Using the BMW special tool to get into your brake and clutch fluid reservoirs makes the task easier and less prone to accidental damage to the components. At $18.48 as of this writing, it’s a small investment that could save you money in the long run.
Brake fluid should be clear and maybe slightly yellowish. If it’s brown or you see chunks in the reservoir, it’s time to clean and flush. BMW recommends servicing your brake system every two years.
Fresh oil on the ground is never a good sign, but in this case it was a minor issue. Oil leaking out from the ignition coil tunnel generally points to an improperly seated donut gasket. Rotate the gasket (replace if it’s damaged or torn) and try to get the cylinder head cover on correctly again. It sometimes takes me three or four tries.
Sometimes done for performance reasons, I had the wrap done to hide my rusty, crusty headers.
Even though it was a lot of work and cost All back together and cooling off after the test ride. After cooling down for a couple of hours, I noticed an oil spot under the left cylinder.
Since it was an oil leak that started this whole process, I thought it was ironic. I wasn’t con- cerned, though, as I knew what was going on. Surrounding the spark plug is a donut gasket; if you don’t get the cylinder head cover put on just right, oil can leak out around it. The easy way to check is to pull the ignition coil cover; when I did, there was fresh oil. Five minutes later I had the gasket and the cover reseated and the oil leak was gone. The last step in this whole process was to ride for 600 miles, then retorque the cylinder
heads and reset the valve clearances. This is typical and required any time you pull the heads off the bike. (See a video of this process at
https://goo.gl/yuGVMt)
a good bit of money for parts, I learned a lot about my motorcycle and feel good about doing most of the work myself. I’m lucky in that I have a pro mechanic to backstop me. I was on the verge of selling my GS before these problems, but it runs so well now that I have definitely changed my mind. I don’t worry about the drive shaft, I shouldn’t need a clutch for a while and all the elec- tronic accessories work all the time. It’s almost like owning a new bike. Almost. Plus, I think it looks sharp with the wrapped pipes!
August 2016 BMW OWNERS NEWS 55
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