Welcome Patrick,

I would change the coolant if you do not know when it was last done. And the same for the fork oil, don't forget to change the seals too.

Personally i would get the fork oil & seals from BMW - yes they will be more expensive than aftermarket, but you get a guarantee on them and you know they were designed to fit. Plus for a job you do every 5 years it is worth the investment, IMO.

Coolant is a pretty easy one to do as the bike holds so little (1.6L). I usually go for every 3-5 years (and change if i do not know when it was last done), even though a coolant checker may say the antifreeze element is ok, you can't test the rust inhibitor or the boiling point without further test.

I would recommend picking up a Haynes manual to guide you through the process.

 

The coolant is not listed as a normal maintenance item. It is a sealed system, so as long as you haven't had any leaks or problems with the coolant system, I would leave it alone. 10-15 years old, maybe worth doing, but I wouldn't worry about it just yet. Especially with the extremely low miles you have. I changed mine at the 51,000 mile mark, but that was because I replaced the engine and needed to remove the radiator to do so...

Forks on the other hand should be done now. I change the oil at least every 3 years. That stuff breaks down quickly with age alone. High mileage speeds the process due to the dirt and bugs exposed to the inner tubes getting through the seals. I typically do my seals every other time when I do a thorough cleaning. On the alternating changes, I just drain and refill. No need to remove the seals in that case. With your low miles I'm sure your bushings will be in great condition and would think that the seals would be fine too, so I would just do a quick dump and fill. Very easy on the R as they are pretty exposed.

Haynes manual is indispensable if you plan on doing your own work. My book is almost worn out at this point. It's saved me thousands in shop costs.

Welcome to the F club!

I've used the All Balls 56-133 kit for the seals twice now. Works great.

As far as fork oil goes, it depends on your taste and any upgraded hardware. The stock setup is 10w. The problem is that fork oil weight measuring units are not consistent across brands. That said, most people complain at how soft the front end of these bikes are, so they add heavier oil. That does make things a little stiffer, but it takes away from the dampening ability. Other go all out and replace some of the hardware in there which typically calls for a specific oil to match the new springs and/or damper system. I myself have added Intiminators which call for 5W oil so that it does the work of dampening before the stock dampening tube does.

 

The coolant is not listed as a normal maintenance item....

Not being specified by the manufacturer as a standard maintenance item, isn't the same as neglecting to check and replace as and when required.

E.g. no change interval is specified for brake pad replacement but you'd be wise to check condition periodically and replace when required.

Ride safely.

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Corrosion is oxidation. Oxidation can't occur without oxygen. A sealed system with no air in it can't oxidize. Sure, there is a tiny bit of air that gets trapped in there as you seal it, that's why there are the corrosion limiting chemicals. They break down much faster when exposed to heat (like anything with chemical bonds) so the more miles driven, the more heat it's exposed to, the sooner it would need to be changed.

If the forks were perfectly sealed then there would never be any oil residue on the inner tubes. It is physically impossible to have a perfect seal unless the inner tube was to never move. The fact that the inner tube slides past the outer tube shows that there is a gap. As it slides in and out, dust and bug guts make its way past the seals and mix with the oil. This speeds the already fast process of fork oil degradation.

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... so the more miles driven, the more heat it's exposed to, the sooner it would need to be changed.

Based on your observations on maintaining machine's, you best get onto BMW to make this a standard maintenance item based on mileage.

Ride safely.

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Thanks all. Your response(s) are helpful.
Kindest Regards,
Patrick

 

Air enters (or escapes) via multiple mechanisms including diffusion through the material. Most materials have some permeability to air.

 

I cannot find any video on how to change the coolant on F800R 2013, anybody has any idea on step by step process?

 

There is a write up on here, and also good to get yourself a Haynes Manual too.