F800GS Clutch Failure....

So I was riding down the freeway at about 70-75 mph when all of the sudden I heard a loud "click, click, click, click" from the left side of the engine. So I pulled the clutch, which didn't change the sound at all, and pulled off to the side of the freeway. As I was pulling off I tried to downshift. It was very hard to downshift, even with the clutch pulled. All the while I'm still hearing "click, click, click, click". Came to a complete stop on the side of the freeway, and still "click, click, click, click". With the clutch pulled at a complete stop, the bike still wanted to go a little bit, seems as if the clutch was still somehow grabbing a bit. So I killed the engine. Called BMW Roadside Assistance. Got a tow to the dealer. When we arrived at the dealer, they unloaded it off of the tow truck. Then the service manager pulled the dipstick. There were small chunks of metal on the dipstick and in the oil. The chunks were about the size of grains of sand. They're going to open the engine up tomorrow, and see what went wrong and what parts they need to order. In the meantime......Fuck. I had plans to ride this weekend.

Uh oh, you still under 1000 miles?

Sorry to hear it, here's to getting a new engine, and torquing those retaining bolts correctly!

Yeah, 801 miles. Do you think they'll actually give me a new engine? That's my main concern. This is a catastrophic engine failure. And with little chunks of metal floating around in there the whole engine is potentially screwed, right?

I sucked a valve on my 1200GS which went through the piston sending metal into the main case. It was under warranty and BMW would NOT give me a new motor. My LBS tore it down, rebuilt it and gave it back to me. I traded it in a week later on a GSA.

Good luck and keep us in the loop on the problem and the outcome. I just purchased an 800GS myself.

bummer... I guess that kills the ride you were planning to the west!

I mean, technically speaking, if they rebuild the engine it should be like brand new.... you'd hope...

........

Not necessarily. The trip is planned for mid June. That's a month and a half from now. They said they'd overnight the parts they need if necessary.

I guess the fear is that there's chunks in the oil galleys that can't be easily cleaned out.

With little fragments that have circulated in a running motor, I'd hope for a new engine.

I guess if they do a full tear down, go through all the tranny bearings, and such it should be OK, but I would think it'd be cheaper to throw in a new motor, and send the grenade back to germany to be reman'd in a factory. Though, perhaps there's no big market for remanufactured motors like there is in the auto industry..

In the boating industry it's cheaper to slap in a new or remanufactured motor than it is to pay time and material to a mechanic to rebuild a motor. Plus the reman comes with a warranty.

It could be something very simple. The fact that there is a bit of debris in the oil is not catastrophic. Before the oil in the sump is recirculated to the engine it has to go through the filter which would not pass anything you can see. Let's wait and see what the tear down reveals before jumping to conclusions.

Also, metal chunks are not consistent with a clutch failure. When a clutch lets go the debris is fibre from the friction plates. My bet would be an actuator part or some such thing. Some part like that failed and got ground up by the tranny would be my bet. Not sure if the tranny bearings are sealed on the F8. They are on the 12GS. If the tranny bearings are sealed bearings, which they probably are, I think you may get out of this quickly.

That's not a good thing to hear. I feel your pain Griz. I got mine not too long ago and am workng on about 1200 miles, I don't think I could handle that happening. Keep us posted as to the issues in that motor, and why your clutch wasn't working. Maybe the dealer will have the bike back to you by the weekend. Be optimistic!

Thanks for the support guys. I'm going to need it!

And good point tmex.

Dude, that blows. Sorry to hear it.

I predict you will be fine.
As my dealer says, "they're crazy to offer a three year warranty..."

Good luck.

I know. The worst part about it is that it's finally warmer here in Minnesota, and I was really looking forward to riding more. I have TKC-80's arriving tomorrow, DynaBeads coming early next week, and I ordered clear turn signal lenses. Hurry up and wait I guess.....

But, jeez, yeah, I'm hoping it's not that serious and that the engine can just be flushed out. Then install the new parts and good to go. Crossing my fingers.

This never would have happened to a Uly.





















































I couldn't resist.

Hope it all works out Grizwald.
Nice to have that roadside protection, huh?
Did they give you a ride home?

wonder if your break-in procedure had anything to do with it...you got a lot of bizarre responses when you started that thread

I never went over 5,000 RPM's until 600 miles. Varied the throttle opening and RPM's as much as possible. By the book.

Fingers crossed!

I've got new engine, after first failed apart after 9000 km. Maybe cluch was made in china? Good luck.

Or Detroit? :huh

F the Fn F, Griz. Hope they set you right.

David