I’ve done my research, I’ve read the manual, I’ve got the tools, I’ve stocked the fridge – I’m ready.. Now its just a matter of getting it done.

Being able to do my own valve adjustment is what owning a boxer twin is all about. I really really enjoy the idea of working on my own bike. I will grant you that the BMW is quite complex with it’s ABS and fuel injection and mototronic electronics. But as far as valve adjustments, this is something I can really get into.

Let me start off by saying that I’m far from a mechanical genius. I like to say that I’m no “Joel”. You see my brother Joel has mechanical instinct. He was touched early on by the “shining” err.. the “greasing” maybe. I witnessed it once when I was 8 years old. There was my dad cursing for hours wishing death upon Henry Ford and Walter P. Chrysler. Meanwhile, Joel patiently standing on the front bumper looking into the engine bay next to dad shouted, “hey dad, what about that thing there!” Sure enough it was solution. I never had that special inclination. I guess I never needed it though with a brother like that. It became such that I wouldn’t even consider doing a job on an engine without first consulting Joel.

Why am I telling you all this? Well just to prove that this valve adjustment job is pretty simple and straight forward and that it’s really easier than changing the oil. If I can do it you can too.

Task 1: Valve Adjustment
Well I don’t have picture by picture instructions but you know what… you don’t need them. It is all contained in this very detailed and funny tutorial I found online Oilhead Valve Adjustment For Dummies, from John Jen, Marc and Javarilla:

Oilhead Valve Adjustment For Dummies

That file contains all the info you need to know in order to perform this task. I’ll just emphasize a couple things here.

Tools you’ll need:

10mm box wrench with shallow thickness

16mm socket or wrench to turn motor to TDC

Four (4) feeler gauges. Two .15mm’s and two .30mm’s

Oil catch pan

Various metric tools

After rotating the engine to TDC you will see the OT mark through the side viewing cut out just above the throttle bodies. Don’t be alarmed if the valves are still tight and you can’t fit the gauges in the tappets. I spent ten minutes before I realized that I needed to rotate the motor one more revolution to free up the other side.

The adjusting went quick and once you get used to the long push and pull technique you will be able to move quicker.

Task 2: Alternator Belt Replacement
The alternator belt is supposed to be replaced at 36k. I popped off the front engine cover and loosened the three bolts to slacken the alternator. I removed the air intake duct and that made super easy access to bolts. One thing that made this go much easier was having my wife come out and help me set the tension. I wish I had taken pics of her holding that screw driver up against the alternator. It was pretty exciting I have to say. Piece of cake!

Here’s the old belt, looks a little frayed on the sides and starting to show small cracks:

And here’s the new one installed:

I got everything buttoned up and started it up and checked for leaks. All is good and ready to go.

Now get back to work. Have a nice week!

Tags: alternator, BMW, BMW R1100s, boxer, dummies, valve adjustment

Don’t you hate it when you’re opening your side bags and your stuff falls out and all over the road? It’s annoying and I’ve been trying to figure out a better way.

I was looking online and found a couple different versions of this design. Prices range from 40 bucks to 80 bucks and it looked like such a simple design I thought I’d do it myself and save some money.

These work great and it didn’t cost more than 10 bucks. I just went down to the local plastic shop right across the alley from where I work and bought a sheet of clear polycarbonate about 1/8th thick. The plastic I got didn’t cut super great. It shatters fairly easily when using a reciprocating saw with a dull blade. If I did this again I would use tape or even purchase a special blade for cutting plastic. The plastic itself is extremely strong and very flexible, it just doesn’t like to be cut with dull blades.

First thing I did was to make a template out of paper and this way I could place the template inside the case and make adjustments. I made them so that they reach about half the height of the luggage… about 8 inches.

Once I got the shape down the way I liked, I placed the paper on the plastic sheet and traced clean lines around the template.  Note – I made use of the very straight edge of the cut plastic. One less cut with the jiggle saw.

I was lucky to have my old man helping me out for the afternoon. He was a good “template placer” and “plastic sheet holder”. I would recommend having someone there to hold the plastic while you cut.

Here is the cut plastic in rough form. Like I said, this plastic seemed to shatter pretty easily with the tools I was using. My saw is ancient and so are my drill bits. In fact, you should probably use a special drill for this type of plastic. A drill bit for metal is not the right tool. I made it work with very very slow drilling and being careful not to put too much pressure.

So far so good. Seems to fit nicely and I can see where I need to fine tune. The jiggle saw worked great and it helps to keep the sheet of plastic from flopping around. Once you get into a rhythm the cutting goes quickly.

For the slots, I used a drill and made three holes very near each other. This part was tedious since I didn’t have the right type of drill bit. But it worked nonetheless. I just had to work really slow.  After I drilled the holes, I used a knife and cleaned them up a bit. I looked for rubber grommets but didn’t find any, so I’m using duct tape temporarily to add some protection for the straps. To finish off the edges, I used a series of files that worked well. You want to make sure to get those sharp edges off to avoid cutting or shredding any of your gear. Here is the finished product. You simply loop the straps through the slots and you’re ready to start packing. Also, notice the notch I ended up putting in on the far end to accommodate the lid strap.

Now your small stuff won’t fall out and spill all over the road when you open your luggage. You could use colored plastic as well. I was even thinking of making pockets to hold small stuff and then attaching them to the dividers.

Tags: BMW, BMW R1100s, dividers, drill bit, dull blades, luggage, old man, plastic shop, polycarbonate, side bags