Category: Maintenance

Come home soon!

Changed the oil this past week as part of the 12,000-mile maintenance. Everything went smoothly. This was the second time doing it for me so it went pretty quickly. The process is to remove the bash plate, loosen the drain plug a bit (makes it easier to remove later when the engine is warm), remove the left side cover, then warm up the engine for a bit. Loosen the top drainplug a little, then remove the top oil container thing, then fully remove the drainplug and tilt the container to empty out the oil into a jug or something. After that is done, replace the drainplug and put the top oil container back into place. Next, remove the bottom drain plug and empty out the oil. Clean the drainplug and any debris that the magnet may have trapped. Put a new crush washer on, and tighten the drainplug. Next, remove the front sprocket cover, and get ready to remove the oil filter cover which means to make sure and have your makeshift funnel ready. BMW will sell you the funnel for $65, but I opted for the beercan method (see photo above). Remove the old oil filter and replace with a new one (put a little fresh oil on the rubber seal first). Put a new gasket on the cover, and put it back together. Next put 2 liters of oil in the top, then let the engine run for 30 seconds. Add .3 more liters. Replace bash plate and side cover and you’re done. Easy peasy!

In addition to the oil change, I bled the brakes and put in some fresh DOT-4 brake fluid. Now the brake action feels a lot more solid.

I’ve had my motorcycle for a whole year now and I haven’t washed it once. It’s kind of a tradition that GS’s are supposed to be dirty. I’ve read that at some GS rallies, your bike will be disqualified from show contests if it is too clean. I guess since it is an “adventure bike”, it’s meant to be covered in mud. This lack of motorcycle hygiene suits my lazy demeanor just fine. Actually, I do take care of maintenance and clean/lube the chain pretty often, but most surface areas never get cleaned. I just wipe the headlight, taillight and blinkers every so often and that’s enough for me. A couple Sundays ago my kids and I were washing my wife’s car for Mother’s Day and the kids said they wanted to wash the bikes, including my motorcycle. I wouldn’t call it a proper washing (more like a rinse) but I guess once a year won’t hurt, right?

Another day of routine maintenance on the bike. This time it’s a coolant change. Looked like it would be a super easy job. It turns out it was simple, but a little frustrating at one point. The F650 GS takes the normal 50/50 antifreeze coolant so it’s a really cheap bit of work. The only other thing you need to buy is a small copper crush washer, size A6X10. I just ordered a few from Lonestar BMW for 40 cents each. I also bought a funnel that had some marks on the side of it so I would know exactly how much antifreeze I was putting in. It turns out this funnel is unnecessary so I will be returning it.

First, you need to start with a cold bike. Then, remove the left-side faux tank cover so you have access to the radiator cap and reservoir tank. Next, unscrew the radiator cap and remove the reservoir cover. After that, loosen the drain plug at the bottom of the water pump cover. Make sure you have some kind of container to catch the old coolant. I used an old water jug and a big funnel. When taking out the drain plug (and washer) make sure not to drop it into the old coolant. You’ll also need to disconnect the radiator hose to get the fluid out of the radiator. Lastly, remove the reservoir and dump the old coolant that was in there. Reattach the hose, put a new crush washer on the drainplug, apply a little loctite, then tighten it back up.

Next I wanted to bleed the cooling system and to do this, you are supposed to attach a tube to the bleed valve, then loosen it and start adding coolant to the radiator. Any air in the system will be forced out and when you see a steady stream of coolant coming out, tighten the bleed valve. The problem I had was that I couldn’t for the life of me find the bleed valve. I had a photo from f650.com and also the photo from the official service manual. I must have spent 20 minutes searching! Well, it turns out that the twin-spark F650 GS’s do not have a bleed valve, but just a regular bolt instead. This makes bleeding the cooling system a little trickier. Since you can’t attach a tube, I ended up sticking a straw into the hole. Positioned under the other side of the straw was the water jug and funnel. I started adding fluid to the radiator, and when I saw fresh coolant coming out of the straw, I quickly popped the bold back in there. It was a little messy and I’m not sure a little air didn’t get back in there, but what are you gonna do?

Next I topped up the radiator with coolant, and put some in the reservoir to the MIN line. I put the radiator and reservoir caps back on, then started up the bike. After about 10 minutes the fan kicked in which meant it was warmed up. Then I let it cool down and unscrewed the radiator cap and topped it up again. I also filled the reservoir to the max level. I put the plastics back on the bike, and was done! Later on I went for a ride and then checked the coolant level again, but it was the same level.

This was my first coolant change, and they recommend you change it every 2,000 miles so I was well overdue. It’s an easy and quick procedure, so I will be doing ti following the recommended schedule! Next maintenance that I would like to do is a valve check. This will be a little more involved, but I’d rather do it myself since service at the dealer is crazy expensive!