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Spline Failure: High percentage or hype percentage?
- Thread starter DSXMachina
- Start date
my take from the video
If he is right , I have been guilty of shifting into 6th all the time and riding at 60-65 mph and rarely running the other gears above 4500 rpm. Now I'm going to ride it like I stole it, and not use 6th gear. No CHP in my future I hope. The other thing is what PGlaves said about paying a shop 3k if both spline sides go bad or just parting out. I only paid 3k for the bike. Added suspension and seat and etc now at 5k. I wonder if getting the extended spline clutch part and DIY is even an option for a rookie or just ride it hard and hope I am one of the lucky ones who won't have a failure and if so sell the aftermarket seat struts and part out and buy a Yamaha. I won't invest in making this a 7 or 8k bike via shop rates. Would I be able to do the clutch work as a non mechanic or could I just potentially cause more problems?
If he is right , I have been guilty of shifting into 6th all the time and riding at 60-65 mph and rarely running the other gears above 4500 rpm. Now I'm going to ride it like I stole it, and not use 6th gear. No CHP in my future I hope. The other thing is what PGlaves said about paying a shop 3k if both spline sides go bad or just parting out. I only paid 3k for the bike. Added suspension and seat and etc now at 5k. I wonder if getting the extended spline clutch part and DIY is even an option for a rookie or just ride it hard and hope I am one of the lucky ones who won't have a failure and if so sell the aftermarket seat struts and part out and buy a Yamaha. I won't invest in making this a 7 or 8k bike via shop rates. Would I be able to do the clutch work as a non mechanic or could I just potentially cause more problems?
djohnson81
New member
As long as you have the tools, time, patience and organizational skills, you can do it. I like to print out the step by step instructions and take pictures at each step before and after, put all bolts in bags and write on the bag with permanent marker where they came from and what step they were from. It may seem like over kill, but for me at least the first time I do a job I know it will all make sense going back together. If you are a mechanic and do the jobs regularly, you get to know where everything goes, you may not need to be so careful. I have done this with all of my projects from engine swaps and rebuilds on various motorcycles and cars. On the plus side, you have all of the good people on this forum to help you out.
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Sent from my SM-N981U using Tapatalk
Bear in mind that your "S" has a numerically higher ratio final drive than an RT so riding along at 70 MPH turning 4,000 rpm (or so) shouldn't negatively affect your splines.
jammess
Jammess
Anton
I would remove the trans, box it up and ship it off to Anton Larglader (spelling?) and say do your thing before I would ever trust a BMW dealer. Same thing for a final drive failure. Anton is active on this forum I believe.
One of the things that really got me interested in BMW motorcycles in the mid '70s was the trans separated from the engine. It was thought and promoted by BMW that trans gears have no business being lubricated by engine oil and should run in their own gear lubricant. Then a few years ago all that went out the window when BMW just tossed out decades of practice and integrated the trans with the engine. Guess the Japanese had the right idea all along? I think it all came down to cost cutting and more corporate profit for the mother ship. I like having the trans separate from the motor. If I owned a newer BMW it would really make me nervous having the trans buried within the engine compartment especially if the manufacturer has a somewhat less than stellar reputation where reliability is concerned. With newer BMWs you risk manning your wallet should disaster occur and you will wish you had a simple input shaft spline failure to deal with on an oilhead/airhead.
I would remove the trans, box it up and ship it off to Anton Larglader (spelling?) and say do your thing before I would ever trust a BMW dealer. Same thing for a final drive failure. Anton is active on this forum I believe.
One of the things that really got me interested in BMW motorcycles in the mid '70s was the trans separated from the engine. It was thought and promoted by BMW that trans gears have no business being lubricated by engine oil and should run in their own gear lubricant. Then a few years ago all that went out the window when BMW just tossed out decades of practice and integrated the trans with the engine. Guess the Japanese had the right idea all along? I think it all came down to cost cutting and more corporate profit for the mother ship. I like having the trans separate from the motor. If I owned a newer BMW it would really make me nervous having the trans buried within the engine compartment especially if the manufacturer has a somewhat less than stellar reputation where reliability is concerned. With newer BMWs you risk manning your wallet should disaster occur and you will wish you had a simple input shaft spline failure to deal with on an oilhead/airhead.
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Many of us have put many hundreds of thousands of kilometres/miles on bikes (BMWs and others) with integrated engines/transmissions with zero issues. Your concerns are ill-founded.
As a matter of fact, the spline issues discussed here tend to disprove your position.
Edit: I see you ride a Yamaha FJR1300A as well as a BMW. Are you nervous about that bike?
jammess
Jammess
No, not at all nervous about the FJR trans because it is a 5 speed not one of the ill fated 6 speeds which came along in 2016 and were subject to a massive world wide recall. I follow the FJR Owners Forum and have never heard of anyone having a problem with the 5 speed trans. The FJR has a stellar record for reliability. BMW..not so much and cost of repair for anything internal with the later boxers if off warranty is enough to keep me far away from anything newer than my '93.
One thing that has always made me a bit nervous about owning an FJR is even though the Yamaha dealer network is huge compared with BMW it seems most dealers are completely unfamiliar with the FJR. For example the local Yamaha dealer once told me when I was in their store ordering a factory service manual that if I ever needed service they would be obliged to perform the needed service but in fact they have never had an FJR in their shop. At least they were honest. I also think this is the last year for the FJR in the US and last year was the last for sales in Europe. Long and short is I'm on my own. I do appreciate that BMW supports their products for a very long time unlike most Japanese brands. BMW product support may not come cheap but at least it is there.
Hope this dissertation isn't too far off topic which it probably is so I do apologize.
jammess
Jammess
Back on topic: I wish BMW had solved the input shaft spline wear issue and kept the engine/trans separate. I think if it was simply an alignment issue it could have been fixed and if it was lack of sufficient coupling engagement that could have been dealt with. I think it was on the sport touring forum that I read of the misadventures a guy had with a 1200 wethead that had an off warranty problem with a trans failure with cost for repair somewhere north of $4K and then there is the alternator failure which is also astronomically expensive to repair. Things like this have completely turned me off on newer BMWs. BMW, like many manufacturers, seems to embrace complex whistles and bells that imo do nothing for a trouble free comfortable and economical riding experience while keeping ownership costs within reason. I just wish BMW had solved the trans input shaft failure issue and kept the trans separate from the motor same with the alternator. I also wish they had stuck with the double sided swing arm which would have prevented years of final drive issues and knock off on the ridiculous gadgets and gimmicks. I'm all for technology that serves a meaningful purpose but stuff like intelligent cruise control? Not in my garage! Reliability thy name is simplicity.
I think a couple years ago Consumer Reports hit the proverbial nail on the head when it comes to later BMW motorcycles.
I think a couple years ago Consumer Reports hit the proverbial nail on the head when it comes to later BMW motorcycles.
add me to the list
Got my Pittsburg lift delivered a couple days ago. Told my neighbor who helped me get it in the garage that unbeknownst to me when I bought the bike there were some potential flaws in my R1100S that could happen. He said sell it before it happens and get something reliable. A week before I bought just the Beemerboneyard clutch disc with the extended splines. Not the whole kit. Like I had a premonition based on accounts here and at Pelican forum. I was gonna start there . Rode today and 5 miles from home upshift and nothing, then nasty grinding noise. Pull over as downshifts get no gears just noise. Get neutral and try for 1st even with the clutch still pulled in nasty grinding noise and no go with release of the clutch.
Met some nice locals who stopped and made sure I was OK as I waited for a tow through my AARP Foremost insurance. Nice tow guy too. Now the rookie wrench gets to try and figure it out. For those who have had this unfortunate experience does this sound like the clutch/tranny splines?
Got my Pittsburg lift delivered a couple days ago. Told my neighbor who helped me get it in the garage that unbeknownst to me when I bought the bike there were some potential flaws in my R1100S that could happen. He said sell it before it happens and get something reliable. A week before I bought just the Beemerboneyard clutch disc with the extended splines. Not the whole kit. Like I had a premonition based on accounts here and at Pelican forum. I was gonna start there . Rode today and 5 miles from home upshift and nothing, then nasty grinding noise. Pull over as downshifts get no gears just noise. Get neutral and try for 1st even with the clutch still pulled in nasty grinding noise and no go with release of the clutch.
Met some nice locals who stopped and made sure I was OK as I waited for a tow through my AARP Foremost insurance. Nice tow guy too. Now the rookie wrench gets to try and figure it out. For those who have had this unfortunate experience does this sound like the clutch/tranny splines?
DSXMachina
Member
Odometer reading? And do you know the service history?
djohnson81
New member
Where are you located? Possibly another member could give you a hand. I just finished my clutch, rear main and transmission seals and slave cylinder replacement on my 1150GS.
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Sent from my SM-N981U using Tapatalk
located in boonies
I am a half hour from that upcoming NorCal BMW event in Quincy Ca, in a little turn in the road called Graeagle Ca. About 2 hours from Ozzie's BMW in Chico and 1 hour from Sierra BMW in Nevada. I have the full British clutch kit with the extended clutch plate spline from beemerboneyard on the way. If the tranny output shaft is trashed too I will ask about my options here too. Pics will follow in my own new thread as I hijacked this one. Thanks!
I am a half hour from that upcoming NorCal BMW event in Quincy Ca, in a little turn in the road called Graeagle Ca. About 2 hours from Ozzie's BMW in Chico and 1 hour from Sierra BMW in Nevada. I have the full British clutch kit with the extended clutch plate spline from beemerboneyard on the way. If the tranny output shaft is trashed too I will ask about my options here too. Pics will follow in my own new thread as I hijacked this one. Thanks!
