MCN did an article on the BMW Final Drive Failures some time back, but you can't get to the entire article without being a subscriber. It seems that the majority of problems came with the EVO paralevel drives on the 2004 and later models, with the hollow rear axle and 50 mm hole.
This snippet is from the MCN article
As to the number of occurances of this failure, statistics are difficult to gather as BMW will not talk about it on or off the record. These failures were insignificant prior to model year 2001. Fact: of 38 Palever BMWs that entered the 2007 Iron Butt Rally 14 were R1200 models, that is EVO Paralever bikes; four did not finish due to final drive failures, a 29% failure rate. EVO paralevers are 2004 and later models with the hollow rear axle and 50 mm hole.
A symptom cited in the article was oil leakage around the final drive seals eventually spreading to the rear wheel; others include metal particles on the magnetic drain plug (it was suggested one be fitted if not present).
There is an extensive technical discussion of failure modes, preload pressures, pinion gear's needle bearing, final drive lubricant change frequency, viscosity of the fluid. The article notes these are only theories as the BMW technicians who have examined cases of this occurance are silent.
A symptom cited in the article was oil leakage around the final drive seals eventually spreading to the rear wheel; others include metal particles on the magnetic drain plug (it was suggested one be fitted if not present).
There is an extensive technical discussion of failure modes, preload pressures, pinion gear's needle bearing, final drive lubricant change frequency, viscosity of the fluid. The article notes these are only theories as the BMW technicians who have examined cases of this occurance are silent.
What wasn't discusses in the MCN article, is the FD spline failures, and that was the issue with our RMMRC club member who switched to the Explorer. That was the issue of two failures with his BMW.
I have no idea what current statistics are for models beyond 2007, but there does appear to still be a lot of forum posts and issues reported.
- Sean
On Nov 22, 2013, at 12:02 PM, Steve Smith <shmitty74@gmail.com> wrote:
You're probably right Curtis, I do tend to let them sit around too long. Not enough time to ride more than 6-8k per bike and keep my day job. Either less bikes or more time off. Tough decision...
The FD failures have happened across all variants of the line, not just GS bikes. I believe that it is a problem with the 1150s too, but not sure which FDs were more prone to have trouble.
Steve
On Nov 22, 2013 7:27 AM, <emrat@googlegroups.com> wrote:Group: http://groups.google.com/group/emrat/topics
Steve Smith <shmitty74@gmail.com> Nov 21 10:14AM -0700
Martin,
I agree that the R-Rs are nice looking bikes, and if they are anything like
the GS I have I'm sure that it will handle great. They look to be fantastic
machines, and I've tread a few reviews that praised them highly. However, I
feel that I must mention a couple of things that I have noticed during my 4
years of ownership that you may wish to consider.
First is that the cost of ownership is considerably costlier than with any
of the other bikes I've owned. Parts and accessories along with maintenance
are a fair bit higher than most bikes other than H-Ds. Cult status has
something to do with that I suppose, but it exists just the same.
Second, and most bothersome to me, is the well documented final drive
failure rate among these bikes. While there are plenty of them that have
never had a problem, there are way more than there should be. My own BMW is
showing signs of leakage at the rear drive, and it has only 32k on it. I
haven't determined what the cause or repair will be yet, but it has me
concerned. My Yamaha has over 65k and never leaked a drop. If you search
the web for final drive failure stories, you'll find a ton of them. Not
trying to scare you off of them, but you should be aware that it is not
uncommon.
Whatever you decide to do I hope that you get a great bike that gives you a
ton of memorable miles!
Steve S
--
SteveCurtis Graves <ikonoklass@gmail.com> Nov 21 11:10AM -0700
Martin,
Steve is correct about final drive failure. It is documented extensively on
advrider and elsewhere. However, I'm not sure the issue existed prior to
2005, so you'll want to look into that, too, if an 1150 is on your radar
screen. Regarding maintenance, you would want to have it serviced by Pete
Homan, not a dealer. With Pete, a major service on my GS was the same as on
my Sprint RS, around $800. My GS has been flawless, BTW, which suggests
that Smitty is not riding his properly. ; )
Anthony Sean Donnelly <sean1881@gmail.com> Nov 21 11:15AM -0700
Good points that Curtis and Smitty bring up regarding the final drive failures. I know that there have been a couple of people in the RMMRC that have traded their BMW's for that reason. One had the FD fail twice. That guy moved to a Triumph Explorer the other moved to a Kawasaki Concours. I am not sure of the model year of either bike that was having FD issues, but I do believe they were both post 2005.
- Sean
Martin Albright <martinjmpr@yahoo.com> Nov 21 10:50AM -0800
Steve and Curtis: RE: FD Failures: Is that on ALL of the R-series bikes or is it primarily the GS models? My thought is that it seems reasonable to me that exposing a shaftie to the rigors of off-road riding could lead to greater than normal failure rates (which may explain why BMW is one of only a few manufacturers to put a shaft on an ADV bike.) I don't intend to ride on anything worse than a well graded dirt road which is why I'm looking at the R1100R/1150R rather than the GS bikes.
From: Anthony Sean Donnelly <sean1881@gmail.com>
To: "emrat@googlegroups.com emrat@googlegroups.com" <emrat@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, November 21, 2013 11:15 AM
Subject: Re: [emrat:3209] Digest for emrat@googlegroups.com - 3 Messages in 1 Topic
Good points that Curtis and Smitty bring up regarding the final drive failures. I know that there have been a couple of people in the RMMRC that have traded their BMW's for that reason. One had the FD fail twice. That guy moved to a Triumph Explorer the other moved to a Kawasaki Concours. I am not sure of the model year of either bike that was having FD issues, but I do believe they were both post 2005.
- Sean
On Nov 21, 2013, at 11:10 AM, Curtis Graves <ikonoklass@gmail.com> wrote:
Martin,
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