Fried clutch anyone?

[charlie bimmerman]

Came home from work this evening on my 12GSA and found Birmingham city centre in gridlock due to a couple of accidents. Everting diverted, miles of traffic at a standstill.

I of course feel very smug and pick my way through all the gaps, marvelling at how nimble the bike is for such a huge beast and given that it's got sucha tall 1st gear, keep it in 1st most of the time. With all the filtering and back braking I needed to keep revs up and ride the clutch as you do at low speeds. But after about 15-20 mins I really smell eau de clutch wafting up and find the biting point diminished i.e. the gap between clutch in and out nearly diasppears. Plus it's sounding quite rattly.

Now the bike was definitely getting a low speed, stop start work out but are GSAs reknowned for getting a bit hot and bothered in the clutch department or does it sound like a fault? I was suprised as big trailees are designed for this very thing surely?

 

[LiquidLAN]

give me a shout if you need a new one... I might be able to help

 

[Ken H.]

With all the filtering and back braking I needed to keep revs up and ride the clutch as you do at low speeds.

Well actually, no you don't. The key to longevity of the BMW dry clutch is to not slip it with a lot of revs up. Don't spend time in the friction zone. Rather, work in and out of it, in and out. Use short little burst just into the friction zone then immediately pull the clutch out of it again. Do this constantly, even twice a second if needed. Always at relatively low RPMs 1400-1600 RPMs at most.

 

[Shep]

The smell is quite common at first (when new) then i think the clutch parts bed in a bit, and harden off a bit and the smell becomes less and less. BWM use eco friendly non asbestos clutch material (made from dried herrings i think ) on the 1200 range

The design of clutches generally mean if they overheat the feel of the operation of the clutch changes.

Check clutch fluid levels (the level fills as the clutch wears, and needs a bit removing now and then to allow the master cylinder to operate properly) Check for oil leaks evident around the gearbox/engine joint.

Perhaps a look at riding technique is required, if the fault persists after that sorry

Shep

 

[Paul Mac]

Charlie - Don't worry about it FWIW my clutch smells just riding the bike up the very slight incline on the drive of my house. It's a well documented issue and even goes back to the write ups after the journos tested the 1200 GS at the launch in SA. Not confidence inspiring but they do seem to last longer than the smell might suggest.

Paul Mac