Tell me 'bout the failures of Front Axle Castings on the earlier F650's

[Cheddarhead]

As many know, I've just purchased an (almost) virgin 2003 F650GS Thumper.  Less than a thousand miles on the clock as of when I picked it up, before Christmas.

I've come across several threads (on ADV Rider and on the Chain Gang site) discussing a series of wrecks...which "appear" to have been caused by either a marginal casting design / a batch of non-conforming fork castings, or a combination of the two.

It appears that BMW had subsequently redesigned the casting...putting a new design into circulation using the same P/n and not issuing a mandatory recall.

Anybody know anything further on this?  Anybody had their dealer replace the old design castings under warranty / free of charge due to the pattern of structural failures?

Needless to say...a structural failure of the casting which in turn causes the wheel to fold up under the 'cycle would make for a very bad day, indeed!


TIA!

Cheddar

[stromgal]

I've heard it's not a problem if you're under 180 lbs. Must be a German thing.  

(Sorry, couldn't resist.)  

[bomber]

Charlie -- it would appear that you can run, but you cannot hide.

[Cheddarhead]

I've heard it's not a problem if you're under 180 lbs. Must be a German thing.  

(Sorry, couldn't resist.)  

Et tu, BJ?


No cheese for you, young lady!

[cbsnbiker]

I have not heard about this. The Chain Gang people will probably have the most info on it.

[bluepoof]

http://www.bluepoof.com/2009/01/why-i-changed-those-front-forks-out/

My friend Rashmi was one of the people who had this failure; she was fairly seriously injured while on a ride in Alaska.  See my blog post for more info.  She's the one the threads on ADV and Chain Gang are mostly about, though other people have chimed in with their experiences as well.

I absolutely changed my front forks on my '01 F650GS for the new style after learning more about Rashmi's accident.

You can't get them replaced under warranty as BMW insists that the wheel falling off while riding normally is "rider error".  Worth every penny to me for peace of mind, though.

Edit: Just noticed that you have an '03.  Pretty sure those are the new model forks.  It's really easy to tell:

http://www.bluepoof.com/2008/12/new-forks-for-the-beemer/

Check out my side by side comparisons and see which your forks more closely resemble.

[Cheddarhead]

http://www.bluepoof.com/2009/01/why-i-changed-those-front-forks-out/

My friend Rashmi was one of the people who had this failure; she was fairly seriously injured while on a ride in Alaska.  Edit: Just noticed that you have an '03.  Pretty sure those are the new model forks.  It's really easy to tell:

http://www.bluepoof.com/2008/12/new-forks-for-the-beemer/

Check out my side by side comparisons and see which your forks more closely resemble.

I have read the threads on ADV about the catastrophic failures...including the somewhat cryptic ending of the case where one Inmate was offering the use of a Scanning Electron Microscope to evaluate the failure mode in the casting.

I've been a "buyer" of cast iron / steel / aluminum for use in heavy equipment and industrial applications for nearly 30 years...so I've seen lots of casting designs over the years.  The modified BMW designs are (obviously) far better both for the material stock added, but also because of the enlargement of the radii and the smoother transitions from plane - plane.  Much fewer areas for stress risers / dross to accumulate.

Having said that...I'm "really" surprised that these components are made from Aluminum at all...I would have thought that they would have been poured as investment cast stainless steel.  A few ounces more mass...a dollar or two more expensive...but far stronger / more resistant to impact and vibratory failures.

Thanks, Poof!

Cheddar

PS:  That "tag team" offer to get your Ninjette to the Gap for the Rally still holds!  Just sayin....