I am trying to set a new baseline on my New to me 1985 K100rs. Changed the oil, tranny oil and rear oil. Flushed the brakes front and back. Checked the valves, all within clearance. Was a bit nervous but  with the help of this group, you tube and the Clymers manual I did it. Still haven taken it out yet. Hope I did it correctly!  The oil is after a run at the dot in the center. The tranny oil is at the line on the spanner wrench. The rear oil is up to the beginning of the threads. Torqued to spec from Clymers manual. Watched Chris Harris's video on the valve check and did what he did all  the way down to forgetting the darn rubber half round things in the valve cover.  had to remove it quickly .clean and re-rtv the corners. Looks good but time will tell. Need to do the coolant. What coolant do you guys use. How much does the  bike take? Is engine ice worth the price? Do you guys use the 50/50 mix of vinegar and distilled water to clean the radiator? 

Thanks in advance.
Bill

Coolant? Whatever I can get my hands on. Sometimes just tap water, but I do live in a soft water area so no chance of clogging the system up with calcite (limestone) deposits. Maybe I'd get a tiny amount of peat in there but it would all flush out with changes. It never gets cold enough here to worry about ice in the system.

Nice job so far.

I have been using Peak or Prestone Long Life coolants.  One gallon with one gallon of distilled water.  I mix them with a 60% water and 40% coolant.  I'm not sure, but I think it takes about 6-7 liters of mix to fill the system.

Look in the filler for any mineral buildup.  If the previous owners used distilled water like they should have, the system will be clean.  If they used well water then you might want to do a flush.  A 50/50 vinegar/water mix will do a good job.  Throw it in and run the engine until it gets to operating temperature then drain it out, fill with distilled water and run for a couple minutes and drain it out.  Then add your coolant.

I've had my 1992 75s for 22 years and I've always run a 50/50 mix of OEM coolant $20.00 Au for 1.5 litres and distilled water. Besides a seized radiator fan when I first got it I've had no problems. I'm still running the original pump, thermostat and hoses. I've flushed the radiator a couple of times and found no contaminants. I used to replace the coolant every couple of years but now use Castrol coolant test strips to determine coolant change times.
Regards Martin.

Thanks for the replys. I doubt that the PO did use distilled water. I am planning for a flush. Going to be taking it on a journey a little bit longer than my usual 40 miles and trying to establish a new baseline for maintenance. Taking it to the square route rally June 3rd. Will be about a hundred miles on the back roads. Then rides during the rally.

Thanks again!
Bill

Word of advice re draining the coolant.

Don't use the drain plug, it can be a pig to reseal it. Slacken off the bottom hose at the water pump and drain it that way.

Thanks for the heads up olaf! 
Another question, Should I see any oil in the window while it is running? Changed the fuel filter this evening and the bike is running awesome. 
Couldn't blow through the other one at all. She had developed a terrible idle. Looked at an old post where the advice was to change the filter. Didn't even think about that.
New filter and she sounds awesome.

Thanks

fishboy316 wrote: Should I see any oil in the window while it is running? 

You're liable to bang your head on an adjacent vehicle if you do that in traffic.   What's been your experience so far?

If the engine is running and you can look at the sight glass without a vehicle with Vermont plates hitting you, you will see that there is no oil in the window.  This is because the oil is doing things like lubricating the engine.  To see the level you need to shut down the engine and put the bike on the center stand.  After a minute or so the oil will flow back to the sump and you will be able to see the level. 

The BMW engineers were looking out for your safety when checking the oil level in Vermont by placing the sight glass on the left side so that when the bike is parked on the side of the road you will check the level from the relative safety of the side of the bike away from Vermont drivers.

Point-Seven-five wrote:The BMW engineers were looking out for your safety when checking the oil level in Vermont by placing the sight glass on the left side so that when the bike is parked on the side of the road you will check the level from the relative safety of the side of the bike away from Vermont drivers.

Not to make too fine a point of this, he wouldn't be safe regardless of which side the glass is on because those drivers are actually visiting from Massachusetts. 

OMG!!!  Boston drivers!  I assumed they would get lost or drive into a ditch or a utility pole long before they could terrorize the citizens of Vermont.  Just goes to show that making assumptions can get one in a lot of trouble.

Only took me a couple of klunks to figure it out, Good thing I had a helmet on. I can be taught. 

Try the drivers here in Maryland. We have them from all over the world. Diplomats, Tourists ect. Then there is the Naval Academy right down the road, can be real crazy 30 miles from downtown DC and 30 miles from Baltimore

The BMW engineers were looking out for your safety when checking the oil level in Vermont by placing the sight glass on the left side so that when the bike

In North America the oil level sight glass is on the right hand side of the bike, is it not?
Surely it is on the same side wherever these bikes were sold.
Pulling over to the side of the road in Northern BC to check anything, quite often means you are in a ditch!