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FD Opinion '05 RT

drummer

drummer

Frieden mit uns allen
I recently purchased an 05 1200 RT and was curious: Is the final drive failure much like having an accident in that it is a case of "not if but when?"

In other words is it a sure thing that the final drive will fail and I mean sooner than it should (of course all things fail).
 
No more so than you are likely to suffer a fatal coronary occlusion at age thirty-five.
I'd worry more about being struck by lightning.
 
drummer said:
I recently purchased an 05 1200 RT and was curious: Is the final drive failure much like having an accident in that it is a case of "not if but when?"

In other words is it a sure thing that the final drive will fail and I mean sooner than it should (of course all things fail).
Click to expand...

From what I've read, seen and heard, not really a matter of 'if.'

As for when, that's a crap shoot.

Just keep up with scheduled maintenance - especially the 180 ml FD fluid change every 12,000 miles or 24 months (I do it annually, regardless) and hope for the best.

Hey - just flew back from 5 days in your state (celebrating my son's graduation from Jump School (Ft. Benning, GA) - he's now officially a paratrooper (110 of his initial class washed out - tough 3 weeks!) with the 82nd Airborne out of Fort Bragg (Fayetteville).

Was I close to you?! :wave
 
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MPMARTY said:
No more so than you are likely to suffer a fatal coronary occlusion at age thirty-five.
I'd worry more about being struck by lightning.
Click to expand...

I had mine at 36 only it wasn't fatal & my house has been struck by lightning. So I guess the final drive on my RT is destined to fail.:uhoh :)

Marty
 
i wouldnt sweat it, bmw pretends it does'nt exist......................... throw the dice...
 
Well, I suppose if you keep the bike long enough eventually the drive will fail, just like every other mechanical thing. I'm sure there are many Hexhead final drives that will outlast the bikes they were fitted to at the factory. The original FD on my '05 RT is still working just fine after 62K miles. Don't worry about it (much:brow).

Jay
 
Greenwald said:
Fort Bragg (Fayetteville).

Was I close to you?! :wave
Click to expand...

Fayett-nam as it is called by we locals is only about 1 1/2 hrs away.

Thanks for the input on the FD and thanks to all.

I keep wondering if there is anything I can do to stop it from happening other than what is mentioned. My fear is going on that trip to ______ and being by myself when it goes.

I remember reading some where that some place like Max BMW's has tooled their own FD replacements and they come with a guarantee - am I just smoking crack on this or does some one know of a third party replacement that is supposed to be better than BMW's?
 
16,000 mile failure

I've never seen anything stuck by lightning, But my FD just went 6 weeks ago.
The biggest problem is BMW's silence.

"coronary attack" dude come pay my bill, 16,000 miles and 6 months out of warranty.
 
BMWon2 said:
I've never seen anything stuck by lightning, But my FD just went 6 weeks ago.
The biggest problem is BMW's silence.

"coronary attack" dude come pay my bill, 16,000 miles and 6 months out of warranty.
Click to expand...

Who, when and where did the service on the FD?
What does the selling dealer have to say about cost to repair?
 
Service?

"who did my service" that would imply it's done.
I'm not knocking the dealer, they are new and BMW has not been able to get them parts. 6 weeks today. To be fare to them, the first week they fixed the recalled items that were on the list. So 4 and a half weeks waiting on parts.

My orginal dealer lost or quit BMW 2 years ago. They were conveniently 3 miles away. Now i'm about 40 away.
 
BMWon2 said:
"who did my service" that would imply it's done.
I'm not knocking the dealer, they are new and BMW has not been able to get them parts. 6 weeks today. To be fare to them, the first week they fixed the recalled items that were on the list. So 4 and a half weeks waiting on parts.

My orginal dealer lost or quit BMW 2 years ago. They were conveniently 3 miles away. Now i'm about 40 away.
Click to expand...

Bottom line: You trusted your bike to an authorized BMW dealer. If in fact the 600 mile and 6000 and 12,000 mile F/D service was not done I'd feel that BMW NA owes you a final drive. I've got right at 18,000 on mine and although I watch it, it seems OK so far. The 12,000 mile service was done and I watched. I'll do it again in the near future. Did yours leak before it failed?
 
Service

I noticed a leak after a 700 mile weekend.
They are telling me when they opened it the bearing was shot.

Service all done on time, actually earlier, by BMW.

I undersatnd it's my job to watch certain things on the bike. But having done my part in taking care of the bike, and doing my part financially, I'm very disapointed.

I thought I was buying the best engineered bike in the industry.
 
BMWon2 said:
I noticed a leak after a 700 mile weekend.
They are telling me when they opened it the bearing was shot.

Service all done on time, actually earlier, by BMW.

I undersatnd it's my job to watch certain things on the bike. But having done my part in taking care of the bike, and doing my part financially, I'm very disapointed.

I thought I was buying the best engineered bike in the industry.
Click to expand...

At one time, I believe it was the best engineered bike in the industry. Might still be.

Today, however, it's certainly the most over-engineered bike in the industry, in my opinion.

Don't get me wrong - I love my R1200RT and appreciate almost all the innovations that BMW has brought to the market.

But its myopic-pursuit of engineering sophistication has created too complex a machine for what a motorcycle needs to endure and provide to a rider.

Since we lack four wheels (and a spare), the security of an enclosed environment and a dealer-network numbered in the thousands that offers support for our cars and SUV's, our basic need for motorcycle reliability can only be accomplished with simplicity of design.

BMW's once-heralded reputation is hemoraghing with every FD failure, and like one recent poster noted, it's BMW's silence that is so deafening. Percentages mean nothing when it happens to you.

It's the 'new' Berlin Wall. :banghead
 
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The overwhelming vast majority have never had a FD problem. So why should you worry about it ? Folllow the maintenance recommended and based on the probabilities you will have no issues. It is by no means a given you will have an issue. Any suggestion of that is totally false.
I feel sorry for the people that have had a issue, but it is still only a small percentage of owners compared to total bikes sold, not all of them or anywhere near it.
regards
Paul:drink:drink:drink
 
Bottom line: You trusted your bike to an authorized BMW dealer. If in fact the 600 mile and 6000 and 12,000 mile F/D service was not done I'd feel that BMW NA owes you a final drive. good luck getting bmw/na to do anything,, they have refused standing behind any and all issues with the r1200r i own,, the latest being completely dry rotted front fork seals......................
 
As some of the LEOs out there know, LE bikes take a lot of abuse. Now, my good friend tells me that his department is very proactive when it comes to maintenance schedules. For them, it is a safety concern for their officers.

So, I was wondering if the RTP versions of the FD are the same as the consumer versions and, if so, is THEIR rate of FD failure any different from the non-RTP rate? I understand the weak point is in the design of the bearing, but does LE use and diligent maintenance affect (positively or negatively) the statistics. Of course, if I were "managing the PR" on this, I might be a bit loathe to actually SHARE statistics.

Anyone know some Techs that work on LE bikes in a large metropolitan areas? My understanding this that RTPs are more popular as LE bikes outside of the US.
 
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