how often do you change the oil in the rear diff and gear box

I change mine every second year (and gearbox).
The oil is cheap and it is easy to change.
One advantage of changing the oil is to look for metal bits which may indicate imminent failure!

Engine once or twice a year check gearbox/final drive level change every two years.
 
I change my back axle oil every engine oil change using the unbolt and swivel back method. It's easy enough and the swivel back action spreads grease around the ParaLever bushes. Mine's a 1200 so excessively fussy but worth doing on any shaft drive bike IMO.

Gearbox oil gets done to the BMW manual.
 
Oh dear. Are you supposed to change it?


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I Spose if you did very title mileage, then not maybe.
But for peace of mind & to inspect for metal filings or any other bearing parts that can break up.
It's a no brainer really.
 
Oil doesn't last for ever so needs to be changed. Bevel gears give it a hard life.

If you find any substantial debris in the oil its likely to be too late. Bearing needles and bevel gears don't really mix very well.
 
dose any one ells removed the big 14mm allen bolt with the magnet on when they drain there gear box
 
Gears and bevels shed microscopic metal particles into the oil all the time, where the oil capacity is small such as the bevel drive the oil can become contaminated with fine metal particles you cant see and turn into a sort of grinding paste, I change my box, bevel drive & engine+filter yearly, its cheap maintenance why wouldn't you? magnetic drain plugs help of course, and need cleaning every change.


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well there is a 14mm drain plug under the gear box with a built in magnet to collect metal. is that better ?

Can`t remember seeing that mentioned before. Are you sure you are not referring to the sump plug on the engine rather than the gearbox?

Just looked it up and I guess you are referring to item 12 on this drawing which is referred to as M26 X 1.5 magnetic drain plug. I don`t recall it being mentioned on here before and I am now off to see if it is shown on the 1100.

http://www.ascycles.com/Illustrated...px?ImageFileName=dbvis2510130454572642000.bin

Not shown on 1100.

Having said the above, you say M14 which is nowhere near M26. The sump plus engine is M16 though, which is close. Item 2 here
http://www.ascycles.com/Illustrated...px?ImageFileName=dbvis2818879012279074336.bin
 
Can`t remember seeing that mentioned before. Are you sure you are not referring to the sump plug on the engine rather than the gearbox?

Just looked it up and I guess you are referring to item 12 on this drawing which is referred to as M26 X 1.5 magnetic drain plug. I don`t recall it being mentioned on here before and I am now off to see if it is shown on the 1100.

http://www.ascycles.com/Illustrated...px?ImageFileName=dbvis2510130454572642000.bin

Not shown on 1100.

Having said the above, you say M14 which is nowhere near M26. The sump plus engine is M16 though, which is close. Item 2 here
http://www.ascycles.com/Illustrated...px?ImageFileName=dbvis2818879012279074336.bin

yes drained it last night there is a big Allen plug under the gear box just below the normal drain hole if you look its number 12 on your first link magnetic drain plug
 
dose any one ells removed the big 14mm allen bolt with the magnet on when they drain there gear box

I did this once on the 1150 at around 30k. Just a little grey paste on it. It's not scheduled to do it this way on the gs, but is a good idea to check every now and then. The traditional drain plug sits a little higher of course.
On the R1100S this is the drain plug for the gearbox oil.
 
Just to put a different slant on this, I don't know if this is correct but a mechanic friend of mine told me that the first bearing to fail in the Final Drive, usually as a result of incorrect assembly as mentioned earlier in the thread, is the big ball bearing at the nearside of the assembly. As this bearing does not run in the oil bath all this frequent changing of oil does seem a bit over the top. Having said that I myself do change both the Final Drive and Gearbox oil every year.
 
You got it in one.
BMW have had lots of problems with these units, and changed their suggested oil change intervals from "sealed for life" to change oil every 6,000 miles.
However, the reality is that the problem is/was an assembly/alignment/shimming problem, and you either get a good one or a bad one. If you get a bad one, no amount of oil changes are going to fix it.
And, anyway, why every 4,000 miles? Why not every 2,000? Or maybe every time you ride round the block?
Nonsense.
Myke

I think you are confusing the 1100/1150 bevel box with the 1200 unit. The 1100/1150 was never a sealed unit and was always designed to have an oil change. The 1200 was originally marketed as sealed.
 
Back in 1975 when I was a spotty apprentice and bought my first moped, my grandad - a Rolls Royce trained aircraft engineer - gave me some sound advice.:rob

"Remember son, the most expensive oil you can buy will always be cheaper than a new engine or gearbox"

I've applied this to every bike or car I've ever owned and never had a failure in 40 years. When the oil is so cheap and the change is so simple, why wouldn't you? :nenau

At the end of the day, each of us services and maintains our bike in our own way as we see fit or funds allow, but if regular "unnecessary" changes makes me paranoid, then sign me up and give me the badge.
 
I'm new to GS's I've just bought a 2003 1150 GS as I've wanted one for ages and I'm working my way through a big service. I have a question about the gearbox oil change please. I've changed the oil and that was fine but I've noticed that extra drain plug UNDER the casing ie it faces straight down and as it's a bit lower and also because I hear from threads here that it has a magnet on it I really want to take it out and have a look. What my question is before I do is - does it have a crush washer on it like the fill/drain plugs and what is the torque setting to tighten it. Cheers!

Thinking about it - if it doesnt mention it in the service manual is there any point messing about with it at all?
 


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