Water Cooled GS is Here

[ammolab]

One thing I have always liked about my BMW bikes going back to a 1972 R50/5....no transmission or clutch debris in the engine oil.

I guess that is a thing of the past. Will BMW keep the 6000 mile oil change interval with this new engine I wonder.

[MTBeemer]

The 800 engine series of bikes have wet clutches and share oil in the engine and transmission; they have a 6000 mile service interval.

[ammolab]

The 800 engine series of bikes have wet clutches and share oil in the engine and transmission; they have a 6000 mile service interval.

Is it common for them to go 200,000 miles without overhaul?

[Lost Rider]

The F800GS does not have 6000 mile oil service intervals in reality, with the sharing of the oil with the clutch it's not advised to run synthetic.
I know for the roughly 25 oil changes I did on my F8, the oil looked very dark and trashed @ 3000 miles and I would not go 6000. The shearing that happens in the trans plus the pollutants from the clutch are the main factor in the shorter oil changes. Shortly after I tried synthetic to stretch it out I had to replace my clutch.

There's not many F800 that's going to go 200,000 without some major work IMO, I had to replace the cam chain at 55,000 miles, which means the engine has to come out of the bike and split open completely. New bearings and other bits needed when that work is done. Very expensive.
As more people rack up miles the cam chain replacement is seeming to be more common. I have two friends with high milage 8GS's, both done the cam chain replacement.
200,000 mile motor? Not likely.

With my experience with the liquid cooled, shared oil F8GS, I would NOT be interested in a WaterHead boxer just yet. Sure you can hold more oil than the F8, but I don't see the pro's outweighing the cons, at least on paper. Time will tell, hopefully it's good move for the future boxers, a 125hp R bike sure would be great…. but I would not want more power with more weight either.

For now I will stay content with my dinosaur proven bulletproof Boxer motor and will watch this development progress from the sideline.

[Bob Ain't Stoppin']

I'm gonna guess that the wet clutch in the wet head is mostly done for packaging. Wet clutch is a smaller package and would eliminate the need for that big bell housing. Must make the power plant much smaller overall.

[SF_Hooligan]

The 800 engine series of bikes have wet clutches and share oil in the engine and transmission; they have a 6000 mile service interval.

Is it common for them to go 200,000 miles without overhaul?

Lots of Japanese engines with wet clutches go long miles without significant issues - VFRs, STs, etc. Moto engines in general are just so much further along than even twenty years ago. I used to look at used bikes with 15-20k on them and say "hmm, that's a lot of miles, probably gonna have to do some stuff to that engine soon." That's not the case now - I know of several people 'round here with inline four sportbikes with over 100k on 'em, and a guy with a Triumph Daytona 675 that just turned over 100k.

So I don't really think the wet clutch is an issue. For me, the dry clutch is something I'm happy to accept because I love the bike so much, but I'm certainly not attached to it. Tons of police departments use boxer-powered bikes - I'd image they're stoked about the wet clutch, as they abuse the hell out of the clutches.

[Anyname]

I thought my 2005 GS was a pig a low speeds, the last thing it needed was an extra 20 pounds.

Really? I think the GS is amazingly agile. I can do 180 degree turns in a single lane (and I am not the most skilled rider). I always think it's going to be hard and that thing just surprises me every time.

+1, I recently acquired a GS and in some ways it's more agile than my R. The bars turn tighter than on the R, and they are nice & wide for good leverage. It really is more agile than I would have thought and it corners very well. It's a great bike, not as powerful as the R, but lots of fun to ride. Much more comfortable for long rides and does great in the dirt.

Your mileage may vary, but my R1200R feels like a bicycle at low speeds compared to my GS. That goes double for maneuvering them by hand. I found the GS to be the most ungainly bike at slow speeds.

[tinytrains]

Wet or dry, having the clutch where it can be replaced without disassembling the entire motor cycle is a huge plus. Clutch access has always been one of my concerned of R and old K bikes. The wet clutch will be a big hit for the police bike business. The dry clutch could not handle the standard police practice of dragging the rear break and feathering the clutch for low speed maneuvers. Almost all the other bikes in the world run the wet clutches in the motor oil with no problems, so I don't see it as a big deal.

I would love to have a roadster with this engine.

[David R]

Wet or dry, having the clutch where it can be replaced without disassembling the entire motor cycle is a huge plus. Clutch access has always been one of my concerned of R and old K bikes. The wet clutch will be a big hit for the police bike business. The dry clutch could not handle the standard police practice of dragging the rear break and feathering the clutch for low speed maneuvers. Almost all the other bikes in the world run the wet clutches in the motor oil with no problems, so I don't see it as a big deal.

I would love to have a roadster with this engine.

In a few years I too will have a roadster with this engine. NO more spline failures! They changed most of the addressable problems.

200,000 mile bikes, how many have you actually seen? I have an oilhead with 137,000 on it. How many on this board have more? On the oilhead, I rebuild the motor at 130,000. The clutch splines went at 136,000 so I replaced the clutch (not a bad job) and said phuck it and bought a brand new R1200R. This works out. By the time this R1200R has 100,000 on it, they will have the kinks out of the new motor and it will finally make it to the R model.

110 HP is enough for me for now. Its a sweet handling bike. 5 weeks old 4,000 trouble free miles.

I ride a Roadster because I am NOT a follower. It does not matter what bike you are on, Adventure is bound to find you.
David

[Sherman1]

BMW R 1200 GS experience?
what parts do you have to take with you when traveling through the wasteland? what smashed first and second etc etc..?

I just want learn from your experience.
Thanks for your reply.