Rear wheel/final drive bearing.

[crazycopo]

Took my r1200gs (54 ) to BMW dealer last week for a "health check".
apparantly there's slight lateral play in the rear wheel and was told the bearing is on way out.
Was told its a specialist tool job, and will cost in excess of £500.

Can the job be done DIY or does it have to go to BMW workshop.??
Bit gutted at the thought of forking oit that kinda cash as ive only had the bike a little over a month.!!

 

[Knutttt]

Had the same thing myself. Look on here for a user called Steptoe, he is "the man" for rear bearing replacement and close enough to your area to ride over.
Don't bother paying BMW though.

 

[sharkojoints]

You have other independents (Mikeyboy?) close to where you are too, who will do a better job for less money.

I wouldn't be going anywhere near the main dealer with a 54 bike.

 

[crazycopo]

Thanx. Only went to to dealer to find out whats what as im new to BMW. I can do most jobs myself, or kno a man that can.!!

 

[(RIP) andrewgsadv]

Get in touch with Mikeyboy, have done a days service workshop with others on here. Met the guy seen his set up. Top fella and specialises in rear drive unit rebuilds. His tooling and jigs to do the job properly are top notch.

Mike just send that fiver on to me when you can for referral fella

Andrew

 

[mikeyboy]

Took my r1200gs (54 ) to BMW dealer last week for a "health check".
apparantly there's slight lateral play in the rear wheel and was told the bearing is on way out.
Was told its a specialist tool job, and will cost in excess of £500.

Can the job be done DIY or does it have to go to BMW workshop.??
Bit gutted at the thought of forking oit that kinda cash as ive only had the bike a little over a month.!!

its definitely not a diy job,there are quite a few specialised tools and procedures needed to do it.
the £500 you have been quoted will probably only be the replacement of the one bearing,on the early bikes the pinion bearing is usually shot as well so the dealer will be back on the phone to you once it is stripped wanting a load more wedge to sort it.
i replace every bearing,seal and o'ring i also replace the casing bolts.
the cost is £350 inc return post to uk mainland.
mike 07786 340692

 

[Bendy toy]

Mike has just done a great job on my FD. He also replaced the trunnion bearings and the back end universal joint in the drive shaft. Additional costs of course.

On the plus side, my rear wheel bearing had an MOT advisory for lateral play in April 2013. It passed again this year & only began to leak oil in September.

Mike said all bearings were at end of life so a simple new wheel bearing would have been false economy (my thoughts on that).

It has done 50,000 miles. I also had the case powder coated but that (obviously) adds delay and cost.

I considered buying a low miles FD from eBay. But it's impossible to know what you are getting so I went the whole hog with a profession rebuild.

 

[Magwych]

Mike has just done a great job on my FD.
I considered buying a low miles FD from eBay. But it's impossible to know what you are getting so I went the whole hog with a profession rebuild.

I second that vote of confidence for MikeyBoys work.

I did pick up a spare unit at a good price. That way as soon as I start to get degradation of one drive, I ship the other off to MikeyBoy. Keeps me rolling, I just swap them over when the rebuil unit comes back.

Mike uses proper bearings, from the likes of SKF, so periods between rebuilds should be greater. Sadly, the last rebuild he did for me used the BMUU bearings that I supplied. It good for 40k miles..Next one will be with the better bearings.

 

[crazycopo]

Thanx mikeboy. Im taking it to a bike mechanic sometime this week. (He is also a gs owner) for a second opinion.
I like the sound of what you do(and price).
I take it I would have to remove unit and send it to you.?

 

[crazycopo]

Just had a thought ( dont happen often). The previous owner replaced the final drive flange earlier this year, cold that be anything to do with the play??

 

[mikeyboy]

Thanx mikeboy. Im taking it to a bike mechanic sometime this week. (He is also a gs owner) for a second opinion.
I like the sound of what you do(and price).
I take it I would have to remove unit and send it to you.?

remove the the whole thing and post over.the new flange could have been damaged when fitted,get your man to have a good looksee,feel free to call me if you need any advice
mike

 

[crazycopo]

Cheers mike will do.

 

[Sgt Bilco]

I like the sound of what you do(and price).
I take it I would have to remove unit and send it to you.?

Have a ride over to Mikeyboy and get him to have a peek at it. Nice roads round there and he makes a half decent brew

I'll vouch for Mikeyboy as well and my 111,000 mile 1200 GSA goes better than ever after a bit of fettling from the said fellow.

 

[UturnTony]

another vote for mikeyboy here. did mine; great job

 

[Bendy toy]

I packed the FD complete with trunnion and drive shaft. Used lots of bubble wrap and a chunk of memory foam. It cost about £15 to send.

Mike would have had it back in a bout 1 week but I decided to have the case powder coated. No problem. Mike sent it back and I returned it when the coater's were done.

 

[bikemad]

Bit gutted at the thought of forking oit that kinda cash as ive only had the bike a little over a month.!!

That's how it goes can happen to anyone,but how many bikes have you owned needing a new chain/sprockets just after buying ? Iv had a few no different really,least after mikeys done it you know it'll be 50K plus before worrying about another.
I'd check the shaft over too make sure the UJs are ok easy enough once the FD is out the way

 

[DesertStormer]

That's how it goes can happen to anyone,but how many bikes have you owned needing a new chain/sprockets just after buying ? Iv had a few no different really,least after mikeys done it you know it'll be 50K plus before worrying about another.
I'd check the shaft over too make sure the UJs are ok easy enough once the FD is out the way

Hmmm...Mine's in at BMW today for a new wheel bearing, thankfully under warranty. I hope they do a good job.

 

[bikemad]

If you take average c&s kit £80-140 plus wheel bearings £10-20 then labour from a shop,it makes the bmw a bargain maintenance wise.
Even a Scotoiler & carefully maintained chain you will spend a lot more than a FD rebuild in the same mileage,then there's the hastle of cleaning re-lubing,all the oily muck that splatters over the underside of bike etc.

 

[Old Wobbly]

If you take average c&s kit £80-140 plus wheel bearings £10-20 then labour from a shop,it makes the bmw a bargain maintenance wise.
Even a Scotoiler & carefully maintained chain you will spend a lot more than a FD rebuild in the same mileage,then there's the hastle of cleaning re-lubing,all the oily muck that splatters over the underside of bike etc.

The difference here is that the BMW unit is not really DIY and the damn bike is marketed as a global adventurer. C&S is easily DIY and should last 20k if you're reasonable with the lube etc. Bearings a few pounds from the local supplier and a mallet/drift is all you need.

The more stories I read on here, the more I don't want to ride my GSA. With 9.5k in 16 months of ownership and some lengthy European and UK trips on it I've not had a single issue although now I'm feeling it's just a matter of time before the gearbox goes, or the final drive or some other terminal fault..

I had a K12S new in '07 and about a week before it was 2 years old it lunched the gearbox - £2.5k for a new one under warranty thank Christ.

I'm rapidly going off the GS range, but fortunately have two other bikes to ride so at least I have a choice.

Grumble over...

 

[Sgt Bilco]

The more stories I read on here, the more I don't want to ride my GSA. With 9.5k in 16 months of ownership and some lengthy European and UK trips on it I've not had a single issue although now I'm feeling it's just a matter of time before the gearbox goes, or the final drive or some other terminal fault..

.

By your own admission, the bike has been spot on. What you read on here is a tiny proportion of the bikes which ride around the globe with no issues whatsoever. I agree that the FD isn't really DIY but keeping it in tip top shape with a miukeyboy rebuild every X miles is the way to stop any problems.

I could go on about the 50 odd GS's I've taken in groups around the US to some pretty remote and tough place with a total mileage of about 300,000 miles without a single incedent of a problem stopping play but, I maybe wasting my breath.

In my experience, they are at least as reliable as anything else so just forget the stuff you read on here and enjoy the ride!