Replacing clutch parts. '07 R1200RT

[43082]

I have been servicing airheads since 72 including clutch repairs.

Am wondering if I should attempt similar work on my Hexhead. Is it much more difficult?

rod Walli

[wyman.winn]

I have been servicing airheads since 72 including clutch repairs.

Am wondering if I should attempt similar work on my Hexhead. Is it much more difficult?

rod Walli

go for it...can't be much different than my 13RT that i just did...a little tedious but very doable in about 10-12hours

[jandhumphreyme]

Pretty simple, the 10 to 12 hours is an accurate time frame for your first go at it. The only issues I had were not having enough hands to put the wiring back around the rear frame as I was mating it back up with the engine. Good luck, post some pictures if you can.

[Dann]

I did mine and I'm no mechanic.
I followed the instructions on the BMW RSD DVD with no issue
I'm not that fast, it took me over 20hrs to do it. (Took my time and some pictures to make sure it looked the same as before after putting it back together...)
I replaced the OEM clutch disc with a heavy duty oil & heat resistant kevlar disc.
You need two people to separate and reconnect the two half of the bike. (I did)

[masegraves]

I did mine and I'm no mechanic.
I followed the instructions on the BMW RSD DVD with no issue
I'm not that fast, it took me over 20hrs to do it. (Took my time and some pictures to make sure it looked the same as before after putting it back together...)
I replaced the OEM clutch disc with a heavy duty oil & heat resistant kevlar disc.
You need two people to separate and reconnect the two half of the bike. (I did)

Is it sufficient to replace the clutch disc (and I'm guessing bolts), or do the other parts of the clutch also need to be replaced when clutch is worn out?

[jandhumphreyme]

Clutch and pressure plate recomended

[Dann]

Clutch and pressure plate recomended

+ 1
That's what I did

[43082]

Thanks to all for the encouragement. I am somewhat meticulous so my guess it may take a bit longer than 12 hours.
I also need to do something about the ABS system which is intermittent ... works well if temp s below fifty degrees, until I hit a bump.

Thanks again, Rod

[Dann]

Thanks to all for the encouragement. I am somewhat meticulous so my guess it may take a bit longer than 12 hours.
I also need to do something about the ABS system which is intermittent ... works well if temp s below fifty degrees, until I hit a bump.

Thanks again, Rod

The dealer charges 20hrs labor for the job.

It took me 24hrs

enjoy

[pappy35]

Wow! That's what, $1,800 $2,000 just for labor plus another grand (at BMW OEM parts rates) in parts. Yeah. I would take me 80 hours but I have way more time than money (and I work full time) so wrenching will be me when my clutch finally decides to go. Of course, at only 18k miles, hopefully that won't be for a long time, if ever...

[jandhumphreyme]

Thanks to all for the encouragement. I am somewhat meticulous so my guess it may take a bit longer than 12 hours.
I also need to do something about the ABS system which is intermittent ... works well if temp s below fifty degrees, until I hit a bump.

Thanks again, Rod

I had the dealer bleed my brakes after I did my clutch, that is one thing I've never had good luck doing, money well spent in my way of thinking.

[kurmugin]

I just got done with my 2012 clutch change. It needed rear main seal, counterbalancer seal, and trans input seal replacement, so I did the clutch while I was in there. Clutch plate, pressure plate, and clutch housing?? were all replaced, so that the new parts would mate with other new parts.

I think I made most of the mistakes that you can make, and those added a ton of time. It isn't that hard, just takes time. I did all the work at once, because I didn't think that splitting the bike would be very fun. I'm not at all hesitant to do it again, should I need to.

Read the BMW dvd, and use it as a reference. Read it twice, before you start. It's a hundred bucks, and worth it. Just for the torque values, in a readable and usable format. The Clymer??? manual takes the user through at least four chapters, to get all the steps for the clutch swap. The BMW dvd has the steps and torques in order.

Take lots of pictures, and make notes. I found (late in the game) that using a sharpie marker to label a ziploc bag would help with figuring out where the bolts came from. there's a thread on advrider from 'jdubb' or 'jdub' that shows most of the steps.

There is a 'hidden' transmission bolt that you'll need to take out, or the bike won't split... It lives at the back of the trans, and is up near the center stand pivots, below the driveshaft.

It is worth a six pack of beer to have a helper, when you split the bike, and again when you re-mate the front and rear framework. Keeping the driveshaft attached to the final drive, when you split the halves, will save lots of time when you re-mate them. If the driveshaft comes off the final drive, you'll have to remove the rear wheel and brake, then drain and drop the final drive before you can get the driveshaft on the transmission output splines. Then, you'll have to reattach the fd and refill it, before replacing the rear calipers and wheel.

Ironically, I had to bleed the rear brakes twice, and had zero problems either time. I used an old-school 'tubing in a bottle' brake bleeder, and it kicks ass!

[jandhumphreyme]

Good for you Mate, way to go. I agree on the transmission bolt i can be a bugger. One of my tricks to keep bolts straight is to punch out a piece of cardboard and put the bolts through it in the rough location they were installed in.

[Napadawg]

I have been servicing airheads since 72 including clutch repairs.

Am wondering if I should attempt similar work on my Hexhead. Is it much more difficult?

rod Walli

Did you accomplish your task?

[taran1900]

I have been servicing airheads since 72 including clutch repairs.

Am wondering if I should attempt similar work on my Hexhead. Is it much more difficult?

rod Walli

MUCH more difficult. I once pulled the transmission and clutch out of my old R100/7 in twenty minutes after a rear main seal blew out on me. I could reinstall everything in less than a couple of hours on that bike. Of course you already know this. Uber simple. Doing this on a hex/camhead is an enormous magnitude of increase in complexity. So much so that I paid the dealer here in N. Dallas to install a new clutch on my old 2005 R1200RT at a 112k miles. Once you split the bike and get the tranny off, except for the hydraulic line, it's just like an airhead.