'96 RT clutch at 0.45...... all worn out

[Stan Walker]

Short story, I'm taking advantage of Jan being on an extended trip to Florida to tear down the '96 RT and inspect the clutch / lube the splines / replace the neutral switch. The bike has 71,000 miles and this has never been done.

 

Well I've dug my way down past the tranny and have the clutch disc in my hot little hands. It mic's at 4.55 - 4.62 mm depending on where you sample it. Since the wear limit is 4.50 it would seem like the time has come to replace it.

 

Interesting side note, I came up with the same measurement without taking the clutch apart by inserting a stack of feeler gauges between the two pressure plates and mic'ing the stack once I felt I had the right combination.

 

Since the clutch was redesigned in December '97 it looks like as a minimum I need a new pressure plate as well as the friction disk. For another $115 or so I can get the whole clutch kit and replace everything. That would seem to me to be the wisest choice. I really don't want to be back in here for a long time.

 

I'll post separately regarding the condition of the splines once I get them cleaned up and some pictures taken. But the short story is my tranny input shaft looks good to go.

 

Stan

[outpost22]

How long did it take to get the clutch out after you started disassembly? I also have a '96 and it has 40K miles on it. Just curious what the average clutch life around here has been. I know it depends on riding style, and I don't sense any "slip" in mine...yet. What are usually the first signs of these going bad? "chatter"? What do the rebuild parts end up costing?

 

Thanks

[Stan Walker]

How long did it take to get the clutch out after you started disassembly?

 

Maybe 8 hours? I didn't really keep track. This is my first time to pull any of this apart and I took my time. I suspect that the next time will be 1/2 of that.

 

Just curious what the average clutch life around here has been.

 

Probable between 40K to 120K. The early RT's (96-97) had thinner disks and wore out too soon for BMW and the whole thing was redone with thicker material and a thinner pressure plate in Dec '97.

 

What are usually the first signs of these going bad? "chatter"?

 

Probably slipping. Mine never exhibited any symptoms, but then it never totally wore out. I'm just replacing it now while it's apart rather than in a year or so. As noted earlier you can measure the clutch disc material thickness without pulling the tranny. You do have to pull the starter but that's easy.

 

What do the rebuild parts end up costing?

 

Assuming no input shaft spline problems, $275 for the clutch parts if you get the whole kit. $160 for just the disc and pressure plate. Plus a few $$$ for screws and washers that BMW says are one time use parts. Plus Final drive pivot bearings that have at least a 50/50 chance of being bad. Plus anything else you find while tearing it down and putting it back together. All in all, not to expensive for a couple of weekends worth of fun.

 

Stan

[scottfarm2]

$275 is what I paid for my clutch kit from Chicago Bmw for my 94 RRS which was completely worn out at 40K probably from abuse. I did a spline lube on my 96RRT at 44K and the clutch disc looked new. Depends on how hard it is driven.