Schadenfreude and the Art of Regular Maintenance

[Redleg]

Apologies to Mr. Pirsig (stop auto-correcting me Siri ) and his alter-ego Phaedrus. This one is a bit wordy, so take your ADD meds before reading.

One of the reasons I bought this Oilhead is the incredible amount of DIY maintenance information out there on these bikes.
That and the RT (and it's cousin the K1200LT) are beautiful bikes to my eye.

For those who don't know - the term "Oilhead" refers to the generation of Beemer (thanks Herr Mega) Boxer twins that were produced through the mid '00s. They also were the bikes that replaced the classic "Airhead" design.

Anyhow, I bought mine with 32k on the clock and in pretty good nick cosmetically for a 12 year old bike. Tires had a slight bit of cupping but otherwise the Metzlers have plenty of life left in them.

The motor pulls well, but ran a bit rough. I swapped the oil, flushed out the grey-green DOT4 in the clutch for new, clear fluid, put fresh gear oil in the shaft final drive too. Still need to replace the tranny oil and get an air filter. A bottle of Techron FI cleaner also went in the tank. All this done, and the motor seems happier. Some new plugs and a valve check are also planned.

I did my research, knew what was going on, and rode out of there with the bike $100 over dealer cost.