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What specifically is done on 600 mile dealership initial service?

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I would do the engine oil and filter at the very least; as well as, hit all of the primary bolts and such with a torque wrench.

Probably wouldn't hurt to do the transmission and rear drive bevel gear fluid either, but that will be a little more expensive..

The above will at least get you familiar with the maintenance aspects of the R18.
 
For what its worth ... the 600 on my was done by the BMW shop ... part of a deal ... and as Star-Lord says ... engine oil and filter and additionally on mine they did the final drive as well.
 
OP, What dealership is getting $190 /hr in L A. Brown, Burbank, West Valley, New Century, Ventura, Long Beach? PM me if you prefer.
 
Star-Lord said:
I would do the engine oil and filter at the very least; as well as, hit all of the primary bolts and such with a torque wrench.

Probably wouldn't hurt to do the transmission and rear drive bevel gear fluid either, but that will be a little more expensive..

The above will at least get you familiar with the maintenance aspects of the R18.
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I'm doing all three I guess.... found very helpful videos here

Oil Change:


Transmission Fluid:


Rear Drive:


The only difference is for the Transmission I'll be using Ultra1Plus SAE 75W-90 Synthetic Gear Oil API GL-5 (1 Gal) ($35.00/gal) instead of the gouging priced BMW brand Hypoid Axle Oil G3 SAE70-80 GL-5 ($150 for 3 liters) as researched here: https://www.r18forums.com/threads/r18-classic-hypoid-axle-gear-oil-gl3-or-5-or-2.3758/#post-51249

Even though it does not state Hypoid on the 75W-90 label research states GL5 is specifically made for Hypoid gears.

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According to the videos --it looks like the same 75W-90 I can use for the rear drive.

The oil I'm using is:

LIQUI MOLY Motorbike 4T SAE 15W-50 Street | 4 L | Motorcycle Fully synthetic engine oil


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Pork Rind said:
OP, What dealership is getting $190 /hr in L A. Brown, Burbank, West Valley, New Century, Ventura, Long Beach? PM me if you prefer.
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Burbank. Nice enough folks in the service dept. but a wee bit on the sketchy side. They overcharged me at one point $95 (1/2 hr work) to screw in 2 screws. I had to confront them and call them out on it to get it refunded. Then it was the $430 for 600 mile service when I said screw it I'll invest in the tools and do it myself.
 
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On my 1250 GS, I had the Centerstand springs get hit by something on the freeway and launch into never never land, with my Centerstand now dragging a bit. I ordered the 2 new springs and brackets... $60 I think and asked if they could attach the springs for me. This was at West Valley. They said sure, no problem. A 30 second job and they billed me .5 hr and $90 for it.

I was stunned. I had a tool at home I used to put springs on doing drum brake jobs, same principle, slide the springs off, once stretched onto the post with a notch in it to retain the springs. Yeah, Stealerships is what they are.

Glad I did my 600 mile service myself on my 1250 GS. $36 in Castrol power 1 full synthetic 5w-40, a few Mahle 619 filters at $13 ea, and $15 on sale Lubri Moly 75w-90 1 litre bottle of Full Synthetic GL-5 hypoid oil for the 180 ml in the Final drive, and about 40 minutes of my time, mostly waiting for things to drain. Call it around $55 in material and parts.

So far, I have always been satisfied with how Lubri Moly made in Germany oil products holds up in European vehicles. YMMV, find what works for you, I don't mind spending a little more for made in Germany full synthetic lubricants. What I won't run in a bike is Shell Rotella T6 5w-40.... ever.... in water cooled bikes.
 
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@Star-Lord @Ulrich

So I finally got to the Transmission fluid change today. Stupid easy.

A wee concerning since I noticed the Ultra1Plus SAE 75W-90 Synthetic Gear Oil API GL-5 VS the BMW brand Hypoid Axle Oil G3 SAE70-80 GL-5 that came out --seems a thicker consistency. (forgive my inexperience) I don't know if that's because the G3 SAE70-80 GL-5 had 600 miles on it (my experience with other oils, is that it shouldn't)

I hope I'm not effen things up.
 
Good on you! ... and my 2¢ on the 'thickness' ... you probably changed to oil while the gearbox was warm ... that should make the oil appear 'thinner' while the one from the bottle was most likely 'cold' and appear 'thicker' ... also 75-90 is a tad 'thicker' than 70-80 ... but I think the temperature difference would be more noticeable than the viscosity.
 
Bingo --yes sireeebob one cold, one warm.

The color difference threw me off a bit. One gray and one amber like regular oil.

Appreciate the feedback. now maybe I'll go test drive it. 😍
 
Lucky you!!! .. here it put down 8" of snow since yesterday ... Uschi has to stay cozy in the garage ... sigh ... lol and my oil is red 😁
 
Witsend said:
Burbank. Nice enough folks in the service dept. but a wee bit on the sketchy side. They overcharged me at one point $95 (1/2 hr work) to screw in 2 screws. I had to confront them and call them out on it to get it refunded. Then it was the $430 for 600 mile service when I said screw it I'll invest in the tools and do it myself.
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My local dealer, Moto Union in West Allis WI quoted me $435 and couldn’t get me in for six months. When I went to the bike up the bill was over $600. I pulled up the email the writer went and got the service manager. He said they had raised their labor rates ($200 hr) and parts mark-up. I told him that’s fine and dandy but I’m not paying that and told him a $200 labor rate is outrageous.
I paid what I was initially quoted and left. I’ll never let them touch my bike unless there is a recall.
 
MilwDave said:
My local dealer, Moto Union in West Allis WI quoted me $435 and couldn’t get me in for six months. When I went to the bike up the bill was over $600. I pulled up the email the writer went and got the service manager. He said they had raised their labor rates ($200 hr) and parts mark-up. I told him that’s fine and dandy but I’m not paying that and told him a $200 labor rate is outrageous.
I paid what I was initially quoted and left. I’ll never let them touch my bike unless there is a recall.
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Sketchy AF. And they wonder why they get such bad raps. Doing all three fluids was so incredibly easy.

The most complicated thing was unscrewing a plug. Doh! I didn't even have it on a lift.
 
Provided for those coming after us --

I happened to find this SAE 70W-80 Synthetic API GL-5 at a far more reasonable price than the BMW brand, after I had already bought the other. 3 would cover both the transmission and rear.

www.carid.com

Mopar® - SAE 70W-80 Synthetic API GL-5 Differential Fluid, 1 Quart

SAE 70W-80 Synthetic API GL-5 Differential Fluid, 1 Quart by Mopar®. Viscosity: SAE 70W-80. Oil Base: Synthetic. Oil Type: API GL-5. Volume: 1 Quart. Quantity: 1 Bottle. Mopar 68227765AB
www.carid.com www.carid.com



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Ulrich said:
Hahahaha .. well I guess I never noticed ... otherwise I may have commented on that before ... profile pics are up to each and everybody themself, personally I use a pic of myself that I like, that saves me from having to ponder a 'deeper meaning' of what I chose ;) ... maybe I misunderstood your intentions. I am too old to be 'triggered', the world and the worlds perception of things seems to have changed a lot and for the most part I don't understand it anymore ... and if I don't understand something I ask ;) ...
In any case, I posted valve adjustments a while back .. not a video, just some stills and written procedures. That is how I do it and considering I can do it means it is not rocket science ... give it a whirl, its always (IMO) better to do it yourself, then you know its done right ... and not by a mechanic that has 'no dog in the fight' ... you can do it, I am sure of it!

P.S.: I am a dog person .. but I still feed the damn stray cats that my late wife used to feed :LOL:
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I'm also a dog person; hence the Bobwhite Quail avatar "King Bob", love for upland bird hunting, appreciate guns and all things Pointers (Vizsla, Weimaraner, Griffon and GSP) and don't forget - enjoys long walks on the beach with a 9 WT. Fly Rod, chasing big Reds, Tarpon, Stripe Bass, Blues, Trout, Snook - basically anything that will chase a fly..
 
Witsend said:
Provided for those coming after us --

I happened to find this SAE 70W-80 Synthetic API GL-5 at a far more reasonable price than the BMW brand, after I had already bought the other. 3 would cover both the transmission and rear.

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Take it to a BMW dealership, and they will service it with a GL-5 75w-90 made by Castrol. For the amount of torque at low rpms the bike makes, I'd be more inclined to run the 75w-90 also, especially around Southern CA, where it's pretty warm almost all the time.

Personally, I run a GL4-GL5 75w-90 that's German synthetic made by Lubri Moly. I know it's got all the right additives, because like any good GL5, there's sulfur in there that's slippery and stinks to high heaven when you drain it and add it. You could also run a Mobil 1 75w-90 GL5, if you find it locally.

There have been some incidents of the 70w-80 weeping past the seals on bikes run hard at high speeds in summer heat. I'm not sure if it was determined to be bad seals, or oil that's a little too thin when it gets really hot from being run hard, that it weeps on by the seals. I have not heard of it happening with the 75w-90.
 
Yikes. So on the rear drive plug... it had a ton of metal gunk at only 700 miles. Is this normal? Seems excessive!

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Witsend said:
Yikes. So on the rear drive plug... it had a ton of metal gunk at only 700 miles. Is this normal? Seems excessive!

View attachment 17158

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First final drive change? IMO that is normal ... residues from the assembly lube together with a little metal rub off ... not to worry ... do your next final drive oil change together with your next oil change and you will see a huge decrease in that ... IMO
 
Yerssir - the first change at 700 mi. Thanks. Just seemed like a lot to my newb eye. :)
 
Witsend said:
Yikes. So on the rear drive plug... it had a ton of metal gunk at only 700 miles. Is this normal? Seems excessive!

View attachment 17158

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Completely normal... the Assy Lube is loaded with MoS2 paste, that's actually really good at bedding in the gears. The plug, being magnetic, holds on to all the fine metal bits as they sink to the bottom of the final drive, every time you stop riding. One of the very beneficial reasons when breaking the bike in, to do a bunch of short trips, so the metal doesn't stay suspended in the gears oil and get run through the gears again. You stop, and all the heavy particles fall out of the gear oil, sinking to the magnetic plugs below. Evidently the paste is heavier than the gear oil too.

Nothing to worry about.
 
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