You might recognize this from the classic German war film Das Boot. This ancient BMW design would appear to have been copied from the engine room of a 1940’s U-Boat.

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On the starboard side I fitted a standard BMW cover, in plain unpainted alluminium – or so they claim. Just one of these small components seems to weigh over 1KG. Perhaps then it is true: air-head boxer engines were hewn from solid granite by an army of elves somewhere deep in the Black Forest.

And on the port side I now have the modified Touratech cover. The standard oil filler on the airhead is placed behind the carburettor. With the big 35 litre fuel tank fitted, adding oil required a funnel with a long nose; not really the kind of thing one would want to carry on an expedition. The engine sips oil steadily, and so a better solution is required. With this modification, I can add oil easily, without a funnel. The oil then quickly drains back into the sump through the push-rod tubes.

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