[doc dogg]

I might be stating the obvious but if you have mangled it that much, I'd suggest having a new one on hand to replace it before you take the old one out.

 

[JellyRoll]

Doc, the thought had passed my mind. And, of course, my reference to the filler plug being a torx 45 in the second last sentence of my previous post was quite erroneous - it was the drain plug that I was in fact referring to. I need to take a nap.

 

[pierre]

Even if my R1200R has only 8 months and 10330 km so I decided to change the final drive oil:

both drain and filler plug aren't easy to unscrew until the end (by hand, without lever arm)


oil drain:

unscrew filler plug (with allen / BTR / HC 6 mm):

new oil, sealing washers on plugs, and syringe:

oil colour (from 1500 km to 10300 km) very dark:

for information I changed the gear box oil at 6500 km and the colour was the same :icon_scratch:

 

[proudpa9697]

Great instructions with pics MM. I did this service myself last fall on my '07. My only hiccup was cross threading the drain plug when re-installing. I was careless when I hand threaded the plug in. After partially torquing it up, I noticed that the drain bolt wasn't flush. I backed it out & to my horror there were aluminum slivers in the hole. Ugggh. I got out what I could see (magnet was no help for the aluminum slivers). I have gone about 1k miles since & have not had any issues. I need to get one of those graduated fluid injectors.

 

[Shishka]

Hey proudpa9697, you could try a plastic syringe from a chemist or pharmacy for the purpose of refilling final drive. Shouldn't cost more than a few bucks
Shishka

 

[pierre]

Having let rest the oil, we can see a sediment rather important (nevertheless the oil had been changed during the first revision at 1500 km and there, it had only 8800km (10300 km - 1500 km)

 

[JellyRoll]

Makes you wonder what that black stuff is. Diff oil drained from my old /6 was always pretty clear. R12 gearbox oil always drains clear with no settlement after standing. Different oil, but ... Anyone know why the black?

 

[cluainsi]

oil amount has been changed to 180 ml by BMW

 

[wildoat]

I may be considered a bit of a madman,lol, but I have my final drive oil changed at every service, it takes minutes
and costs about twelve quid, money well spent in my opinion.
Cheers
Tony

 

[Svaha!Dean]

madman

I may be considered a bit of a madman,lol, but I have my final drive oil changed at every service, it takes minutes
and costs about twelve quid, money well spent in my opinion.
Cheers
Tony

LOL -- indeed! :grin2:

 

[Newportcycle]

Makes you wonder what that black stuff is. Diff oil drained from my old /6 was always pretty clear. R12 gearbox oil always drains clear with no settlement after standing. Different oil, but ... Anyone know why the black?

I attended a maintenance seminar at the annual rally and the presenter said most likely there will be cruddy black sluge from the final drive bearings assembly lube and it should go away with subsequent lubricant changes.

 

[Panzermann]

oil amount has been changed to 180 ml by BMW

Can I assume you mean that this change is from the air-cooled to liquid cooled models or to the latter also as a service update.

My 2015 LC spec is 180 ml.

 

[Clem]

180ml Final Drive Fluid

I recall the quantity for my 2012 is 180ml.
You can be a few ml. over and still be OK (like engine oil level)
Quantity reduced from 200ml to allow additional space for gear oil expansion.
If too full, temperature and pressure can build up, possibly resulting in premature seal leakage.
Larger rear pinion bearing was introduced.

 

[bobthekelpy]

I recall the quantity for my 2012 is 180ml.
You can be a few ml. over and still be OK (like engine oil level)
Quantity reduced from 200ml to allow additional space for gear oil expansion.
If too full, temperature and pressure can build up, possibly resulting in premature seal leakage.
Larger rear pinion bearing was introduced.

Thanks for the explanation as to why. Any ideas as to why the initial fill is 200ml? Thinner oil for gear run in?

 

[Clem]

200ml ?

That is an astute observation. My 2102 came with about 200ml in it from the factory. I carefully measured when I drained it out.
Not all owners have found this to be true, but some have.
Honest answer is I DON'T KNOW.


The RPMs are limited for the first few miles. It would be hard to get it extremely HOT and have any temp. or expansion problems. Also BMW would not want to get caught with a new bike damaged by not having enough rear diff. oil. Err on the high side kind of judgement.


After the 600 mile check and first service the dealer added about 185ml by my calculations. I am going by the amount left in the 1 liter container, and by the amount I later drained out.

 

[yonderbob]

I did this work and I had no issue with the tools:

drain plug : torx 45
filler plug: BTR 6

This is a weird little bolt. I just received the replacement for the one I buggered up and have to drill out of the final drive case. It doesn't really look like a standard torx. It has the recesses for the torx teeth but they don't go all the way down in the recess. a torx 40 will fit but is very sloppy. a standard allen of 6 mm seems to fit best, but even that is not perfect. Torx 45 is way too big. In addition, I see now that it has a magnetic plug in it which might make drilling the old one out a bit more interesting than I'd like.

I wonder if BMW uses a different bolt in different assembly plants?

 

[yonderbob]

Gear Oil

What's the story on all this various and sundry gear oil?

I see that Castrol SAF-XO is no longer available and there's apparently a substitute that's named "long life"... not available here in the US apparently. I got Syntrax Limited Slip 75W-90 and intend to use it in the gearbox and final drive. I'm assuming any oil of the specified viscosity and API-GL-5 spec will do the job? Bottle says for Cars, Trucks, Motorcycles, Scooters and ATV's

 

[yonderbob]

This is a weird little bolt.

I know... I'm quoting myself... After looking closely at this final drive drain bolt and researching online I am 99% certain it is, in fact a torx plus... GEEZ! :surprise: Ordered some MORE dam TOOLS !!!:|

 

[pierre]

I did this work and I had no issue with the tools:

drain plug : torx 45
filler plug: BTR 6

BTR 6

torx 45

 

[yonderbob]

BTR 6


torx 45

Not on my bike... Torx 45 won't even go in the hole.