We arrived at the dealer shortly after they opened. The plan was for them to fix the leaking transmission/final drive/counterbalancer (?) seal on the R1200GS and get the valves on Diane’s F650GS checked. After browsing the store we set up shop in the very nice customer lounge area were I hooked up the Apple Airport Express so we could get wireless access.
We used the down time to surf and catch up on the blog and email. Around lunch time the service manager (Joe) came up and told me that the mechanic had a look at the leak and suspects it’s the seal they don’t have in stock – they had three out of the possible four – but he could order it for overnight delivery. I knew this was a possibility. The good news was that it’s a warranty issue. They would start taking the bike apart before 14:00 (the overnight ordering deadline) to make sure there was nothing else amiss. This is a major repair that’s described here. Scary.
With regard to the valve adjustment, they weren’t sure whether they could get it done today but definitely by tomorrow. Since my bike was staying an extra day anyways it wasn’t a major issue. There was also some oil weeping on the right side of the F650’s engine case that we pointed out. After checking with the mechanic, Joe told us that there was a BMW bulletin addressing it: retorque the engine case bolts since they apparently can come loose from the engine vibrations of the single :-o.
So far so good. We had noticed that the tread on Diane’s tire while still good was rapidly disappearing with 6600 miles on the original Metzeler Tourance tires. The service manager had a look and though he was amazed how evenly they wore (congratulating us on keeping vigilant about tire pressure ;-)) but thought they had maybe another 1000 miles left on them. That’s a week worth of riding putting us somewhere in the middle of Canada when we need new tires. Might as well get it done when they had other work to do on it.
I knew this would ‘hurt’ – dealer’s charge the retail price for tires plus a mounting charge. $215 for the rear, $192 for the front plus $30 each for mounting for a total of $467 (no sales tax in Montana) :-o. Oh well, it’s only money and the tires are the only thing keeping the bike upright – small contact patch and all. Foolish to skimp here and ride them until they are bare.
Once we were squared away with all the work that needed to be done, we took a cab back to the campground. We’ll do some laundry and walk around a bit later to get a bite to eat. We are staying an extra day, checking out on Saturday.
Ouch! – That’s a lot of money. I would get four tyres for my car… But better save than sorry, isn’t it 😉 We hope you have a good time on your extra day “off”.
Best wishes from T&I
Yes it is :-(. But safety is important, even if it hurts in the pocket book. Still waiting to get our bikes back … (14:30 local MST).
My goodness Oliver, I just read your repair description and it’s like “major surgery” – triple bypass…wow….it’s a good thing it’s covered under warranty, can’t imagine that labor charge… 😮 What’s most important is that you’re being safe by also having Diane’s bike’s tires replaced. I’m very happy for that fact. Sounds like you kids are having a great tour. We love the pics and I know now that it’s definitely a team effort – good job Diane!! 😉 Looking forward to reading about your next leg. Cheers!
Yeah. Major surgery indeed. Hopefully it’s all wrapped up by tomorrow (Saturday) so we can get back on the road, working our way closer to Glacier National Park.