Mr Normski, thank you so much for this wonderful video. I have the same model and it is showing / giving all the signs of preparing to meet its maker back (been riding it since new). Glad to know that 64 is young, I'm much younger. You produce this video exactly the time that I need it. No hoohaa way of talking, plain simple ways of doing things PLUS the tricks of undoing the mysteries or the problems in detail of BMW wirings and construction designs.
Thank you for your comments Amran, I am so pleased that the videos can help you. The brain is an amazing design, what we think we can never do is possible......with a little help from a Workshop Manual eh 😊
I agree with your comment, "No hoohaa way of talking" and I know what you mean, that kind of delivery is so painful and exhausting to listen to, which is so common on UA-cam. Normski has a mature, educated and mindfulness way of expressing his instruction. Wish this would spread around more on UA-cam. P.S. Including that guy (David Croft) who screams into the mic during the Formula 1 Grand Prix races!
Exceptional...you have, in your own way, convinced me that I could do this is it comes to it. Your on camera manner and even, calm and dignified instructions are just the very best. Thank you Sir. Also, I am 64 years young, but "....would you be my dad also???" I have a 1999 R1100r that will need some work in the future, and I need a dad to help me out!!!
Steve Evers Hi Steve, thank you for your comments, ha ha yes I can be your dad also seeing that my younger son lives in South Africa. I used to help him out with his Honda off-road bike, but those days have gone!
I managed to change the boot closest to the engine by dropping the rear drive and pulling the drive shaft out leaving the housing etc in place. to replace you need 3 hands, fingers of steel and the patience of a saint, but it is possible. a lot easier than removing half the rear end. my advice from this experience would be, take breaks if you get frustrated and don't plan to do it in one day....just in case! It took me around 3 hours, 1 of them was trying to get the cable tie back on. great videos and good luck!
Paul Chattington Hi Paul, yes very good comment, you can do it that way, but not a huge problem to take out the shock absorber and final drive. Think I would have tried your method first if I only had the front boot to change even though the manuals and BMW advise removing the swing arm. Your advice to take breaks is absolutely correct. I am 70 now and it doesn’t have to be done in a day.....or even a year, problem is by then I will have forgotten where anything goes🤷♂️
So happy you are continuing the series on the big GS. As always, well filmed and well explained. As someone else rightly said it gives me the confidence to do some major work on mine if needed. Most excellent. I’m sure this bike will be back in the road soon! 😁😁👍👍
You are magnificent’ a best self made man, great Job, magnific, respect, at 73 years old good man. I would like to know more about your moto lift blue I.m very interest. What.s the reference?
I will be watching with interest last year I did a complete rebuild on a 1976/6, and looking to buy a GS or RT so if it looks doable I may buy an low price high miles bargain
Mourad Wergly Hi Mourad, yes the engine has just this minute arrived from James Sherlock in Devon🤗. Now the fun starts but I have lots of cleaning to do first.
Wow, so glad you're continuing with the GS . My front swinging arm boot is cracked I've super glued it for now and with your help will change it this winter. Am I right in thinking that the injector bodies would normally stay on the cylinders if it where a clutch refurbishment? As I've said before I have the same bike right down to the year& colour and with your videos I'm getting to know her so much better now . Until last year I always has work done on her at my BMW dealer including a new ABS system paid for by the factory even though it was out of garentee they just charged for the fluids! Now I have stopped working I have time to do the necessary work myself (with the help of UA-cam) keep them coming! Looking forward to the next one. Cheers
MrTimberob Hi Timberob, yes you can do your front boot, not the real problem I thought it may be. You are correct about the injector bodies normally staying in place, but not when it needs a new engine😱. This afternoon I have removed the engine, a replacement arrives tomorrow, but I hate putting dirty, damaged parts back on so have a lot of cleaning yet🤦🏼♂️. Will try and edit the ‘engine removal’ video tomorrow 😅
Good tip Dan.....it is the throttle bodies that fill me with fear😫....almost finished, just installed the swing arm and a brand new rear shock that is total indulgence 🤪. Then I will edit the final build video.
Wow Norman! This is a big job. It’s like I came to a cliffhanger in a Hollywood movie, when this video ended. What will happen next lol. I shall watch the next part. Absolutely fascinating. I’ve worked on my old Honda VFR in the past. I thought that one was fairly easy. When I see the letters BMW on my RT, and something like this due for maintenance my mind goes numb lol. But with a manual and like you say patience, a man can accomplish a lot.
Hi. Very nice video! Just wanted to say you dont have to loosen the front bolts for removing the tank. Only the two rear ones. The front are just sliders where the tank slides on.
You are absolutely right Jan......realised that the minute I put the tank back and was thinking 'where have the other two bolt's gone'. Thank you for your helpful comments and watching the video.
@@normanhill316 Your welcome. I have a 2005 myself that has 157.000 km on it. I guess Ill keep it as long as it is running. Then at some point I think I need to at least do the clutch. So very useful to watch somebody else first.
You will do it Jan, I will be thinking of you, have great success. I am just at the final stages, now waiting for the new screen to arrive this week (and the £80 fasteners which Jason sold with the old screen), then it is road test time......interesting!
Even I know these topics and theirs how to, is satisfying to watch sometimes someone else to work on them;-) happy to be a subscriber #1K keep on filming, and thanks
Hello, your tutorials are very interesting, thank you very much for sharing them, I wanted to ask you ... have you solved the "mystery" of how the engine disaster happened? I see seizure of the valve rocker as unlikely ...
You make such a good video well done I have enjoyed watching it..as you can tell I also own an older GS 1200. It does need work from time to time your video really helped me out a lot.thank you
Hi. Watched 21 mins. thus far, so not sure whether you mention it later, but are you aware that the alarm has a small, camera-like battery in it? You can remove it, and I imagine that will stop the beeping. The unit is under the rear luggage carrier cover. As I recall matters, there is a video on UA-cam (South African guy, I think) which demonstrates the method.
Michael Brewis Hi Michael, thank you so much for that information, i didn’t have a clue where the alarm was. It stopped after 24 hours, I was giving up the will to live! I find the alarm such a pain, if only in Service Mode it would be totally disarmed and NOT bleep every 15seconds but apparently the insurance companies will not approve it if it does that. That must be why my factory fitted BMW alarm on my RT1200LC is not recognised as an approved alarm because you can switch it off🤦🏼♂️. I am worried that if I remove the ‘buzzer’ from the Datatool alarm it may think it is being stolen and not allow the bike to start🤔
Thanks for taking the time to film all this, very therapeutic 😏 Just out of interest, what mileage had the bike done and what were the circumstances of the Dropped Valve ..... Thanks Roj
Hi Roj, So pleased you have enjoyed the video's. The bike had done around 55,000 miles and my son Jason used it every day to travel to work and back for more than 3 years. He is a good rider, never over revving the engine and doing 70mph on a dual carriageway when the engine blew. Bike always serviced on time. There is no real answer, it is rare to drop a valve but it does happen. Yesterday I had the tyres changed on the GS and Mark the fitter, who has a mobile service, was a mechanic to a Superbike Race Team. He also services bikes 50% of the time, many BMW's. He has seen it a few times, not before the 1200 model though, ie the 1150GS in his opinion was much better engineered?
Thanks for the reply much appreciated. I've just watched the intial strip down..... very sad. What a mess. I've just bought a late 06 GS myself. Just hope this is a rare occurance 😢 Good Luck. I'm an engineer too but don't relish that job .
@@RiojaRojI bought a 26k mile immaculate example. 2005… dropped a valve after a few hundred miles.. luckily I was only going at 30mph and I was able to replace the head, cylinder and piston and it’s been ok for the last 1k. I think it was a common issue. Plenty forum threads about it.
What caused the valve to drop? I got a 2005 and one of the bearing sets dropped the ball bearings into the trans. I will be doing videos of rebuilding a r1200gs trans ( another trans not the current trans). Not happy at all with BMW's now!
Wow Simon I have no idea😵💫. That is a very interesting problem which must be electronic but somebody somewhere in the internet world must have had that happen🧐. At the same time I am wondering why I did not have the same error😮
Hi James, Not really. Jason was a very careful rider, never really over revving. It does appear that there was some issue with the valves around 2005-2007. A weakness that may have made one drop into the piston which would have been like a hand grenade at 70mph!
@@normanhill316 ouch! Interesting to know. I have a 2008 which I'm very much enjoying, hopefully this issue was rectified by then. This video is very informative, I also watched your video ref final drive oil change which I must do this winter. Keep up the good work!
Hi Rick, well for a while I was a Diamond Tool maker in Cornwall in 1971 working on projects like Rolls Royce RB211 jet engine turbine blades, but it was a two man business and then RR went bust🤦🏼♂️ so did the owner of the tiny specialist engineer 😱. So I went into printing for the next 40years🤷♂️
Arhaaa ...I new it must be a toolmaker ,fitter of some sort .Though what is a diamond toolmaker. I’m asking as I’m a fitter and turner currently on Cnc machines making small run R and D parts. Also I’ve worked maintenance working on Flexo printing presses I also have a gs 1200 Ohhhhh and my apprenticeship was in a tool room making new press tools and maintaining sharpening ect ... Maybe where long lost brothers Hehe
@@rick.nipper Hi Rick.......yes we must be related!! In those days I used to make the tool (or it would be supplied) and then I would Nickel plate it over a couple of hours while I sprinkled real diamond 'particles' over the tool and the Nickel formed around each diamond and bonded it in position. They were very expensive, and a very secret part of engineering known to only a few people. I did a milling course a couple of years ago and the instructor showed me that nowadays everything is sintered on diamond tools and is very cheap.
Norman Hill Norm when cylindrical grinding materials like ceramics where the wheels are impregnated industrial diamond does this mean it’s a sinterd process? Wow real diamond must off been very expensive Was the diamond to do with the hardness?
Those electrical clips - you are prising them off with a screwdriver but you don't understand. You push those clips in with your thumb to release. You don't prise them off. Also, those ABS units can be rebuilt. It is done all the time. Bypassing the ABS is lazy. Really though Norm! And go out and buy some longer ratchet handles. You are struggling with a lack of leverage.
Hi Paulius, Haynes BMW R1200 13 to 16 Liquid Cooled Twins (£24.99 in the UK). If you have a problem finding. the web page email me on mrnormanhill@yahoo.co.uk and I will send you the link.
Mr Normski, thank you so much for this wonderful video. I have the same model and it is showing / giving all the signs of preparing to meet its maker back (been riding it since new). Glad to know that 64 is young, I'm much younger. You produce this video exactly the time that I need it. No hoohaa way of talking, plain simple ways of doing things PLUS the tricks of undoing the mysteries or the problems in detail of BMW wirings and construction designs.
Thank you for your comments Amran, I am so pleased that the videos can help you. The brain is an amazing design, what we think we can never do is possible......with a little help from a Workshop Manual eh 😊
I agree with your comment, "No hoohaa way of talking" and I know what you mean, that kind of delivery is so painful and exhausting to listen to, which is so common on UA-cam. Normski has a mature, educated and mindfulness way of expressing his instruction. Wish this would spread around more on UA-cam. P.S. Including that guy (David Croft) who screams into the mic during the Formula 1 Grand Prix races!
Pre2013 GS's are so cool. This man really loves his son. God Bless you sir. Ride Safe
Hi Eric, great to hear from you....why do I enjoy working on this 2005 GS more than my 2018 RT🤔
Exceptional...you have, in your own way, convinced me that I could do this is it comes to it. Your on camera manner and even, calm and dignified instructions are just the very best. Thank you Sir. Also, I am 64 years young, but "....would you be my dad also???" I have a 1999 R1100r that will need some work in the future, and I need a dad to help me out!!!
Steve Evers Hi Steve, thank you for your comments, ha ha yes I can be your dad also seeing that my younger son lives in South Africa. I used to help him out with his Honda off-road bike, but those days have gone!
I managed to change the boot closest to the engine by dropping the rear drive and pulling the drive shaft out leaving the housing etc in place. to replace you need 3 hands, fingers of steel and the patience of a saint, but it is possible. a lot easier than removing half the rear end. my advice from this experience would be, take breaks if you get frustrated and don't plan to do it in one day....just in case! It took me around 3 hours, 1 of them was trying to get the cable tie back on.
great videos and good luck!
Paul Chattington Hi Paul, yes very good comment, you can do it that way, but not a huge problem to take out the shock absorber and final drive. Think I would have tried your method first if I only had the front boot to change even though the manuals and BMW advise removing the swing arm. Your advice to take breaks is absolutely correct. I am 70 now and it doesn’t have to be done in a day.....or even a year, problem is by then I will have forgotten where anything goes🤷♂️
Enjoyable watch that Norm. You are a clever cookie. Good luck with it
Jason’s loss is our gain - loving these rebuild videos (just stumbled across them) - keep up the great work!
Thank you Rory, pleased you are enjoying them. I presume you are in Scotland...... or even Canada🤷♂️
So happy you are continuing the series on the big GS. As always, well filmed and well explained. As someone else rightly said it gives me the confidence to do some major work on mine if needed. Most excellent. I’m sure this bike will be back in the road soon! 😁😁👍👍
You are magnificent’ a best self made man, great Job, magnific, respect, at 73 years old good man. I would like to know more about your moto lift blue I.m very interest. What.s the reference?
Thank you Laurent. If you watch my UA-cam on the Big Blue Bike Lift it should tell you everything ua-cam.com/video/D9MqCaIS-8g/v-deo.html
I will be watching with interest last year I did a complete rebuild on a 1976/6, and looking to buy a GS or RT so if it looks doable I may buy an low price high miles bargain
You will love it Devlin 🤗
Always amazing watching you work on the bikes (: stay safe and well!
One heck of a job, well done Sir, pleasure to watch you work,😃👍
This vid is so cool Normski. It just shows that nothing is impossible. Great video series and safe riding.
Beautiful.... am excited to see the next episodes 🧐
Great job, keep calm and work safe
Mourad Wergly thanks Mourad....got the engine out this afternoon, hope to edit the video tomorrow 🤗
Normski cool, did you find an used engine? What is the strategy repair the broken parts or like to like engine change out?
Mourad Wergly Hi Mourad, yes the engine has just this minute arrived from James Sherlock in Devon🤗. Now the fun starts but I have lots of cleaning to do first.
Wow, so glad you're continuing with the GS . My front swinging arm boot is cracked I've super glued it for now and with your help will change it this winter. Am I right in thinking that the injector bodies would normally stay on the cylinders if it where a clutch refurbishment? As I've said before I have the same bike right down to the year& colour and with your videos I'm getting to know her so much better now .
Until last year I always has work done on her at my BMW dealer including a new ABS system paid for by the factory even though it was out of garentee they just charged for the fluids! Now I have stopped working I have time to do the necessary work myself (with the help of UA-cam) keep them coming! Looking forward to the next one. Cheers
MrTimberob Hi Timberob, yes you can do your front boot, not the real problem I thought it may be. You are correct about the injector bodies normally staying in place, but not when it needs a new engine😱. This afternoon I have removed the engine, a replacement arrives tomorrow, but I hate putting dirty, damaged parts back on so have a lot of cleaning yet🤦🏼♂️. Will try and edit the ‘engine removal’ video tomorrow 😅
i could watch Norm all day, great stuff
Tip: the spring clip on the throttle bodies push in vs pulling out/off.
Good tip Dan.....it is the throttle bodies that fill me with fear😫....almost finished, just installed the swing arm and a brand new rear shock that is total indulgence 🤪. Then I will edit the final build video.
Wow never even thought about that.....sometimes the most obvious things eh🤦🏼♂️🤷♂️
Wow Norman! This is a big job. It’s like I came to a cliffhanger in a Hollywood movie, when this video ended. What will happen next lol. I shall watch the next part. Absolutely fascinating. I’ve worked on my old Honda VFR in the past. I thought that one was fairly easy. When I see the letters BMW on my RT, and something like this due for maintenance my mind goes numb lol. But with a manual and like you say patience, a man can accomplish a lot.
I can see you have the skill of a true tradesman I feel in a Australia these skills are being lost which is sad.
I wonder how many R1200 GS’s get scrapped due to cost of replacing a clutch. Great series of videos.
Hi Mark, I also wonder that. It is such a huge job that I am sure it would cost more than the bike is worth if you took it to BMW to fix😵💫
Hi. Very nice video! Just wanted to say you dont have to loosen the front bolts for removing the tank. Only the two rear ones. The front are just sliders where the tank slides on.
You are absolutely right Jan......realised that the minute I put the tank back and was thinking 'where have the other two bolt's gone'. Thank you for your helpful comments and watching the video.
@@normanhill316 Your welcome. I have a 2005 myself that has 157.000 km on it. I guess Ill keep it as long as it is running. Then at some point I think I need to at least do the clutch. So very useful to watch somebody else first.
You will do it Jan, I will be thinking of you, have great success. I am just at the final stages, now waiting for the new screen to arrive this week (and the £80 fasteners which Jason sold with the old screen), then it is road test time......interesting!
Even I know these topics and theirs how to, is satisfying to watch sometimes someone else to work on them;-) happy to be a subscriber #1K keep on filming, and thanks
Thank you Honza....very encouraging 🤗
Hello, your tutorials are very interesting, thank you very much for sharing them, I wanted to ask you ... have you solved the "mystery" of how the engine disaster happened? I see seizure of the valve rocker as unlikely ...
You make such a good video well done I have enjoyed watching it..as you can tell I also own an older GS 1200. It does need work from time to time your video really helped me out a lot.thank you
Thank you so much Ken…you have made my day 🤗
Hi. Watched 21 mins. thus far, so not sure whether you mention it later, but are you aware that the alarm has a small, camera-like battery in it? You can remove it, and I imagine that will stop the beeping. The unit is under the rear luggage carrier cover. As I recall matters, there is a video on UA-cam (South African guy, I think) which demonstrates the method.
Michael Brewis Hi Michael, thank you so much for that information, i didn’t have a clue where the alarm was. It stopped after 24 hours, I was giving up the will to live! I find the alarm such a pain, if only in Service Mode it would be totally disarmed and NOT bleep every 15seconds but apparently the insurance companies will not approve it if it does that. That must be why my factory fitted BMW alarm on my RT1200LC is not recognised as an approved alarm because you can switch it off🤦🏼♂️. I am worried that if I remove the ‘buzzer’ from the Datatool alarm it may think it is being stolen and not allow the bike to start🤔
Fascinating stuff. Thanks for sharing.
Crazy Jigsaw puzzle 🧩
Thanks for taking the time to film all this, very therapeutic 😏
Just out of interest, what mileage had the bike done and what were the circumstances of the Dropped Valve .....
Thanks
Roj
Hi Roj, So pleased you have enjoyed the video's. The bike had done around 55,000 miles and my son Jason used it every day to travel to work and back for more than 3 years. He is a good rider, never over revving the engine and doing 70mph on a dual carriageway when the engine blew. Bike always serviced on time. There is no real answer, it is rare to drop a valve but it does happen. Yesterday I had the tyres changed on the GS and Mark the fitter, who has a mobile service, was a mechanic to a Superbike Race Team. He also services bikes 50% of the time, many BMW's. He has seen it a few times, not before the 1200 model though, ie the 1150GS in his opinion was much better engineered?
Thanks for the reply much appreciated. I've just watched the intial strip down..... very sad. What a mess. I've just bought a late 06 GS myself. Just hope this is a rare occurance 😢
Good Luck. I'm an engineer too but don't relish that job .
@@RiojaRojI bought a 26k mile immaculate example. 2005… dropped a valve after a few hundred miles.. luckily I was only going at 30mph and I was able to replace the head, cylinder and piston and it’s been ok for the last 1k. I think it was a common issue. Plenty forum threads about it.
What caused the valve to drop? I got a 2005 and one of the bearing sets dropped the ball bearings into the trans. I will be doing videos of rebuilding a r1200gs trans ( another trans not the current trans). Not happy at all with BMW's now!
Theres a clutch that has a spacer on it (beemer boneyard). It will fix the 6mm gap and allow full contact on input shaft.
Sensational workshop 👌
Thank you Jose...hard to keep tidy!!
Hi how did you restset your 1200r gs 2005 as I have just replaced my engine and gear changer is showing wrong gear
Wow Simon I have no idea😵💫. That is a very interesting problem which must be electronic but somebody somewhere in the internet world must have had that happen🧐. At the same time I am wondering why I did not have the same error😮
I wish you were my neighbor.
Ha ha Mike, just putting my house on the market and downsizing after 34 years. So will be someone else neighbour soon😳
@@normski3091 my neighbor is selling his house.
Even better will move in next 🤣🤪😲
Second time watching the series now lol
Thank you so much Fred 🎉
Great content!
Thank you Long Way Home, getting closer🤗
Very good video!!!👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Thank you Ricardo. I have bought today a 2003 1150GSA 🤗 A winter project but now new engine, well I hope not🤦♂️
@@normski3091 I have an R 1200 Gs Adventure, year 2007. As maintenance in Brazil is very expensive, I do the maintenance myself.
Any idea what caused the engine failure?
Hi James, Not really. Jason was a very careful rider, never really over revving. It does appear that there was some issue with the valves around 2005-2007. A weakness that may have made one drop into the piston which would have been like a hand grenade at 70mph!
@@normanhill316 ouch! Interesting to know. I have a 2008 which I'm very much enjoying, hopefully this issue was rectified by then. This video is very informative, I also watched your video ref final drive oil change which I must do this winter. Keep up the good work!
Where you a fitter and turner .
Hi Rick, well for a while I was a Diamond Tool maker in Cornwall in 1971 working on projects like Rolls Royce RB211 jet engine turbine blades, but it was a two man business and then RR went bust🤦🏼♂️ so did the owner of the tiny specialist engineer 😱. So I went into printing for the next 40years🤷♂️
Arhaaa ...I new it must be a toolmaker ,fitter of some sort .Though what is a diamond toolmaker.
I’m asking as I’m a fitter and turner currently on Cnc machines making small run R and D parts.
Also I’ve worked maintenance working on Flexo printing presses
I also have a gs 1200
Ohhhhh and my apprenticeship was in a tool room making new press tools and maintaining sharpening ect ...
Maybe where long lost brothers
Hehe
@@rick.nipper Hi Rick.......yes we must be related!! In those days I used to make the tool (or it would be supplied) and then I would Nickel plate it over a couple of hours while I sprinkled real diamond 'particles' over the tool and the Nickel formed around each diamond and bonded it in position. They were very expensive, and a very secret part of engineering known to only a few people. I did a milling course a couple of years ago and the instructor showed me that nowadays everything is sintered on diamond tools and is very cheap.
Norman Hill Norm when cylindrical grinding materials like ceramics where the wheels are impregnated industrial diamond does this mean it’s a sinterd process?
Wow real diamond must off been very expensive Was the diamond to do with the hardness?
Great content....annoying beeping
Hi Tom, it drove me crazy but could find no way of stopping it....and then the next day the battery in the alarm ran out.....heaven😊🤗🙏
@@normski3091 I blamed my wife at first till I realized it was your video. All is forgiven😉😁
Those electrical clips - you are prising them off with a screwdriver but you don't understand. You push those clips in with your thumb to release. You don't prise them off. Also, those ABS units can be rebuilt. It is done all the time. Bypassing the ABS is lazy. Really though Norm! And go out and buy some longer ratchet handles. You are struggling with a lack of leverage.
What’s up with the beep? Annoying.
Hi Bizz....it is the bike alarm. Could find no way of stopping it, but keep watching as the battery runs out after a couple of days🤗
Who have bmw 1200gs 2014 years service manual? 😄 I don't find it
Hi Paulius, Haynes BMW R1200 13 to 16 Liquid Cooled Twins (£24.99 in the UK). If you have a problem finding. the web page email me on mrnormanhill@yahoo.co.uk and I will send you the link.
Beep
Beep
Brilliant video series mate, well done and thanks for sharing.
Cheers
Paul
UA-cam: nuffys builds