Noise in Final Drive

[RTJohn]

Took my 2013 RT to the dealer to have them change the final drive oil (long story on how this came about). The mechanic called me into the shop to let me hear a noise. He said the oil was clean, there's no deflection then he spun the wheel. There was a very noticeable noise. He took the brake caliper off, the noise was still there. The noise was rythmic, like a certain spot was hitting. Whatever it is it isn't obvious. Any ideas?

[Norm 88]

Hi John! U joint? Mine did not make much noise. Rear u joint was fine, pulled swing arm front u joint was toast. Hope that is not the case with yours...

[Danny caddyshack Noonan]

Perhaps have them compare, for your ears, one without said noise?

[Stan Walker]

Wow.

Hope it's not serious.

Good thing it didn't fail on the NS trip.

long story on how this came about

We are all ears!!!

Stan

[dirtrider]

Morning RTJohn

 

Drivetrain noises are very difficult to diagnose over the internet.

 

Unlike the older BMW final drives the newer units don't have the crown bearing running in the gear oil so even with a failing bearing the gear oil usually comes out looking clean.

 

By unbolting the brake caliper that is one area of possible noise that was eliminated.

 

It still could be the crown bearing but those are usually not so rhythmic.

 

As mentioned above it could also be a U joint starting to go out.

 

If it is back together & ridable the rider can u-s-u-a-l-l-y feel the crown bearing starting to go out in the riders or passengers foot pegs while riding slowly or while coasting slowly (engine off trans in neutral).

 

The rear U join can be checked by just swinging (pivoting) the final drive back with the shaft pulled loose of the final drive pinion.

 

The front U joint is a real pain to access for inspection as the drive shaft will not come out the rear of the 1200RT (GS it will RT it won't).

 

Another place to look (but hard to believe it would make that much noise) is the rear wheel speed sensor contacting the reluctor.

[RTJohn]

The shop called me today to say it was the u-joint. Mamba Motorsports is going to ask BMW for some help with this. I was over the warranty mileage by 100 miles. More to come. Got to get repaired either way.

[dirtrider]

The shop called me today to say it was the u-joint. Mamba Motorsports is going to ask BMW for some help with this. I was over the warranty mileage by 100 miles. More to come. Got to get repaired either way.

 

Morning RTJohn

 

Hopefully they will honor the warranty.

 

If not then you might claim that your odometer is reading higher than actual miles traveled as odometers are usually not 100% accurate.

 

Odometer error has worked to extend the warranty period on some automobiles so why not a motorcycle.

[6speedTi]

Hopefully the dealer and BMW will split the costs between parts and labor to keep the customer happy.

[chrisolson]

One might also reasonably take a position that the failure actually happened within the warranty period and that 100 miles is not an unrealistic duration for discovery.

[John in VA]

If BMW denies a claim on a major drivetrain component because the bike is 100 mi beyond warranty then they're even nastier than I thought. I had out-of-warranty ABS failure some years ago and even the dealer was surprised when BMW wouldn't help at all.

[RTJohn]

It turns out it was the u-joint at the FD. The shop mechanic showed me how the u-joint was worn versus the inner u-joint which was fine.

BTW, BMWNA will cover the costs as a warranty repair. Whew!

[Stan Walker]

Good deal.....

Good thing it didn't fail on Pikes Peak!!!!!!

 

Stan

[Norm 88]

It turns out it was the u-joint at the FD. The shop mechanic showed me how the u-joint was worn versus the inner u-joint which was fine.

BTW, BMWNA will cover the costs as a warranty repair. Whew!

:clap:

[TF1200RT]

It turns out it was the u-joint at the FD. The shop mechanic showed me how the u-joint was worn versus the inner u-joint which was fine.

BTW, BMWNA will cover the costs as a warranty repair. Whew!

I was at Mamba Motorsports last Friday with a u-joint that failed on the front (110,000 miles). The tech couldn't remove the u-joint from the spline on the transmission side without dropping the transmission. I was on my way back to Texas when it failed on the Grapevine, so I left it with a friend in Valencia and will have to retrieve it with my truck and trailer.

[RTJohn]

Got my baby back...finally! Repaired under warranty. Thanks to Barty the mechanic and Sean the service manager.

[RTJohn]

I got lucky. Mine didn't fail but would have.