LC boxer final drives

[mikeyboy]

Hi all,
As some of you may know,I specialise in the repair of bmw transmission parts.
I’ve got an earlier lc fd in bits at the mo,to have the casings refinished,
Due to corrosion.the bearings are perfect.
The equipment I use for the k25 bikes was sufficient to strip and rebuild it.
However,I guess my question is,have any of you had any other sort of failures,?
Is it worth taking measurements,for tooling off this one?
As I’ve not had a single enquiry for a repair.
I will of course make tooling for seal fitment.
Thanks in advance for any replies.
Mike

 

[jetjock]

Hi all,
As some of you may know,I specialise in the repair of bmw transmission parts.
I’ve got an earlier lc fd in bits at the mo,to have the casings refinished,
Due to corrosion.the bearings are perfect.
The equipment I use for the k25 bikes was sufficient to strip and rebuild it.
However,I guess my question is,have any of you had any other sort of failures,?
Is it worth taking measurements,for tooling off this one?
As I’ve not had a single enquiry for a repair.
I will of course make tooling for seal fitment.
Thanks in advance for any replies.
Mike

Mines a k50 with 23000 on the clock and seems to be fine at the moment but I’d bring it o you if it needs overhauling

 

[Santa-2512]

+1 for bringing it to you for repair if anything goes wrong

If i was future planning

I'd see if any of the current tooling is cross compatible, and the bits that are not, i'd perhaps have drawings /sketches ready should the need for tooling arise

Your probably the most qualified person outside BMW to know the rear drive unit inside out mikey

Or you could look at it on the basis of, it's not if, but when ?

 

[Mr Bean]

Not a final drive, but I do know of a 70k miles bike that had worn joints on the drive shaft.

 

[Deleted account 250319001]

Not a final drive, but I do know of a 70k miles bike that had worn joints on the drive shaft.

Here we go ........

 

[Mr Bean]

Here we go ........

Nothing to do with spline lubing

I did contact mikeyboy at the time, but at that point he hadn't repaired one and in the end she traded the bike in for a new 1200.

 

[Slipperyeel]

Hi all,
As some of you may know,I specialise in the repair of bmw transmission parts.
I’ve got an earlier lc fd in bits at the mo,to have the casings refinished,
Due to corrosion.the bearings are perfect.
The equipment I use for the k25 bikes was sufficient to strip and rebuild it.
However,I guess my question is,have any of you had any other sort of failures,?
Is it worth taking measurements,for tooling off this one?
As I’ve not had a single enquiry for a repair.
I will of course make tooling for seal fitment.
Thanks in advance for any replies.
Mike

You made me laugh, with that sentence "... Because of corrosion, the bearings are perfect..."

But I'm interested there seem to be less reports of failed drives. Do they look any different inside to the earlier 1200 ?

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[beaver]

just watch those splines, they do need greasing... did I ever post my pic's

 

[stanley]

I'm almost waiting for mine to fail, so that I can get Mikeyboy to rebuild it

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[mikeyboy]

You made me laugh, with that sentence "... Because of corrosion, the bearings are perfect..."

But I'm interested there seem to be less reports of failed drives. Do they look any different inside to the earlier 1200 ?

Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk

Totally different,
Big taper roller bearings throughout.

 

[knutk]

You made me laugh, with that sentence "... Because of corrosion, the bearings are perfect..."

But I'm interested there seem to be less reports of failed drives. Do they look any different inside to the earlier 1200 ?

Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk

I think one major factor is that the main bearing is back inside the housing, where it swim in oil.

 

[malcopopolo]

Not a final drive, but I do know of a 70k miles bike that had worn joints on the drive shaft.

And any repair or replacement will be cheaper and easier if the splines are lubed.
Doing mine again this winter

 

[Slipperyeel]

I think one major factor is that the main bearing is back inside the housing, where it swim in oil.

Interesting. I'm going to take a look at the micro fiche...



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[Slipperyeel]

And any repair or replacement will be cheaper and easier if the splines are lubed.
Doing mine again this winter

I read a while back that the paralever on the previous 1200 (as per the one I have) and the LC are arranged such that the spline joint doesn't move - no sliding action between the splines - whatsoever. So I'm guessing this makes lubing the splines extra important.

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[Slipperyeel]

Totally different,
Big taper roller bearings throughout.

Ah ha! That is very interesting. Do you know if the FD on the bigger, inline motor beemers have those in them - I mean on the pre-LC bikes? Just wondering if they had a different set up on the bigger, heavier bikes and have moved this to the boxers?

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[Mr Bean]

And any repair or replacement will be cheaper and easier if the splines are lubed.
Doing mine again this winter

And even better if the correct sealing and lubing grease is used, rather than a a regular moly type - spend to save.

 

[malcopopolo]

And even better if the correct sealing and lubing grease is used, rather than a a regular moly type - spend to save.

Agree.

 

[tanneman]

I don't think the final drives are a weak spot in this model series. Overall it is the paint quality, I had a FD replaced due to pint issues and then the replacement replaced due to an unknown to me seizure inside which affected the how the rear shock dampened the swingarm movement. Yes I know but I haven't heard of any major fd defects or failures. This one was dodgy from manufacture. Since then (circa 5k miles) no FD issues. Now at 30k and with a brand new shaft in the garage waiting for me to replace the old one, bearing is starting to fail on the cross coupling and it has a frequency vibration through the foot pegs that is noticeable at low engine rpm. BTW the splines has been lubed or checked at every service by Wollaston BMW.

You would do better business rebuilding the original suspension. One weakness is the electrics is at the bottom of the shock where it is prone to damage over time.

The death of a single sided shaft driven swingarm is the load through the bearing that carries all the weight. No matter how well you lubricate it, over time if it is a poor design, it is going to fail. Flat four K1200LT, 1150GS, 1200GS heaxhead. Not helped that many who ride these as a tourer never did a weigh in of their luggage and themselves to see it the weight limit of the bike has been reached. 20 stone John and enough kit to build a hotel at his end destination is a clue.