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Driveshaft

Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2017 9:18 pm
by mogu83
At the National I noticed that Don Porters selling driveshafts for the R1200R. Priced at $650 it's cheaper then the $1,000 BMW unit but it's rebuild able and has grease fittings on it. Slightly more than the rebuild by the guy in Canada ($500) but looks superior.
One of the good things with the procedure to change the fluid in the rear drive of the early R1200Rs is you get a chance to inspect the rear universal joint (the one that usually goes) and change it before it goes and causes major damage. At 70,000 one of the caps were cracked in mine and pins were laying in the rubber boot. One of the guys had a driveshaft go on his R1200RT(same as ours) on the way to the national.

Link to Porters site (I couldn't find driveshafts): http://www.beemershop.com/Merchant5/mer ... ode=R1200R

Re: Driveshaft

Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2017 4:11 am
by Newportcycle
I've seen the shafts your referring to, nice bit of kit those are. Inspection of the drive shaft on the 2011 models, is a PITA as the final drive remains in place during oil changes. I inspected mine last year during seal replacement no rust or issues present. I'll have to add this inspection to the annual maintenance routine.

Harry, was there any feel at the rear wheel giving you indication you had driveshaft issues or was the visual inspection the only way to tell?

Re: Driveshaft

Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2017 7:17 am
by mogu83
No indication at all, although the part was far from being a complete failure. OTOH - I had a Guzzi that had a universal that was very close to a total failure (IE: coming apart) and that just had a very slight vibration if you snapped the throttle close at speed. Shaft drive is superior to belt or chain in many ways BUT when it's going bad you can't see it (IMHO).

Re: Driveshaft

Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2017 11:36 am
by GTS29640
Thanks for the link to Ted Porter's driveshafts. I didn't know there were alternatives available. A unit that can be rebuilt and relubed periodically for 35% less than the factory part is very attractive. I bought my Wilbers from Porter's and found him to be a great guy to deal with.

It's too bad the original shafts didn't come drilled and tapped for grease fittings. With a little preventative maintenance driveshaft failures wouldn't even be a topic of conversation.