Barn find 1984 R80RT clutch making a grinding noise

TheSpencer

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Ok.. so I pick up my barn find... lots of rust and things. Oil is like new, gas tank was empty but rust everywhere and small hole in bottom of tank. I attached an IV bottle with gas in it to start bike. After putting in new battery and shooting some starter spray in the sparkplug hole.... fired right up... purred like a kitten. Bike is in fair shape.
Ok.. .so the problem is after letting the bike idle for a bit I pull in the clutch lever and an awefull grinding and screeching noise. Put the bike in gear and another nasty sound and rear wheel won't turn.
Any idea on what might be going on before I tear everything down?
I have two BMW cars but no beemer bikes. Have 4 other bikes from Harley to Honda so a newbie to the R80.

Any help will be appreciated!

Spencer
 
Blimey Spencer 'how long is a piece of string' ? Sounds like a MAJOR rebuild and you will only know when you pull the gearbox etc etc Start dismantling the bike and show us some photos etc then maybe we can help. Drop gearbox oil first and check for metal in the oil. Big jobs ahead of you.
 
Ugh.... not what I wanted to hear... glad I got a stellar deal on this bike!

Kenny said:
Blimey Spencer 'how long is a piece of string' ? Sounds like a MAJOR rebuild and you will only know when you pull the gearbox etc etc Start dismantling the bike and show us some photos etc then maybe we can help. Drop gearbox oil first and check for metal in the oil. Big jobs ahead of you.
Click to expand...

Ugh.... not what I wanted to hear... glad I got a stellar deal on this bike!
 
Is the Clutch Lever very stiff when you pull it in ???

The screech may be from the clutch, or from the clutch release bearing and pushrod.

When the gearbox is in neutral - does the rear wheel turn OK with no 'clicking' noises from the Driveshaft ??

I'll be interested to see what comes out when you drain the gearbox oil :confused:.

Bob.
 
Sounds like you may have found the reason it was parked in the barn in the first place!

On the face of it it sounds like a clutch pack issue (symptoms suggest that the centre plate may be completely worn out, seen similar before), but you wont really know until you start pulling bits off. Do drain the oil in the box (in fact in all of the transmission components as its been standing for yonks) and have a look/feel of it tho.

Either way, if its clutch OR box (or both!) that box is coming out.........could be a god time to pull the rear cover off the box and eyeball it as it an unknown quantity (you wont need to do any re-shimming if you are not disturbing the innards at all i.e. just inspecting)
 
Barn Find Update: Thanks for all of the info and support

solidstate100 said:
Sounds like you may have found the reason it was parked in the barn in the first place!

On the face of it it sounds like a clutch pack issue (symptoms suggest that the centre plate may be completely worn out, seen similar before), but you wont really know until you start pulling bits off. Do drain the oil in the box (in fact in all of the transmission components as its been standing for yonks) and have a look/feel of it tho.

Either way, if its clutch OR box (or both!) that box is coming out.........could be a god time to pull the rear cover off the box and eyeball it as it an unknown quantity (you wont need to do any re-shimming if you are not disturbing the innards at all i.e. just inspecting)
Click to expand...


I will keep everyone updated as I progress. This is my first BMW bike so it will be a learning experience. I am getting ready to do a 3500 mile ride in a couple of weeks so won't have much time to work on the R80. I am very excited to find a group of knowledgeable folks to guide me down the "Airhead" path!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ench1jyh04umx4s/IMG_6528.JPG?dl=0
IMG_6528.JPG
 
Good luck - nothing like a big list of bike faults to deal with before a big trip to focus the mind! And I suspect there is more to that one than meets the eye, looks like a fair bit of recommissioning to do.

Nearly everything is still available, the first call (in the UK at least) is Motorworks and Moto -Bins, and there are loads of smaller specialists out there on the net, particularly in Germany, most post worldwide.

Please dont turn it into yet another oh so hipster cool shed/cafe/rat/chop/bobber racer. Please.

:beerjug:
 
Hi Spencer.

A big welcome to you.

This is a good place for knowledge/experience/parts sourcing.....and.....motivation.

Can you post up some pictures of what you have got? (Oh, just re-read and seen the photograph)




Good Luck
 
Last edited:
noise

I had the flywheel bolts come loose once on my R100, which made a noise like the crank was gone. but that wouldn't explain the rear wheel not going around.
dead easy to get the gearbox out of a airhead.
 
Barn find R80Rt

Well my trip is coming together nicely. I forgot to mention that I won't be taking This bike on the trip but I am eager to take the gearbox out to see what the problem may be.
I have 2 harleys, 2 hondas, 2 yamahas and this BMW so I tend to keep projects going at all times.
As far as "hipster".... I am 58 years old and have had 42 bikes in my life. I don't judge nor to I try to categorize people by what they ride. I've built bobbers since a teen because I like the simplicity and performance of the "bobber" style.
To each his own.
When I get back I will video the teardown and reconstruct.

Ride what ya got.
Ride like you stole it.
DON'T pretend!

Spencer
 
TheSpencer said:
I am 58 years old and have had 42 bikes in my life. I don't judge nor to I try to categorize people by what they ride. I've built bobbers since a teen because I like the simplicity and performance of the "bobber" style.
To each his own.

Ride what ya got.
Ride like you stole it.
DON'T pretend!

Spencer
Click to expand...

Well said, that man! (Although, at 57, I'm a mere yoof:D)
 
TheSpencer said:
I will keep everyone updated as I progress. This is my first BMW bike so it will be a learning experience. I am getting ready to do a 3500 mile ride in a couple of weeks so won't have much time to work on the R80. I am very excited to find a group of knowledgeable folks to guide me down the "Airhead" path!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ench1jyh04umx4s/IMG_6528.JPG?dl=0
IMG_6528.JPG
Click to expand...

I've returned from my trip! We did a little over 3500 miles in 5.25 days. My last leg wad 940 miles. We left Nebraska 7am mtn and arrived in Monroe, Louisiana @ 2am central. Monroe is where the American show "Duck Dynasty" is filmed.....but that isnt the reason I stopped there.
Anyway.... I hope to get to the bottom of my screeching, screaming clutch delima. My goal is to video and still shoot the entire process. I have a severe state of ADD so wish me luck!
 
TheSpencer said:
Here is a pic of the clutch. What do you guys think?
Click to expand...

Certainly a new /good used Gearbox Input Shaft and Clutch Friction plate required. but, if its got into that state there may well be other issues with the gearbox.

If you intend to use the bike for serious miles then I would budget for a full gearbox reburb' and replace the clutch pressure plate and carrier as well.

As Kenny says "Welcome to our world" :D.

Bob.
 
If the back wheel won't turn at all it may be nothing more than a seized brake. I'm a born optimist.

The transmission could be nothing more than neglected spline lubrication causing the damage, the insides of the box may be fine apart from the input shaft obviously. You can live in hope.
 
Yeah... it looks like it is going to be bucks! $$
After doing a little research I think I am going to rebuild it myself.
What do you think I will need to replace while I am installing a new drive/input shaft?
Might as well replace things that need it while I am in there.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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