Potential 1200s coming from a supermoto

[Blackal]

I see so it's probably wise to maintain the final drive every year. Still better than having to regrease a chain every time it rains though. Is it this false 'lifetime' notion that's caused what seems like a lot of final drive failures? Or have I been misinformed there? I've owned two lc8 KTMs, one 950 and one 990, and despite my second one being 4 years newer it still got all the same problems I had with the older one. Surely a BMW won't be as bad as that haha

Not sure how rain can wash off the oil/grease - when centrifugal force on its own - cannot?

I look at it like this: On tour in Europe - a chain-driven bike will always keep going.

A shafty, if it goes wrong - will be a flatbed home.

Ya pays yer money...........

Al

[popsky]

I look at it like this: On tour in Europe - a chain-driven bike will always keep going.
A shafty, if it goes wrong - will be a flatbed home.
Ya pays yer money...........
Al

Not sure that's quite right Al, I do remember on a trip to Le Mans 24hr, seeing a "snake" slithering towards me on an autoroute, next thing we see is a Ducati coasting to a halt, snapped chain, we stopped to ask if we could help but he said his mates would return, don't know exactly what they could do to fix that.

[Blackal]

I look at it like this: On tour in Europe - a chain-driven bike will always keep going.
A shafty, if it goes wrong - will be a flatbed home.
Ya pays yer money...........
Al

Not sure that's quite right Al, I do remember on a trip to Le Mans 24hr, seeing a "snake" slithering towards me on an autoroute, next thing we see is a Ducati coasting to a halt, snapped chain, we stopped to ask if we could help but he said his mates would return, don't know exactly what they could do to fix that.

The point is - that you can always source a new chain.......


Good luck -getting the FD (and fitted)

Al

[SpikyPit]

I see so it's probably wise to maintain the final drive every year. Still better than having to regrease a chain every time it rains though. Is it this false 'lifetime' notion that's caused what seems like a lot of final drive failures? Or have I been misinformed there? I've owned two lc8 KTMs, one 950 and one 990, and despite my second one being 4 years newer it still got all the same problems I had with the older one. Surely a BMW won't be as bad as that haha

Not sure how rain can wash off the oil/grease - when centrifugal force on its own - cannot?

I look at it like this: On tour in Europe - a chain-driven bike will always keep going.

A shafty, if it goes wrong - will be a flatbed home.

Ya pays yer money...........

Al

Well when it's been pissing with rain surely the grease gets somewhat diluted. In fact when I did a long trip on my 990 and it rained I noticed that my chain had got rusty in the 2 or 3 days I hadn't ridden it before returning home.

Anyway I really didn't intend on sparking a which form of drivetrain is best debate, I was just making a point that overall a shaft drive is at the very least less maintenance than a chain drive. Not accounting for freak accidents in the south of France that is

[Blackal]

Well when it's been pissing with rain surely the grease gets somewhat diluted. In fact when I did a long trip on my 990 and it rained I noticed that my chain had got rusty in the 2 or 3 days I hadn't ridden it before returning home.

Anyway I really didn't intend on sparking a which form of drivetrain is best debate, I was just making a point that overall a shaft drive is at the very least less maintenance than a chain drive. Not accounting for freak accidents in the south of France that is

Never seen grease diluted with fresh-water, but if you have - then I'm not going to argue........

I suspect your chain got rusty because it had some surfaces - not protected by chain-oil.

Al

[Mitch1100]

Hi Jim
I most definitely change diff oil at each tyre change..my saying "it has to be done! was not taken well it seems...of course it is a personal choice..
Great article from Chris Harris in Boxerbanter
""With the R1200GS model BMW started using a new type of rear drive to replace the Para-Lever. This new unit was advertised as ‘Maintenance-Free’ having been filled at the factory with ‘Lifetime Fluid’. I know of no such fluid and it wasn’t long before some of these new rear drives failed at alarmingly low mileages. In fact, there were a couple that actually caught on fire!!! ""

[f90x]

OK for clarity. The written word especially on a forum is always open to interpretation.
I agreed with you about it having to be done. I agreed because it is now part of the service schedule as I stated. I guess It's personal choice to ignore it but given the FD's reputation and having spoken to Chris Overy in person and seen his work bench that constantly has a pile of at least four awaiting repair pretty much all year round it's something that everyone should choose to do or have done at regular intervals.

Mine is also a 2006 like yours. Also like yours it has a drain plug at the end of the FD and yes one has to drop the FD in order to drain the oil through it as I explained to the OP and suggested that he grease the shaft splines at the same time. None of the R12 twin sparks got a drain plug at the bottom. I'm pretty sure the later DOHC bikes got it though.
I am quite experienced with the FD having had to change the oil 4 times during the summer along with swapping the FD over an equal amount because of the worn spline problem, the flange recall, and a particularly unhelpful BMW dealer in Maidenhead.