HELP please. Alan key or Torx for final drive?

Use a mirror and torch to look at the drain plug. :)

The filler is the speedo sensor retained by a small torx screw. Don't lose the O ring. Make sure you try what looks like the next larger Torx bit. One size too small can appear to fit but will damage the screw head.

The final drive paralever bearings rub the grease away from the rollers causing premature wear. It's well worth changing the FD oil by the old method where the top bush is disconnected and the FD tipped back to drain the oil. This recirculates the grease. Even better, strip the paralever bearing and fully pack the rollers with drive shaft CV joint grease.
 
Thanks Bend Toy but mine is different. The filler is not the speed sensor on mine. The speed sensor is nearer the top. The filler bung is lower down. I was told it is probably a 6mm alan key but that twisted and now i think I may have knackered it so that a torx doesn't fit properly.
So I still don't know if the filler is is an alan key or Torx.
 
On my 2011 the filler plug needs a 6mm Allen key. Drain is a torx (40 I think).

You can fill via the speedo sensor if the "official" filler plug won't come out. T20 torx on a small screw and carefully pull the sensor out. Look for an O ring either sitting in the hole or on the speedo sensor. Clean, grease and refit carefully making sure the O ring is seated properly.
 
Take the chance to properly grease the trunnion bearings and drive shaft splines. Its clearly a bigger job but well worth the effort.
 
The ABS sensor hole is the easiest to fill with. Just make sure its clean. You can get a new O ring from Motorworks for about £1.50. I've started to keep a couple of spares as they're easily nicked when putting the sensor back in.
I believe that all the stock components use a Torx head, as is the drain plug, but aftermarket stuff tends to still use Allen heads. Basically, you need a set of Torx sockets. I bought set from Halfords for not too much money.
For refilling the FD go to your local vet and buy a big syringe, around 50cc is good. Stick a short piece of plastic pipe on it and its easy to fill it through the disc.
Fill it slowly! If you try to force it in too much, it'll blow back and run down the hub. It's a bugger to clean and you'll think your FD seal has failed for a while as the oil gets flung off onto the rim for a while. Don't ask me how I know.
Would agree with Bendy in that its a good time to grease the splines and trunnion bearings. Mine had 28k miles but were feeling a bit dry on it.
Before you go there, you WILL need those Torx sockets and a torque wrench to put it together again. The trunnion bearings have to be tightened up to 100NM.
And so, the road to insanity begins. :)
 
I opened my trunnion at 50K when the FD bearings did a whoopsie. You need at least 100 degs C of heat on all threaded areas to break the thread lock and expand the alloy case. My rollers had flats and the races were rippled. They move only about 1/4" radially so the great has no way to recirculate and the parts soon run metal to metal. Rotating bearings are grease filled to 50% allowing space for the grease to move between rollers. Filled too much and they will quickly overheat. Rocking bearings can't recirculate the grease so are best filled to the brim with a high moly grease. There is a chance of some excess oozing out of the seals but its no big issue.

My bike has the drain plug so if the FD oil was ever changed up to 35K it was done the easy way leaving the trunnion to run dry. I had no idea of the issues so carried on the same way. Not any longer.

Why the fuss 50K is a long mileage for a bike.
My built to a price Yam Diversion 900 had zero FD problems in 75K when I sold it. Its now showing 100K and the FD is running just the same as ever.
 
For any others out there in tosserland who may think that their regulary dealer serviced bike will have a perfect FD, don't trust them.
I bought my TC at 13k from a BMW dealer and have had it dealer serviced twice since, one by BMW and one by an independent. When the main seal failed at 28k, the oil I drained looked like a nice cappuccino!
Dear knows when it was last changed, if ever. Maybe the FD would have failed anyway but I'll be changing it myself from now on.
 
I bought my bike with 33K on the clock and a full BMW service history backed by BMW extended warranty. When I drained the final drive, the stuff was filthy and stinking. That smell is something to do with the factory assembly paste. So unless the dealer used special oil, the stuff in my FD got changed for the first time at about 34K miles?

Maybe its no surprise the FD bearings www shot at 50K. But saying that,t the oil in my Divvie 900 FD was changed at about 35K and that was also horrible and dirty. That is still going strong at 100K and has never been touched apart from oil changes.
 
comberjohn said:
For any others out there in tosserland who may think that their regulary dealer serviced bike will have a perfect FD, don't trust them.
I bought my TC at 13k from a BMW dealer and have had it dealer serviced twice since, one by BMW and one by an independent. When the main seal failed at 28k, the oil I drained looked like a nice cappuccino!
Dear knows when it was last changed, if ever. Maybe the FD would have failed anyway but I'll be changing it myself from now on.
Click to expand...

You are right and mine gets changed every 6000 odd miles along with the engine and gearbox oil.
 
Mine too. Its not a big job and (1) I get to recirculate the trunion grease and (2) a warm feeling of new oil in the FD case.

It would be interesting to know just how depleted the oil actually is for a given mileage. Especially, if something like MolySlip back axle is added to the mix.

Edit:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=149116

I wrote some stuff about this thread but it needs a lot of bedtime reading to check out the claims and counter claims.

Looking at eBay prices for gearbox Molyslip it has to be worth a try in the final drive at least.
 
comberjohn said:
For any others out there in tosserland who may think that their regulary dealer serviced bike will have a perfect FD, don't trust them.
I bought my TC at 13k from a BMW dealer and have had it dealer serviced twice since, one by BMW and one by an independent. When the main seal failed at 28k, the oil I drained looked like a nice cappuccino!
Dear knows when it was last changed, if ever. Maybe the FD would have failed anyway but I'll be changing it myself from now on.
Click to expand...

I changed mine recently but visited my local Motorrad dealer for the spare parts before-hand.

As per the Haynes manual, I filled via the recognised fill bung and not the speed sensor thing.

I bought the necessary crush washers for the gearbox and the o ring for the drain plug of the final drive. But they don't stock the crush waster for the fill plug.

Apparently no-one has ever asked for one before. So what do they use themselves when servicing final drives?..

As documented here, I have had a problem with my own final drive and had to borrow a spare unit from another member to get to complete my Euro trip which starts tomorrow......

But it involved me visiting them again this week to buy an o ring and crush washer for the borrowed final drive.

Still don't sell them. No one has ever asked for one before. I pointed out that I had, just last week and assumed they might now stock them. Nope.

Thankfully a local car parts supplier sold me a couple of them.

I'm pretty sure my local dealer is the same one ComberJohn uses, as they are the only dealer in Northern Ireland.


I was a tad surprised they have never sold a crush washer for the final drive fill plug..
 
Betty Swollocks said:
I changed mine recently but visited my local Motorrad dealer for the spare parts before-hand.

As per the Haynes manual, I filled via the recognised fill bung and not the speed sensor thing.

I bought the necessary crush washers for the gearbox and the o ring for the drain plug of the final drive. But they don't stock the crush waster for the fill plug.

Apparently no-one has ever asked for one before. So what do they use themselves when servicing final drives?..

As documented here, I have had a problem with my own final drive and had to borrow a spare unit from another member to get to complete my Euro trip which starts tomorrow......

But it involved me visiting them again this week to buy an o ring and crush washer for the borrowed final drive.

Still don't sell them. No one has ever asked for one before. I pointed out that I had, just last week and assumed they might now stock them. Nope.

Thankfully a local car parts supplier sold me a couple of them.

I'm pretty sure my local dealer is the same one ComberJohn uses, as they are the only dealer in Northern Ireland.


I was a tad surprised they have never sold a crush washer for the final drive fill plug..
Click to expand...
Cowboys....

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
 
streaky said:
To call them cowboys is quite polite ! Butchers suits better!
Click to expand...
I wouldn't go near them for a washer

I have a free full service waiting for me since last year's complete cluster fk

Long story short, 55 days to fix a gearbox output seal !!!

They were told to stick the service by the way

Zero customer focus it's all about the money and they are fk all to do with bmw just simply renting the name.



Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Torque settings for final drive torsion bar
Replies
3
Views
1,446
Oharac13
thrupp
exchange gaiter for final drive
Replies
1
Views
1,018
MattW
MattW


Back
Top Bottom