General Advice Needed

[brenvolio]

Hi chaps

Just after some general advice. I've very recently bought myself a 2003 1150 GSA. First time ever on a twin and first time ever on a big lump such as this having always had pocket rockets in the past.

It has just over 50,000 miles on the clock and came with all the gear and for the year is in cracking condition. What I want to do over winter though is slowly strip the bike back and give it some tlc, sorting out the usual bits of crud and corrosion. So, take the manifolds off, petrol tank, exhaust etc etc, check the loom and generally clean and brush and sort anything that needs doing.

Is there a recommended manual to assist with this? I'm no stranger to tinkering as I have 1970 VW campervan which I spend alot of time under but I do like to follow instructions on something new.

Would you recommend Haynes or something else?

Any advice appreciated.

Chris

 

[west coast traveller]

If you do a search for BMW r1150gs manual you should find a link for the BMW workshop manual download. For free and much better than haynes. Lots of info on this forum as well.Hope that helps getting you started.

 

[brenvolio]

Thanks for the tip. I'll do a search.

 

[hops]

Hopefully this will help.

 

[brenvolio]

Cracking, cheers

 

[Myke Rocks]

Please remember

The majority of problems people encounter with these bikes are brought on by their desire to clean the goddam things.
Thus, I have a weekend to spare. I will take off the saucepipes and give them a good cleaning.
Yes, they get the saucepipes clean, but they have rung off a stud in each cylinder head whilst removing them.
So they start to drill out the said studs, and then break an easyout in the head.
Then it's off with the head(s) and away to get the damn thing spark eroded.

Just a common example from many posts on this site.

So be careful what you wish for.

Myke

 

[Littledumptruck]

Totally agree with leave the manifolds where they are. Just clean n polish in situ.

 

[tadhgocuilleain]

If you do a search for BMW r1150gs manual you should find a link for the BMW workshop manual download. For free and much better than haynes.

That manual is very good, but it only applies to the single spark 1150GS. Like the OP, mine is a twin-spark and I haven't found a twin-spark version of that manual anywhere. Having said that, the single spark version is the same for almost everything. Brakes and ignition coils are the only differences I know of.

I also have the Haynes manual and I find the combination of the two tells me everything I need to know.

 

[Nin]

The majority of problems people encounter with these bikes are brought on by their desire to clean the goddam things.
Thus, I have a weekend to spare. I will take off the saucepipes and give them a good cleaning.
Yes, they get the saucepipes clean, but they have rung off a stud in each cylinder head whilst removing them.
So they start to drill out the said studs, and then break an easyout in the head.
Then it's off with the head(s) and away to get the damn thing spark eroded.

Just a common example from many posts on this site.

So be careful what you wish for.

Myke

That's an accurate description of my journey. Although it was a deliberate choice.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Bikermike1411]

The majority of problems people encounter with these bikes are brought on by their desire to clean the goddam things.
Thus, I have a weekend to spare. I will take off the saucepipes and give them a good cleaning.
Yes, they get the saucepipes clean, but they have rung off a stud in each cylinder head whilst removing them.
So they start to drill out the said studs, and then break an easyout in the head.
Then it's off with the head(s) and away to get the damn thing spark eroded.

Just a common example from many posts on this site.

So be careful what you wish for.

Myke

Got say I wholly disagree with this idea!

It's my experience that taking care to clean and maintain a machine actually increases your chance of spotting issues and prevents further issues arising. Downpipes are a classic example. They're assembled dry, never removed and then after 10 years and three owners an exhaust stud gets snapped. Who's to blame - BMW for assembling them dry? The previous owners for not being bothered to take the nuts off and putting a bit of copper slip on the threads over winter? Or the guy (me) who has just dropped a relatively small fortune on a second hand bike, and wants it to be as clean as possible, to assure themselves the bike is straight and reflect their pride in their new purchase?

As far as im concerned, stripping down and cleaning a second hand bike over winter is a ritual I go through each time I buy one. It lets me identify any issues already there, and pre-empt any that might be due to arise in the near future (wiring and hoses come to mind). I once had a 400 Honda with a sump held together by araldite - I only noticed it when I cleaned the muck off. Far better to identify that in my garage than when the 'repair' fails, dumps oil all over the road and spits me off!

If the owner of the bike wants to clean it, superficially, deeply, whatever, go for it. Mine will be getting a full front-to-back teardown, inspection and rebuild over the winter too, downpipes and all!

I'm told BM ones go brown again pretty quickly though.......

 

[Littledumptruck]

I'd rather be riding mine. In fact the winters when mine gets used most, the Pan gets sorned on Monday and hopefully my new brake hoses will arrive so I can get the 850 in use for next weekend.