Final Drive Bearing 2010 GSA

[Doofus]

Being an 1150 owner I'll enjoy telling my 2011 1200 owner mate about this. He only had his recall work done on Tuesday at the local shiny showroom and they said exactly the same thing. Your FD bearing needs replacing. That'll be £370 please. Only 19k on the clock.
Gave him a local BM spanner monkey to sort out.

I did explain to him that they have to pay for the shiny showroom and all those staff and all the shiny workshops etc.

Still, if people can afford 14-15k on a new bike, why should they complain about being well and truly shafted by dealers on servicing/(faux)repairs.

To seemingly take such glee in the misfortunes of others that have no direct impact on you gives the impression having a chip on your shoulder about having an old bike, although I am sure that is not the case.

 

[ghiribizzo]

There may be tears before bedtime if the clutch centre/input shaft splines strip on the 11 and a half... They are not the perfect motorcycle either!

 

[Bendy toy]

I have left it with Mikeyboy for a full rebuild rather the single bearing at BMW.

I did the same when my wheel bearing began to leak oil with 50K on the clock. Mike said all internal bearings were "ready" so simply swapping the wheel bearing can be a false economy. His charge to fully rebuild the FD was £350 plus delivery of the unit to/from him.

 

[Steve B]

Maybe for the following reason:- Perhaps they have saved hard and made sacrifices for a long time to buy a bike they really want, fully expecting to be buying into a premium brand with a reputation for quality, durability and customer service. Just because you've forked out 14-15K on a bike doesn't mean you want or are able to keep on putting your hand deep into your pocket every time your bike does a couple thousand miles or you go near a dealership.

Problem with text is that you can't see my tongue stuck firmly in cheek. Good job my 1200 owning mate can though
It's called banter, especially on here between 11xx and 1200 owners. Don't be so sensitive.

I still don't understand though why some people complain when they take their 'premium brand' bike into a dealer and somehow expect it to be a cheap job to rectify. You buy an expensive bike and you have to accept the consequential costs of repair/maintenance (at main dealers). The price of today's 1200 is double the price of 1150s. Can't see why in 10 years, prices should have doubled. It's not a twice as good a bike (is it?).

To seemingly take such glee in the misfortunes of others that have no direct impact on you gives the impression having a chip on your shoulder about having an old bike, although I am sure that is not the case.

Correct (see 1st comment)

 

[SteveM]

Problem with text is that you can't see my tongue stuck firmly in cheek. Good job my 1200 owning mate can though
It's called banter, especially on here between 11xx and 1200 owners. Don't be so sensitive.

Thanks for clearing that up Steve, I've been worrying myself senseless over it.

 

[dashfixer]

What we have to remember is that BMW just like all other manufacturers is existing to make money. To optimise this they buy in the cheapest parts that they can get away with.
I have just had my rear shock spit out its oil. This is the latest in a long line of failures all within 35k miles. Most modern bikes are designed to be sold as toys not serious commuter transport.
By the way, MCT SUSPENSION rebuilt both shocks for £250 with a turn around of 8 days.

 

[Bendy toy]

The final drive and drive shaft UJs are pretty weak.
My 1997 Diversion. 900 with 75k miles was still going strong.
The GSA needed a full FD rebuild with new bearings and shaft UJ. Also the paralever bottom bearing was bolloxed £700 all in via MikeyBoy. I'm sure that was very fair but it hardly compares to £zero.
The 1200 final drive is a fancy fashion accessory which could have been made a lot less costly. I have to wonder why the 1150 needed a redesign.
To be 100% fair the Diversion needed new needle rollers in the suspension linkage. All done for £150.

 

[duckspeed]

Starting to see a pattern here mine was in Williams yesterday for the flange (makes me titter like a school boy) job they too said excess play in the final drive
I service the bike myself and always check the play although there is a small amount but not oil leak, how much is too much?



Sent using witchcraft

 

[Deleted account 190920001]

1mm at the rim is he maximum.

 

[Sgt Bilco]

Hi Guys,

I know this has been much a topic of conversation in the past. However:

My bike went into the BMW dealer for a service and a product recall for a rear wheel flange replacement. When I picked up the bike they stated on the health check that the 'final drive bearing' had 'excessive noise' fitted price 389.00.

This to me was a cause of concern, the bikes only done 18k, this cant be right.

Following some of the posts on how to check the final drive, I can detect no play in the rear wheel. If there is any noise then is difficult to tell from the rest of the final drive gears noise.

How serious do I take this... I'm off to Norway soon on the bike, and don't wont it to fail there.

Any thoughts?

The drive bearings are a known weak spot but can be managed easily enough. If it needs doing, get Mikey boy to do as he will replace all the bearings and put it back together properly and you will be good to go for many many miles. I have mine rebuilt Mike and budget accordingly as I do high miles. It's not the huge problem people think but they don't last forever.

Change the FD oil at every service and you can pick up if there is any debris in the drive oil which will point to bear ing failure. Some go on and on and some fail at a low mileage but as long as you are aware of it, you will be OK.

 

[Bendy toy]

I suspect the drive would be better protected with gearbox grade MolySlip in the oil. However Mikey says when an outer bearing starts to fail it sheds grease into the FD oil. This shows up as a muddy coloured FD oil.

So my idea makes the bearings last longer (maybe) but you lose the chance to spot problems before they cause a breakdown.

 

[Deleted account 190920001]

I suspect the drive would be better protected with gearbox grade MolySlip in the oil. However Mikey says when an outer bearing starts to fail it sheds grease into the FD oil. This shows up as a muddy coloured FD oil.

So my idea makes the bearings last longer (maybe) but you lose the chance to spot problems before they cause a breakdown.

If the molly/oil gets into the shielded bearing it is already screwed and starting to fail. You may get a slight extension in life but I doubt it would be anything worth the bother. It may extend the life of the pinion and outside needle bearing but I don't think they are much of a concern these days.

I am not an oil additive fan anyway as I always go with the, if it even semi did something valuable manufacturers would use it and charge you for the privilege.

Some swear by it though and each to their own.

 

[brut33]

Starting to see a pattern here mine was in Williams yesterday for the flange (makes me titter like a school boy) job they too said excess play in the final drive
I service the bike myself and always check the play although there is a small amount but not oil leak, how much is too much?



Sent using witchcraft

Likewise re the emerging pattern. I took mine (2010 GSA) to Southport Superbikes this winter. This was for a new ignition barrel to be fitted. They carried out a health check at the time, then disclosed to me the final drive bearing is making a slight whining noise. The bike was under warranty and an approved BMW used bike purcased by me last year. I then made a date for them to put it right. Happy. At the time there was 8K on the bike.
My thoughts on this are; In view of the fact that I would never have noticed this myself they seemed more than vigilant to rectify the problem. Are they such good eggs or am I being synicle in thinking its some sort of recall issue they may have found, but don't want to admit it.
Just a thought...

I would like to add that Southport Superbikes provided excellent service.

 

[DRAIN MAN]

It is a crap design, I do not know how BMW get away with producing a part which is not fit for purpose !!!
I have had various shaft drive bikes over 15 years od dispatch riding and putting well over 100,000 miles a year on these bikes without any trouble with the rear drive unit.

It came as a shock when my unit failed on my GS at 30,000 and BMW told me it was fair wear and tear, I can get that mileage out of a well maintained chain and sprocket.

I brought a shaft drive thinking I would have no problems, how wrong can you be !! The mistake was buying a BMW

 

[Bendy toy]

It is a crap design, I do not know how BMW get away with producing a part which is not fit for purpose !!!
I have had various shaft drive bikes over 15 years od dispatch riding and putting well over 100,000 miles a year on these bikes without any trouble with the rear drive unit.

It came as a shock when my unit failed on my GS at 30,000 and BMW told me it was fair wear and tear, I can get that mileage out of a well maintained chain and sprocket.

I brought a shaft drive thinking I would have no problems, how wrong can you be !! The mistake was buying a BMW

The 1150 has a variation on the old Austin Mini front wheel bearing - taper roller and angular contact ball bearing preloaded against each other. It's tough and it works. Who knows why BMW changed the design.

Ive said before that a double row roller chain running in oil can be made to look like a shaft drive. But of course that's not biker design tradition so we continue with heavy bevel boxes or heavy big link chains.

 

[Sgt Bilco]

The 1150 has a variation on the old Austin Mini front wheel bearing - taper roller and angular contact ball bearing preloaded against each other. It's tough and it works. Who knows why BMW changed the design.

.

It still fails though and is not bomb proof. On all the trips I've done, the two bikes we've had issues with are 1150's and their drive bearings. Their only saving grace is they are easier to change.

 

[Bendy toy]

The old Mini wasn't perfect but as you say easy to repair. The same design went into bigger models but wasn't always upgraded enough. The Montego and Maestro diesels would use a set of front wheel bearings every 20K miles if you were lucky.
But let's say the bearings are a marginal size to save weight. No problem if the repair is low cost and easy. Bikes with "normal" wheels generally have easy to replace wheel bearings. The FD should be equally easy to fix.

 

[Steptoe]

Conspiracy theory coming up!

Is there something wrong or is it the dealer covering their arse in case the bearing let's go with all the pulling and pushing to change the flange?

There are a few reports of this happening by the way so it isn't a complete conspiracy.

No pushing or pulling involved if you use the factory tool. One index finger provides enough pressure to remove the flange. And why i bought the factory tool

It still fails though and is not bomb proof. On all the trips I've done, the two bikes we've had issues with are 1150's and their drive bearings. Their only saving grace is they are easier to change.

Yep, did two 1150's just last week. Here's the drain plugs.

 

[Steptoe]

No effort required.

 

[Bendy toy]

That is one serious pulling tool.