(12-14-2019, 09:59 PM)mspratz Wrote: I decided to change the coolant on my R1200RS. According to the BMW shop manual, you use the BMW special tool set to refill the coolant. The BMW special tools for the coolant change costs a mere $550.00. I read the instructions about five times before I understood how this thing works.Good job. Nice writing. I vicariously enjoyed the sweet sensation of victory as your torque wrench clicked. Thank you.
However, when I removed the drain plugs I found the right-side drain plug had been cross-threaded by whoever last installed it. Given that no-one has changed the coolant since this bike was new, it had to be the factory. My friend Harry from the Chicago Region BMW club knows about these things, and recommended using a tapered thread tap to repair the threads.
I put a new aluminum crush washer on the plug and held my breath. It went in with very little fuss, and I torqued it to 4.5 Nm (5 Nm recommended).
It was then, over a month after I started, able to complete the rest of what should have been a 1 hour job. The Airlift worked like a charm to fill the radiator.
I was out on the bike for a few hours Friday to among other things, drop off a Christmas gift to one of the mechanics at the shop. You make me once again thankful that I have the resources to leave the drama and thrills of maintenance to some pros. I miss the relaxation and satisfaction of regularly turning a wrench..., but the riding always seems to make up the deficit.
(Of course, I still maintain a full shop of specialty tools including taps and dies for bicycles in my basement - in case I start Jonesing too badly.)
"A good man always knows his limitations...."