Just another FINAL DRIVE nightmare....with a twist

I had a BMW R1100S, and did this. The barrings still went out at 40k... I will say though, I bought the motorcycle from a good friend of my fathers when it had 24.5k. All the maintenace at that point was done at the local dealer (I will not say dealer name). Took the bike to a friend, found out the air/fuel mixture screw was almost completely unscrewed and the final drive fluid looked like it was never changed. So I'm sure that had a hand in the failure. My dads R1150RT final drive barrings went out at around 63k too... :-/

Engle Motors (Kansas City BMW Dealer) changed the final drive fluid with every tire change. If I remember correctly, Engle Motors "area" had the least final drive failers of all the United States.

BMW does have a problem with their final drives, but will not admit it. It's always the riders fault... :huh I love BMW, and am looking for a R1100GS, but I'm still worried about the final drive. Also, why the hell should I have to take apart the whole bike ever 40k to lube the splines. Ohh well... I like the looks of that Yamaha, but don't have the money.

Amen to that brother. This is a DESIGN ISSUE, not a lubrication issue. You should be able to run chicken noodle soup in these rear ends. I do like what the transmission guy said a while back about the venting issue. Going from hot (higher than atmospheric pressure in the housing) to cold (fording a stream and creating negative pressure and sucking in water, dirt, dust) makes a lot of sense to me.

I'm maybe still a week away from getting the bike back. I'm READY for it to be back. I haven't riden it since the final day of the trip and I feel like I don't have TRIP closure...LOL.

Ready for it to be back!

That beind said my local dealer, Blue Moon Cycles in Norcross, GA are handling the issue perfectly with BMW. It's times like this that reaffirms my decision to purchase a new bike from a dealer vs. a used bike privately.

Good dealer relations are worth real $$$ when the sh*t hits the fan!

Matt.

I take a different view.......You have been without your bike for 3 weeks. I would rather buy used and unwarranteed, and take care of any failures on my own with the bucks I saved on the bike.........It would still be cheaper, and I would be in control of my own fate. No replacement of an assembly (That fails as often as BMW final drives) should take more than a week under warranty. JMHO. YM Obviously V.

I took a look at that 3.0 final drive swap piece from Max's. I can tell you, if mine does fail I'm thinking about going that route. I've always been of the opinion that if something stock fails, I'm replacing it with something "better" (or at least different lol). But then again, I'm outta warranty on my 07 and I don't have the enduro first gear, either..... so my situation is substantially different than the OP's.

I just hope like Hell I don't have to make that call anytime soon.

BIKE IS BACK!!!!!

4 weeks later, new FD installed, 40 miles under it's belt and it's not leaking.

Working with BMW on the "other stuff" but so far, they have been very proactive, very accomodating and the process has been exactly what the BMW brand should represent.

The reason it took 4 weeks is because the dealer ordered all the individual parts that failed. During that time, BMW authorized replacement of the entire unit so they had to order that part and wait for it. Once the part arrived as a complete assembly, the bike was back the same day.

Could have been done in 2 weeks is what I'm saying...

Finally I have some closure to my trip.

Matt.

.....Or, to the topless bar or massage parlor!

Here isn Alabama, we are the second fattest state...I don't even want to know who's the fattest...I know it isn't me 'cause, my '01 GS FD is still nice and tight, no noise and no wobbles....and I do not use BMW's special formula, recommended GL-5...I use some stuff in a blue bottle labelled synthetic 75w-140 GL-5 to which I ad some moly....and I change it every 2-3 years.

Saw your GS today/easy to tell it was in Alaska.

Matt,

Glad you got it back, and to follow up on our discussion in my thread, heard today that the new model GS's may be sporting the same FD as the K1600's. It will definitely be a different FD though. Hopefully it will be salvation for the GS, but also hope that yours (and mine) do not have any future problems.

I am going to keep a postivie attitude because I really enjoy the bike. Hoping for the best.

L

Of course, this is operating on the assumption that the FD on the K16 is not problematic.

I think both of you guys must have hit a bad spot in the road with the same impact and that started the damage rolling.

What else would explain two different model year bikes failing at the same time at different total mileage.

That road from Destruction Bay, YT to Tok, AK was screwy.

i have done mine twice now,, new bearing and seal first at 25,000 miles and just did it again at 54,000 miles i caught it early both times because i change the oil every 2,500 miles, i'll plan on doing it again at 75,000 as there seems to be a pattern... takes me about 4 hours while it's apart i also do the pivot bearings cost about $200.00 in parts... not sure what kind of miles people get with the chain and sprocket drive bikes but i'm ok with $200 bux every 25,000 miles.... until they do away with the single sided swingarm in my opinion they will keep failing

Just lost the FD on my 05 GS at 16600 miles and ordered up a 2010 FD as a replacement. You have given me no confidence in my decision.

Two 1150gs. One I bought new with 42K FD is tired. Second gs, an 01 also is tired. This one 63K miles with 12k miles on 2nd rebuild. Maybe we should start a FD club with tech help to take the mystery expense and anguish out of this problem. It's always easier when you know what you're doing. Considered buying the tapered contact brg. but not sure if I am staying with BMW after 8 beemers and 40 yrs of riding. Triumph has some fun bikes which seem to me, have the potential to be less hassle to own. But like most BMW people I have spare bikes to ride in the mean time.

Funny, after doing 10,000 miles up to Alaska and back I don't see any bike out there I would rather have than my GSA. They are man made machines that will break.

I saw a show about BMW cars recently. BMW has a sound engineer who is a Phd. He picks the sounds for warning signals etc on the cars. The Mini sounds have to sound cheaper than the BMW and the BMW sounds have to sound less elegant than the Rolls Royce. Another Phd designs the seats so the feel is just right. The janitor must get to design the motorcycle seats.

I don't think the 2010 FD is going to work with your ABS/wheel speed sensor on the 2005,......that's the real problem here

Absolutely right - It won't work at all.

They have updated the units (again) now and you can only buy the complete unit but you must by the unit for the bike not a 2010... send it back.

And, determine if the load exceeds the tire manufacturers limits on the sidewalls.

No, the janitor gets to ride a Harley to and from the BMW plant.

Guy in the club on Alaska trip....08 gsa....37K miles. Lost FD. First dealer $700 rebuild...screwed it up. Then had to have bike towed 200 miles to Whitehorse. $800. Ordered new FD and drive shaft....$3000. Cost him close to $5k. He just traded it in on new GS. Optimism of a farmer. Plant the seed and hope like hell it thrives.