchasing this bike a few weeks back now, I’ve been poring over maintenance threads here and on the F800 forum. The consensus over there is don’t bother with the valves. Apparently among those few who have bothered no one reports ever needing to adjust them. Have you had to make any adjustments?

On Annie's F800GS there was one exhaust valve out of spec at 36,000 miles. I recommend doing the first check at and if there are no valves out of spec or on the verge of out, then you can delay the next one for as long as you dare. They do get out of spec and the price of ignoring it can some times be very expensive.
 
On Annie's F800GS there was one exhaust valve out of spec at 36,000 miles. I recommend doing the first check at and if there are no valves out of spec or on the verge of out, then you can delay the next one for as long as you dare. They do get out of spec and the price of ignoring it can some times be very expensive.

Copy. Oddly, my owners manual does not provide any maintenance intervals. But the Haynes service manual I just received shows first valve check at 24K miles.

Back to the K&N filters... The link above that DrNeo provided has the K&N as the top tested/rated. That, and the Mobil 1 filter. Better than the BMW oem.

Of course, that was one test and not necessarily real-world.
 
Thanks.

Can any of you guys recommend a well-regarded aftermarket filter, preferably a bit smaller dimensionally than the current oem?

Personally, I just keep it simple and buy an OEM filter- from a dealer you like......... or would like to like. It isn’t much difference, supports the dealer and if you do need dealer service- you have a bit of a history.

This F-Twin index had a review of the Globeriders DVD. It’s on the F-800GS but has some good info from Helge.

https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?78486-The-F-Twin-Index

OM
 
Personally, I just keep it simple and buy an OEM filter- from a dealer you like......... or would like to like. It isn’t much difference, supports the dealer and if you do need dealer service- you have a bit of a history.

This F-Twin index had a review of the Globeriders DVD. It’s on the F-800GS but has some good info from Helge.

https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?78486-The-F-Twin-Index

OM

Normally that is what I would do. But the new 14-fluted oem filter is a tighter fit than the original 12-fluted. I’d like to find a filter that gives more clearance.
 
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