Cannot see through sight glass anymore

I cannot see the oil level through my sight glass anymore.

Cleaning the outside doesn't solve the problem. There seem to be a deposit of some sort on the inside of the glass.

Any idea on what can cause this?

Is there anyway to clean it?

According to the RSD DVD it takes a whole bunch of specialized tools if you want to replace it.

I use Motul 7100 10w60 synth oil and oil changes are always done following the maintenance schedule. (I just did it today)

The bike is an R1200Rt 2007 and has 178436 km

I'm not overly concerned, it's just annoying. I put 4L in when I change the oil and 500ml when the (!) sign come on.

BTW Motul 10W60 oil is red

It is age related and you should think about replacing it with your next oil change. The plastic window is getting brittle too and doesn't take much work to remove it.
Just don't forget remove the metal clip and using two wood screws it'll pull right out. There are some vids on youtube somewhere for this procedure. YMMV

RIDERR1150GSADV said:

It is age related and you should think about replacing it with your next oil change. The plastic window is getting brittle too and doesn't take much work to remove it.
Just don't forget remove the metal clip and using two wood screws it'll pull right out. There are some vids on youtube somewhere for this procedure. YMMV

Click to expand...

I've been searching through YouTube but didn't find any clear video on the procedure.

I have the RSD DVD and the BMW procedure uses a lot of specific tools.

I'm no mechanic but if I could find a clear step by step procedure I would do it. (I was able to replace the clutch myself this way)

When you get a chance, look through the threads at the bottom of the page.
There has been lots of information on sight glass replacement.
OM

If it's plastic I like Paul Glave's tip of using a solder iron to make a hole instead of drilling.

Dann said:

I've been searching through YouTube but didn't find any clear video on the procedure.

I have the RSD DVD and the BMW procedure uses a lot of specific tools.

I'm no mechanic but if I could find a clear step by step procedure I would do it. (I was able to replace the clutch myself this way)

Click to expand...

Try this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4Mj2R8KGgw

Dan, a friend of mine cracked his replacement sight glass while tapping it in. He's normally a fairly competent mechanic and said it would have been cheaper to have the dealer do it. He had his bike transported to the dealer.

I used the Tag Cloud and found the following links to sight glass replacement...it's for Oilheads, but I suspect a lot of it crosses over:

https://forums.bmwmoa.org/tags.php?tag=sight+glass+replacement,+

The procedure is identical to the oil-head. The difference is the retaining ring that keeps the sight-glass assembly in the engine block. No real mystery here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVcwkB9qFcI