BMW R1100S Final Drive Failure !!!!!

[Chocknel]

Hi There to all,, My name is Chock Nel,, 59 years old,, been on bikes for more than 40 years,, been there done it,, got the T shirt,,, I have a BMW R1100S,, 50,000 Miles on the clock,, for some unknown reason the final drive decided its time to pack up,,, I did what I,m supposed to do,, took it to a BMW dealer here in Cape Town South Africa where I reside,,, I payed them a arm and a leg,, Got my final drive back,, installed it,, and 120miles down the road my back wheel is full of oil,, I drained the oil only to find metal shavings in the oil,, Took the complete final drive back to the dealer,,, now allow me to show you guys living in a civilized its world country as apposed to us here living in a 3rd world country,,, When I took my final drive to this particular BMW dealer,, I was treated like a gentleman,, I was offered coffee on arrival and at least 5 times during the hours I waited for the repairs to be done,, On arriving back with the same final drive a week later,, I was immediately treated like something the dog carried in,, I actually made a comment regarding this complete turn around in behaviour,, I was also immediately told that there is no guarantee on this job as the housing of the final drive is the cause of the failure as it does not seat the bearings properly any more,, All of this I was told BEFORE they even opened the final drive for a second time,and I was never told this before hand, I saw that they have absolutely no interest in keeping up their part of the deal,, I asked them to strip the final drive as there is one special tool to remove the castle nut,,, and I will not bother them again,, They gladly complied,, Now they are rid of me and they have my money,,, This I mention to you so you can get an idea what its like to live in a third world country,,What ever I do or what ever road I choose to follow to force them to come to the table is just going to cost me money and time and not fix my final drive,,, The final drive was inspected very carefully by the gearbox technicians  where I work Caterpillar,, and it was determined that the only tapper bearing in the final drive was forced  onto the shaft and that caused the quite a number of needle pins to brake in two,,,These guys are highly experienced artisans working on very complex gearboxes,, They are willing to assist me in re assembling the final drive correctly,, all we need is the torque spec and one or two questions regarding the final drive,,, the special tool needed to assemble the final drive we have on stock,,, so please gentleman,, help me,, all I need is info,,, :headscratch:finally,, please excuse my English as it is a second language to me,,,,

[kwb377]

Can't help you on the final drive failure, but rest assured that the treament you recieved is not relegated to "third world countries". I received pretty much the same treatment by my local dealer (Bogart's Motorsports, which interestingly enough is not in business anymore) in regards to the several issues I had with my '02 K12LT. That bike, and more importantly that dealer, is why I'll never own another BMW.

[mxvet57]

Final drive failure on a BMW?  Go figure.

[Yankee Dog]

which torque spec are you looking for.

[veefer800canuck]

Good luck with getting your bike fixed, I hope you get it back soon.

Good thing that the mechanics at your work are willing to help.

Let us know how it turns out, and post a pic of yourself and your bike!

[X1Glider]

Sorry about the trouble.  Sounds typical of a BMW dealership.  Coffee and donuts one day, excuses and such the next.  I had them do 2 things for me under warranty and they messed up both times.  Pure carelessness.

I can probably say without question that most final drive failures have been the result having the wrong shim(s) on either side of the crown gear, either from the factory or on rebuild.  This either causes the bearing to be loose or tight.  Loose, causing the bearing fit at the housing to wallow out or tight, causing the bearing to overheat.  I've notice the seal facing the wrong direction, coming out of the shop, slowly leaking hypoid gear oil until the final drive overheats and sets the bike on fire.

I made it part of my 5000 mile maintainence to check endplay via total indicator reading out at the rim.  I got 160k miles out of my R1100S because I kept it in check.  My prior R1100GS was my lesson learnt at around 10k miles.  Disassembly and some measurements showed the reasons.  Wrong shims...was too tight.

[Carbonero]

Sorry about the trouble.  Sounds typical of a BMW dealership.  Coffee and donuts one day, excuses and such the next.  I had them do 2 things for me under warranty and they messed up both times.  Pure carelessness.

I can probably say without question that most final drive failures have been the result having the wrong shim(s) on either side of the crown gear, either from the factory or on rebuild.  This either causes the bearing to be loose or tight.  Loose, causing the bearing fit at the housing to wallow out or tight, causing the bearing to overheat.  I've notice the seal facing the wrong direction, coming out of the shop, slowly leaking hypoid gear oil until the final drive overheats and sets the bike on fire.

I made it part of my 5000 mile maintainence to check endplay via total indicator reading out at the rim.  I got 160k miles out of my R1100S because I kept it in check.  My prior R1100GS was my lesson learnt at around 10k miles.  Disassembly and some measurements showed the reasons.  Wrong shims...was too tight.

There is absolutely no valid reason in this universe why that should fall on you to correct & maintain.

Pathetic.

[atadaskew]

Final drive failure on a BMW?  Go figure.

[Mr. Whippy]

The place to ask is Pelican Parts forum.http://forums.pelicanparts.com/bmw-r1100s-r1200s-tech-forum/

Those guys have the answers you're looking for  

[Motozeke]

Chain drive maintenance is seriously no big deal. Really.

I'm going to think of having to pull my own final drive, pay for a new one, have that fail, and have to lean on friends to rebuild it the next time I see "Maintenance Free Shaft Drive!"

My sympathies, brother.

[Cablebandit]

Chain drive maintenance is seriously no big deal. Really.

I'm going to think of having to pull my own final drive, pay for a new one, have that fail, and have to lean on friends to rebuild it the next time I see "Maintenance Free Shaft Drive!"

My sympathies, brother.

Properly engineered shaft drive is no big deal either.

[mxvet57]

Properly engineered shaft drive is no big deal either.

I have 222,000 on my FJR and all i have done to the final drive is change the gear oil once a year. The magnet on the drain plug comes out clean every time.

I may open it up this winter to look at it. But if it ain't broken why mess with it.

[ConPilot1]

Properly engineered Kawasaki's shaft drive is no big deal either.

FXT  

[Mrs. DantesDame]

please excuse my English as it is a second language to me,,,,

Here's a helpful hint: only one comma is ever used at a time  

[zoomtoob]

I know it's a stale post but did you get this sorted out? I am lookking at mine now...

[Stripes]

I never read this thread before since it was titled 1100RS Final Drive Failure,  but now that I've read it I'm very surprised to see the negative comments about BMW Motorcycle Dealership Customer Service. I thought it was just me. When I bought my GT from the owner of my particular shop it couldn't have went better & he couldn't have been nicer. Whenever I needed parts, service or accessories I absolutely hated the experiences. I thought that they were all rude. I started having my service done at other dealers in MI & in different states while on road trips. BMW Corporate has sent letters & surveys which I always answer accurately & honestly. Ever since then, the owner called & wanted to talk about my concerns. We spoke for about 15 minutes & he said from now on ask to speak or see him when I need anything. Since then everyone there has been very helpful & nice.

[Mr. Whippy]

I know it's a stale post but did you get this sorted out? I am lookking at mine now...

How many miles and what are your symptoms?