BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

Bought a '03 1150RT earlier in the year and have recently decided to become a better wrench.
Step 1 in becoming a better wrench - buy a manual and read as many forums as possible, particularly this one.
Step 2 - ask family and friends to give tools (or $ in lieu of) as Christmas presents
Step 3 - take off bits, have a good look at them, then put them back on - just for the heck of it.
Step 4 - be prepared to ask questions.
Well, as I was I removing the back wheel and lifting it off its centering spigot I noticed a few drops of discoloured (rusty/muddy?) water drop on the ground. After completely removing the wheel and looking from the gear change (left) side of the bike into the final drive cavity I noticed more water - probably half a teaspoon in total. The metal surfaces around the centering spigot - both on the wheel side and the final drive side - had a rough appearance and feel.
Question 1 How did the water get there?
Question 2 What should I do about it?

Clean it all up, and then put the wheel back on. I would think it is normal.
Rain, road grime etc. I have seen it on mine in the past when taking wheel off for tyre change.( i have had 5 oilheads)

Water will get into the hollow steel hub from the hole at the center of the rear wheel. BMW has a plastic plug (part# 36317665843 - USD$7.27 )for the hole but I doubt its effectiveness in sealing out the moisture and water.

Welcome to the wonderful world of wrenching.

Keith Haynes makes a nice little hub cap that fits snugly into the rear wheel's center hole with an o-ring seal. It will keep water and debris out of there. Mine was like yours when I bought the bike, and rusty too, but after cleaning the recess with a brass wirebrush and rags and installing Kieth's hub cap, it has stayed clean, and makes it much easier to remove the rear wheel since it's not rusted together anymore.

Check out this thread from the BMW-MOA forum. Unfortunately the link to Kieth Haynes didn't work for me, but since you're closer to him, maybe it'll work for you!

http://www.bmwmoa.org/forum/showthread.php?t=8533

Keith is a member of this site, perhaps a PM would get it. I too installed one of his covers, it is well made, and uses a "O" ring seal.

a 7/16" nylon cap in black from Lowes is effective, cheap and diasppears from view in that hole. I think it's 7/16.

Been using it for many many miles