Wobbling swing arm

[Gsnelly]

Hi all,
A little while back I put a post up to let you all know about a potential issue with the swing arm assembly knocking left and right on my 1300 gs.
I am still in discussions with my main dealer about this, I have also sent them two vids to show the play.
BMW are still saying it’s “ normal” so I wanted to throw it out to you guys……..anyone else got play in the swing arm ?
To find out……..pop it on the centre stand ( if you have one) get hold of the pillion footrest bracket with ya left hand to steady the bike, and the right hand just in front of the rubber boot on the swing arm and push backwards and forwards quite hard. The entire assembly knocks back and forth about 3mm at the main pivot.

I tried to get a vid on here but couldn’t work out how to do it ( techno biff)

Botus did respond to my earlier post with an extract from a BMW technical bulletin…..but it moves enough that I am concerned about it being an MOT failure when it’s conveniently out of warranty……

If it’s normal…..they should all do it right?

Cheers all

 

[Traffic893]

Interesting.
MOT it one month before it’s 3 year anniversary, if it fails, into dealers for warranty work.

 

[botus]

anyone remember the CBX750 Honda when its front and rear wheels were 1/2" offset wrong and people would strip and put on frame alignment jigs - but it was how Honda built all of them and no one ever noticed any ride or handy funny

the whole thing about swinging-arm / frame misalignment is a weird black science of confusion - what looks wrong and or is wrong sometimes doesn't impact how it rides

the way BM read it - it will still ride OK so we aren't going to the cost of sorting anything - but your MOT tester (if he bothers to do his job) will 100% fail it

 

[botus]

your original post

Post in thread 'Swing arm play'

Oct 16, 2025

there is a known issue with alignment / movement of the swinging arm - don't blame me its either the translation went ? or its just snowflakes doing their bit - March 2024 TSB

Situation

In some R 1300 GS motorcycles, it has been detected that the rear wheel swingarm has play in the axial direction.
The mounting of the swingarm to the frame is comparable to the F and S model motorcycles.
During the mounting of the swingarm axle, this creates different tensions from motorcycle to motorcycle pulling the frame together. Resulting in little to no axial play allowing axial movement on...

• botus

• 

 

[Hann]

Sounds like absolute dealer BS.
In the whole 140 year history of the motorised bicycle none have ever had a wobbly, loose swingarm by design.
As mentioned above, any MOT tester who found it would be immediately asking himself WTF is this weirdness?
Even a 6 year-old would know that a wobbly swingarm isn`t right.
Although it probably won`t be detrimental or noticeable to the bikes` handling once you know it`s there it would be a constant niggle when riding - especially around bends when it`s most likely to move axially making itself known.
Don`t think i`d be happy with that.

 

[Gsnelly]

Yeah, it’s really frustrating!
My dealer is following BMW guidance it seems, I guess I may have to see if an MOT tester would put it in writing that it would fail, I am then thinking I could pursue a resolution on safety grounds.
I’ve ridden bikes of most makes for more than 20 years……this is the first one with a swing arm that can slide back and forth on its main pivot axle!

If anyone has the chance to check theirs, I would be grateful if they could let me know on here.

Thanks all, I will post how it shapes up over the coming weeks

 

[Gsnelly]

Interesting.
MOT it one month before it’s 3 year anniversary, if it fails, into dealers for warranty work.

It may have to come to this.
I’ve sent videos in to my dealer, they have sent these to BMW, who say it’s fine! So I can prov3 thi# has been a concern for some time.

 

[RallyeGS]

MOT it now.

 

[Spout]

I know nothing about the 1300s, but it seems obvious to me that the swing arm is solid enough, it’s the rest of the bike that’s loose

 

[Pukmeister]

Personally I would visit a local bike MOT station and speak to the tester there for a couple of minutes of advice.

All the MOT guys I have dealt with were really approachable and knowledgeable and happy to advise.

 

[Morety]

As others have said, the MOT station is your friend. If they fail it, send a copy to BMW and your dealer and reject the bike on grounds of safety if they don't repair it. The only difficulty is that it's taken nearly three years to discover this, so they may try "It was fine on the PID checks so not our problem" but no swinging arm should have visible amounts of play and it may be easy enough to reject any notion of it being caused by you. It would also be interesting to see what your insurance company thinks as if it fails an MOT inspection, it's deemed as unroadworthy and BMW will be forced to act in your favour.

 

[Pukmeister]

As an aside, I discovered a little sidewards play years ago on my 1200 Hexhead (different bike I know) and upon deeper inspection the swingarm bearings were quite badly corroded through water ingress. It wasn't a difficult job to remove the swing arm and knock them out/replace them.

There is a routine for tightening the swingarm taper roller bearings to take up free play on the old Hexheads, I wouldn't expect the newer 1300 design to be that much different. ?

I also had wear in the trunnion of the hinged final drive "Knuckle" allowing a little side play and some odd handling from the rear end when cornering, again simple enough to strip and replace the worn components.

 

[HGS]

Just been out and tried wobbling the swing arm on mine....24 bike
No movement other than the whole bike

 

[Hann]

You`re not the only one;

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[Oldrat]

That can’t be right.

 

[botus]

no coincidence the warranty has ended before the MOT is due - typical BMW, push the fix on to the owners pocket - it called business in the modern sick world

 

[Bravo]

Rear steering? I'll get me coat.

 

[JJH]

Rear steering? I'll get me coat.

Passive? JJH

 

[Granada]

Just been out and tried wobbling the swing arm on mine....24 bike
No movement other than the whole bike

Tried it as well, no movements.

 

[Gsnelly]

Tried it as well, no movements.

I keep hearing people saying their bike has no swing arm play……..if that’s what other people’s experience is, surely that must be the norm………as opposed to my bike wobbling but I’m being told that is the norm? I think this one my run and run!