Final Drive Failures

R1200 CLC Final Drive Failure

Haven't seen a lot about R1200's FD failure on this thread, mostly 1150's it seems, but my R1200 CLC has final drive issues, detected at the last service.
Bike has 39k plus on it, but ran out of warrantyat 36 months before 36 K, so out is out.
Dealer says BMW will split the cost of repair. My part will run about $700.
I don't think the sky is falling, but something resembling a final drive dropped out of the sky and will knock a sizeable hole in the checkbook.
My take is that BMW should fix it all, gratis. However, half seems to be more than some people got, so maybe I shouldn't complain.
I am convinced that my service manager has done all he can do to persuade BMW to ante up. He makes a great effort.
Taking the "long view", I like this bike and plan to run it to 100K or more, so this could be amortized over the remaining life of the bike.
I intend to demand additional warranty coverage on the FD repairs.
Concidentally, I'm on my second catalytic converter, soon to have a third one, and all have been warranted, no cost to me.
Would I buy another BMW? Well . . . depends on what the next 60 K bring.

Visian said:

hey oscar - these days, it's more likely to be ahmed or abdul.

great to finally meet you in paonia. i now have tent envy.

ian

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Hi Ian,

It was neat to meet you too! You're right, it may be Abdul, Achmed or Mahmoud, but the sorry state of affairs is that some riders will have issues that could be avoided with better QC.....

About the tent......there were three of them in Paonia... I was happy to see that I wasn't the only one shelling out $$$$ for a shelter. I did stay bone dry in Gilette though... and that is priceless....

Oscar

Meltdown on the road :/

So I started feeling a bit of wobbliness and the ABS lights tripped around Bozeman, MT (returning from Portland/Seattle to Delaware) and I didn't see any leakage so I kept on going to Billings, where I found the rear end (wheel, brake disc, system cases) were completely coated in oil. So... Either onward towards BMW in Sturgis, SD, or back to BMW in Missoula (about 250-300mi each way), and I chose to continue on until Sturgis or final drive failure. Final drive fused and melted the powdercoat off about 75mi west of Sturgis. Got a $400 tow to the dealership, and it looks like the driveshaft, final drive, rear brake caliper and wheel (plus disc and ABS ring) need to be replaced. This is about 38k mi, after having the tires replaced by BMWOR in Tigon, only 1500mi before. I would think that if the problem were evident while I was in Portland, they'd have seen it when they pulled the rear wheel for the tire change, but I guess it must have gone clunk on the crappy truck-divotted interstate 90 heading east :/

(warning: gory pictures below, please have all small children and pregnant women leave the room before viewing)




Looks like I found a new hobby for the foreseeable future!

(BTW, any recommendations on sturdier bearings or other hard parts that will fit my 2001 1150GS ABS and improve FD reliability? These things should not go after 38k mi..)

Those photos are scary!! I am in a industry where we deal with bearings and mechanical components and have been advised that typical bearing life is 40000 hours minimum at full load and full rpm ( RPM being between 9000-12000 RPM) Taking this into account and converting this into real world motorcycle wear, 40000 hours at a average speed of 35 mph would equate to a distance of 1.4 million miles! A bit of a disappointment considering the milage of some of these bikes with reported failures.

I would still rather have the shaft over the chain and spockets I have had to clean, replace and adjust over the past 38 years!!!!!

scottgp said:

Those photos are scary!! I am in a industry where we deal with bearings and mechanical components and have been advised that typical bearing life is 40000 hours minimum at full load and full rpm ( RPM being between 9000-12000 RPM) Taking this into account and converting this into real world motorcycle wear, 40000 hours at a average speed of 35 mph would equate to a distance of 1.4 million miles! A bit of a disappointment considering the milage of some of these bikes with reported failures.

I would still rather have the shaft over the chain and spockets I have had to clean, replace and adjust over the past 38 years!!!!!

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Relax dude, there are no problems with the final drives!

Not excusing the failed bearing, but I highly criticize the riders choice to continue riding after experiencing wobbliness and ABS failure warning. In the least, the failing bearing was turned into a much worse failure of brakes, drive housing, and other internals of the drive. And most important, he took a great chance with his well being. I know of a rider who felt something and turned around to head home. After his wheel fell off (loose lug bolts), he is lucky to be alive due mostly to his ATGATT rule for riding.
They are making BMW parts for us right now...but we only get one set of body parts (I know...mostly one set).

Tell that to the group of people that are having them.

cjack said:

Not excusing the failed bearing, but I highly criticize the riders choice to continue riding after experiencing wobbliness and ABS failure warning. In the least, the failing bearing was turned into a much worse failure of brakes, drive housing, and other internals of the drive. And most important, he took a great chance with his well being. I know of a rider who felt something and turned around to head home. After his wheel fell off (loose lug bolts), he is lucky to be alive due mostly to his ATGATT rule for riding.
They are making BMW parts for us right now...but we only get one set of body parts (I know...mostly one set).

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Well.. Stuck 250-300mi from the closest shop that can work on the bike, no cellphone reception anywhere off the interstate... Probably shoulda gotten a U-Haul as soon as the trouble started I suppose, but I guess that's why they call it a learning experience :/

(Doesn't help that I was due for work as soon as I got back, decisions made in haste can be pretty costly as I'm sure most folks know )

mathew_hennessy said:

Well.. Stuck 250-300mi from the closest shop that can work on the bike, no cellphone reception anywhere off the interstate... Probably shoulda gotten a U-Haul as soon as the trouble started I suppose, but I guess that's why they call it a learning experience :/

(Doesn't help that I was due for work as soon as I got back, decisions made in haste can be pretty costly as I'm sure most folks know )

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My thoughts pretty much echo'd cjack when I read his post; here, I think, is a great opportunity to learn from the mistakes of others. For those who experience F-D failures in the future: GET THE U-HAUL!

cjack said:

They are making BMW parts for us right now...but we only get one set of body parts (I know...mostly one set).

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I just visited the DR that put in my new right shoulder 6 months ago. He said it was a "lifetime" repair!

Of course, he didn't say how long I was going to live.

SIBUD said:

I just visited the DR that put in my new right shoulder 6 months ago. He said it was a "lifetime" repair!

Of course, he didn't say how long I was going to live.

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I bet you will live till you die. Also it will feel better when it quits hurtin'.

Ralph Sims