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Broken Throttle Body Pulleys 2009 R1200RT

ponch1

Ponch
Has anyone every seen this happen? Mine broke on Wednesday. I was shifting to second and the RPMs dropped to idle. I had to get a tow and after I got everything off, I eventually discovered the pulleys/cams on the throttle bodies were broken off. They are plastic, which is incredible. Is the bike made by Mattel? Steel has always worked...
 
I think this very issue has been discussed a couple of times on the threads. I'm curious if the '05's were steel, as I don't here much about their failure.
 
BMW NA suggested I have it fixed at a dealer. Whatever. I know what's wrong with it and new parts and labor would probably cost $1400ish. May be a little more. Using plastic is ridiculous.
 
So what was the verdict? You gonna order the part and replace it yourself. Does BMW offer a non-plastic throttle body pulley?
 
So what was the verdict? You gonna order the part and replace it yourself. Does BMW offer a non-plastic throttle body pulley?

I found a set of throttle bodies on ebay with the cables/cable distributor box/fuel injection. The pulleys cannot be replaced by themselves. THe whole throttle body has to be replaced.
 
Seems I am not the first nor the only one: http://www.arfc.org/complaints/2009/bmw/r_1200_rt/10609639.aspx

I filed a complaint too.

Good for you Ponch.

Hopefully BMW NA will step up to fix this significant safety issue. There is hope, especially since they recently started replacing left and right switch gear on the 2010 and up models, even those not experiencing a failure. I don't believe, the switches were nearly the level of concern as this piece.

Hope you get back on the road soon.

Aloha
 
There is no such thing as bad plastic. There is a lot of incorrect application of plastic. The interface of plastic over metal is a hard one to do correctly.

I can not believe the weight savings was significant.

Rod
 
There is no such thing as bad plastic. There is a lot of incorrect application of plastic. The interface of plastic over metal is a hard one to do correctly.

I can not believe the weight savings was significant.

Rod

Not sure what you mean by plastic over metal, but the pulley is separate from the metal parts and doesn't have metal within it. That said, I was jesting when I said save weight. May be sarcastic is a better word.
 
Not sure what you mean by plastic over metal, but the pulley is separate from the metal parts and doesn't have metal within it. That said, I was jesting when I said save weight. May be sarcastic is a better word.

Unless I am lost somewhere the pulley is plastic; the shaft is metal.

I think this is a golden opportunity for a bright engineer / entrepeneur with a 3-D printer.
 
Unless I am lost somewhere the pulley is plastic; the shaft is metal.

I think this is a golden opportunity for a bright engineer / entrepeneur with a 3-D printer.

It would be great if an engineer amongst us would assist to develop a retrofit using a more appropriate material. I am sure anyone in Ponch's situation would gladly compensate the individual should they need help.
 
It would be great if an engineer amongst us would assist to develop a retrofit using a more appropriate material. I am sure anyone in Ponch's situation would gladly compensate the individual should they need help.

The problem is, how does one replace it? Even with the new bing units, Bing doesn't know how to do it. My guess would be that the TB has to be disassembled in that the shaft has to come out. I wonder how that effects the magical state of tune, meaning the magical screw that should never be touched let alone the TPS sensor. The thing is, in the cases I know of, all of them had both pulleys break. It seems that BMW intended that the TB isn't serviceable except for sensors and injectors. I guess I'll be able to dissect the old ones after successful replacement and figure out how it's put together.
 
Well, the bottom line seems to be that if I get it fixed at a dealer, I might get some consideration from BMW NA. That's a poor bet. The Throttle Bodies alone are over $1100 and then I have to figure another $300 in labor. Too much for me.
 
Here's a couple pictures. I got the TBs off today. I'll put it back together tomorrow. The plastic part of the pulley is on both sides of the metal plate on the end of the shaft. Not sure how a new one gets put on.


Left:

left%2Bside.jpg


Right:

2jCg1Bjd_79pzKozIDD4K797e4zSa0droTnqhS4tV8Y=w683-h510-no
 
If the TBs are really not repairable, I would be tempted to get some high quality epoxy and try gluing them back on the shaft. Nothing to lose.

Scott
 
If the TBs are really not repairable, I would be tempted to get some high quality epoxy and try gluing them back on the shaft. Nothing to lose.

Scott

Except at worst getting stuck again and at best never really trusting the bike. I already bought throttle bodies off ebay.
 
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