Ride Report

Today was a brisk, 40 degree morning here in Texas, sunny, slight breeze, no clouds. It was a great day to go out and stretch the legs of my new beemer. I decided not to do any specific route, but go where the tires take me. I circled a bit around Pilot Point, then made my way back to Prosper via Celina.

I have noticed for a while now, that there seems to be only two types of people on the road on Sunday mornings, church goers, and motorcyclists. The roads are not full of crazy commuters and it is usually to early for people to be clogging the roads trying to get to Home Depot or Target.

I stopped by the roadside to take a picture of the silver bullet. I have not taken any photos of it yet since purchasing. This was done with my cell phone, so the quality does not do the bike justice.

I did notice that 2nd and 3rd gear rev very high and surge a bit, and the forums I'm reading suggest that the motronic (http://www.ibmwr.org/r-tech/oilheads/R11-motronic)or throttle bodies over time need adjusting to get the fuel injection just right. A fuel injection cleaner like Chevron Techron Fuel System Cleaner, might help the problem, and can not hurt at this point.

Chevron Techron Fuel System Cleaner
http://www.amazon.com/Chevron-Techron-Fuel-System-Cleaner/dp/B00092893E

Battery Charger

Well, my first real experience with a "leap through technology" beemer. While trying to put my battery charger on, I soon discovered, not only is the battery tough to get to, but it a newer no maintenance free gel type battery, which is great,


but my standard Schumacher SEM-1562A battery charger will not charge the gel types.




So with a little research from the BMW MOA and talking to Ron, I quickly figured out that there is a Deltran Battery Charger made for BMW under the Battery Tender line or the Battery Doc charger will work with lead acid and gel type. The Battery Doc comes with the accessory plug included, so I bought one from Fly N Cycle for $37.00.

Battery Doc

BMW Owner News in Jan 2002 endorsed this product.

http://www.batterydoc.com/pressh.htm

Researching Lubricants

Ok, I guess that title does sound funny, but in the process of reading the official BMW repair manual, they list some lubricants for general maintenance. Most of these are available in EMEA, but their equivalents need more research. I'm sure my local BMW dealer will sell me all of these at a heft price.

1) Retinax A, this is listed as the (taper) roller bearing grease in the repair manual, but I noticed is also used to lubricate the clutch cable and the adjustable windshield shaft. I used a basic lithium grease until I can find this product or its equivalent.



2) Staburags NBU 30 PTM, this is listed to grease the side stand. A google search produced articles suggesting alternatives such as Texistar or BMW red grease.










3) Brake Fluid DOT 4 quality classifications, e.g. ATE "SL" brake fluid, since this is done every year, I will most likely stick to Castrol or BMW only brake fluid.








4) Bosch ft 40v1, this grease was also recommended for airheads as a acid resistant battery terminal grease, some have suggested that Vaseline works also. This grease being German is hard to find in auto parts stores in the US. Moto bins has tubes of it.

5) Optimoly MP 3, and Optimoly TA. Moto bins online has both of these products listed as Castrol Optimol TA, and Castrol Optimol White Paste T, both being used for splines for final drive and clutch shaft.

Oil Change

Oil Change and Filter was done 48,233 miles by previous owner.

Last Maintenance

The previous owner had a 12K service done @ 46155 miles, on July 1, 2008.

This service included the following items minus an oil change

• Change Gear Oil
• Replace Fuel Filter
• Replace Rear Wheel drive oil
• Replace Air Filter
• Grease side stand
• Replace spark plugs
• Adjust valve clearance

Inspect many other items.

See this document for items
LINK HERE to Maintenance schedule

New Bike

Dec 14th, 2008, I bought my second BMW. I found a 2000 R1100RS, Silver. I found this beauty on the craigslist forums, and the owner was willing to swap for my airhead. This is a Cadillac of a bike, it has 49600 miles, but it is in great shape, BMW original bags, ABS, heated grips, awesome.

At this point it does not need any maintenance, but I will be looking into what is next.