2005 R1200ST - which clutch disc do I need?

The driveshaft came apart on my 2005 R1200ST, the bike has about 90K miles on it, and I thought "as long as I'm in there", I'll install a new clutch assembly. I bought the clutch disc, pressure plate, spring assembly, etc from Beemershop in Scotts Valley, CA. When I got the parts from them, the new disc won't fit on the old gearbox shaft. I called Beemershop and they sent me another disc, in case I had gotten a bad one. The new disc doesn't fit either.

As I mentioned in another thread, I thought maybe the splines on the gearbox shaft were bad, so I bought a low mileage 2005 R1200ST gearbox from Cycle R Us in Ohio, but the new disc won't fit on that gearbox either.

The Beemershop website specifically says the disc will fit the R1200ST, and is a replacement for BMW OEM p/n 21 21 7 697 737. Ted says they have sold eleven of this disc to R1200RT owners, but I'm the first R1200ST owner to buy one. The Max BMW fiche shows the same p/n for a RT and ST clutch disc, but a different p/n for a RT gearbox and a ST gearbox.

My old disc is from Sachs, and when I search on the Max BMW fiche, the Sachs p/n 21 21 7 692 852 comes up as "clutch disc", but doesn't show a replacement part number. The EME site shows the same BMW p/n 21 21 7 697 737 for their clutch disc. Other BMW sites I've searched show the Sachs p/n 21 21 7 692 852 as replaced by BMW p/n 21 21 7 697 737, but that's not working for me.

The last seven digits of my bike's VIN are ZM30046, bike was produced in 01/05 for the USA market. I know BMW sometimes uses up existing inventory in the early production runs, before upgrading or changing to newer parts, but would they do this on a major component like a gearbox?

Soooo - which clutch disc do I need for a 2005 R1200ST?

did you buy the bike new?

BMW motorworks UK has the same part numbers for the bike you have

Associated BMW part 21 21 7 697 737
Previous BMW Part Numbers 21217668720 - (21 21 7 668 720)
21217692852 - (21 21 7 692 852)
21217694775 - (21 21 7 694 775)

I would count the splines and let Beemershop know how many on your bike?

Can you read numbers on the old disc?

chrisinsc said:

did you buy the bike new?

Can you read numbers on the old disc?

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Thanks for the reply. I bought the bike in 2016 with 78K on it. The Sachs disk in the bike has the p/n 21 21 7 692 852 which maps to the current BMW p/n 21 21 7 697 737.

A BMW mechanic friend of mine says that a new clutch disk may need some lube, gentle hammer taps, waving the rubber chicken, and other installation "finagling" to go on to a older output shaft.

Maybe that's all that's going on here? Finagling?

I also posted to the BMW Sport Touring site, and I will report back here if I get any replies from someone that has actually installed an ST clutch disk.

Thanks again.

Large and standard hub sizes?

I ran into this tight disc issue a few years ago on an 06 R1200GSA. When I contacted the supplier, they seemed aware of the size issue and sent another disk that fit correctly. Unfortunately I do not remember which supplier I used at that time. May have been beemer boneyard or euromotoelectric. Thought it was a Siebenrock brand disc.Wondering if BMW reduced the shaft and clutch tolerances during the early production causing some trans shafts to not fit later clutch disks.

Anton Langiader is very knowledgeable about the BMW clutch systems and may have insight on this.

If the hub is still a good snug fit onto the trans shaft, then any decent clutch shop could move the hub to your new disc or rebuild the friction material on the old disc. Very similar to clutch in air cooled VW’s, so shouldn’t be much of a challenge to rework the disc.

In the end the eyes are useful. Clean the shaft really well. Get a strong light and compare stuff with close examination. Shaft splines, both new and old disc female fittings. A reason for a new part which is correct to not fit is the part it’s fitting on isn’t spec anymore. Deformed, gunked up, etc.

OK happy ending. As often happens, the cause was operator error and I'm the operator.

Because it has been awhile since I opened up the bike, then I ordered clutch parts, the clutch parts arrived, they didn't fit, then I ordered a low-mileage gearbox, and then I tried to install the new parts, I had forgotten that the disc only goes on _one_ way. The old disc went onto the old gear box shaft either way, because they had been together for 90K miles and were worn and sloppy. The _new_ clutch disc on the new-to-me low mileage gear box will only mate up ONE way, and I didn't realize that until today. I don't understand why, but the new disc fits perfectly when I put it on correctly. Duh!

Hope this will help somebody else, thanks for your replies.

ranbush said:

As often happens, the cause was operator error and I'm the operator.

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I hate it when that happens. I’m not at liberty to say how often.

I’m glad you got it worked out.

That’s a gorgeous clutch disc

ranbush said:

OK happy ending. As often happens, the cause was operator error and I'm the operator.

Because it has been awhile since I opened up the bike, then I ordered clutch parts, the clutch parts arrived, they didn't fit, then I ordered a low-mileage gearbox, and then I tried to install the new parts, I had forgotten that the disc only goes on _one_ way. The old disc went onto the old gear box shaft either way, because they had been together for 90K miles and were worn and sloppy. The _new_ clutch disc on the new-to-me low mileage gear box will only mate up ONE way, and I didn't realize that until today. I don't understand why, but the new disc fits perfectly when I put it on correctly. Duh!

Hope this will help somebody else, thanks for your replies.

Click to expand...

I would check wether the new disc slides on as far onto the input shaft as the old one does.

I think you have an incompletely machined spline in your new disc. Possible they rolled a burr into the spline during cleanup.

Absolutely no reason that clutch should not slide on both ways. You stand a real chance of axially overloading the trans input bearings if I the clutch does not let the input slide all the way in. This may be hard to detect that the trans does not rest freely on the motor as you tighten up the bolts that hold it together.

BMW clutches actually move toward the transmission as they wear since the fixed plate in on the trans side. It will move back about 1mm during its service life. Most American engines have the fixed plate on the motor side so the clutch disc moves away form the trains as it wears.

I would check with the supplier to see if they can send another disc to check if yours is bad.

Just saw your pictures on sport touring. That top picture shows how the shaft should pass thru the hub. I think you are owed a new disc for sure.