Changing my clutch on 2007 RT

[_Rob_]

Well, it turns out I better keep my day job and leave this sort of work to the professionals. I took my bike into my local dealer for a second opinion and the good news is its not the clutch. The dealer's assessment is that the hesitation/surge is probably due to an electrical issue from coil to spark plug. I just assumed it may be the clutch due to mileage, etc. Further, the latter makes sense as I never observed a noticable increase in rpm when appling throttle beyond what I expected; just hestitation in acceleration, then a slight surge. Beyond that, the dealer also found a problem with the final drive bearing; I recently had been experiencing increased / different vibrations when leaning in turns.

 

Bottom line for me; I'll stick to routine maintenance (valves, oil, TB sync, etc.) and leave the rest to a real mechanic that has the knowledge and experience to do the job correctly and safely, and in my case, keep the extended warranty valid; fortunately for me, I've got a great dealership to rely on when I need help; BMW of Escondido.

[RoSPA_man]

I also have to pull the lever right into the handlebar grip fully in order to avoid a notchy 1st gear engagement.

 

IMO, these are the key words here. It should not be this way irregardless of what type material is used as a clutch disc. It sounds like something else is defective/maladjusted. This may be the cause of all other 'cons' described. (BTW, I am a career mechanic)

I've had the sintered clutch for 24k km's and if I ever need one again, I would not hesitate to go that route again.

 

The need to pull in to the grip has improved a tiny little bit now. While I'm not an expert, I would imagine logically that, say, if you fitted a significantly fatter than standard clutch plate, then you would need to pull the lever more to disengage that plate than you need to do when a plate is worn to the limit. So I would disagree with your assertion that it must be something else. There is little to screw up when fitting the clutch (align correctly and torque correctly)and the only other obvious possibility of how that lever needs to be pulled so tight would be the hydraulic line. I think I can reasonably say that that is eliminated as a cause because I totally refilled with fresh fluid etc.

[Paul Mihalka]

Ref. clutch lever action: On my previous full clutch replacement on my R200GS, with all BMW parts, done by the BMW shop I work, when the job was done the clutch released and closed well, but the lever action happened all very close to the handlebar. With some miles, over 1.000, the lever action returned to normal, starting to release when you start to pull the lever and not needing a full pull to the handlebar. The hydraulic clutch system has a lot of self-adjusting capability.