30 miles on the bike. Time to change the oil. My research tells me that lots of metal ends up in the oil in the first 25-309 miles, some of which doesn't make it to the oil filter, so changing the oil early is important.
I also read that hammering the bike at 2/3 - 3/4 redline during the break in period is the ticket to getting the rings to seat well. I spent lots of time running the gears and kept the RPM's up.
450 miles - guess what? Yes, another oil change. BMW calls for the first service at 600 miles. I know I'm exceeding the recommendations; but, I'll keep this bike for a long time.
My only regret is that I'm not able to do the oil changes myself yet. I need access to my tools, and those are in storage. I'm shelling out $140/oil change.
My plan is to get the 600 mile service at 1000 miles and then I will be good to go on my trip to California, starting next week.
Didn't quite make 1000. Did the 600 mile service at 750 miles. The bike looks good to go on the long distance trip. No oil changes required until 6,000; but, I'll probably change the oil as soon as I get to California.
Nice to see the adventure blog started, Bob! Looking forward to reading of your travels. Jeff
ReplyDelete$140 bucks!!!! Yikes!!!!
ReplyDeleteMike, I agree with you. This will not continue. The K 1600 GT has an oil fill with an outer drain plug and an inner drain plug. I you drop the inner plug into the plan, you could be in trouble. I can't take that chance with such a short timeline between now and our trip. That said, as soon as I can, I will be done with oil changes at the dealership. Actually, my last one is tomorrow, when I go there for 600 mile service. I plan to do all oil changes after that one myself.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, every oil change involves a trip to the dealership anyway. BMW made the decision to not allow the user to turn off the vehicle maintenance light by themselves. Everything is computerized, so the dealer needs to press the button.