Major service at 20K query

[Son of Sam]

My bike has reached 20k KM and is due for a major service. As it is still under warranty I thought I would schedule an appointment. I am a self maintainer. The last time I had a BMW bike in for service was in 1988. While going over what is to be done in a 20K service, the service sales rep added the left and right head cover gaskets to the estimate. At a cost of $220 Canadian dollars my eyes opened up a bit. He justified this by saying they may need to be replaced. I thought this was odd at the time. The head cover gaskets on my R1150RS lasted 12 years before I decided to replace them, and even then they never leaked a drop of oil. These head covers have been off only once before, during the initial 1000K service. Thinking about it later in the evening I began to get annoyed. There is simply no logical reason for a two year old bike to require new gaskets, yet I was asked sign off on authorizing their replacement. If those gaskets started to leak today, they would be replaced under warranty. If they leak after the service they should be replaced under warranty as well. The service schedule doesn't list these gaskets as an item that requires replacement. The more I thought about it, the more annoyed I became. I will have them removed from the estimate before handing over the bike. Right now I am convinced this is simply padding the bill with an item that should be covered by the warranty. But I was wondering if this is common practice? Has anyone required or been charged for a head cover gasket while under warranty?

[Grumpy Goat]

My bike has reached 20k KM and is due for a major service. As it is still under warranty I thought I would schedule an appointment.
...
But I was wondering if this is common practice? Has anyone required or been charged for a head cover gasket while under warranty?

This is not a common practice and is the first I have ever heard of this. Did the adviser see the bike before making this addition to the estimate, and if so was there oil weeping from the valve cover gasket?

I have had my valve covers off more than once (OK maybe 3 times) and the neoprene (?) gaskets are in perfect condition after 41k miles.

Don't get annoyed; just don't pay to have them replaced. If he wants to replace them he can pay for them.

[darrell]

GG is right on with his comment. Not normal at all. My valve covers on the RS have been off 8 times all at a dealer and gaskets have never been replaced. My 2002 R1150GSA has 122,000 miles on it and I have checked the valves every 6000 miles over these 17 years and still have the original gaskets.

[Lee]

I has heard of other dealers changing the gasket during a valve check, but it's not required or needed.
I would tell the dealer not to change the rubber gaskets.
On my Brick engine K bikes I reused the rubber cylinder head gaskets when doing a valve check.
On the K75Ss I changed them when the bikes were around 10 years old but even then it probably was not needed.

On the K1300S it's common to replace the cylinder head gasket during a valve check because it was very time consuming to get at the gasket if it leaked.

If the gasket leaks on the R1200RS it only takes a few minutes to remove the cover and correct the problem.

[Son of Sam]

Thanks for the replies. Unfortunately this is a large BMW car dealership, with a tiny corner on the bottom floor to sell bikes. One must deal with so the so called service advisor. It's unlikely he has ever held a wrench to fix a car of bike. I know that in my province, some service facilities pay these "advisors" commissions on the value of additional services rendered.