What is involved in 're-sealing' (renewing?) a 1200GS (TC era)?

Max-GS12

Max-GS12

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I looked at one this weekend and the dealer remarked that regardless of low miles and careful owners they often require new seals due to age deterioration etc.

What's involved in terms of effort and cost to renew an otherwise well looked after 10 year old GS?

Guessing fork seals but the big concertina thingy in the shaft and others I guess?

If it has been regularly maintained (ie oils, filter, fluids) what else would it be wise to look at potentially replacing in terms of seals, hoses, TPC valves etc?

Thanks all. :beerjug:
 
Very low miles would mean it's been stood neglected (my first 1100) and yes there will be things that need changing; if however it's been run and maintained then the sales person is blowing smoke up your arse as seals etc would have been changed as necessary.

Buy it, ride it, fix it when required (Steptoe in Kingston is just up the road) :thumb
 
Max-GS12 said:
I looked at one this weekend and the dealer remarked that regardless of low miles and careful owners they often require new seals due to age deterioration etc.

What's involved in terms of effort and cost to renew an otherwise well looked after 10 year old GS?

Guessing fork seals but the big concertina thingy in the shaft and others I guess?

If it has been regularly maintained (ie oils, filter, fluids) what else would it be wise to look at potentially replacing in terms of seals, hoses, TPC valves etc?

Thanks all. :beerjug:
Click to expand...

Inspect the 'big concertina thing' very carefully, they are prone to small splits not easily seen - its far more common than most realise because they are not immediately obvious - not a short term issue but will let in water and promote corrosion of the shaft drive.

I have no idea what seals they are talking about - other than sometimes the rear drive oil seal can dribble a little, the one behind the plastic cover (it just pops off) surrounding the big hole in the rear drive - it's not a big or expensive job to replace.
 
Just had a thought, the TC has the single plate dry clutch in the housing between the engine and the gearbox, sometimes the drive and or gearbox seals failed and let oil get onto the clutch - check the join between the gearbox and engine for signs of oil seepage - this is a big expensive job!
 
the rear main fails coz they designed it too, its got little to do with age or mileage

ABS is the biggest headache coz they designed the brushes to stick after x amount of use with carbon dust building up, your friendly main dealer and run the pump a bit just to encourage it if you don't follow their lies on 2 year fluid changes

these were the start of the engineered to fail idea on bikes (but mostly quite robust before the LC), German manus lead the field with most development costs working with the accounts department to drive up sales by building them to die... most prevalent on the cars where a merc should almost make it to year three before imploding, electronic modules with worse build than and a budget laptop, chocolate cam chains, together with stop start, all designed with break it faster technology… its the way to go - shame the planet will die
 
Conspiracy theories aside, the ‘big concertina thing’ is a fairly straightforward job and shouldn’t cost too much. The other seal to watch out for is the alternator drive seal under the plastic cover on the front engine cover. It’s a real Bastid to replace.
 
Thanks chaps, and glad to see my ‘big concertina thingy’ seems to be the correct and accepted terminology! :D
 
Max-GS12 said:
Thanks chaps, and glad to see my ‘big concertina thingy’ seems to be the correct and accepted terminology! :D
Click to expand...

Just another thought :) which 'big concertina thing' were you referring to, the one at the engine end or the one at the final drive? I was referring to the one at the final drive end - easy to become confused!
 
Ahh, wondered who'd spot that one first...! :D

No, I meant the wheel end one but I did not notice the even more severe looking 'even bigger concertina thing' at the engine end... :blast
 
Engineer said:
Just another thought :) which 'big concertina thing' were you referring to, the one at the engine end or the one at the final drive? I was referring to the one at the final drive end - easy to become confused!
Click to expand...

One is a swingarm big concertina thingy , the other is a paralever/final drive big concertina thingy.

Glad to be of help.
 
Max-GS12 said:
I looked at one this weekend and the dealer remarked that regardless of low miles and careful owners they often require new seals due to age deterioration etc.

What's involved in terms of effort and cost to renew an otherwise well looked after 10 year old GS?

Guessing fork seals but the big concertina thingy in the shaft and others I guess?

If it has been regularly maintained (ie oils, filter, fluids) what else would it be wise to look at potentially replacing in terms of seals, hoses, TPC valves etc?

Thanks all. :beerjug:
Click to expand...

Would this be a certain 2011 Rallye for sale in Malvern?
 
Max-GS12 said:
Ahh, wondered who'd spot that one first...! :D

No, I meant the wheel end one but I did not notice the even more severe looking 'even bigger concertina thing' at the engine end... :blast
Click to expand...

OK it's the 'big concertina thingy' at the wheel end that has a tendency to develop small splits :)
 
Also check the one just behind the gearbox, bigger pain to replace. If they do need replacing only buy the BMW ones as the ones from Motorworks only lasted 12 months.
 
Pops said:
Conspiracy theories aside, the ‘big concertina thing’ is a fairly straightforward job and shouldn’t cost too much. The other seal to watch out for is the alternator drive seal under the plastic cover on the front engine cover. It’s a real Bastid to replace.
Click to expand...

alternator drive seal ?
 
2010-2012 TC are the ultimate evolution of the non-LC oil-cooled bikes. Apart from the early 2010 models with their funky fuel strips, these bikes have very little that goes wrong with them, making them much different from the earlier hex heads. The brakes are easy to bleed yourself. The final drive fluid is easy to drain and change yourself. The valves are easy to get at and measure clearances as called for in the maintenance schedule. And the FD itself is pretty much maintenance-free and bullet proof (apart from changing the FD fluid per maintenance schedule).

I have a 2012 I bought with 800 miles on it. Now coming up on 60k. If I were buying a used one, some things I’d look for or ask the dealer about:
1. Check back of crankcase above skid plate. It should be dry. Take it out for a test run and get the engine good and warmed up before checking (in case someone cleaned it up). If there’s oil back there, it could be a sign of leaking rear main seal. This was more common on the pre-TC bikes; very rare on the TC bikes. (I had to change mine recently, but that’s another story).
2. Ask when the alternator belt was last changed. You can do it yourself - kind of a pita, though. Once every 24k.
3. Ask when plugs were last changed. Pretty easy, but the plugs are spendy.
4. Confirm valves are all within spec.
5. Might ask whether they’ve balanced the throttle. I’ve never done it on mine, but apparently it’s something that some folks do themselves.
6. Confirm all recalls were done (I just had mine in for fuel pump replacement under warranty recall - wasn’t having any problem with it, but got a new fuel pump out of it).
7. I’d take a close look at the grips, too, come to think of it. If it’s a high mileage bike with stock grips, there’s a chance the grips are getting close to wearing out, and if they’re heated grips replacing them is pretty expensive from what I’ve read. I recently put foam grip covers on mine for comfort as well as to reduce wear on them.
8. Ask about the shocks, especially if it’s an ESA bike. After 40k or so the shocks are gonna be shot. I just changed out my stock ESA shocks at about 45-50k, and went with non-ESA TFX shocks (Ted Porter Beemer Shop), and I swear it was like getting a new bike.

After that, it’s the usual used bike buying stuff - how much tread left on tires, when was last oil change (all three holes), all bulbs and switches working, no tears in the accordions, no leaks around the forks, brake calipers, FD, or under the engine. There are no hoses - at least none that I’d worry about inspecting.

Probably some other things I’m sure others can chime in on. But those are what I’d be looking for based on my experience with my TC. I love it.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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