Gents, my r1200 GSA tossed a forward u-joint recently. I've got a lead on Machine services in Greenbay, seems they replace the u-joints with Servicable ones for a decent price. Would certainly appreciate hearing from anyone here that knows first hand if they are good at what thy do or not. I know about Bruno in Canada, but would rather stay with a US company if possible.
The interesting thing about Jim Moore's experience with the Green Bay outfit is that after the GB refurbished driveshaft failed, his post says he replaced the front half with an extra unit he had laying around. That unit also failed 10,000 miles later. Something seems amiss here. At this point, I would not blame an outfit that has been doing driveline repairs since the early 1950s, in Wisconsin, no less. Remember, there are a bunch of smart Germans in Wisconsin who not only make fine cheese and sausage, but have been running successful businesses dealing with mechanical systems. Briggs & Stratton, Kohler and Allen-Bradley come to mind. And, while I believe Bruno is probably a fine fellow, I would speak to the Green Bay outfit and ask them what happened to the failed shaft before discounting them offhand.
Good points... There certainly is a price difference between the two. I'm just looking for the best fix as I don't relish the idea of another drive shaft explosion on a major trip. Really sucks I can tell you.
Well Cap't Dan, I agree...a breakdown on a trip is more than inconvenient. I just cannot imagine that the Green Bay outfit did a poor job of repair on the BMW driveshaft. We just don't know enough to make an educated guess. If it were me, I would call them and explain your concerns and point them to the post dealing with the driveshaft failure. If I ever need driveshaft repairs, I'll be speaking with them before I decide which repair shop to use. I'll bet they would like to see the failed shaft and determine the mode of failure. Here is what I would ask: 1- Do they offer a warranty on their work? What is the source for the parts they use? 2- Are there any particular challenges to performing a reliable repair on these BMW shafts? 3- Do they repair the shock rubber portion of the shaft assembly? 4- How do they balance the shaft after repairs? These are all good questions that they should be willing to answer.
I cannot speak for their ability to repair/rebuild/remanufacture motorcycle driveshafts but I have used them for years to make driveline gear for my engine testing business, from less than 5HP to over 16,000 HP and have never had an issue, their engineering department is top notch. Having said that, I really do not believe these shafts would be their forte, what they CAN do is harmonically balance anything in relation to speed and engine configuration, it is a true science.
They did mine, about 1k on it so far. Mine didn't come apart, so no damage. Happy with what I got back. It was 225 or 250 to replace both joints. I think all they do is drive train service. I would use them again. Look at their web site that convinced me. When you call them ask for Mitch ( shop forman, I think). He knew exactly what I was talking about. Took 5 days round trip.
I may have explained it poorly the first time I told the story. Let me try again. At 100k miles on my GS I decided to replace the driveshaft as part of a minor overhaul. I bought a used driveshaft and sent it to MSI. When I got it back I installed both halves of the refurbished driveshaft and kept my original driveshaft as a spare. 5000 miles later the front half of the refurbed driveshaft failed. I replaced the front half with my old front half. The rear half failed at a later time. I replaced it with the other half of my old driveshaft. The bottom line for me is that both u-joints on the driveshaft refurbed by MSI failed in a relatively short period of time.
Jim, Did they machine the driveshaft to accept circlips or weld washers over the caps? Also, did you grease the u joints before you installed the driveshaft? I'm assuming the joint failed, or was their a problem with the yoke?
It was a couple years ago, but I seem to remember that it looked to me like they welded something over the caps. The u-joints were greased when I got them back. They told me I was going to have to re-grease them every year or so. I never got to that point. The joints themselves failed.
Machine Services in Greenbay. Is there web address and phone number a secret and you can't post it. Googled it and found all kinds of stuff. Is this them: http://www.machineservice.com/technical-101/drive-shaft-failure-guides/universal-joint-failure/ Customer Service: 1-800-677-8711
Yeah, I sent the first one back to them and they replaced it for free. After the second one I didn't bother. They were perfectly pleasant to work with, but my overall goal was to make the bike more reliable.
14k on my rebuilt from Machine Services with no issues. http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=785520
In the end I sent it to MSI. Got it back in record time, looks great! Over the next few weeks I'll be replacing th swing arm and installing the newly rebuilt drive shaft. Certainly hope I get some miles out the repair.
Please keep us updated Captdan....we're all going to need a refurbished driveshaft at some point...the GB folks are likely lamenting the loss by their Packers so, they need the business....plus, you don't have to send your shaft out of the country for repairs any more.
Will do. I know Bruno is a class act, but sending to MSI was the way to go for me, at lest for the moment. Mitch is really good to deal with, seems to know what he's talking about, and record turn around time. Not to mention the drive shaft looks new. I'm completing the swing arm replacement and drive shaft replacement by them end of this month I hope. When the last one blew at 43k it really took out not only the front u joint, but the swing arm as well. I've almost got all the parts acquired. ( got a swing arm on eBay, along with a drive shaft to ave rebuilt ).
Jist wondering why? Ain't talkin' Afganistan here... He's proven time and time again he does it right. So why go with an unknown?