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Delayed in reporting on this, break down was back on this thread.

The bike has now been repaired by Vines (courtesy of BMW warranty). The drive problem or sudden clutch slip to no drive was a combination of oil leaking on to the clutch plate (clutch now replaced) & excessive wear / failure of the coupling in the drive shaft. Apparently this can either be caused by a manufacture fault, but it's also commonly seen on bikes used for track days & bikes that have seen excessive wheelies (so Vines tell me) - FFS, the bike's a 52 plate & only done 13k. Is the shaft drive really that fragile??

They also replaced the front calipers - apparently BMW recognise that there was a manufacture issue with the finish quality of the Tokico OE, the long & short of it is that if your bike is still in warranty & your calipers are in piss poor condition (as mine were) then they will replace them under warranty. Next problem: after they'd replaced the calipers & put new pads in, they couldn't get the brakes working because there's a fault with the ABS modulator. After speaking to Darren, he tells me that BM also recognise that they've had reliability issues with this item too. This alone is a grand's worth of kit

I'm now back on the road, but knowing the above would have cost a shade over £3k, this little experience has tarnished my viewpoint on BMW. Warranty expires at the back end of '06, at that point I'll most prob switch to someting less expensive when things go wrong.

Nero




Hey RB, I thought I cut through traffic a little swift... You running a little late for work

Is the shaft drive really that fragile??

Mines done 90k with no trouble

Nero wrote: Is the shaft drive really that fragile??

We noticed a slight leak at the drive shaft coupling on our 2004 S. It had done about 6K at that point. Took it into Williams in Manchester who replaced the coupling under warranty without any quibbling at all.
They told me that they had replaced the coupling with a coupling modified by BMW that is an improvement on the original manufactured item and should cause no more problems. Because we noticed the leak very early, no other damage was done to the bike, and it has been great since.

Upshot is that BMW recognise that the original coupling can fail and have rectified the problem. I imagine that a sympathetic dealer would probably replace the coupling even if not under warranty (given a lowish mileage) - tho' I may be being a little naive there!

Worth mentioning here that although it is dissapointing that BMW should have manufactured a potential failing part, at least we dont have to worry about chains (adjusting/oiling/cleaning/replacing - need I go on!).

Pauline

Hi mine went the same at about 22,000 miles, there was a guy saying the same about his GS12 going the same at 15,000 too.
Drive shaft seal went, contaminated the clutch, I was just out of the warranty but South London MC did it anyway, they're a nice bunch there..

Finally got the VIN sticker, to go with the new frame, I've been waiting since JANUARY!!! for a sticker..

also when they did the clutch found the clutch slave was gogin too,, so that was done ala warranty..

Sorry which seal are we talking about here?
I have just recently found a leak under the gaitor at the rear of the frive... this one? How can that affect the clutch?
Sorry, like i said im not mechanically adept at all lol

The seal at the rear end of the drive shaft is the one that I am talking about. I noticed our leak on a very hot day after riding through the Trough of Bowland; it was a very small leak and so was sorted out quickly with no further consequences. As I understand it, this is a seal that is susceptible to failing, and BMW have produced a revised, improved seal to replace it.

Pauline

ta

better get the bugger sorted then