03 R1150rt Bolt marking and clutch play

[plepper]

Well I have got the rear subframe lifted to replace the clutch slave cylinder. So far all the appropriate bolts/nuts have been marked with a pink dot and corresponding pink mark except for the rear hub which has pink and blue. I'm thinking that the rear hub has been removed at some point in time and remarked in blue. I'm also thinking the bike hasn't been apart this far before ( bike has 41500 miles on odo ) When checking the clutch disk for movement with the bike in 1st gear, clutck lever depressed to grip I have about 1/8" movement before input shaft moves. Would this inicate the splines are in good shape or should I go ahead and remove the tranny and check further. I only plan to put 2-4 K on the bike a year as I have other bikes I also ride. Thoughts and suggestions appreciated!

[Jim Moore]

Where are you measuring the 1/8"? The technique most people use is to remove the starter and measure at the edge of the clutch disk. 

[dirtrider]

10 hours ago, plepper said:

Well I have got the rear subframe lifted to replace the clutch slave cylinder. So far all the appropriate bolts/nuts have been marked with a pink dot and corresponding pink mark except for the rear hub which has pink and blue. I'm thinking that the rear hub has been removed at some point in time and remarked in blue. I'm also thinking the bike hasn't been apart this far before ( bike has 41500 miles on odo ) When checking the clutch disk for movement with the bike in 1st gear, clutck lever depressed to grip I have about 1/8" movement before input shaft moves. Would this inicate the splines are in good shape or should I go ahead and remove the tranny and check further. I only plan to put 2-4 K on the bike a year as I have other bikes I also ride. Thoughts and suggestions appreciated!

Morning  plepper

 

Those paint (index) marks on the rear wheel retaining bolts just mean that someone in the past  (like me for instance) has marked (indexed) the rear wheel bolts after tightening so it only takes a quick look to see if the bolts are still tight.  

 

The paint marks on the transmission bolts probably mean someone has been there before so that c-o-u-l-d mean someone has had the transmission off for one reason or another. 

 

As for (IF) 1/8"clutch disk movement with clutch lever held in is good or bad?  It's neither 1/8" rotational play is more than it should be but less than "it's about to fail next ride".

 

If the starter is still removed then turn the disk to 3 or 4 different places then recheck at those clockings. See if the 1/8" rotational play is consistent at all clockings checked.  

 

One of the things that can happen is that the disk can drop down on the transmission splines when released making the disk appear tighter than it really is.  

 

With those transmission bolts being indexed it might pay you to remove the transmission for inspection of the splines as someone might have had it apart, found spline wear,  then just put a new clutch disk on the worn splines then sold the motorcycle. 

 

If a new clutch disk was installed on a worn input shaft then your 1/8" rotational movement might not tell you what you need to know.  

 

Are there any other signs that the transmission was removed & reinstalled, like bolt head tool marks, or mis-routed wires or hoses, or signs the rear frame was removed or lifted up?

 

 

[plepper]

Yes to Jim it's with the starter removed. As for other indications of the transmission being previously removed I'm not really seeing anything blatantly standing out. I guess the way to proceed is to take everything apart and pull the tranny. This is my personal bike and I'm thinking if I don't do it right I'll always be wondering if it's going to leave me stranded. If the input shaft is bad I think a used tranny with extended spline clutch disk is in my future. Will any 1150 trans bolt up, and is finding a GS trans ok to use as I think the lower gear ratios might be benificial to the type of riding I enjoy ( backroads, I limit interstates as much as possible ).

[dirtrider]

54 minutes ago, plepper said:

Yes to Jim it's with the starter removed. As for other indications of the transmission being previously removed I'm not really seeing anything blatantly standing out. I guess the way to proceed is to take everything apart and pull the tranny. This is my personal bike and I'm thinking if I don't do it right I'll always be wondering if it's going to leave me stranded. If the input shaft is bad I think a used tranny with extended spline clutch disk is in my future. Will any 1150 trans bolt up, and is finding a GS trans ok to use as I think the lower gear ratios might be benificial to the type of riding I enjoy ( backroads, I limit interstates as much as possible ).

Morning  plepper

 

Pretty well all the 1150 6 speed transmissions will bolt up but the gear ratios are different between some of them as the GS, GS-A, R, PT-P bikes can have some ratio difference as some are just different & some are meant to use different final drive ratios.

 

There can be some gain is using a couple of the non-stock gear ratio transmissions as the stock 1150RT 6 speed has (for my riding anyhow) a big jump between 5th to 6th.  Too much difference for me in some riding conditions as there are times when 5th is too low & 6th is too high. 

 

The BMW parts book can be a big help in matching transmissions or picking one that has gear ratios more suited to your needs. 

[Jim Moore]

4 hours ago, plepper said:

Yes to Jim it's with the starter removed. As for other indications of the transmission being previously removed I'm not really seeing anything blatantly standing out. I guess the way to proceed is to take everything apart and pull the tranny. This is my personal bike and I'm thinking if I don't do it right I'll always be wondering if it's going to leave me stranded. If the input shaft is bad I think a used tranny with extended spline clutch disk is in my future. Will any 1150 trans bolt up, and is finding a GS trans ok to use as I think the lower gear ratios might be benificial to the type of riding I enjoy ( backroads, I limit interstates as much as possible ).

1/8" at the edge of the disk is NOT an indication of an imminent failure. You will see 8-10 mm of slop before it fails. I'd probably put it back together and check it every 10K miles to see if it gets worse.

[02R1150RT6M]

Glad the OP got lucky. I just checked the bike I bought last week and it has about 1/4 inch of play, perhaps a tad more or less, it's hard to measure in there. Thankfully I already ordered a new clutch with the longer hub. I've only riden the bike on the test drive and to my house, so this is a fun way to start my BMW motorcycle ownership experience haha.