What's that smell?

[GelStra]

(Gads, I'm afraid of the responses but, here goes) In slow speed manuevering where I'm slipping the clutch a lot on ol' Gelstra (12GS), I notice a funny smell. Am I doing any serious harm? I hear some of you talk about dry clutches but what about the "friction zone" to which the MSF instructor so fondly referred? I'm HOPING it's just part of the charm that goes with the bike, like the ka-chunk tranny.

[steve.foote]

Yep, that's the clutch your smelling. It's ok to slip it a little, but don't over-do it. The burning smell is normal and you'll also smell something similar when you do a hard brake from speed.

[Ken H.]

As Steve said, it's the clutch burning. Remember, unlike many other bikes you may have ridden, the BMW has a dry clutch (not immersed in lubricant) and it doesn't like long slow slips very well. The key to clutch life, and oratory satisfaction, is to make very quick and deliberate clutch movements.

 

The so-called "friction zone" is the distance in the clutch's travel from between when the clutch starts to engage to where it is fully engaged. It's not very far across the lever's total distance and takes some consciously thinking and finesse to accurately learn where it starts and ends. Find and 'feather' around and through the clutch friction point but 'pass through it' quickly and deliberately. Sometimes when starting off, especially in challenge situations (e.g. - up hill) I think it helps to think in terms of a of tiny clutch engagement 'pulses' rather than on long slow dragging it out across the friction zone.

 

Also avoid too high of RPMs when intially pulling away from a stop. Ideally as you pass through the friction zone the engine RPM should drop not rise. Obviously not so far as to stall, but you are trying to as quickly as possible match the engine output and transmission input speed. Both by increasing the transmission speed (and beginning to move of course!) and by reducing the engine speed until they match, then pick up RPMs as you accelerate.

 

If you are new with the 12GS, or BMWs in general they do have a bit of a different clutch feel, but with conscious effort and practice you'll get better!

[Pickaxe]

Although you can smell the clutch on your GS because the housing is open to the atmosphere (unlike most other designs). I'm led to believe that the smell is due to the use of a more eco friendly friction material.In my experience, the clutches on BMWs generally outlast their wet clutch counterparts, and you should just use it as normal and not fret. There certainly doesn't seem to be any reports of premature failure.