Expensive stone

[Greenman14]

Out last week and noticed oil being blown up onto the top of the tank so I stopped for a look- oh dear, oil all over the offside of the bike, sight glass empty, brake caliper soaked. Luckily I'm covered by BMW Emergency Assist and they recovered the bike to Cotswold Motorrad in Gloucester. The oil warning light had not come on and pulling the bike onto the recovery truck showed a bit of oil in the bottom of the glass so maybe I didn't lose too much.

I just had a call from Cotswold and apparently the leak was caused by stone damage to the oil cooler and the bill is £400. An oil cooler guard is £40, which is what I just ordered.

 

[beatmeier]

hope you can ride soon again


The red oil light is a oil pressure warning and not oil level ....so if it hasn't come on your engine is fine because there must still have been just enough oil in the system...... ......the 400£ seems steep I knew the light is expensive but a cooler is a relatively simple device......or is I wrong??....is there gold in it ??

if the damage isn't huge there are guys out there who can fix radiators ......sell it on ebay as repaired *** i would buy a seccond hand one in a emergency for 100 £ rather than getting a new one ....***

 

[Beemerman59]

hope you can ride soon again


The red oil light is a oil pressure warning and not oil level ....so if it hasn't come on your engine is fine because there must still have been just enough oil in the system...... ......the 400£ seems steep I knew the light is expensive but a cooler is a relatively simple device......or is I wrong??....is there gold in it ??

if the damage isn't huge there are guys out there who can fix radiators ......sell it on ebay as repaired *** i would buy a seccond hand one in a emergency for 100 £ rather than getting a new one ....***

I would guess the biggest cost is the labour charges. Can't believe an oil cooler alone is £400.

 

[Greenman14]

Cheers, I thought the light was oil pressure and I'm assuming the engine will be fine. If it was out of warranty I would for sure look for a secondhand cooler (seen one on ebay for £95). The £400 includes new brake pads and quite a lot of labour as the oil got everywhere and the bike will take some cleaning- probably more time spent on this than changing the cooler. TBH I thought the price was fair for the work, I guess if secondhand coolers are aroud £100 then new will be double, plus £50 for pads and 3-4 hrs labour at main dealer prices.

 

[AberdeenAngus]

Your paying dealer rates for them to clean your bike ?

 

[Davy F]

And there were a few who thought it funny when the Crosstourer tested in RIDE holed it's radiator.

Still, I find it amazing/annoying that most manufacturers do not fit rad protectors as standard on many bikes. I bought a guard for my 12GS very early on and it was one of the first things I bought for my Versys after purchase as I considered it far too vulnerable.

Hope you get everything all sorted, Greenman.

 

[Alan R]

And there were a few who thought it funny when the Crosstourer tested in RIDE holed it's radiator.

I also seem to recall some of the wise sages/elders of this place snorting in derision at the notion of a holed oil cooler 'never happened in all my vast experience' - 'unnecessary bling'. Granted, the oil cooler is a small target, but the matrix can be dented with a finger let alone a stone at speed. Definite show stopper.
Alan R

 

[wust588]

Perhaps they don't fit them as standard due to the reduction in cooling air the rad gets with the guard in front?

 

[STUBBS]

Perhaps they don't fit them as standard due to the reduction in cooling air the rad gets with the guard in front?

perhaps they prefer the £400 rather than giving the airflow a second thought

 

[Ian M]

And there were a few who thought it funny when the Crosstourer tested in RIDE holed it's radiator.

The Crosstourer radiator does look very vulnerable, which is why mine's now got this one from www.beowulfuk.com:

 

[crumbles]

The Crosstourer radiator does look very vulnerable, which is why mine's now got this one from www.beowulfuk.com:

Me think's i would get a mudguard extenda as well.

 

[(RIP) Miff]

Granted, the oil cooler is a small target, but the matrix can be dented with a finger let alone a stone at speed. Definite show stopper.
Alan R

True. The 1200gs cooler looks weak enough to be holed by a head on with a cockchafer...

 

[Paul S]

I also seem to recall some of the wise sages/elders of this place snorting in derision at the notion of a holed oil cooler 'never happened in all my vast experience' - 'unnecessary bling'. Granted, the oil cooler is a small target, but the matrix can be dented with a finger let alone a stone at speed. Definite show stopper.
Alan R

Still an extremly rare event though

 

[Ian M]

Me think's i would get a mudguard extenda as well.

Just waiting for it to arrive!

 

[(RIP) Miff]

Still an extremly rare event though

So is running out of fuel, but how many GSAs do you see with spare fuel cans on the panniers

 

[Pukmeister]

Perhaps they don't fit them as standard due to the reduction in cooling air the rad gets with the guard in front?

No reduction noticed in over 50,000 miles of riding them with one fitted ??

 

[(RIP) Miff]

No reduction noticed in over 50,000 miles of riding them with one fitted ??

Rad guards tend to have lots of little holes in them to allow the air through. The first prototype TT ones didn't have any holes. This was soon remedied by the fitting of "speed holes", that were left over from the early Honda Fireblades.

 

[Greenman14]

Got the bike back and checked the old cooler, not that I disbelieve the dealer about stone damage. It was a stone, and a very small crack in the cooler, had to look very carefully as there was hardly any damage to the cooler fins. I hope I was just very unlucky.

Anyway, received an R&G cooler guard but it won't fit without forcing it. The gap between the oil cooler and the beak is 1-2mm and the guard is 6mm thick. Anyone else had this problem? What size gap between the cooler and beak? I even removed all the plastic, and it did all have to come off, to see if I could re-align it but no, that didn't work. Spoke to R&G and they are thinking about it, sounded helpful and concerned but so far no offers to resolve it.

 

[Nice 'n' Fat]

Why didn't you get the dealer to fit the guard when they were changing the oil cooler?

 

[APE]

My 1150 definitely ran hotter with the protector in place.

A holed oil cooler is as common as a lightening strike. Why spend another £40 if you've already had to spend £400 on a repair. I would ask for my money back.