Servicing a Dakar

[alex-reed]

Well I've fitted the oil filter and replaced the oil... put my K&N air filter in which I must admit is a frickin bitch to get the retaining cover back on the airbox By the way my airbox had quite a lot of creamy watery gunge in it?? is this normal ?

I took one look at the spark plug position and thought bollox to that .. It can wait till I have a few more hours to spare!!

Any top tips on spark plug removal and fitting would be appreciated ... even considering paying for an hours labour for those feckers

The spark plug removal for me, if your not bleeding from knuckles your not doing it right.

Trick, iirc, was to remove the caps, (Twist so they come off the bits that the rubber that holds them in place, when both off, stick them out of the way with some type of tape)

I used a flexible spark plug remover, to get in at that angle, they are pretty cheap and help alot, espically if it's a twin spark, as back one is a bugger to get too. If you get one, put the end fitting down were the sparkplug is, get it to grip the hex and be ready to give it a good bit of brute force (dont snap them!) as you say, they are in a not so easy to reach place to often left (Even by BMW dealers)

I used abit of WD40 to loose them up, not sure if it's suggested or not.

Took me about 3 hours to change my two. Good luck.

Obviously I didn't have the perfect tools, no previous experience.

Enjoy.

 

[alex-reed]

Guessing the gunge in the airbox will be from overfilled oil coming up the crankcase breather tube, nowt to worry about. As for the spark plugs, take the airbox off and take the battery and battery box out to get them out.

God I didn't think about that for spark plugs.

 

[Ogmios]

Where's that popcorn smiley?

watching this with interest and an open mind.
I may end up with a Dakar and coming from an Airhead with a Luddite outlook and a tight wallet i need to know how much i can do myself and how long it takes.
So, it's a good thread for me.
Dont stop guys.

 

[john_aero]

may i saw again for anyoen having probs

go to f650.com and in the FAQ you will find step by step with pics how to guide for everything on the 650's

 

[rc mad]

God I didn't think about that for spark plugs.

I can't imagine how hard it must be to get those plugs out without taking the airbox and the battery out. It's still a pain doing it that way. The first service I did was the 12 k so I needed to take everything off to get at the valves anyway. Typically everyime I've checked.they've been spot on.

Omigos they are mot a bad bike to work on, sure there's a lot of bits to tale off to get at the valves and sparkplugs but it,s laid out pretty well as the parts you take off usually need draining, oiling or replacing anyway. The only thing that gets me is the oil filter placement on the side away from the sidestand and tucked away so that when you take the cover off oil runs down the side of the engine. daftness of the highest order.


its still a million times easier to work in than my sv, need tiny hands if you ever need to loosen the camchain on those.

John is right too, there's some good info over on f650.com.

 

[brassmonkey001]

Where's that popcorn smiley?

watching this with interest and an open mind.
I may end up with a Dakar and coming from an Airhead with a Luddite outlook and a tight wallet i need to know how much i can do myself and how long it takes.
So, it's a good thread for me.
Dont stop guys.

Best get a single spark jobbie then. Only 5 minutes to change the plug.

 

[Jona]

Thanks for the top tips

Still not got round to doing the plugs due to work and the sunshine getting in the way

It's nice to say the bike is running sweet as at the moment, probably setting myself up for some heartache

Getting the last out of my rear tyre while it's still legal then it'll be new rubber for my road trip to France later in the year

 

[Ogmios]

Thanks guys,

its still a million times easier to work in than my sv, need tiny hands if you ever need to loosen the camchain on those.

ahh - i have a woman that 'comes and does' when small hands are needed.
(Thank gods for Mrs Og )

Though, i now doubt i can use the same lump hammer and chisel (Airhead toolkit) as on my present Bike?