R1100GS Broken clutch actuator arm

[FLASH]

Incredibly this broke this weekend. Snapped in half. I got a new one (150 euro...) and am trying to fit it. The Hayne's manual says that it's possible, using some "dexterity". Where can I get some.....? Unless you've got fingers like ET, I think it's impossible. So....has anybody got experience of removing the swingarm? Anything I should watch out for? Help!

 

[Rob Farmer]

If the swining arm has been out before then its so easy its not worth struggling to fit the actuator arm any other way. If it hasn't then you will need a hot air gun to heat the swinging arm and gearbox cases up round the bearings. BMW use an extremely strong thread locking adhesive. I think it turns liquid at 100°C

You also need a couple of torque wrenches. One that will measure 7Nm the other to do 160Nm - doing a search on pivot bearings should throw up enough info for you.

 

[Steptoe]

As Tom Jones said "It's not unusual" for those to break.

But as the Haynes manual says, it can be done without removing the swingarm.

But as Rob Farmer says, it might not be worth the struggle.

I'm saying nothing.

 

[Paul G (BHT)]

Gecko replaced his at the side of the road

It's not too bad to get it out. No need to remove the paralever but to give us better access we took off the back wheel and loosened the rear shock at the bottom bolt only so it could just be pulled back a bit.
Whne you take out the single bolt you need to take care it doesn't fall into the space in front of the paralever - it's tricky to get it out of there if it drops in so we stuffed the gap full of paper to block the hole.
Putting it back in was a lot harder but it's just a matter of positioning the arm right and getting in with the spanner to tighten it up. It took us several attempts to align the threads on the bolt before it finally went back in ....and it's got a lot of thread on the bolt so be prepared for a good deal of spannering - there's no room for a ratchet of any kind.

 

[Vern]

I've broken two of those feckin things.£100 each as well I've always wanted to see someone change one without removing the swingarm,I know it can be done,but I'd love to see it for myself.

 

[davegs]

Clutch arm

You will possibly find that the clutch armhas seized up on the pivot A friend of mine kept pulling the nipple off the clutch cable and found this to be the cause so look at the whole assembly. had the same thing on my K1100 ifitted a grease nipple to it.
dave gs.

 

[FLASH]

Ah ha! And with one bound he was free!

I took a lot more stuff off than indicated above. I decided this morning (I started this job yesterday afternoon) that the exhaust collecter box (Remus) was just enough in the way to be a possible hindrance so I ended up taking it off together with the the LH footrest hanger; the rear shock was already completely off, as was the mudflap. I then greased up the bolt, together with the washers, so that they wouldn't drop out of the lever when I presented it. I held the bolt with a pair of long-nose pliers, just below the lever and positioned the assembly with my left hand, applying pressure against thespring. You can feel when the bolt snicks into the hole. Then, v-e-r-y gingerly I turned the bolt with the pliers and, thank god, the threads bit. Maintaining pressure on the lever with the left hand, some more micro-turns with the pliers until it was in far enough to risk using a spanner. Done.

Thanks for your suggestions guys. If I can do it (I've got hands like hams) then anybody can



(if you do drop anything behind the swingarm you can recover it either by fishing with a magnet, or by raising the swingarm and peering underneath. As I found out )

 

[Gecko]

We did it on the roadside a few weeks back . Took off the back wheel and lossened the lower rear suspension bolt and pulled the rear shock as far out the way as possible. Getting the broken one off was just a question of some tedious quarter turn spannering - it's a long thread that holds it in place. getting the new one in was a bit fiddly but with MiGSsel's delicate hands he managed to get the thread to take and then just tightened it up. I guess if you have bigger hands it might be harder but just a question of try and try again and it'll get there. I sourced a second hand part from Crays engineering in Sittingbourne fro 20 quid thanks to Judge and the wonders of mobile phones
I can't imagine why anyone would go to the trouble of removing half the rear end of the bike to do this - sure it's a bit fiddly but it's just one bolt and if you stuff the space in front of the rear shock full with a rag or some paper nothing can drop down that gap anyway

 

[Gecko]

This is all we took off to get at the little b#gger

 

[FLASH]

Ah.....I left the panniers on......

 

[MiGSel]

I figured his Geckoness would come in and comment here

Here's the AA man doing his best:

Then I gave it a go and with the correct amount of fiddling and swearing I got the bugger in.

Keep trying!

Cheers,
Michel