So how many miles should a clutch work for?

Keba

Guest
So my clutch started slipping - its in being fixed as I type this, and the bill is going to be anywhere between 500 and 850 squids for the clutch work alone.

How many miles is reasonable for a clutch? I had a similar 'slipping' clutch at around 20k - 25k miles (fixed under warranty) and its done it again, or at least feels like the exact same thing has gone wrong, after 41k miles.

If it was a car, I think I'd be more upset - but how many miles should I be expecting on a bike in any case?

The bike is a K1200RS, I commute, don't like burning rubber and ride quite safely - I get undertaken/overtaken quite often by other bikers if that is any indication (I don't filter at speeds over around 50mph on the motorway if I can help it either). I take very good care of the bike and have a full service history - I've always erred on the side of caution when it comes to replacing brake pads for example.

So, anybody have an idea on what is reasonable from a clutch life perspective?
 
I'd feel hard done by if a clutch lasted any less than 50k on any bike, not specifically a BMW.

Seems to be a weak point of BMWs, lots of people on here with tales of woe with clutches, relatively speaking. Check the fluid level in the clutch reservoir, if this is too high it can make the clutch slip, and Steptoe reckons a lot don't get serviced properly.
 
Is the RS a dry clutch ??

Either way it should be much more than that, but my 1150 gearbox oil seals failed at 26,000, next one will be japanese.
 
First one lasted about 18k miles (replaced under warrantee, faulty clutch cylinder, never heard of it happening before sir), second has lasted 30k so far with no signs of an issue.
 
I have managed 74,000 on original so far (1150), really does seem to be pot luck as to how long it should last. Main problem from my perspective is how inaccessible clutch is and the resultant lab our costs, should it go wrong.
 
I changed my clutch at 121000 because the gearbox was out,but it wasn't showing any signs of slipping at all.

How can it possibly cost £850 to do a clutch :eek:
 
My old F650 (pile of sh*te that was) was sold at 35K and was on it's third clutch :eek:

Driven sensibly, never changed a clutch before or since. Seems to happen to some bikes :confused:
 
Vern said:
I changed my clutch at 121000 because the gearbox was out,but it wasn't showing any signs of slipping at all.

How can it possibly cost £850 to do a clutch :eek:
Click to expand...

6 to 8 hours labour (60 odd quid an hour average). Half to pull the back end and middle of the bike apart, half to put it back together again.

100 to 200 squids worth of parts, oil, seals, 'spare' nuts etc.

Bikes aren't made to be worked on, they are made for riding!


So... After all the comments so far, it seems that either I have an unlucky bike or an engineering defect. I'd guess that clutches are supposed to last a tad longer than mine has....
 
More news on the clutch.

The entire clutch unit was replaced under warranty at around 25000 miles - Battersea just confirmed this.

Note that - 'entire clutch unit was replaced', as well as all adjacent seals.

Given the 'new' clutch started slipping at around 41500 miles, that means the new one lasted for around 16500 miles before doing a similar thing - dying.

I know my bike isn't under warranty any more (the extra year warranty was going to cost another 700 or so squid, and I foolishly believed nothing major would go wrong so didn't want to spend that), but should I be seeking recompense from BMW (not SPC who are doing the new work - afterall, its not their fault the clutch seems to be only lasting 20k miles, if that).

From where I'm standing, this looks like its an engineering flaw, not normal wear and tear.

Any thoughts? Talk to BMW about recompense or not?
 
is it slipping because it's worn out, or because it's covered in oil?
 
cookie said:
is it slipping because it's worn out, or because it's covered in oil?
Click to expand...

Covered in oil. Some important gasket or other sprung a leak, oil got into the clutch plates, slippage ensured!

Go Go Dry Clutch Design!

:/
 
so not a clutch fault at all then.

is that gasket or oil seal?

defective seal (unlikely)

seal badly fitted. two of them?

shagged bearing or undersized/damaged area on the seal area of the relevant shaft. maybe.

poor design? seems to happen a lot.
 
It really does amaze me how many Beemers have clutch problems, or so it seems, my bike included in that as well. I would like to think that because this is a BMW forum one is llikely to hear of more problems than if one did not frequent the forum, if you see wot i mean, and it is possible to get a distorted view. However, I still find it hard to take that there are so many reported failures, and generally for the same reason of seal failures. After the problem I had with mine last year, I am always slightly apprehensive about a reoccurence, becasue of the expense and hassle of getting it fixed. it should not be happening, at least not to the degree that it appears to do.
Bit disappointing TBH
 
Oil seals have been used on vehicles,obviously, for years, all engine manufacturers are familiar with the working environment of any given seal, plus the shaft to seal and housing to seal tolerances.
For failures to occur like this, there must either be a fault at the design stage, a fault with the seal itself or incorrect fitting procedure.
To just replace the seal without attempting to source the cause of the failure is good for business for the garage concerned but does nothing to aid future prevention of a recurrence.
Has any garage doing the repair ever accurately measured the shaft and the seal housing to see if either of the components are outside of production tolerances?
Some bikes seem to have a recurring problem, others seem to go on forever without, there must be a reason.
 
Jimb said:
Is the RS a dry clutch ??

Either way it should be much more than that, but my 1150 gearbox oil seals failed at 26,000, next one will be japanese.
Click to expand...

Yes sir, I do believe it is :thumb
 
cookie said:
so not a clutch fault at all then.

is that gasket or oil seal?

defective seal (unlikely)

seal badly fitted. two of them?

shagged bearing or undersized/damaged area on the seal area of the relevant shaft. maybe.

poor design? seems to happen a lot.
Click to expand...

OK, so not a 'clutch' problem, but a 'gasket' problem.

Still a problem that requires replacing the clutch plates though - they are useless once they have oil on them (going off the technicans info - have no idea about mechanics myself).

Regardless of if its a 'clutch' or a 'gasket' problem, its still a 500 - 850 squid issue due to having the bike pulled apart in order to get to the affected area. An issue that shouldn't happen at 25,000 miles, let alone 16,500 miles later.

I guess I can always ask that they replace the bike with a new K1200S ;) Dreams are free! Oil leakage in dry clutches isn't :/
 
i wasn't being picky. i was trying to gently point out that something is causing the failures with no attempt made to fix that cause.

le singe's post was rather more to the point.

is there a gasket in the clutch housing or are we talking about an oil seal?
 
cookie said:
is there a gasket in the clutch housing or are we talking about an oil seal?
Click to expand...
Here is the usual culprit: it's the rear seal of the transmission input shaft. The seal is immediately behind the clutch slave cylinder. Gear oil escapes from the tranny and flows along the clutch pushrod, inside the hollow input shaft, from the back of the transmission all the way to the clutch. On an 1150, the seal can be pulled out and replaced from the outside. On an 1100, the gearbox must be opened to replace the seal.
gearoil.jpg
 
cookie said:
i wasn't being picky. i was trying to gently point out that something is causing the failures with no attempt made to fix that cause.

le singe's post was rather more to the point.

is there a gasket in the clutch housing or are we talking about an oil seal?
Click to expand...

Sorry, wasn't venting at you, just annoyed in general that I don't have my bike due to something out of my control.

I'm guessing there are several gaskets/seals/somethings in the system - I'm going off what I'm being told by SPC and what Battersea told me last time and am in no way qualified to do more than that. I'm great with computers - this mechanics stuff is way beyond anything I can do.

The essense of the matter is that while there was wear and tear on the different parts of the clutch (not surprising given the bike has a total of 42,000 miles on it), that wasn't the cause of the slippage - oil got into the clutch system and slippage has ensued - the various clutch plates (I think there are two of them) are now useless and have to be replaced at the same time as any gaskets and/or seals.

I should find out today whether BMW UK are going to be nice about this situation or not - afterall, they did the work 17000 miles ago to rectify the original 'clutch slippage due to oil infestation' work which was rightly fixed under warranty.
 
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