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My R1200RT clutch is apparently gone.

enriquez

New member
Hello friends,

My 2012 BMW R1200RT let me stranded by the side of the road two days ago (8 minutes from home), apparently the clutch is gone but haven't had the time to take a closer look.

I'll take the the time in the upcoming days to start striping it and have clear idea of what went wrong. Could be slave cylinder? or a leaky main seal or just a friction plate worm out? perhaps an input drive shaft problem, don't know yet...

Now, there two important issues playing around the failure...

The first one is that I was expecting to take this bike to my first National rally in two months, I'm afraid that this will put me off, time and cost not on my side..., what a bummer

The second is the intimidating task this job seems to be.. definitely in far reaching limit of my abilities, and even if the job could be accomplish on time, I would most certain wont have the chance to properly testing before the National...

Now, I currently trying to figure a plan and find a possible solution.

In the meanwhile I'm looking to get a hold on a Haynes repair manual, however I wonder if anybody has a link to a DIY clutch replacement procedure?

Regards,
Mario
 
A worn clutch usually provides ample notice by slipping long before leaving you stranded. With a sudden failure I'd look for a leak in the hydraulic components. Just how did the clutch behave before it was "gone"?
 
Hi Larry,

I noticed it misbehaving during the last ride. At first it was some hesitation on acceleration with a subtle vibration at the right foot peg. At the end, in the return home stretch, it was a more noticeable, it refuse to go above 4.5k rpm and then it was downward until it couldn't go no more. The ride was about 150 miles.

I think it is worth mentioning the bike has 31k miles and I'm the third owner and of those miles 3k are mine.

Regards,
Mario
 
It doesn't sound like a clutch to me. I replaced my clutch at 95,300 miles and I started to see signs of clutch failure maybe at 92K. Felt slipping as engine RPM's went higher without the acceleration. You re saying won't go above 4500rpm, that seems to be a different issue. One test is to get into 5th gear and highway speeds and twist throttle and see what happens. I could feel mine slip, no get up and go and I could smell the clutch burning. I am sure I was able to nurse mine along for at least 3000 miles as the clutch was beyond worn when I removed it. The lack of power and ability to get above 4500 rpm seems more like a ignition or fuel delivery problem. 31K is very low miles for a clutch unless really abused. I'd consider other possibilities.
 
Double check that the fluid reservoir isn't too full. As I understand, as the clutch wears, the fluid in the reservoir actually increases. Too much fluid (in the closed system) will make the bike act like the clutch is partially pulled out.
 
Thanks for the advice folks.

I hope to get a chance to get a closer look this comming weekend.

regards,
Mario
 
Did you have a chance to check out your clutch issue?

In case that you do need a new clutch there are numerous videos on YouTube and here is a link on another forum on how to remove the transmission.

https://www.advrider.com/f/threads/my-r1200gsa-step-by-step-gearbox-removal-process.655998/

By the way, if you buy a repair manual, get the Clymer because it is way more detailed. I have both, Haynes and Clymer, the Clymer has double the page count.

915e,

Thank you for asking. This past weekend I managed to finally split the bike apart and had access to the clutch. And yes, the clutch is gone. (See some pics below)

I ended up getting the Haynes on line manual and it has worked fine so far, but after some research I found out that the Clymer is indeed the favorite for those who have both.

Thank you for the link, it would be very valuable once the reassembly begins.

Currently, I'm still trying to decided what to do. I got a lead from a totaled, low mile GS, that could be the donor for some clutch parts... If that doesn't turn out good I plan to order the EnduraLast clutch kit.

Being in Guatemala, the parts from the Dealer are somewhat expensive and if I order my self from the US I could save some coin..

Here's some pics...
IMG_20230326_145034712_HDR.jpg
IMG_20230326_144353541.jpgIMG_20230326_155043334_HDR.jpg

Regards,
Mario
 
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