R1150R 54 reg, Clutch problem, Any ideas chaps??

[pidged]

Hello and nice to meet you all.

I was wondering if any of you could assist me at all.
My clutch had been getting a little spongy over the last couple of weeks but on Tue morning i completely lost any control over the clutch, just nothing.
Got some fluid and bits from the local factor and Bled it through manually and managed to get enough just to get me home.
I have now spent quite a bit of time pulling more fluid through, no signs of air but the fluid still doesnt seem to get as clean as i would expect. And i only start to get more feel after 4 - 5 pumps of the lever???

Many thanks for taking the time to read this post and look forward to your advise.

Kind regards

Darren

 

[ktmmark]

Had you lost any fluid when the clutch first had a problen (ie any leaks)

 

[Steptoe]

It sounds like your slave cylinder needs changing.

But have you checked the clutch line where it enters the slave unit. It corrodes and can let fluid through.

 

[pidged]

Many thanks for your replys, there was a slight spongy feeling in the clutch but no fluid loss, but when i bleed fresh fluid through its is still very black and contaminated, i will check fitting as per your picture but my gut feeling is the slave cylinder. However i will keep you posted on any further developments.

Many thanks

 

[ktmmark]

Check the master cylinder, if the seal in the slave fail it leaks. but the fluid can pass the seal in the master with no leak as it goes back to the res.
Clamp the hose section and see if the clutch lever is solid,if so it's ok if still soft it's not The black is rubber from the seals

 

[pidged]

Hi Mark, i see where your going, just to clarify.

1) Clamp the hose if i get a solid lever its pointing towards the slave
2) If the lever is still spongy then we are looking at the master.

Cheers

Darren

 

[pidged]

Sorted

Ok sorry for the lateness in posting a reply, well its been all fun and games.

I decided to kick the bike back to the Dealer, who to be fair have been very good.
This was something that they had not seen before as usually clutch systems are quite robust i dont know if this was sales talk, but judging by the lack of posts relating to this issue here i tend to believe them.

Any how, a master cylinder repair kit was ordered and fitted, and all started very promising, clutch felt good on my way home however 12 miles into my journey the gear box was snatching and clutch had started to go soft again.

After having my hopes dashed and another phone call, the bike was picked up and returned to the dealer.

This time a slave cylinder was ordered and fitted, after a good road test by the mechanic and myself all appears to be good. I am still struggling to get my head around how the slave cylinder could create this problem with out any evidence of leakage however this was the problem.

The dealer did not charge any labour for the return visit and the total bill including parts came to £158, thats for the repair kit and slave cylinder + Labour.

Still a lot of money, but for a main dealer i was quite pleased.

Thank you to all who have assisted me with this and i hope that this post may help somebody in the future.

Cheers

Darren

 

[Colban]

£158 to perform some quite awkward repairs and replace some not inexpensive parts is a good price imo.
Who was the dealer?.They deserve a .

 

[Steptoe]

They deserve a .

Do they ???

After charging for a master cylinder repair kit that wasn't needed in the first place.

 

[Colban]

I gave the for good situation management,not lying or bull-shitting to the customer and ensuring the punter went away happy.
In comparison with posted stories about BWM dealers alleged shoddy workmanship and gross profiteering (missing rear brake caliper bolts and £25 oil top-ups spring to mind) i believe that the dealer involved here did a good job.
He could have turned round to the customer after the master cylinder rebuild and claimed that the slave cylinder failure was caused by the master cylinder failure (the black fluid from the failing seals) and that it was right to replace the seals first rather than replace the slave as well; at great expense to the owner.
I dont know the trade price for the seal set and slave cylinder/gasket,but i guess the dealer was not out of pocket on the deal despite the initial misdiagnosis and that he now has a happy customer who is more likely to return/recommend to others rather than a hacked-off one who posts their bad experience on owners internet forums.
Cheers,Col.

 

[davegs]

oil changes

I'll top up your oil for a tenner (you supply the oil) why do I make these offers, no wonder i've never got any money.
dave (all my life I give you nothing-still you ask for more!) gs.

 

[pidged]

Yes indeed i mean the at the start of it all they said it is possibly a slave but all the evidence points to the master, and cheepest repair of all and said they would try this 1st, a 5 mile road test which was all that was given didnt show any initial faults which was true as i never noticed anything until around 12 miles.
And as soon as i phoned up again regarding the same problem, they couldnt appologise enough and will get it picked up in the morning, a loan bike was given, although it took a week to get the parts and fitted, but hey thats mileage not on my machine!!
This is the 2nd bike i have brought from them so maybe that has had some influence i dont know. The dealer by the way is Wollaston BMW in Northampton.