Final Drive go wrong at 9000miles on 2011 bike..

freelancefoto

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HI All

First post ... so i expect dinner and dancing before you get all physical!

I've had a GS ADV (2011) for a few months now and generally am pleased with it. Just recently my local dealer (Rianbow in Rotherham) were offering a cheap deal on tyres so I swung up and they stuck a pair of tourances on...job done.

They then said my final drive breather was missing and had I jet washed the bike? I assured them that no I NEVER jet wash my motorbikes for the same reason I don't wash my bits in broken glass and honey. (i did'nt really say that!)...but anyways....

Turns out my final drive bearing is 0.45mm broken and it has to be 0.5mm broken for a warrenty repair which they said they will do, thankfully once its got bad enough..:confused: So I've done about 300 miles since then and I suspect its wobbly enough now to go back and be fixed.

The bike has been used for some mild green laning and road work doing 3000 miles in as many months... see below...
dune.jpg


So aside from telling you all to 'check your breathers'......cos if it falls out it leaves a big hole letting water et al straight into the FD..!!

I would like to ask the following..

1) is the final drive on the 2010 bike any different from the mark 2s?

2) How does the breather work? Whats it for and can I fix it in place?

3) Will the other bearings in the final drive be effected if the oil is porridge?

Ta
 
Last edited:
The breather was added to release pressure to avoid the outer seal leaking,someone will be here to tell u if theres any difference but id say your looking at a new unit or you can get them rebuilt for 3-4 hundred,Just do a search.Oh and u have to give it to Bmw for consistency through the years,they know how to build a crap final drive:friday
 
In fairness the failed final drive is down to contamination after me breather decided it had to go...

But that's why I was wondering about changes to the mk3 post 2010 G's bikes. I,m sure I read somewhere about those crafty Germans beefing up the assembly (they added the escaped breather after all)...

This bike (and myself) are off to Ireland for two weeks this April and the up to the arctic circle for a month trip in August. I am determined not to let his glitch effect my trust in it.

As for getting my own scanners dirty to fix this.....fat chance. That's why I have a warranty and the chaps at rainbow seem really good so they can sort it out...

Planning a rtw trip in 2016 so I have a while to test the big yellow bastard :)
 
Actually now I come to think about it maybe I've never taken it offroad. The above pictures was just taken getting out of a Starbuck car park near a beach...errr....somewhere.:augie

This picture most certainly isn't the shot take before..

http://www.dougjacksonphotography.com/dune2.jpg
dune2.jpg



and I definatly, definatly did'nt ride the bike down Rudland rigg (in North Yorks) on my first day of ownership....no way!

A few more shots are here, taken on a different (but obviously similar)bike...:)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dougweb1000/sets/72157631835544733/
 
Most of our (friends) and myself always stick a Greenlane into most days and trips. My other bike is an enduro bike so It figures.......and I'm not surprised that its pretty good (tyre choice limiting obv) on the rough stuff but you have to give it 3 weeks written warning before doing anything.....lots of forward planning.

Great trails for the big beast in the Isle of Man.....and good roads.....

So I've checked out the parts fishe and the 07 and 10 bikes have different part numbers for the bearing in the FD. Can we assume they haged the bearing design?

Is the big bearing sealed or swimming in lovely warm oil....or in my case - grinding paste,:blast
 
The f/d
2010 has breather pipe
2009 doesnot
The big bearing fits the same shit way
Not in oil like the muched love 11xx bikes

It can fu.k up form 100 miles to 55,000 miles
It's just a cheap sealed bearing which is always going to fail


So ride it wash it Greenland it and don't care how much you will lose in trade in
Like so many dum ass BMW rides do

No point having a shiny bike and no life :beerjug:
 
rudiemoto said:
The f/d
2010 has breather pipe
2009 doesnot
The big bearing fits the same shit way
Not in oil like the muched love 11xx bikes

It can fu.k up form 100 miles to 55,000 miles
It's just a cheap sealed bearing which is always going to fail


So ride it wash it Greenland it and don't care how much you will lose in trade in
Like so many dum ass BMW rides do

No point having a shiny bike and no life :beerjug:
Click to expand...
Ahhhh. So the big bearing is sealed on either side then. So the oil in the casing is for the other bearing..... Which begs the question why not do the same for all. Dry or not.

Just want to understand it. I've always worked on my Own bikes and I've never bought from a dealer before and hate the ideA that I don't understand. Trade in is not a big concern. Seems to me that all the damage you could ever do would cost a lot less to replace than the pointless laser cut trinkets that most people machine gun onto their bikes......festooning them like decorations on a Christmas tree.....yes I mean you!

I have read on here of people spend £2000 pounds on farkles.

That's an awful lot of tyres and petrol. Or a trip to morocco.

What are we going to tell our grandchildren about? Our amazing North African adventure or all those must have pieces of aluminium that crippled the already frankly wheezing power to weight ratio of our 'adventure' bikes....

And relax
 
freelancefoto said:
Actually now I come to think about it maybe I've never taken it offroad. The above pictures was just taken getting out of a Starbuck car park near a beach...errr....somewhere.:augie

This picture most certainly isn't the shot take before..

http://www.dougjacksonphotography.com/dune2.jpg
dune2.jpg



and I definatly, definatly did'nt ride the bike down Rudland rigg (in North Yorks) on my first day of ownership....no way!

A few more shots are here, taken on a different (but obviously similar)bike...:)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dougweb1000/sets/72157631835544733/
Click to expand...

Great pics! Although I have to say some of them look like you are posing for a BMW apparel magazine!!
 
No your all wrong BMW bikes NEVER GO WRONG, I am reliably informed that they have never had a warranty claim since the early 1920's.

The new LC will have been fully tested and developed prior to its release and be totally reliable from day one with no faults what so ever.

Obviously the extensive testing period carried out post release by the public may reveal a few (possibly expensive ) character traits (not faults ) which we as owners will defend to the hilt with such retorts as 'Japanese bikes aren't perfect look at the Honda CX500' or 'Look at Triumphs, my 1977 Bonneville blew after 500 miles' etc,etc.

My 2011 Adventure was my first new bike and the only vehicle I have ever bought where I am considering extending the warranty to three years.
 
Neil W said:
No your all wrong BMW bikes NEVER GO WRONG, I am reliably informed that they have never had a warranty claim since the early 1920's.

The new LC will have been fully tested and developed prior to its release and be totally reliable from day one with no faults what so ever.

Obviously the extensive testing period carried out post release by the public may reveal a few (possibly expensive ) character traits (not faults ) which we as owners will defend to the hilt with such retorts as 'Japanese bikes aren't perfect look at the Honda CX500' or 'Look at Triumphs, my 1977 Bonneville blew after 500 miles' etc,etc.
Click to expand...
:D :thumb
 
:cool:All those portrait shots are done are in a very 'piss takey' way.....:thumb

I was unaware that I was too fat for my bike though.....Oh shit!!! (Actually I'm the thinnest one in the photos' ...but were all rather 'pie'd up')

What if I strap two adventures together....??

***Ebbo**
I know what you mean about Japanesse bikes being unreliable....my old sv650 once got a puncture in the pyranees and my Aprillia Caponord (notorious italian relability) once had a puncture in Montenegro.....a bmw would never do that.....

Still....what do you expect from a 11.5k bike....quality??? :pullface
 
"Hats off to you" if you managed to ride that beast down the last section of "Rudland rigg"
I struggle to ride an X/Country down there.

Steve.
 
Follow up......

finally got the bike to Rainbow in Rotherham today and they checked the run out on the rear wheel and replace all the parts in the final drive...ie. bearings, shims, seals etc. No quibbles no whistling through the teeth..:thumb

The GSA is the first bike I have bought from a dealer and I was dreading the 'negotiation' if any problems arose. Friends of mine have had these issues with dealers (mainly big car dealership) when they supply parts but not labour.:blagblah:blagblah

I just wanted to say well done to the guys and gals at Rainbow Motorcycles and the little 650 Serto thing you lent me for a few hours only made me love my big GS even more!

Ohh and they cleaned it too:eek:
 
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