2014 R1200RT stator failure by ldg

[chrismiii]

I haven't heard of but a couple and non was anyone I know personally. The original poster LDGROSENHEIDER had a letter published in the November issue of BMW ON (congratulations Larry), so the MOA isn't pushing it under the rug.My

I do not know what removing all aftermarket lights and bringing the motorcycle back to stock has anything to do with driveshaft vibration. Of course people always try to find excuses for their eff-ups; a reason why I do it all myself. If I eff-up, I can only blame in on myself.

As a mechanic myself years back - we all have pride in our work. But, everyone will or have (including myself) made mistakes. Putting pride aside and accepting responsibility is a very important trait and very necessary to be humble and human! I’m just sorry some people have such a hard time accepting they are human!

 

[chrismiii]

I do not know what removing all aftermarket lights and bringing the motorcycle back to stock has anything to do with driveshaft vibration. Of course people always try to find excuses for their eff-ups; a reason why I do it all myself. If I eff-up, I can only blame in on myself.

It would have zero to do with the vibration I felt! Zero, obviously the mechanic was unwilling to accept the fact and question his work. Pride, all I did was open the rear drive, folding it down to remove the male shaft from the final female end, and - yep the driveshaft just slid right out proving it was not locked into the trans shaft grove for the circle clip! This made getting the shaft out much harder also with the limited room as the driveshaft forward end automatically drops off the trans shaft! Oh well, now my bike run perfectly, no more vibration and yes I left all my aftermarket stuff attached, even my incorrect factory tire pressure, as usual cupping in my front tire too, go figure! I have all my work from start to finish on video thanks to a good friend too as EVIDENCE!
Have not heard back from the mechanic even though I did send him a video copy!

 

[PGlaves]

As pure speculation, I wonder what a banging, vibrating driveshaft might do to a stator mounted mere inches from where the driveshaft might be clanging.

 

[chrismiii]

The shaft noise was generated due to the downward angle only to the final drive end. It was very noticeable letting it idle 1st gear on the center stand. I rode it just a few miles away to my home and then did my work. So I think it’s a huge gamble to assume the shaft not locked forward had anything to do with my recent stator failure. There are so many stator outages, especially at my high mileage on my 2014 well documented on the web. But, never say never, right?

 

[Omega Man]

For your consideration, I have found that running a bike or car for that matter, in gear without any “resistance” of the wheel being in contact with the ground or something is always noisy. A bit of a fudge can be applying resistance by gently applying the brake. This is especially evident in an idle situation as the wheel-spin tries to overrun the idle. It gets worse as the upper gears are selected.
Of course this applies to a standard or gear transmission and not so much on an automatic transmission.
OM

 

[globalrider]

As a mechanic myself years back - we all have pride in our work.

Really...ALL?

Sorry but it will be an absolute-zero day in hell when I take my motorcycles or cars to a shop or dealer.

You would think getting car tires installed is easy. Nothing could be easier, right. Think again! I'm glad I can install and balance my own motorcycle tires.
Sliding Wheel Weights LOL

And the list goes on. All these "licenced" techs like the time I had to fix two water joints on a new home within the first year. Clearly these clowns had absolutely no clue what they were doing. And the PV hot water tank I installed, done right but got a gas tech to install the pipe for legalities.

Personally, I have no use for "licenced" or what certificates or degrees they have hanging on the wall. Show me what you can do and what you are capable of.

 

[globalrider]

For your consideration, I have found that running a bike or car for that matter, in gear without any “resistance” of the wheel being in contact with the ground or something is always noisy. A bit of a fudge can be applying resistance by gently applying the brake. This is especially evident in an idle situation as the wheel-spin tries to overrun the idle. It gets worse as the upper gears are selected.
Of course this applies to a standard or gear transmission and not so much on an automatic transmission.
OM

Exactly!

 

[chrismiii]

It didn’t hurt it at all. Due to the downward angle of the shaft it was only tapping on the end of the final dive shaft . I just removed the shaft - which was very difficult due to the forward end just sliding off as it was not tapped forward to circle ring locking grove, I cleaned both trans and final drive splines, greased up both female u joint splines and the male splines and reinstalled the drive shaft ( also gave a few hard taps with my rubber mallet to lock the forward female end making sure the circle clip was in the male trans shaft grove) then all smooth operation at speeds! The alternator most likely just because of the older design and age, mileage, just had its time limited. I have 70,000 miles and several very hot miles too. BMW did redesign the stator windings and or wire insulation to the RT bikes after this stator fault was discovered. There is another thing that certainly contributed to the wires getting damaged which is the voltage regulator they use. Following and reading about the two types of regulators made. One is a shunt and the other is a series type. The shunt is on our RT bikes. This shunt allows or pulls the maximum draw 100% at all times from the alternator but limits due to the requirement of the demand asked then uses resistance to the extra not needed. Say the bike lights etc, ask for say only 30% from the alternator, then the regulator just dumps the other 70% in the form of resistance. This is not wise because the draw from the alternator is always 100% but actually not using all 100%. And resistance causes heat. The other type regulator ( which I am certainly installing soon) is called a series type. The series type is much like a light dimmer. So the demand put on the stator and alternator is so much less, and it certainly saves stator wires this way! So much better. There is an excellent post on how another rider installed it, where he purchased and all anyone needs to know! It’s all available if anyone wants to see and follow his example. It’s about 240$ fir the series type regulator, but so much better fir the stator! Hopefully this advice helps those that wish to keep their bikes as I do. I hate dumping all my work and $$$ into more lights, seats, horn, etc. just because I get another RT. The only real advantage is the tilt sensor gives the additional safety to the front brake in turns (pro ABS) that would be very nice, provided it functions as advertised! Hope this post helps someone.

 

[chrismiii]

Before we make a mountain out of a molehill (possibly too late for that) and considering we're in the Wetheads thread, I'd like to know how many folks have suffered an alternator failure on their bikes. Anecdotal evidence and past experience with other models need not apply.

Yep, mine stopped at 70,000 miles!

 

[RPGR90s]

And where are they supposed to put the wet clutch while keeping the car alternator? Do you like your wethead quickshifter? Without the wet clutch, its much harder to make that work, etc...

I'd must rather have the clutch (which is a *wear* item) be readily accessible than to have the alternator/stator (which may or may not ever have a problem) be easy to get to.

Since both the clutch and alternator are service items I would request the minds at BMW to make them a bit easier to service.

 

[chrismiii]

I would highly recommend going from a shunt (works with resistance) to a series type voltage regulator to dramatically reduce the heat from the alternator constantly pushing out 100% vs the series type which will constantly reduce the output (only depending on the required draw) of the alternator thus saving heat on the stator.

 

[chrismiii]

That particular multi brand dealer is/has changed ownership once again recently. An employee said a company that concentrates on used sales. Will be interesting to see if they keep BMW in their business plan as they have kept the master tech so far as of last week.

Rates everywhere have increased the last few years, however, that seems high.

Haven’t kept up on Wetheads , but doesn’t the engine need cracked open to access charging system?

 

[chrismiii]

The engine and the transmission need to be separated to get to the stator. So it’s a big job with a big potential for problems or errors. Fortunately for me the extended warranty covers it completely both the regulator and the stator. Anyway all I can do it keep my fingers crossed the job gets done correctly.

 

[chrismiii]

Stator failure

Had a stator failure in Durango Colorado as we were on our way to the Cedar City Get A Way rally. My wife and I both ride 2014 R1200RTs. We got lucky with transportation and arranged to have both bikes transported back to Austin for a very reasonable price. Val One transport in Durango brought the bikes and us home in two days. We dropped my wife's bike at home and took my bike to Ride Now BMW in Austin on October 15th. The repair is complete on November the 5th and the bill is 3344.94 with no 35% discount to MOA members. At least it is guaranteed for a whole 1000 miles, what a deal .

Be smart and change the OEM voltage regulator to a series type. It will definitely extend your stator life. My stator and voltage regulator, yes a huge bill indeed. I was extremely lucky having purchased an extended warranty which will be effective until Dec this year. There are pictures I posted here of my old stator easy to see all the damage too. So just saying it is guaranteed to happen again eventually with a shunt type voltage regulator. The swap is extremely simple. No extra wires involved just remove the old plugs and plug into the new series type as is shown on these posts.

 

[globalrider]

It would be interesting and useful to see at what mileages the stator fails at and under what conditions (ambient temperatures in the area you spend most of your time in, stock or equipped with current drawing accessories, etc).

In my case (no issues):
2016 R1200 GSA LC
Factory equipped and no additional current drawing accessories.
13,868 km or 8,617 miles.
Temperatures: 0C to 30C, generally 25C.

 

[chrismiii]

It would be interesting and useful to see at what mileages the stator fails at and under what conditions (ambient temperatures in the area you spend most of your time in, stock or equipped with current drawing accessories, etc).

In my case (no issues):
2016 R1200 GSA LC
Factory equipped and no additional current drawing accessories.
13,868 km or 8,617 miles.
Temperatures: 0C to 30C, generally 25C.

Well my 2014 @ right at 69,000 - as far as my current draw only led lights, front and rear which draw very little. As far as riding temps, I’ve traveled one coast to the other and so probably have many. The outside temperature should have very little to do with the internal temperature on water cooled engines, especially in my case because long ago I installed and posted my additional fan for my left radiator. Anytime in traffic or anywhere the temp moves I flip it on, this keeps the thermo cycle way down so stays basically at normal operating temperature. I don’t understand why BMW did not address thermal cycles because yes up and down temps is exactly what water cooling is designed to prevent providing its designed well.