2011 bmw g 650 gs fork failure - Page 3

Rick G · 06-23-2011, 07:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by henrymartin

The motor assembly was moved to China, not the bike (at least on my 09), parts were shipped to China, engine assembled, then shipped to Germany to be put in the frame. Those should be Showa forks, IIRC.

I stand corrected.

Note to the OP, I only mentioned the wheelie aspect as I am certain you will be asked during the investigation and the fact that unintentional wheelies are very common among newer riders due to improper clutch / throttle management. I know as I did it myself the first time I merged onto a highway and scared the shit out of myself. I am not trying to say that you intentionally wheelied. Only asked if it happened and by your reply I have to assume that no wheelies occured prior to the failure.

It is unfortunate but the initial reaction from BMW will probably be, "What did you do to cause this?" It is the nature of the litigous society we live in. Deflect blame onto others. Only accept responsibility when there is no other option.

Good luck,

Rick G

antiquewidow · 06-23-2011, 07:26 AM

no problem on the wheelie thing, I just wanted to note that it wasnt thats all....thanks

acesandeights · 06-23-2011, 08:46 AM

That should buff right out. Hope all gets taken care of and you get heal quick.

lemieuxmc · 06-23-2011, 09:12 AM

You need to get with the people who had the failure on the earlier models, that looks like exactly the same thing.

That's very, very, bad news for BMW and anyone riding one of those bikes, because now they are all suspect.

lemieuxmc · 06-23-2011, 09:15 AM

I did a search and found this;

Crash in Destruction Bay

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=371650

It is easy check which forks you have courtesy of the composite pic from squarewheels. The only known failures are the old style

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showpost.php?p=7633376&postcount=92

The forks on the left are the old type, the forks on the right are the new type. Both have the same BMW Part No.

The interesting part is we are not sure when the new type were introduced into production. Initially it was thought June 2003 but we now know of one machine built December 2002 with the newer style strengthened fork legs.

Thanks to the posts here we seem to have narrowed the changeover to Oct 2002.

You can check the production date of any BMW by decoding the VIN and there is a handy web site available to do so.

http://www.bmw-z1.com/VIN/VINdecode-e.cgi

It would be of assistance if people could post the results into this thread to narrow the production range of the machines with the earlier casting. Only post the production date and which type of casting the machine has

It would also be prudent for owners of machines with old style castings to refer any concerns they may have to BMW to satisfy themselves of the safety of these castings.

rob feature · 06-23-2011, 09:15 AM

Man, I sure hate to see this shit again - especially on a brand new bike. Glad you weren't hurt badly. Hopefully this will wake BMW up and get them to at least acknowledge the problem. I wouldn't hold my breath though.

TwilightZone · 06-23-2011, 09:45 AM

Hmmm wow, same as the old failures... but with the newer design forks.
Not good. I kind of suspect that the old failures too were flaws in the casting process.

See what happens.

JDLuke · 06-23-2011, 09:56 AM

What's with that dark spot at the bottom right of the break? Could that have been the weak spot where the trouble started here?

My F650GS was manufactured in 03/01, with the original (weaker) style forks. For the first couple of years that I had the bike I weighed over 250 pounds. I abused the hell out of them until two years ago when I upgraded to Kayaba USD forks from a Yamaha dirt bike. I agree that there is likely to be a manufacturing rather than a design flaw.

lemieuxmc · 06-23-2011, 10:08 AM

Post a photo of your bike with the Yamaha forks please, I like that idea!

JDLuke · 06-23-2011, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lemieuxmc

Post a photo of your bike with the Yamaha forks please, I like that idea!

There are a bunch of us who did this conversion, there's a thread on it in the 'Thumpers' board.

antiquewidow · 06-23-2011, 10:24 AM

Thanks for all the info... will keep all informed as i go.... I hope I heal fast too cuz this is not enjoyable.. And to think I quite smoking and rewarded myself by getting my license and buying a BMW bike.

JagLite · 06-23-2011, 11:20 AM

Wow, this is scary

To ride a bike you have to have confidence in it.
Will you be able to ride your bike, or a replacement bike with confidence?

Like flying a plane where the main spar in the wing has broken on another one of the same model. A new one. In smooth air. Terrifying...

That type of breakage should NEVER happen not matter how much a rider abused the bike beyond what it is designed for.
But your bike is designed to be ridden off the smooth paved roads where it will be jumped and ridden hard so it is designed to take a lot.

I would be quite wary of riding my bike if I had the same model.

Benesesso · 06-23-2011, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by antiquewidow

Thanks for all the info... will keep all informed as i go.... I hope I heal fast too cuz this is not enjoyable.. And to think I quite smoking and rewarded myself by getting my license and buying a BMW bike.

Sorry to hear this. I examined the failed forks on the "Destruction Bay" bike, but unfortunately was unable to determine the real reason for the failure.

I forwarded the pieces to another metallurgist who specializes in aluminum (I'm more into steel and superalloys), and he felt it was a casting/manufacturing/design problem.

When I first heard of the Dest. Bay fracture I thought it would be easy, that I'd find evidence of fatigue cracking--which is easy to find on alum. But no such luck. No fatigue crack evidence at all. Without a physical exam, I am nevertheless near positive that fatigue cracking is NOT involved in your forks.

Fat. cracks are usually slow growing--not the case for these forks. They "appear" to be castings, and alum. castings are well known to be on the brittle side.

I think the fracture started at that black spot (probably a casting defect that went ALMOST thru wall--could be factory-applied black fork paint in a casting defect), and the bottom of the crack is where the stress would be highest--the axle is trying to lift AND rotate the attachment point.

Brittle fractures happen very fast, with NO advance warning. There are many casting problems that could be involved here. I'd bet a bunch that BMW knows exactly what the problem is--why some forks can survive lots of "abuse", while other have what is known as "infant failure".

I'm camping way up on a mountain just south of Prescott, AZ, so am unable to check in as often as I wish I could.

harryhammer · 06-23-2011, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by antiquewidow

Thanks for all the info... will keep all informed as i go.... I hope I heal fast too cuz this is not enjoyable.. And to think I quite smoking and rewarded myself by getting my license and buying a BMW bike.

get well soon, ps. did you want a cig after you got out of er, i know i would have

lemieuxmc · 06-23-2011, 11:33 AM

Good to hear from you Benesesso!

I thought your analysis and discussion of the earlier BMW fork problem was fascinating. I think that this is a GIGANTIC problem for BMW!

I would sure be pissed off if I just dropped over 8 large on a new bike and suspected that the front wheel might break off at any moment.

06-23-2011, 09:15 AM	#36
rob feature Domain Ranger Joined: May 2005 Location: Wheat Ridge, CO Oddometer: 3,302	Man, I sure hate to see this shit again - especially on a brand new bike. Glad you weren't hurt badly. Hopefully this will wake BMW up and get them to at least acknowledge the problem. I wouldn't hold my breath though. __________________

06-23-2011, 09:56 AM	#38
JDLuke Ravening for delight Joined: May 2007 Location: New Jersey Oddometer: 8,645	What's with that dark spot at the bottom right of the break? Could that have been the weak spot where the trouble started here? My F650GS was manufactured in 03/01, with the original (weaker) style forks. For the first couple of years that I had the bike I weighed over 250 pounds. I abused the hell out of them until two years ago when I upgraded to Kayaba USD forks from a Yamaha dirt bike. I agree that there is likely to be a manufacturing rather than a design flaw. __________________ Why did I drink all of the ingredients for vomit? "Used to be Man vs. Nature.. then Man vs. Space.. then Man vs. the Moon. Now it's Man vs. Food" - Dalar "you cannot reason a person out of something they were not reasoned into." - Jonathan Swift

06-23-2011, 11:20 AM	#42
JagLite Studly Adventurer Joined: Jun 2010 Location: Anchorage Alaska Oddometer: 597	Yikes!!!!! *Wow, this is scary To ride a bike you have to have confidence in it. Will you be able to ride your bike, or a replacement bike with confidence? Like flying a plane where the main spar in the wing has broken on another one of the same model. A new one. In smooth air. Terrifying... That type of breakage should NEVER happen not matter how much a rider abused the bike beyond what it is designed for. But your bike is designed to be ridden off the smooth paved roads where it will be jumped and ridden hard so it is designed to take a lot. I would be quite wary of riding my bike if I had the same model. __________________ Attitude ~* The difference between Ordeal and Adventure James

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06-23-2011, 07:26 AM	#32
antiquewidow ^OP Adventurer Joined: Jun 2011 Location: UPPER NYS Oddometer: 68	no problem on the wheelie thing, I just wanted to note that it wasnt thats all....thanks

06-23-2011, 08:46 AM	#33
acesandeights Asperger Joined: Jul 2008 Location: So. Oregon Oddometer: 2,043	That should buff right out. Hope all gets taken care of and you get heal quick.

06-23-2011, 09:12 AM	#34
lemieuxmc Banned Joined: Mar 2009 Location: East La Jolla... it's just Clairemont!! Oddometer: 3,360	You need to get with the people who had the failure on the earlier models, that looks like exactly the same thing. That's very, very, bad news for BMW and anyone riding one of those bikes, because now they are all suspect.

06-23-2011, 09:45 AM	#37
TwilightZone Beastly Adventurer Joined: Dec 2008 Location: Behind the Redwood Curtain Oddometer: 1,949	Hmmm wow, same as the old failures... but with the newer design forks. Not good. I kind of suspect that the old failures too were flaws in the casting process. See what happens.

06-23-2011, 10:08 AM	#39
lemieuxmc Banned Joined: Mar 2009 Location: East La Jolla... it's just Clairemont!! Oddometer: 3,360	Post a photo of your bike with the Yamaha forks please, I like that idea!

06-23-2011, 10:24 AM	#41
antiquewidow ^OP Adventurer Joined: Jun 2011 Location: UPPER NYS Oddometer: 68	Thanks for all the info... will keep all informed as i go.... I hope I heal fast too cuz this is not enjoyable.. And to think I quite smoking and rewarded myself by getting my license and buying a BMW bike.

06-23-2011, 11:33 AM	#45
lemieuxmc Banned Joined: Mar 2009 Location: East La Jolla... it's just Clairemont!! Oddometer: 3,360	Good to hear from you Benesesso! I thought your analysis and discussion of the earlier BMW fork problem was fascinating. I think that this is a GIGANTIC problem for BMW! I would sure be pissed off if I just dropped over 8 large on a new bike and suspected that the front wheel might break off at any moment.