ultracyclist Posted July 9, 2006 Share Posted July 9, 2006 At 36,000 miles, on my '02R1150R, the final drive support bearing has failed. The local BMW dealer is now fixing this along with doing the 36k mile service. I bought the bike with 33k miles on it from the dealer, and I checked that all prescribed services were done prior to purchase. 36k miles seems a little low for bearings to fail. The tech told me that he has seen them fail at 5k miles and at 100k miles. Does anyone out there have any experience with this? The rad now has 36k miles. I think this is a bit early for this type of repair. The rad is out of warranty. I plan on contacting BMW NA, as I think this is ridiculous. Am I just going to be p*****g into the wind on this one? Link to comment
John Ranalletta Posted July 9, 2006 Share Posted July 9, 2006 Never happened to me at 27K... Link to comment
flat_twin Posted July 9, 2006 Share Posted July 9, 2006 Time wise you're out of warranty and they may stick with that. OTOH, you bought it from a dealer and within 3k miles the rear drive craps out. It wouldn't hurt to push for a warranty repair. Had it failed last year there would be no question. My 99RT had the same bearing failure last year at 48k miles. I had my local dealer repair it for around $200. Now I change the rear drive lube with each oil change and check for any metal particles. There are many high mileage Oilheads and K's with no rear drive problems at all. Sorry yours wasn't one of them Link to comment
ultracyclist Posted July 9, 2006 Author Share Posted July 9, 2006 I picked up the bike about June 27, 2005 with 33+k miles on it, and the dealer made it perfectly clear that there is no warranty on used bikes. Period. I am a member of BMW MOA, and I am new to this site. MOA forum members have told me that riding two up, or riding with alot of gear, or two up with alot of gear, really loads that bearing. That bearing is the weak link (so to speak) of the drive train. The guy who who owned the rad, was a heavy weight. I am new to motorcycles, still somewhat of babe in the woods. With all the friends and clients I have who ride bikes, I suppose it would have been nice if I had taken one of them along to ask those questions that I did not ask, nor did I know to ask them. But now I am nervous about the bike. What is next? The shocks? Have I been snookered? My plan was to ride my "first" bike for 15k miles, for a total of 48km miles on the bike. Then upgrade. All I heard was "beemers go forever". Hmmmm. By the way, my post was to have been placed in oilheads. If there is a moderator somewhere, please relocate this thread. How it got into hex's, I have no idea. Link to comment
ShovelStrokeEd Posted July 9, 2006 Share Posted July 9, 2006 Well, you are not alone. A bit tough on the warranty deal though. More bad news is that at 36K, your shocks are already probably bad. An R is a bit lighter than an RT but, the shocks on both bikes are crap. Start throwing your loose change in a jar. I think Works Performance makes the cheapest of the rebuildable shocks but I wouldn't go so far as to call them cheap. They are also a pretty good product. Cheer up though, after the rear drive and shocks you only have to worry about clutch splines and surging. It is kinda downhill from here. Link to comment
John Ranalletta Posted July 9, 2006 Share Posted July 9, 2006 Ed, if you ever find me about to jump from a tall building or bridge, keep on moving on... Link to comment
ultracyclist Posted July 9, 2006 Author Share Posted July 9, 2006 I am going to try to move this thread over to oilheads. What about Wilbur shocks? MCN likes them. Link to comment
Boffin Posted July 9, 2006 Share Posted July 9, 2006 I am going to try to move this thread over to oilheads. What about Wilbur shocks? MCN likes them. You can't move it but allow me to Andy Link to comment
ShovelStrokeEd Posted July 9, 2006 Share Posted July 9, 2006 Ultra, Those are the major problems that have shown up with some frequency on this, and other boards. The problems are by no means common but, they do happen, as you well know. A lot of the cost associated with owning a BMW lies in the maintenance of the bike. Many here do their own. Keep an eye on the Ride Planning section and try to attend a tech days in your area, or even out of your area if you feel like a ride. You'll meet a bunch of nice folks and learn about your bike in the process. A few tools, a little dirt and grease and a willingness to learn to do most of the repairs yourself. John, Just having a bit of fun at the new guy's expense. There are many folks that go through their entire ownership experience with no problems. BTW, base jumping is frowned on in most places. Link to comment
Les is more Posted July 9, 2006 Share Posted July 9, 2006 I don't know if the R is like the RT. If so, the bearing that they're pulling is a 19 ball. This is a known weakness as BMW changed over recently to the sturdier 17 ball bearing. That's what we bought when we recently redid my "02 1150 RT. If it's true for your bike as well, it may actually help you with your cost discussion. Link to comment
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