Cylinder Head Bolt Pattern

[BLAIR1200R]

A couple info requests –

As I was looking at the selection of cylinder guards I noticed that the bolt pattern is different on some late model R1200Rs. A good visual of this is to look at the last two pictures posted in the Photo Gallery. SF_Hooligan I believe has a 2011 and it shows two bolts and I’m not sure what year PistonBroke has, but it shows 4 bolts. Anyone know why they changed? Technical differences?

Second question – I’m leaning towards an X Head from Machineartmoto ( http://machineartmoto.com/shopsite_sc/XHDOHC.html) but I assume most guards use bolts in the same locations (?) If so, any info on the torque settings for these bolts? I searched for torque settings and found a chart (thank you), but I don’t know the name/location of the bolts.

Thanks

[BLAIR1200R]

Found this right after my post --> http://www.webbikeworld.com/r4/machine- ... guards.htm

Seems to answer the torque question

With both cylinder guards in place and all six screws started, they got tightened up carefully to the specified 7 lb./ft. (10 Nm) with a 5 mm Allen head socket.

[SF_Hooligan]

Yeah, mine is a 2011. It has the DOHC engine, which I believe launched in 2010. I don't have an exhaustive technical rundown for you, but there's some info here.

Obviously, the DOHC bikes are faster no matter what the color.

[hjsbmw]

A couple info requests –

As I was looking at the selection of cylinder guards I noticed that the bolt pattern is different on some late model R1200Rs. A good visual of this is to look at the last two pictures posted in the Photo Gallery. SF_Hooligan I believe has a 2011 and it shows two bolts and I’m not sure what year PistonBroke has, but it shows 4 bolts. Anyone know why they changed? Technical differences?

Second question – I’m leaning towards an X Head from Machineartmoto ( http://machineartmoto.com/shopsite_sc/XHDOHC.html) but I assume most guards use bolts in the same locations (?) If so, any info on the torque settings for these bolts? I searched for torque settings and found a chart (thank you), but I don’t know the name/location of the bolts.

Thanks

I have tried the X-Heads and the BMW 'basket' guards on my '07, which has four valve cover bolts. Neither brand uses the valve cover bolts but separate, threaded holes in the head. Two of them should have dummy screws from the factory, one coincides with where the secondary spark plug cover bolts to. Either brand will come with installation instructions that specify also the recommended torques.

I assume they simply had to change from four to two bolts to accommodate the changed valve train parts. Protectors are not interchangeable between Hexheads and Camheads.

I found that the X-Heads protect the covers more fully, but mine cracked from the heat and engine vibrations around the mounting holes despite of properly torquing the bolts. I had used them for close to a year in commuting without a problem, but the first longer trip cracked them. I now have the BMW 'basket' guards without issues and thousands of miles and many longer trips on them.

[BLAIR1200R]

Thanks for the feedback SF_Holligan... the link had a good description of the upgrade.

hjsbmw, that's a bummer to hear they cracked. The description of the material seemed like it would be fairly robust... "nylon polymer"... have to think about the selection some more ...


I'm picking up my 2012 tomorrow morning!

[deilenberger]

I think some confusion is apparent:

The VISIBLE bolt heads on both the original engine and the new OHC engine are the valve cover bolts. The head bolts live under them. No protective cover I know of uses the valve cover bolts since they are not a normal bolt, they are a special shouldered bottoming bolt. The force that actually presses the valve cover to the gasket where it mates with the head is provided by the rubber donuts under the head (and washer) of these bolts.

Big rule - snug is good Tight is too tight. Once you feel these bolts bottom out, stop turning them. You will provide no additional pressure on the cover gasket and you stand a good chance of stripping out the threads in the head (expensive to fix.) I use a 6" wrench to tighten these, it's much easier to control the force applied if you're not turning with an 18" wrench.