what problems on the lc?

[Bucephalus]

Snorezzzzz

You obviously have little knowledge of materials to suggest they would use Marine grade for £1 per bike.

Realistically it would be far more than that, but there are many other issues involved such as how the materials stretch, torque figures, difficulties in production and the fact that the standard fasteners work like sacrificial anode and help the front cover last until the warrantee runs out

Stainless is all well and good when you are happy to copperslip each one etc, but very hard to us in a factory environment.

I wonder how you'd complain when all the fasteners break on the bike and you have a huge bill for removing stuck in bits of stainless bolts because they have seized into the ali casings
Stainless steel comes with it's own list of issues, visible corrossion isn't one, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have plenty of others!!

+1 Thanks sometimes I just don't have the energy to answer the twaddle posted on here.

 

[Little-Brit]

+1 - we could go on for hours about corrosion - it's been up here for over a decade.

Only a decade!

I had the privelage of owning a Honda CB350K4 from new in 1974 and ofwatching all of the bright bits dissolve under the assault of one winters salt. My new CX500 in 1978 was better but even that wouldn't hold a candle to any recent BMW. Get real chaps!

 

[bellyboy]

niggles, glitches, things to put right.... its life on cars bikes,, just about every product manufactured en mass....

mine has been great and tho its early days its the best all round bike Ive ever ridden...

 

[Hammam]

With fluid reduced from clutch master cylinder and engine oil removed so that level is halfway in window this is the best road bike i have ever had the pleasure to own and ride it is without doubt the best out there

I did just that. I also learned how to adapt my riding to this new engine and gearbox and now, after 8 000 kms, it's amost buttery smooth. Except going down into 1st. This one is hopeless, I guess.

 

[Jumblemo]

Contemplating buying one and wondering just what weaknesses bmw have built in this time. From comments in other threads it looks lke gearbox and brake pads. Anything else? Bevel box bearins? Fuel tank guages? Corrosion?

Wouldn't worry about the pad issue. I'm suffering it now, but it's a minor inconvenience compounded by poor timing of supply chain issues. It wouldn't alter my purchase decision one iota.

If my bike were stolen, and the insurance company refunded me sufficiently, I would go buy exactly the same bike again with no hesitation.

The gearbox is ok, though i'd like a longer 6th, the engine is superb, the brakes excellent. And the handling dynamics are awesome.

However, I would advocate changing the exhaust. It needs a more lively soundtrack. And the Akropovic is perfect.

 

[Engineer]

Contemplating buying one and wondering just what weaknesses bmw have built in this time. From comments in other threads it looks lke gearbox and brake pads. Anything else? Bevel box bearins? Fuel tank guages? Corrosion?

Most of issues are in a few peoples minds ignore all the negative waves man and go buy one.

 

[Little-Brit]

Only a decade!

I had the privelage of owning a Honda CB350K4 from new in 1974 and ofwatching all of the bright bits dissolve under the assault of one winters salt. My new CX500 in 1978 was better but even that wouldn't hold a candle to any recent BMW. Get real chaps!

I forgot to say my WC is at 4,000 miles and counting and I'm loving it!

Yes neutral can be a pig to find but that aside I'd struggle to fault it. A phenomenal bike.

 

[BBB61]

I wonder how you'd complain when all the fasteners break on the bike and you have a huge bill for removing stuck in bits of stainless bolts because they have seized into the ali casings

An easy solution to prevent that happening is to use a jointing compound such as Duralac.

 

[stevie Allen]

I changed as many of the bolts and fastners on my last 06 gs to stainless from one of the numerous companies that was doing stainless for the older gs.
I copper slipped each one.
Never had a problem from the day i put them in to the day i sold the bike.
It looked better on the discs ,was easier to clean and basically improved the look of the bike .
If some company comes up with the new set for the Wc i would be first in the queue

 

[plumbob]

Fluid level

Can anyone shed light as to why reducing the fluid level in the clutch master cylinder reservoir improves the clutch drag issue?

 

[birdseye]

You obviously have little knowledge of materials to suggest they would use Marine grade for £1 per bike.

Realistically it would be far more than that, but there are many other issues involved such as how the materials stretch, torque figures, difficulties in production and the fact that the standard fasteners work like sacrificial anode and help the front cover last until the warrantee runs out

Stainless is all well and good when you are happy to copperslip each one etc, but very hard to us in a factory environment.

I wonder how you'd complain when all the fasteners break on the bike and you have a huge bill for removing stuck in bits of stainless bolts because they have seized into the ali casings

Stainless steel comes with it's own list of issues, visible corrossion isn't one, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have plenty of others!!

I'll be civil rather than vitriolic about your ignorant assumptions. I spent 15 years of my working life in a sheffield steel works manufacturing stainless steel for everything from rocket engines to fish hooks and my job included selling copper coated stainless steel cold heading wire to fastener makers all round the world including Germany. We were by some margin the biggest maker of such stainless wire in the world. So not only do I have a very good idea of how to make stainless nuts bolts and screws , but I also have a good idea of what they cost in bulk to the likes of BMW. And since we also made both alloy steel and carbon steel wire for fasteners I know what the cost difference is likely to be. I wouldnt pretend that it would be £1 as opposed to £2, 3 or even 5, but in the context of a 13k bike it would not be significant.

As for copperslip, forget it. What you need if you put stainless fasteners into aluminium is something like duralac or tefgel. Copperslip works OK to prevent galling but not well as a long term corrosion inhibitor. If you do use a proper inhibitor such as duralac then you will never fail to remove the stainless fastener. I've used it with stainless into ally on my boat in salt water and been able to remove fasteners no problem after 10 years.

 

[shortywilliam]

Just sort my gearbox/clutch and I will be over the moon[/QUOTE]

+1

Most of the other faults on my bike have been fixed

 

[telbenj]

its only a cooling lube

Can anyone shed light as to why reducing the fluid level in the clutch master cylinder reservoir improves the clutch drag issue?

I think that to much oil prevents the clutch plates seperating correctly which causes drag, basically the plates stick together.
All the oil is needed for is to act as a coolant so the oil only needs to be at a level where the plates are just touching the oil enough to allow the oil to splash lube them.

this allows the plates to fully open which in turn allows smooth gear changes. so basically if the plates are bathing in oil they will stick. If you put some water on a table then place a beer mat on it the mat will be difficult to pick up but if you wipe up the excess water leaving it only damp the the mat will release easilly

sorry im not fully able to explain, but Im sure there are some experienced people on here that may be able to give more precise info.

Terry

 

[birdseye]

Maybe, but wet clutches are standard motorcycle technology used all the time by the japs if not bm on their other bikes. And difficult neutrals takes you back to the glory days of the british industry. BM will be re-inventing oil leaks next!

I was contemplating the Triumph Explorer as an alternative but the factory are having to do engine re-builds on the early bikes with tappet problems. Pity that the attractive bikes are all european and the well made ones are jap.

 

[Engineer]

Can anyone shed light as to why reducing the fluid level in the clutch master cylinder reservoir improves the clutch drag issue?

I think that they mean the reservoir not the master cylinder - it makes no sense to me either. I think that it is all wishful thinking.

 

[plumbob]

Fluids

I think that they mean the reservoir not the master cylinder - it makes no sense to me either. I think that it is all wishful thinking.

Yeah i could make nothing of it, if the level too high it maybe stop the clutch engaging properly as fluid would not fully return to the reservoir on release.

The oil level makes more sense, my opinion is the crank speed of the clutch creates just too much drag. I believe most production bikes use the clutch as the primary reduction gear, therefore at least half crank speed. Does anyone say it improves with a hot engine, as the hotter less viscous oil should not drag as much? Maybe a larger amount of plate release would help (not sure how to achieve this). I had no issues with the dry clutch on my 09 GS, were they known to be a weak link, why was it changed? The gearbox on my Tiger explorer was not significantly different to the 09 GS, so if it ain't broke don't fix it!

 

[twizzle]

In was just to about to type the same response, saves me the bother cheers... People think Stainless is the magic bullet..... It isn't.......

You obviously have little knowledge of materials to suggest they would use Marine grade for £1 per bike.

Realistically it would be far more than that, but there are many other issues involved such as how the materials stretch, torque figures, difficulties in production and the fact that the standard fasteners work like sacrificial anode and help the front cover last until the warrantee runs out

Stainless is all well and good when you are happy to copperslip each one etc, but very hard to us in a factory environment.

I wonder how you'd complain when all the fasteners break on the bike and you have a huge bill for removing stuck in bits of stainless bolts because they have seized into the ali casings

Stainless steel comes with it's own list of issues, visible corrossion isn't one, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have plenty of others!!

 

[de crowe]

problems

bike now sold only issue being the laquer lifting on the front "beak", same on other lc i saw at a dealers yesterday, otherwise cracking bike.