Worn bearing in the final drive - is this a sign of trouble coming?

FatBob

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My 2008 GSA has just been in for the annual inspection and MOT at an unnamed BMW dealership. Its done about 31000 miles, only 1000 of them in the last year since the last service...been a bit busy lately!

It passed the MOT (phew!) but the garage noted a number of items that need attention.

  • worn bearing in the final drive
    slight leak from the rear shock
    intermittent fault on the aux light switch

Fortunately I have a BMW extended warranty (for the next 2 weeks) and these items should be covered, if they will allow some flexibility for the rear shock as they are only supposed to be covered up to 30000 miles.

(Oh and they would also like £900+ off me for new discs and pads all round :censor: I think that will have to wait!)

The extended warranty expires mid October and I wasn't planning on renewing it, so I would also have the flexibility to take the bike to a non-franchised garage which might save me some money. But this worn bearing in the final drive has got me worried. Is this likely to be a one-off or the start of some expensiive bills, in which case it might work out cheaper to keep the warranty?

If only I had a crystal ball...
 
Take it to an independent the Paralever bearing has a habit of going at 30k miles on the 1150 for example mine did and cost £140 to fix. The quote for brakes is daylight robbery! Paralever bearings are consumable items some last some don't It's not the beginning of the end by any means. Just stay away from main dealers and their servicing charges
A warranty on a 4 year old bike is not worth the.money either having said that if they cover the parts you say you would have saved a few quid. A shock service/rebuild is £100 so no biggie.
 
Try speaking to John Gaskell at Revs Racing regarding a shock repair/rebuild.

For disks and pads, Steptoe sells them and they are a doddle to do yourself, £900 is frankly an insult.
 
Pukmeister said:
Try speaking to John Gaskell at Revs Racing regarding a shock repair/rebuild.

For disks and pads, Steptoe sells them and they are a doddle to do yourself, £900 is frankly an insult.
Click to expand...

Yes, certainly a severe case of urine extraction!, contact steppers re discs and pads.
 
On St Eptoes recommendation I got my rear shock rebuilt by ABE in London for £110 including a re-gas. Took them about 5 days to get it back to me.
 
If I were you, I'd ask your dealer to look at the final drive as a warranty repair NOW before it runs out.

Shocks are easily rebuilt as mentioned and if you aren't keen on doing the discs and pads yourself, (the rear can be a bastard DAMHIK:augie) get a quote off Steptoe and while away a morning drinking his tea:thumb

I suspect you have plenty of life left in the discs and pads as they have to flag up these things very early.
 
Oh, if they won't do your FD under warranty for any reason, Mikeyboy of this parish does a rebuild for a very sensible price:thumb
 
Thanks for the tips. The FD bearing (they didn't say which one, and it probably wouldn't have meant much to me if they had!) should be covered under warranty, the question mark was about the rear shock.

So in conclusion, its not worth extending the warranty just because of the FD bearing?

As for the discs, I forget the numbers but they are a fraction of a mm below the recommended minimum both front and rear, worse on the rear. I'm surprised they would need replacing at 30,000 miles because I'm usually pretty gentle on the brakes, but the rear was binding for a while which wouldn't help. I think the front pads are OK, the rear is getting near the limit but they have to be replaced anyway when the discs are changed?
 
Bear in mind that anything replaced under warranty has a two year warranty itself anyway. Not sure whether this is parts only or labour and parts though, but somebody will know I'm sure.
 
seahorse said:
Bear in mind that anything replaced under warranty has a two year warranty itself anyway. Not sure whether this is parts only or labour and parts though, but somebody will know I'm sure.
Click to expand...

Only if you contribute to the cost, if it is repaired free of charge it doesn't have its own warranty.
 
can your paralever bearing be adjusted, a bit like head races? On my 1150 Mike at Cardiff Motorrad adjusted the bearing twice, once at about 30k and then again at 50k. He suggested a bearing replacement would be needed the next time it went slack, but I sold the bike!

As others suggest, get the bike checked over by an independent and stop feeding the BMW franchise vampires. I'd also recommend using an MOT tester independent of where you get repair work done.
 
Flanners said:
I think it can be nipped up if caught early on (?), but in my mind given there has been movement this will have caused wear and thus lead to it's demise anyway.

I reckon best just to change it for piece of mind especially if off on a trip abroad etc.
Click to expand...

Stop posting 1100/1150 advice in the 1200 section as it's wrong. :D hence why your previous advice has been deleted.
 
On the theme of rebuilding shocks on the 1200, does anyone know if the shock part of an ESA system can be rebuilt and if so where?
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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