Final Drive Failure Register

[Time Traveller]

jeez these figures are pathetic.

90K I can live with, but I wouldn't expect less than that (that's three chain and sprocks)

 

[DrPete]

05, 12000 miles.

 

[GB.]

07 79000miles so not complaining at that if the next one does the same

 

[redpadraig]

Final Drive

(07 79000miles so not complaining at that if the next one does the same )

Oh yes you would if that happened to you in the middle of a Forest in Bulgaria!!!!

 

[GB.]

Yes that is true, and with no roadside repair possible that would be major issue.

 

[mikeyboy]

(07 79000miles so not complaining at that if the next one does the same )

Oh yes you would if that happened to you in the middle of a Forest in Bulgaria!!!!

sorry ,but you wouldt set out on a long trip with a worn out chain and sprockets,or worn tyres.
a quick check for wear and and oil change of the f/d will soon tell whether it is fit for the trip.
if the oil comes out clean,minimum play at the wheel,no play on the pinion ;good to go.
all part of the joys of 1200 ownership

 

[GB.]

Back on the road, pinion ok, all good inside, just needed a new bearing and relevant seals.

 

[biggy]

We'll back from a trip to Europe and take the bike in for its 60000 klm service and they inform me that there is 5 mm of play in the final drive. Anyway BMW come to the party and supply the parts free. Interesting thing is now there is no play at all but from memory there was about 1 mm play at the rim when the bike was new. Maybe quality control at the factory is low with the high volume of bikes being built.

 

[Bendy toy]

Mine has a slight play at the rim. It's within limits but a sign that work will need to be done.

I suspect part of the problem is a leaning bike puts more side load on the wheel bearings. A bike that isn't allowed to lean as much or as often as a GS does will give its wheel bearings an easier time.

These bikes just handle too well.

Solution - Leave the leaking bouncy standard shocks on the bike, then the FD will last longer. Sorted

 

[daytripper!]

FD BMW QA problem

Mine has a slight play at the rim. It's within limits but a sign that work will need to be done.

I suspect part of the problem is a leaning bike puts more side load on the wheel bearings. A bike that isn't allowed to lean as much or as often as a GS does will give its wheel bearings an easier time.

These bikes just handle too well.

Solution - Leave the leaking bouncy standard shocks on the bike, then the FD will last longer. Sorted

Do you know why BMW switched the FD to the left hand side on the new WC ~ it’s so you can check the FD when getting on / off the bike. I, grabbed my old GS out of the garage today, checked the tyre pressures and whizzed round the block. So nearly 100 miles later I get back home, happen walk around the bike and notice oil over the right hand side of the rear tyre. The actual tale woe is this:
July 2004 0 miles bike registered
May 2007 10,700mi 1st FD sheds oil over rear tyre. FD replaced foc by BMW
Sept 2012 34,510mi 2nd FD has play & noisy rotation. Bearings replaced £265 by BMW
Feb 2014 37,991mi 2nd FD sheds oil over rear tyre.

So after less than 38,000mi I can’t help feeling BMW have a QA problem with FDs (assuming there is no underlying prob on my bike causing the failures such as misalignment or duff rear shock ~ the bike does bounce a bit). My question is, do I go back to my BMW dealer and relate the tale of woe or engage the services of an experienced engineer from this ‘parish’ to undertake the repair using proven (non BMW?) parts. FYI the bike is not ridden off rode, has BMW FSH and there is no transverse play or noisy rotation at the mo. What should I do guys? All constructive comments and actual contact details for non BMW repairs welcome! If you want to speak directly pls text me on 07973835184.

 

[PatM]

@Daytripper- you story/experience is similar to mine- things behaved themselves once I got past 85k and at 100k , I traded it in for a twin-cam GSA which Ive now done 45k on- shucks, I do use them, but they are cheaper to run/service than my Range Rover. The new bike is an 11 plate and Ive done less miles since Ive had it, maybe Im getting old But my point is Ive not had a peep out of the newer FD unit and my old bike had gone twice in that time/mileage. People stop and chat with me about the bike, with its well-used looks- Yeah, weather's been wet this winter in UK- I always warn them when they mention they are thinking of buying an old GS- 'make sure its warrantied and don't let it lapse- it will pay for itself, trust me'

 

[beachnut]

After spotting this thread just to add to the statistics reading service history/bills my 07 GS1200 had the FD rebuilt just before I bought it at 36k miles, checked it and it seems really solid at the rear wheel but I do get a low speed slight clunking/clicking noise which sounds like it is the coupling, goes away as the speed increases.
I don't do many miles so will probably last a while I guess.

 

[PatM]

When my first, or could be my second FD when, they rebuilt my gearbox and replaced the driveshaft- the UJ's had gone. That was causing a clunk as it had to go back and be addressed...as it was returned with this fault and it was leaking. I was told by my trusty Dealer, Coopers of Tun/wells that the problem seems to have been dealt with on my present GSA as a vent has been fitted, preventing the pressure-build-up and seals blowing. Coopers would seem to be correct so far. As Ive said- If you can- buy a warrantee for £360 per year (Ive just renewed mine)- it will pay for itself!

 

[Bendy toy]

Its been said before but the later (post 08) drives have a larger pinion nose bearing and do seem less likely to self destruct. The main wheel bearing is unchanged.

 

[Sgt Bilco]

My question is, do I go back to my BMW dealer and relate the tale of woe or engage the services of an experienced engineer from this ‘parish’ to undertake the repair using proven (non BMW?) parts. FYI the bike is not ridden off rode, has BMW FSH and there is no transverse play or noisy rotation at the mo. What should I do guys? All constructive comments and actual contact details for non BMW repairs welcome! If you want to speak directly pls text me on 07973835184.

I would use an independent to do the the job as in my experience, they will set it up much better and use higher quality components. My FD has been rebuilt twice and I do it before a big trip if I think it's necessary. Give Mikeyboy a shout as he does a cracking job and is only in Leicester.

 

[(RIP) Johno23]

Do you know why BMW switched the FD to the left hand side on the new WC ~ it’s so you can check the FD when getting on / off the bike. I, grabbed my old GS out of the garage today, checked the tyre pressures and whizzed round the block. So nearly 100 miles later I get back home, happen walk around the bike and notice oil over the right hand side of the rear tyre. The actual tale woe is this:
July 2004 0 miles bike registered
May 2007 10,700mi 1st FD sheds oil over rear tyre. FD replaced foc by BMW
Sept 2012 34,510mi 2nd FD has play & noisy rotation. Bearings replaced £265 by BMW
Feb 2014 37,991mi 2nd FD sheds oil over rear tyre.

So after less than 38,000mi I can’t help feeling BMW have a QA problem with FDs (assuming there is no underlying prob on my bike causing the failures such as misalignment or duff rear shock ~ the bike does bounce a bit). My question is, do I go back to my BMW dealer and relate the tale of woe or engage the services of an experienced engineer from this ‘parish’ to undertake the repair using proven (non BMW?) parts. FYI the bike is not ridden off rode, has BMW FSH and there is no transverse play or noisy rotation at the mo. What should I do guys? All constructive comments and actual contact details for non BMW repairs welcome! If you want to speak directly pls text me on 07973835184.

The first and third events just sound like the outer seal which is a five minute job-and couple of quid

 

[daytripper!]

I would use an independent to do the the job as in my experience, they will set it up much better and use higher quality components. My FD has been rebuilt twice and I do it before a big trip if I think it's necessary. Give Mikeyboy a shout as he does a cracking job and is only in Leicester.

So what is the outcome of this thread ~ I may be wrong but a flick thru suggests:
-17% of gs owners will be affected by faulty FDs
-24k is typical life of an FD before a seal, bearing etc fails
-if an FD goes down early on your bike expect a whole series of FD probs
-some FD probs look bad but can be fixed easily eg failed outer seal which 'sprays' oil on the rear tyre
-owners want clues for predicting a component going down eg for FD a whine from rear wheel, lateral play >0.5mm when holding rear wheel at 12 & 6 oclock, change in sound / feel of roughness when rotating rear wheel by hand (several tests reduce false alarms)
-BMW do evolve schedules & designs eg changing oil / fit drain plugs (2007?), review oil capacity 180cc (08), change size of bearings needle roller increased 30 to 32mm (09?), modify casings breather fitted (10?) etc to enhance product reliability (slow development to await results of changes?)
-owners want registers / databases of component failures ; not threads but league tables capturing model, mileage, type of usage etc and owners are prepared to populate the tables
-BMW does not need owner databases it already has that database every time a dealer undertakes a repair but the info is not available to its community only for internal use (BMW may even be able to trace probs to specific batches of bearings etc which I guess would appear as random results in the owners’ database f*****g up any emerging trends!).

Clearly the above theme is being played out for every manufacturer / every model with its own Achilles heel. Perhaps consumers should demand manufacturers publish their database and some form of class action gets the component failure resolved OR owners stop forking out £££ to manufacturers to have faulty components replaced (possibly by faulty components so prolonging the owners agony and manufacturers income) and develop a communal knowledge of the problem and alternative solutions.

Anyway rant over. Thanks to Sgt Bilco for pointing out options like Scrimmingers and Mikeyboy. I guess that’s where UKGSER fits in, but where are the look-up league tables of component failures (reviewing threads is a pain)? Johno23 where do i find how to change an FD seal in 5 mins as Mr Haynes seems at a loss? Thanks chaps!!

 

[Sgt Bilco]

No-one knows the real percentage of FD failures and this thread was just put on to give people a platform to show their displeasure. It is a problem for sure but not as big as some people would make out as most GS's happily trundle around with no problems. However, if you do have an issue it's likely to be repeated for some reason. I treat the FD as an item which needs regular attention and keep an eye on it's condition. If I feel it needs looking at, I get it done using better bearings etc.

Just to make my point, I've done 5 big trips with GS's and the total mileage would be around 400,000 with all the bikes which would total about 48 bikes of which 42 were 1200's. We've not had 1 FD issue with 1200's but a couple with 1150's! The road conditions have been everything from smooth tarmac to the Dalton Hwy and everything in between including temps from freezing to + 45degrees C. Make your own mind up about reliability!!

The outer seal really is a quick job and 10 minutes is what you need to do it.

 

[Knutttt]

Add another one, 58 plate GS at 12,000 miles. :-(


Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast - Arnold "Ace" Rimmer

 

[PatM]

How much did the repair cost??