help with clutch slip - please!!!!

good call. that sounds like a plan. if it's still doing it after some motorway riding i'll whip it off and have a look. if i can see the clutch at least i'll have a better idea.

many thanks for that. this is all good.

any idea how much a dealer would charge to fit a new clutch or any of the seals (if required)?

I have had the same issue on my 2009 GSA with 10k on it. Was quoted £500 parts and labour or £800 IF the cover plates had cracked. This a couple of weeks ago from Bahnstormer in Alton. Like Puckmeister checked the friction plates and seem ok. Recently had a long ride and seems to have cleared itself....not great for the confidence but will live with it for the moment.

I should add that Bahnstormer said that if the clutch was glazed then they would go for a good will contribution....if worn I would be up for the whole lot.
 
With my clutch slip I removed the starter and checked for oil in the bell housing, looked at the amount of friction material remaining and also operated the clutch to observe the plates separate. All looked normal, so I suspect either glazing or weak pressure plate springs. I'd suspect yours is the same, mines a late 2008 bike. It started slipping at about 12,000 miles, now on 18,000 and still okay just an occasional slip when pressing on in 5th and 6th.

took off the starter motor today and looked at the visible part of the clutch from where the starter was removed. here are my findings:

just a small amount of fine back dust dropped out.

put the bike in top gear and turned the rear wheel to rotate the clutch. no oil visible on any part of the clutch (also while turning the wheel it seemed to slipped without the clutch rotating but i wasn't 100% sure as my view wasn't great)

clutch engages and disengages ok

put it back together. went for a spin and there seems to be some kind of slip in every gear above 4k revs. the revs go up but no solid drive forward.

i also rang a mechanic friend who works on r1200rt police bikes and described the problem and my findings. he doubted it was the clutch at 28k and said it may be the drive shaft. he said it may be the rubber in-between the inner and outer part of the drive shaft that has gone but i'm not sure. anyone got any ideas on that?

here's a pic from today showing part of the clutch
 

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Hi,I've had the same problem on my GSA,,,started slipping in 6th gear,the bike has only done 20,000,, got it booked in for new clutch when the mechanic asked if I'd checked the hand guards as sometimes they have been known to slip and stop the clutch lever extending fully,,this turned out to be the cause of my clutch slipping,I know it's stupid but have a look you never know.
 
Hi,I've had the same problem on my GSA,,,started slipping in 6th gear,the bike has only done 20,000,, got it booked in for new clutch when the mechanic asked if I'd checked the hand guards as sometimes they have been known to slip and stop the clutch lever extending fully,,this turned out to be the cause of my clutch slipping,I know it's stupid but have a look you never know.

thanks, mentioned and covered twice in this thread already.
 
Some people can easily shag a clutch in well under that mileage. Drive shafts don't slip. They might fail totally, but they never slip.

i had a question mark in my mind. there's a lot of force there. if the shaft was to slip i wouldn't get off the driveway? any thoughts on the pic of the clutch?
 
Clutch pushrod not fully disengaging/sticking ? I had a problem with my bike and they technician was implying, I think, it was the pushrod. He was talking French but he showed with a pencil and a sheet of paper and indicated the rod was sticking. They repaired the bike and there is not a hint of slip, had her out yesterday and ripped it a new one from 3k to 8k in top and it was rock solid. They never actually told me what they did though so I can't say for sure that the clutch was not replaced and I can't be bothered looking.
 
Clutch pushrod not fully disengaging/sticking ? I had a problem with my bike and they technician was implying, I think, it was the pushrod. He was talking French but he showed with a pencil and a sheet of paper and indicated the rod was sticking. They repaired the bike and there is not a hint of slip, had her out yesterday and ripped it a new one from 3k to 8k in top and it was rock solid. They never actually told me what they did though so I can't say for sure that the clutch was not replaced and I can't be bothered looking.

last night i took the clutch slave cylinder off the back of the gearbox. all looked fine and clean and pushed in and back out ok. the push rod slid in & out smoothly. i also opened the bleed nipple and bled some fluid out. checked the reservoir level and all ok.

today i've been studying diagrams of the clutch:

http://andyw-inuk.smugmug.com/Motor...04060_xPc7Fjj#!i=487332908&k=85ZTFsV&lb=1&s=O

and also this:

http://bmwsporttouring.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=812872

also took the starter off again for another look and i think it needs a new clutch. with clutch disengaged the friction plate on the pressure plate side is appx 2.2mm. not sure about the other side where it meets the housing?

service limit is 4.4mm. i guess when the clutch is engaged it must be under the service limit and therefore slips?

i'ts now booked into a dealer £540 :( . i did think about doing it myself but the standard parts (plate, spline lube and centering tool) would cost over £100 + delivery etc and i'd be doing it all day (that's if all went well). with my luck something would go wrong or i'd need a particular tool so it's going in!
 
Drive shafts definitely can slip, just like a clutch.
I had 'clutch slip' that I 'let develop' for 500+ miles before replacing the clutch.... then another 100 miles before i realised it was the metalastic drive shaft.
 
Hope they will replace the coverplate / spring as well as friction plate.

found a nearby independent bmw mechanic today and spoke to him. he thinks it may not be a worn clutch but maybe subject to the dreaded input shaft seal leaking (as previously mentioned by many a tosser). there's no visible signs of oil on the parts that i can see through the starter motor hole (while rotating the the clutch).

i'm gonna get him to do the job as he assures me it will be cheaper than bmw main dealers and he'll only replace what's needed. the worrying part is the price could range from £450-£900 depending on what's found.

this is now the 23rd bike i've owned. i do like my beemer but at times like these the phrases 'honda, yamaha, suzuki, kawasaki' spring to my mind.
 
Mechanics

Take it to Steptoe he aint very far away and yopu can be certain of a very good job.
 
took some boots back (under warranty) to helmet city in tatsfield. was talking to adam in the shop about my clutch problems and he gave me a card and recommended a bmw man in bromley (over 25 yrs working on bm's). i took it to him today and he rode the bike, operated the clutch etc and diagnosed it straight away as a worn clutch. i'm gonna get the parts required and he's gonna fit them, replace all the seals at the same time so just the labour cost and the cost of the seals.

http://www.mhmotorcycles.co.uk/
 
update: got the parts and did it myself in the end as there was a long wait for the work to be done. took my time, labelled everything. took lots of pics. cleaned everything as i went. put in a complete clutch £291 from james sherlock. the only issue was getting the gearbox off due to rusted lower dowel and lining up the clutch. made my own centering tool using a 10mm deep socket and 6mm thread but still had to loosen the friction plate and line it up by holding the gearbox spline up to it to center. took me around 12 hours but i did check, check and re-check. service limit of friction plate in the manual states 4.4mm minimum, mine was 4.13mm the new friction plate is 6.25mm

it's not too bad to do although i do have a ramp lift. not sure how others manage to do it on the floor without a ramp?

some pics:
http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/simplysounds/media/IMG_1210.jpg.html
http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/simplysounds/media/IMG_1206.jpg.html

also did my rear brakes after. changed rear fluid in abs servo and rear brake circuits. i borrowed the bmw filler funnel from a friend and with this info: http://advwisdom.hogranch.com/Wisdom/service_abs3.pdf did it! it's very easy. i'm gonna make my own funnel thing and do the front brakes soon.
 


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