November 25, 2007

BMW R100GS Touratech rocker cover modification

Last week I fitted new rocker covers to my GS, including a left-hand cover from Touratech, modified with an oil filler cap.

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.

BMW 100GS valve rockers
Click to enlarge

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.

BMW R100GS Touratech rocker cover
Click to enlarge

A great idea. I’m sure that every airhead GS owner would want one. Unfortunately, Touratech UK told me that I just bought the last one to be made.

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