What's the minimum repairs I should be able to do on the road?

I'm going touring in Russia this summer on my GSA. I have essentially zero mechanical skill or knowledge when it comes to repairing my bike, and I've always let the dealer do the maintenance. But if I break down on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere, help will probably be hard to come by.

Pretty much the one useful thing I can do is plug and re-inflate a punctured tire, with a pump and plug kit I carry on the bike. What other procedures and skills should I learn before I go on my trip? What kind of things is it realistic for me to become able to do on my own in the next few months?

I'm prepared to buy whatever tools I might need, but at the same time there's not much point in carrying around a lot of tools that I don't know what to do with.

Light bulbs definitely.

Clean up the windshield.
It doesn't require an electronic engineering degree or NASA-like kind of tools... Lucky the designers didn't link it to the can-bus or the ECU..

Plug tire.

Carry and be able to replace the final drive outer seal: http://www.maxbmwmotorcycles.com/fiche/DiagramsMain.aspx?vid=51556&vin=ZL75992&md=200406 , parts 12, 13 & 14. Know your brakes are good for the distance or carry new pads - simple install.

Travel well.

Bailing wire
duct tape
jb weld
electical tape
superglue
Headlight/tail bulb
Tire Plug (you have this)
some assorded wrenches and screwdrivers to help with reattaching
extra key
Cash

You need to be able to reattach stuff that has fallen or broken off so you can get to a repair shop.
If you are not mechanical, it's not the end of the world if you are touring in relatively popluated places.

I carry a ton more but I have delusions of fixing the bike on the side of the road. The part that breaks is always the one you aren't carrying the tools to fix

You should be able to change the oil, final drive and and transmission fluids in case any of them gets compromised. All of them are easy jobs. Any appropriate weight motor oil will do in a pinch so don't worry about carrying 4 litres, just carry a spare filter (or two). Same goes with final drive/transmission oil.

You should be able to diagnose and repair fuel pump controller failures and ignition coil failures. The fuel pump controller is an easy work around with some spare wire, and alligator clips if you have them (but not necessary). The ignition coil is easy to diagnose, and unless both primaries go won't be completely debilitating. You may want to carry a spare coil or two.

hmmm...

It would be good to carry the full set of Torx sockets for the bike because even if you can't fix something, it might allow some local mechanic or another rider that does not have those slightly exotic tools to help you out. Also bring the hex wrenches for the fluid changes, though those will be easier to find locally. You will also want a thinwall socket to change a spark plug and the special tool needed to remove the front axle in case you need to replace a tire.

I feel exactly the way you do, but I think there is only so much preparation you can do and like trc.rhubarb said the thing that will go wrong is the situation you didnt prepare for or carrying the tool for

For my self I purchased the BMW R1200 Tool Kit from AdvDesigns because I was too lazy to make me own, and I have the GS911 for the computer side of things :)

I would suggest getting the JVB videos so you can learn the maintenance of the bike and maybe learn where things are and how to get to them like spark plugs etc

Get familiar with your bike, buy the C-D's from Jim and do your own maint long before the trip. Read the Hall of Wisdom and then be ready to improvise...oh, and have fun!

Bill in OR

Don't let the first time you do repairs/maintenance be while you are on the road. Do all the maintenance for a 6K service right at home now. That way you have the right tools and at least one practice session. This stuff is not hard, but first time you WILL fuck it up. Better in US than middle of Siberia.

Trust this guy.. He is an expert at road side repairs. JVB is my Arch enemy but he knows his stff when it come to GS repair.

Tire plugs and air pump is a must.

Crack open a beer and spend an hour finding all the torx sizes on your bike.and piece together your tool kit.
you need a spark plug tool! too
wrap duct tape and electircal tape around wrenches or tire irons to save space.. I can get every tool i need to do a full service along with survival kit and first aid kit into an men's toilet kit.

I also use a sharpie marker to write important info inside my cases. Tourque values . fluid caps, next of kin info.

R1200gsinfo.net is a good site for basic maint instuction.

Have a great ride.

I would be real curious to get some pictures and what your carrying in this kit, I couldn't be bothered piecing a kit together so I bought the one was AdvDesigns however that with the pump/repair kit and first aid kit, it's getting fairly big now

...and try filling it with air.
Those tiny CO2 things aren't sufficient unelss you have a lot of them.

Don't only know in theory how to plug and fill your tires, make sure you have tried it.

[TaSK]

And do those repairs/maintenance at home with just the tools you carry on the bike so you know which tools you will need and how to use them.

Planning for South America next fall 7 months 2 up, and have done many of the things suggested here, my skills are limited but all the fluids and pads, and valve adj I have done at least once with a conservative toolkit, which I have built using various sources. I also found a local mechanic that works from home that let's me watch and ask questions. It makes sense for me to carry tools for the bike so that someone else who knows more can help. I will also seek more help on exactly which minimum spares to carry for FD maintenance.

In terms of my minimal skills, my weakest point is likely diagnosis, Gastone, can you give more details on how to do this:

You should be able to diagnose and repair fuel pump controller failures and ignition coil failures. The fuel pump controller is an easy work around with some spare wire, and alligator clips if you have them (but not necessary). The ignition coil is easy to diagnose, and unless both primaries go won't be completely debilitating. You may want to carry a spare coil or two.


Also without falling prey to paranoia, what about the EWS antenna thingamagig, torque values while on the road, and fuel filter? Last thing re. using car oil, dino of full synt how much safe margins do you have re oil specs?

Thanks for the thread

Your bike has been designed to be an adventure bike.
When they designed it, BMW assumed you one day will walk into a shop in Angola or Mongolia asking for oil for the engine.
You will get a crappy dino with a quality that went out of use in Europa in the 70s.
At that point you will be happy that your engine was designed to use such low quality oil.

Change every 10.000 km and any oil with quality SF or better is fine.

These are not my personal opinions, but what your Owners Manual says.

[TaSK]

As far as can be established from GSpot reports, either your antenna failed early, or it will last the lifetime of the bike.
Carrying a spare can never be wrong, but the chances you will need it is very slim indeed.

Replace the fuel filter before you go, and it should be OK.

If you need torque values, you need access to the internet to get hold of instructions on how to do whatever you need to do.
And they you'll find the torque values as well.
What you need to do is to understand what a torque is.
That is, how much is 50Nm of torque if your wrench is 25cm long?; the answer is 20kg of force.
You need to understand why - then you don't need to carry a torque wrench.

[TaSK]

Thanks TaSK,

With my limited skills I have been practicing "torquing" by first feeling where I think it should be and then applying the actual torque value and see how close or off I am. I am getting much better at it.

I have also been reading the threads on changing tires, carrying an expensive bead breaker kit to using the side stand, and such... and I will be carrying a plug kit and a mini compressor, but see no value in carrying a tire changing kit, even tire iron for that matter. I am not planning on carrying tires with me, and I figure that should I get a catastrophic flat that I can't plug, I would more than likely either find help to get the bike to a shop, or remove the affected wheel and take it to a tire shop, make sense no?

That is what I carry.
I guess what I actually carry indicates what I consider likely.

[TaSK]