**I am on K-Bikes almost daily, but I do not often check this Tech forum. If you have a question on this procedure, please PM me, and I'll answer it, and if relevant, will post your question/reply here to the thread.**
Due to incompetent “Certified BMW Mechanics” (see thread HERE ) I changed my final drive oil today only 3 days after paying a dealership do it. I was looking for any damage they may have caused by not correctly filling the final drive oil. They only used 30ml rather than 230ml, and I rode 200 miles home like that.
If you do not have a factory magnetic drain plug, purchase one from your dealer before doing this procedure. Bikes prior to model year 2007 do NOT have a factory magnetic drain plug. Read entire procedure and understand it before beginning.
To begin with, I do not have a center stand, so I needed to create something to get the rear of the bike high enough to pivot the final drive down, and have enough clearance from the ground. I chose to make a large sawhorse.
I went to Home Depot and bought the supplies.
2x4 8 foot long $2.50 each, used three = $7.50
Sawhorse Brackets Set $5.00
Total cost was around $12.50
I cut two of the 2x4x8 into 4 foot lengths (four – four foot lengths)
I put a 13º angle on one end of each 2x4x4. The angle will go on the bottom when you screw it all together, this allows the bottoms to sit flush to the ground when sitting in the angled sawhorse bracket.
I cut the last 2x4 and used a 5 foot section. (3 feet left over)
Screw it all together and this is the final outcome.
Here are the steps I used:
1. Loosen rear wheel lug nuts ( T50 ) Easier to do this while the rear tire is on the ground and not spinning while in the air.
2. Hoist rear of bike using sawhorse. I used a sportbike chock to hold the front end, and used my pitbull stand on the rear to have the rear already off the ground. I had some ‘soft tiedowns’ that I looped around the pannier brackets. I attached ratcheting straps through the soft tiedowns and over the sawhorse. Then just ratcheted the straps to hoist the bike up off the pitbull stand, then removed the pitbull stand. Hoist until the rear wheel is between 5 and 6 inches off the deck
3. Remove the lug nuts and the rear wheel ( T50 )
4. Loosen the rear drain plug ( T45 )
5. Loosen the speed sensor screw ( T25 )
6. Remove rear Paralever bolt ( T50 and 16mm wrench ) Use one hand to support the drive when you remove the bolt. Apply slight upward pressure to allow the bolt to slide out. Lower the drive to about 30º, it will rest on the driveshaft. Take a look inside and see the two things you need to separate.
7. separate the pinion shaft from the universal shaft and pivot the rear-wheel drive down. I found it worked when I used my thumb and index finger to press the shaft forward. A slight rotation of the brake rotor helped it to release. It took about 30 seconds of fiddling, so give it some time. It only needs a bit of pressure and it WILL release, just work with it. Support the bottom of the drive with one hand to help release pressure on the shaft, and because it will swing down when it releases.
8. Remove Drain plug ( T45 ) allow to drain into suitable container. Inspect drain plug for metal shavings. If you do not have a factory magnetic drain plug, purchase one from your dealer before doing this procedure.
9. Remove Speed sensor screw, and use fingers to remove speed sensor. You may need to rotate the brake rotor to get good access, then be careful not to spin the rotor once the speed sensor is out, or you could pinch it. I flushed the drive through the speed sensor hole a few times with new oil as an extra precaution, but the oil came out clean (even tilted and spun the gear via the rotor) so flushing may be unnecessary.
Now to reassemble:
10. clean the splines of the parts you separated in step 7 and apply a light coat of fresh optimoly or a suitable replacement such as ‘Honda Moly60’ or ‘LocTite Moly Paste’. I choose LocTite Moly paste because it is packaged better for my use. It is a small resealable jar with a brush built into the cap. It is also 65% moly, and I ordered it online for around $20. Honda Moly is 60% moly, and comes in a small tube that you could load into a grease gun. The tube is not designed to be resealed, and a grease gun is not good for this application, though you could just dip a brush into the tube and use it that way. Honda Moly60 is cheaper and often available at your local Honda cycle shop, cost is around $15 in my area. These are expensive lubricants, but a tube/jar will last years and years. Plenty included to do 30+ bikes.
11. CLEAN and install the speed sensor flush so it is not in the way of a spinning rotor. Do NOT put the speed sensor screw in.
12. raise the drive assemble and slip the pinion shaft and the universal shaft back together. As before, spin the rotor to help them line up, and support the drive at the bottom to remove pressure to help get them together.
13. install the rear paralever bolt ( T50 and 16mm wrench ) and torque to 43Nm
14. Install the Rear Drain Plug ( T45 ) and torque to 20Nm
15 Remove the speed sensor again. Using the speed sensor hole, fill final drive with 230ml (cc is the same as ml) of the appropriate gear oil. I used Mobile1 75W/140. The M1 was darker and more red than the BMW gear lube. I used a MixMizer from the auto parts area of Wal-Mart to help with filling. It was less than $5, and worked great. Note the oil bottle in this image is not what I used for this replacement procedure. It is what I added as makeup oil when the dealership screwed up their fill.
16. clean any spilled oil, and take time to inspect your rear brakes and clean everything while you have the wheel off. Make sure there is no remaining oil on any of the brake parts.
17. install the speed sensor and speed sensor screw ( T25 ) hand tight only
18 install rear wheel, snug but do not torque lug nuts ( T50 )
19. Lower rear of bike onto pitbull stand SLOWLY and EVENLY, and then to the ground.
20. Torque lug nuts ( T50 ) to 60Nm
21 Inspect bike for anything not completed or forgotten.
It worked well for me, your mileage may vary
**Note, you can also bottle some used oil and send it off for analysis like I did for the very first change** view that HERE
Due to incompetent “Certified BMW Mechanics” (see thread HERE ) I changed my final drive oil today only 3 days after paying a dealership do it. I was looking for any damage they may have caused by not correctly filling the final drive oil. They only used 30ml rather than 230ml, and I rode 200 miles home like that.
If you do not have a factory magnetic drain plug, purchase one from your dealer before doing this procedure. Bikes prior to model year 2007 do NOT have a factory magnetic drain plug. Read entire procedure and understand it before beginning.
To begin with, I do not have a center stand, so I needed to create something to get the rear of the bike high enough to pivot the final drive down, and have enough clearance from the ground. I chose to make a large sawhorse.
I went to Home Depot and bought the supplies.
2x4 8 foot long $2.50 each, used three = $7.50
Sawhorse Brackets Set $5.00
Total cost was around $12.50
I cut two of the 2x4x8 into 4 foot lengths (four – four foot lengths)
I put a 13º angle on one end of each 2x4x4. The angle will go on the bottom when you screw it all together, this allows the bottoms to sit flush to the ground when sitting in the angled sawhorse bracket.
I cut the last 2x4 and used a 5 foot section. (3 feet left over)
Screw it all together and this is the final outcome.
Here are the steps I used:
1. Loosen rear wheel lug nuts ( T50 ) Easier to do this while the rear tire is on the ground and not spinning while in the air.
2. Hoist rear of bike using sawhorse. I used a sportbike chock to hold the front end, and used my pitbull stand on the rear to have the rear already off the ground. I had some ‘soft tiedowns’ that I looped around the pannier brackets. I attached ratcheting straps through the soft tiedowns and over the sawhorse. Then just ratcheted the straps to hoist the bike up off the pitbull stand, then removed the pitbull stand. Hoist until the rear wheel is between 5 and 6 inches off the deck
3. Remove the lug nuts and the rear wheel ( T50 )
4. Loosen the rear drain plug ( T45 )
5. Loosen the speed sensor screw ( T25 )
6. Remove rear Paralever bolt ( T50 and 16mm wrench ) Use one hand to support the drive when you remove the bolt. Apply slight upward pressure to allow the bolt to slide out. Lower the drive to about 30º, it will rest on the driveshaft. Take a look inside and see the two things you need to separate.
7. separate the pinion shaft from the universal shaft and pivot the rear-wheel drive down. I found it worked when I used my thumb and index finger to press the shaft forward. A slight rotation of the brake rotor helped it to release. It took about 30 seconds of fiddling, so give it some time. It only needs a bit of pressure and it WILL release, just work with it. Support the bottom of the drive with one hand to help release pressure on the shaft, and because it will swing down when it releases.
8. Remove Drain plug ( T45 ) allow to drain into suitable container. Inspect drain plug for metal shavings. If you do not have a factory magnetic drain plug, purchase one from your dealer before doing this procedure.
9. Remove Speed sensor screw, and use fingers to remove speed sensor. You may need to rotate the brake rotor to get good access, then be careful not to spin the rotor once the speed sensor is out, or you could pinch it. I flushed the drive through the speed sensor hole a few times with new oil as an extra precaution, but the oil came out clean (even tilted and spun the gear via the rotor) so flushing may be unnecessary.
Now to reassemble:
10. clean the splines of the parts you separated in step 7 and apply a light coat of fresh optimoly or a suitable replacement such as ‘Honda Moly60’ or ‘LocTite Moly Paste’. I choose LocTite Moly paste because it is packaged better for my use. It is a small resealable jar with a brush built into the cap. It is also 65% moly, and I ordered it online for around $20. Honda Moly is 60% moly, and comes in a small tube that you could load into a grease gun. The tube is not designed to be resealed, and a grease gun is not good for this application, though you could just dip a brush into the tube and use it that way. Honda Moly60 is cheaper and often available at your local Honda cycle shop, cost is around $15 in my area. These are expensive lubricants, but a tube/jar will last years and years. Plenty included to do 30+ bikes.
11. CLEAN and install the speed sensor flush so it is not in the way of a spinning rotor. Do NOT put the speed sensor screw in.
12. raise the drive assemble and slip the pinion shaft and the universal shaft back together. As before, spin the rotor to help them line up, and support the drive at the bottom to remove pressure to help get them together.
13. install the rear paralever bolt ( T50 and 16mm wrench ) and torque to 43Nm
14. Install the Rear Drain Plug ( T45 ) and torque to 20Nm
15 Remove the speed sensor again. Using the speed sensor hole, fill final drive with 230ml (cc is the same as ml) of the appropriate gear oil. I used Mobile1 75W/140. The M1 was darker and more red than the BMW gear lube. I used a MixMizer from the auto parts area of Wal-Mart to help with filling. It was less than $5, and worked great. Note the oil bottle in this image is not what I used for this replacement procedure. It is what I added as makeup oil when the dealership screwed up their fill.
16. clean any spilled oil, and take time to inspect your rear brakes and clean everything while you have the wheel off. Make sure there is no remaining oil on any of the brake parts.
17. install the speed sensor and speed sensor screw ( T25 ) hand tight only
18 install rear wheel, snug but do not torque lug nuts ( T50 )
19. Lower rear of bike onto pitbull stand SLOWLY and EVENLY, and then to the ground.
20. Torque lug nuts ( T50 ) to 60Nm
21 Inspect bike for anything not completed or forgotten.
It worked well for me, your mileage may vary
**Note, you can also bottle some used oil and send it off for analysis like I did for the very first change** view that HERE