Clutch replacement: 2005 R1200RT at 40,000 miles

[gfountain]

Before starting on my issue I wanted to mention that I just read Paul Glave's Owners News May 2011 article about the forum and wanted to say thanks to him for all the feedback he offers in the Garage. I have his April 2011 article about camshaft chain tensioners waiting for my next routine service on my 2006 Dakar.

I have a 2005 R1200RT with 40,000 miles on the bike. I have been performing all the maintenance on the bike for the past 3-4 years. Prior to that everything was done much to my satisfaction by BMW of Denver. I purchased a new battery in January 2010 and it quit holding a charge in May of 2011. I bought it from BMW of Denver and I have been diligent about keeping it charged with a Battery Tender when not riding. The dealer load tested the battery, deemed it defective and replaced it at no charge under warranty. But this prompted me to bring in the bike for it's annual service by the dealer. I thought it was prudent to have the pros give the bike the once over, get it on the diagnostic system and verify that the charging system was doing it's job.

The charging system was fine and everything else about the service was routine except some feedback about the clutch. I was told that when balancing the throttle bodies that there was a perceptible amount of "flutter" in the clutch that was diagnosed as worn clutch plates. I was told that this wan't a replace the clutch right on the spot situation but that I should give it serious thought for the very near future. When the clutch goes out I could get stuck someplace less than convenient. I didn't ask too many questions at the time about this flutter and what if any other indications there were that the clutch was worn. I think what they meant by flutter was a noticeable noise that was not normal coming from the clutch. I don't hear anything special but if it developed over time and I don't know what to listen for I can understand there may be something there that I don't recognize.

I do ride a bit aggressively, albeit it not abusively, and the bike has been on a couple of energetic tracks days. I should also mention the bike is one of the demo bikes that BMW Motorad brought into California in 2005 for the press and dealer roll out of the new for 2005 R1200RT upgrades. So it probably did not get the factory prescribed break in procedure.

I am thinking about taking on the clutch replacement myself. I have the factory DVD, have studied it and feel my skills are up to the job. I will need to pick up an engine lift to remove the rear end of the bike but I figure I can either add it to my garage inventory or sell it on Craig's list and recoup that cost (I have already found a couple of used lifts for sale).

But this will be a big job for me. It will drag on a bit due to time constraints and the slow, cautious pace I have performing new work. I have not totally ruled out the option of giving it to my dealer who I am very happy with and ponying up for the expense just to have the bike ready to ride. If only money were not a limiting factor!

So hear is where I would like input. Talking to friends in my club this seems to be relatively low mileage for a clutch replacement. I would hate to go to all the time and effort to disassemble the bike only to find out the clutch is still in pretty good shape. What can you tell me about diagnosing a clutch that is wearing out? Are there any foolproof ways of confirming condition of the clutch plates? I have never noticed the clutch slipping. To the contrary I will admit somewhat embarrassingly that there have been a couple of occasions where I down shifted too aggressively and got a bit of "chirp" reminding me I don't have a slipper clutch. I have not had any issues with clutch fluid levels. I did perform a replacement of clutch fluid last year at 36,000 miles without any complicaions. Thanks in advance for your feedback.

 

[marchyman]

Talking to friends in my club this seems to be relatively low mileage for a clutch replacement.

I would agree with your friends, but.... You said the bike was a press demo machine. The press WILL do drag starts with lots of high RPM clutch slippage. Given the abuse they can put on the clutch I'm surprised it lasted 40K miles.

 

[nplenzick]

I've never heard of clutch plate flutter. That doesn't mean it doesn't exist I just never heard of it. The only time I could ever " hear" a problem with a clutch is when it was in complete failure such as broken clutch or pressure plate or when a through out bearing starts to go bad.
It could be true that your clutch may have gotten more wear being a press demo but unless you were doing redline starts out of the pits during your track days I doubt that doing any of those days had little effect on your clutch plate. You would probably do more wear in stop and go traffic.
If it was my bike and had no slippage under hard acceleration and my clutch engaged smoothly I would simply ride it.

 

[Polarbear]

Cal CHP;

The CHP (Highway Patrol) ride these and get an average 60000m on clutches, according to my dealer that does their service. They are hard on clutches, with racey starts a lot. If your dealer does service cop bikes, he may have heard this or felt this flutter before, from that experience with the police bikes. Its a pretty hard life, as a motor cop m/c.. I bet Denver has these(RT'Ps) too, as most cities. Mine? I think I would give it some more miles yet, especially if no big trips were planned right away. Under normal use, I have never used a clutch up in way over 100000m and even towing trailers, no clutches in all mine. Best regards, Randy

 

[bmwswrv]

When is this "flutter" occurring?
Let me tell you about a similar problem I experienced last winter. I have an 07 R12RT that had 30k miles on it. After returning from the Redmond Rally, I began to notice a noise that I would describe as chattering when I released the clutch into gear. There was no slippage or any other signs that the clutch was failing. The dealer diagnosed it as the clutch had worn thin and we were hearing metal on metal. They installed a new clutch and in testing the bike the noise persisted. They installed a second clutch assuming that the tolerances were off on the replacement clutch. Again upon testing the second replacement clutch the noise came back. According to the service manager the two replacement clutches both showed unusual wear points and they were at a lost as to what was causing the noise and the unusual wear. The dealers factory regional adviser inspected the bike and the three clutches and concluded that a bearing in the transmission had worn and was causing the clutch to wear. Long story short the transmission was replaced under warranty and the replacement of the clutch was paid for By BMWNA as a good faith act.