Service Question

phil · Dec 7, 2005

I have a RT1150 (2004). I bought in October of 2004. I currently have 1900 miles on the odometer (I know I dont ride enough).Question is I did the 600 mile service in November of 2004. The dealer says I need to bring the bike in for a yearly service $400.00. Is this really necessary? I dont want to void the warranty. The bike is parked in the garage always.
Thanks Phil

kbasa · Dec 7, 2005

I'd be most worried about the brake and clutch fluid as they absorb water from the atmosphere. If they absorb enough, they'll corrode some expensive bits in your brake and clutch systems and cost you some major money.

FWIW, a master cylinder for our R1100RS is almost $400.

:bikes

BUBBAZANETTI · Dec 7, 2005

i second kbasa, i bought my bike in febuary with 3500 miles on it, not sure if the clutch/brake fluid had been done or not since 99'. i replaced the brake fluid right after i got it, but still, to this day, haven't done the clutch (keep forgetting, don't have time, blah, blah, etc............) and now i have a bit of a leak under the lever. probably related to old fluid..............

ppaintguy · Dec 7, 2005

As for warranty in the US as long as you keep records and receipts to show the work was done, then it does not have to be done at the dealer as I understand it. That was what I understood after reading this. Of course if you do not have tools, time or skill to do it then go pay for the peace of mind.

I bought one of those Mighty Vac fluid vacuum pumps and they work great. Special attention is needed around the ABS but is not out of the realm either.

jacco · Dec 7, 2005

pudgypaintguy said:
As for warranty in the US as long as you keep records and receipts to show the work was done, then it does not have to be done at the dealer as I understand it.

You're right. But this still means that someone has to do the service. I would be careful with that warranty, they have lawyers... :deal

Did you talk to the dealer? They might be able to skip part of the annual and still get you your sticker (for less than $400). On the other hand, at the current rate it's unlikely that anything worth more than $800 will break over the next 2 years, so you can take the gamble and skip the annual. But the others are right, you don't want to leave those fluids in for more than 2 years, even if the bike sits still, so you only save a small amount of $$$ since you'll need service next year anyway. And with a MOM full of service stickers the value of the bike will be slightly higher if you ever sell it...

Now that I think of it, $400 seems a lot. I had an annual+18k done last weekend by Bob's. The only thing they didn't do was an oil change, but it did need a new $60 part (valve cover protection thingy). Total bill was $370. So if you assume that the skipped oil change is compensated by the $60 part they did the valve adjustment/tbs in addition to the annual and charged me $30 less than your $400. How much do others pay for an annual?

Jacco

The_Veg · Dec 7, 2005

And with a MOM full of service stickers the value of the bike will be slightly higher if you ever sell it...

How much is slightly?

And how many vehicles have really been harmed by not changing hydraulic fluids? Not many. I'm not endorsing serious neglect, just a bit of rationality.

kbasa · Dec 7, 2005

The Veg said:
How much is slightly?

And how many vehicles have really been harmed by not changing hydraulic fluids? Not many. I'm not endorsing serious neglect, just a bit of rationality.

Well, there was the Toyota truck I had with the siezed caliper, the CB400F we bought with the siezed caliper and the R11RS, which got a new master cylinder. In all cases, disassembly revealed those whitish deposits that show up when moisture collects in a hydraulic systems.

If you live someplace that's seriously humid (maybe Florida?

) you should probably keep an eye on that stuff.

The_Veg · Dec 7, 2005

Not saying it can't happen Dave- obviously it can- but growing up in the deep south (humidity you can wring out of your socks) it never much happened. Fifteen-year-old (and older) cars and trucks never had much problem with neglected hydraulics. What's different these days? Why should a very young BMW motorcycle have a problem?

AntonLargiader · Dec 7, 2005

The Veg said:
And how many vehicles have really been harmed by not changing hydraulic fluids? Not many.

Many. Believe me, many. I get them all the time. Airheads, Ks, but especially early Oilheads get leaky master cylinders. Look a few threads down on the "flaccid clutch" thread and you'll see that not changing the fluid gets expensive.

It's cheap, and SO easy to do. What's the problem?

ppaintguy · Dec 7, 2005

I had them roll it into my last full service and the cost was $325 from Grand Rapids BMW

exharleyscott · Dec 7, 2005

I just had year 2 / 24k service on my 04 RT. Complete service, 2 metzler z6's, fuel filter and break fluid service = $980. I was quite shocked when the dealer said I should get out for under a grand, never thought I could run up that kind of a bill with a perfectlly good running motorcycle. Oh well.

jacco · Dec 7, 2005

exharleyscott said:
I just had year 2 / 24k service on my 04 RT. Complete service, 2 metzler z6's, fuel filter and break fluid service = $980. I was quite shocked when the dealer said I should get out for under a grand, never thought I could run up that kind of a bill with a perfectlly good running motorcycle. Oh well.

OK, but the 24k is expensive, fuel filter change et al., and the MEZ6s added probably $300-$350 to the bill, including mounting etc... Still, ouch!

ppaintguy · Dec 7, 2005

You know with all the service costs it makes one wonder if it is not just cheaper to fix it yourself and replace the parts out of pocket anyway...you can buy a heck of a set of tools for some of these service totals, and a good contribution to the cost of the parts too. As someone already said..."oh well"

The_Veg · Dec 7, 2005

No problem with doing it, I'm just wondering as I read this thread why your bikes seem so much more sensitive about it than so many cheepo cars I've known.

LORAZEPAM · Dec 7, 2005

I need to get mine into the dealer (gasp) for the brakes on my RRS. I have done the rest of the 24k service, (not hard to do) but the dang servo assist brakes are not something I want to mess up, considering a fresh unit is around 1800 bucks.

jacco · Dec 7, 2005

lorazepam said:
but the dang servo assist brakes are not something I want to mess up, considering a fresh unit is around 1800 bucks.

And your life even slightly more than that...

The Veg said:
No problem with doing it, I'm just wondering as I read this thread why your bikes seem so much more sensitive about it than so many cheepo cars I've known.

Probably the "they can afford the fancy bike so they can pay for the fancy dealership" factor. I just talked about this with my bro this weekend, actually. He took his Volvo and his wife's Mazda to their respective dealerships for similar service and noticed that very similar parts (e.g. wiperblades) for his car were about 1.5 times more expensive...

ppaintguy · Dec 7, 2005

Even if one works on their own bike there are bound to be tasks that a dealer is better suited to do, such as ABS setup for my peace of mind, and perhaps the TBI synch, final drive backlash etc.

Has anyone ever serviced a throttle cable on an Adventure/GS? That sure seems like a barrell of fun too...lol

soffiler · Dec 8, 2005

The Veg said:
No problem with doing it, I'm just wondering as I read this thread why your bikes seem so much more sensitive about it than so many cheepo cars I've known.

There is a simple answer. DOT4. BMW's use DOT4 brake fluid (I know that's a generalization but all the ones I am most familiar with sure do) whereas your typical cheepo car uses DOT3. DOT4 has a higher dry boiling point than DOT3, which is good; but it has a greater propensity to absorb water out of the atmosphere, which is bad. A conscientious manufacturer who wishes to specify the higher performance of DOT4 also specifies a periodic fluid change.

gregfeeler · Dec 8, 2005

lorazepam said:
I need to get mine into the dealer (gasp) for the brakes on my RRS. I have done the rest of the 24k service, (not hard to do) but the dang servo assist brakes are not something I want to mess up, considering a fresh unit is around 1800 bucks.

Very valid points here about moisture getting into the brake fluid and potential damage. I also opted to have the integrated EVO brakes on my K1200RS ('03) done by the dealer. However, I would suggest you take a good look at DOT 5.1 brake fluid, and especiall Motul. It is NOT like DOT 5.0 (is compatable with DOT 3 & 4) but does resist moisture problems better. This could give you a safety margin in both performance and change frequency. I used it in my clutch last time and will switch over in the brakes at the next service.

AntonLargiader · Dec 9, 2005

Greg, if you are going to continue to have your brakes serviced by the dealer I would deconcern yourself about the fluid type. There's a good chance that the dealer will not use anything other than BMW DOT4 fluid. :deal

Gale, you're not going to break the IABS unit by doing the work yourself but you can (a) make a big mess, and (b) end up with poor residual braking if there is ANY air in the system. Once there's air in the lines, it's very tough to tell when all of it is out again without using the computer.

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