I do check on my own, but I use a phone. I get the bike up to temp, let it rest for a minute, prop my phone up to take a video while standing the bike up. Much easier than trying to hold the bike up one handed while crouched on the floor
Unless you're vertically challenged it's totally possible to sit on the bike and reach down with a phone in your left hand and take a shot, or film a short video.
I love, love this channel, as I have both a 2012 R1200R and a 2017 RNineT. You are right, there are things that I’ve always wanted to know, but have been too afraid to ask. Unfortunately, you missed covering all of them in this video. Please help to clarify the following points, if you’re willing to take a moment. 1) I was hoping to finally find the secret to checking the level on my warm RNineT, assuming I have to do it on my own. I was hoping for some sly technique with my phone on a selfie stick as I sit upright on the bike (it doesn’t work), but it sounds like I must buy a paddock stand. Is there really no other way to safely and accurately check? 2) When I did this on my own, I was extremely cautious not to overfill the oil, adding only 100mL at a time towards the end. I still managed to overfill. Darn! You don’t explain in the video why having the oil over filled is bad. Could you please explain why this is bad, and what the consequences are to the engine? 3) How much delay time is needed after adding an aliquot of oil before the final level registers in the sight glass? 4) Is it necessary to run the engine for a bit to circulate and heat up the new oil to get an accurate reading, or is the residual heat of the engine more than enough to take care of this? 4) If the oil is overfilled, is it possible to crack open the oil plug to bleed out a little of the excess oil, or will breaking the newly installed crush seal irrevocably compromise the integrity of the seal when you re-tighten, leading to a leak? These basics videos are very much appreciated. Thank you very much for your detailed tutorials and passion for these bikes!!!
1) A dipstick would have been easier for a solo rider! Taking a video with your phone ought to work, though. This chap uses a mirror on his garage floor - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-37xgjNe281E.html. Alternatively, you could glue a pad of thick foam to a garage wall and (very carefully) lean the handlebar end or mirror onto the foam. 2) Excess oil puts a lot of strain on the engine internals. 3) A couple of minutes. 4) No. 5) I believe that is possible though I've never tried it. 6) NB - I'm not a trained technician, mechanic or engineer, merely someone who has ridden BMW 'boxers' for 20 years.
To be honest @johncheston5862 has nailed all of the points above! The only thing we would add is that of point 5, if you have overfilled by no more than 100ml then the bike will be fine and burn this off naturally as you use it. Overfilling is only really a problem if you start to add upwards of 250ml +
Hi I have a question: what is the correct engine temperature in the BMW R9T and what is the maximum temperature? Is there such a thing as a thermostat and where is it located? Thank you very much for your answer because I can't find it anywhere. And quite a lot of people write about high engine temperature in the BMW R9T. Thank you again and best regards :)
We've had our track bikes to up around 138 degrees C, which we would consider to be pretty high. Anything up to that seems fine to us - speak to your local dealer for a more info.
Enjoy the videos. But just wondering why you say that the centre of the sight glass is the correct level point, as the BMW service manual states it should be topped up to the max mark (Top of the circle in the window).....???
Dutch manual says half way (2021 bike). After I got it back from BMW for maintenance they managed to either top it up completely or over fill. Have to say had the same with VW and Mercedes car dealerships, so not jumping to conclusions, but maybe they just don't have clue or just can't be bothered.
We prefer to slightly underfill it because we run the bikes hot and it will allow for less oil to be introduced into the airbox. But essentially, anywhere in the top half of the sight glass will be fine.
Hi Iv recently bought my r ninet and checking the oil as per video my oil level is at the top of the sight glass (I had to rock the bike to see it)is this too much oil? Thanks
@@PierCityCustomhere's the deal, though. You can't really tell if it's just at the top of the sight glass or there's 400 mil of excess oil UNTIL you drain the oil and measure. Which often is the case. The real question here is why BMW service does this as this practice of overfilling engine oil goes against their own official recommendations.
We prefer to slightly underfill it because we run the bikes hot and it will allow for less oil to be introduced into the airbox. But essentially, anywhere in the top half of the sight glass will be fine. But good point and thanks for allowing us to clarify! :)
Actually, BMW says you should not go either above MAX or below MIN level. Anything in between is fine. Typically, people settle on the middle as the optimum level. You could raise the level slightly to factor in for the boxer engine tendency to burn off some oil and just top it off whenever needed.
