R1200R 2010 Generator Belt

[xfjr]

A search of this subject found Don's comment that the 24k mile replacement was no longer valid, since it applied to the R1150. My dealer printed out a 131 BMW maintenance check sheet and it says to replace the belt at 36k miles. I looked on my CD (it says 01/2010 in the footer, so it should be current) that I bought with the bike in 2010 and it says 6 years or 24k miles. The R1200R Service Schedule published by one of our members (rev. 10/09) says "inspect at 24k, replace at 36k".

I am now at 24k miles. Should I replace it, inspect it, forget about it and replace it at 36k or what? Has anyone had a failure before 36k miles? Your input would be appreciated.

Ed

[hjsbmw]

I checked mine at 30k miles and it looked like new, so I left it alone. Not sure if Boxer belts feel more stress than car belts, and those usually last much longer than 36k.

[jkhomes]

I just had the 24K and it was not replaced. I wouldn't worry about it (much).

[Lost Rider]

For whatever it's worth I have over 75,000 miles on my original belt, I carry a spare under the seat.
I know I should replace it before it fails, I just like to see how far I can push things.

[xfjr]

Thanks for the input. I'll take a look at it at 36k.
Ed

[Acpantera]

I replaced mine at 36 and compared the old to the new, The old one did not seem as pliable as the new,the old had no cracks but it looked weathered. In all, I'm glad I changed it. It was not very costly and it was very easy to do. I would not not think the the 1200 belt would last any longer than 1150's belt because the 1200's is exposed to a little more heat due to the oil cooler mounted so close to it.

[deilenberger]

I replaced mine at 36 and compared the old to the new, The old one did not seem as pliable as the new,the old had no cracks but it looked weathered. In all, I'm glad I changed it. It was not very costly and it was very easy to do. I would not not think the the 1200 belt would last any longer than 1150's belt because the 1200's is exposed to a little more heat due to the oil cooler mounted so close to it.

I suspect the 1200 belt will last longer then the 1150 belt because it's an elastic belt, not a fixed length. Putting on and adjusting the fixed length belt on the 1150's was always pretty much guesswork.. too tight? Too loose? 1/2 twist (whatever that means since you can give a 1/2 twist to almost anything given a long enough lever arm..) The 1200 belt goes on and you can forgeddaboutit..

One thing I suggest - the early R12R came with a softish foam liner in the plastic cover for the belt.. it was for noise. When you have the cover off - remove and throw away the foam liner. It captured water and on bikes ridden a lot in rain cause corrosion of the front timing case cover (to the point some people ended up replacing it..) Later 1200 motors did not come with this piece.

[xfjr]

Thanks for the additional input Don. Hope you had a safe and enjoyable ride in the far north, at least far north to me. I'll replace mine at 36k and have a look inside the cover.

Ed

[Acpantera]

I got to tell ya Don, I replaced the the belt on my R1150R also at 36, and I thought at that time that it could go longer because it felt and looked worn some, but not bad, and I felt that it may have gone a lot longer.(I have changed hundreds of polly groove belts). The old belt on the R1200R seemed stiffer than the new, like it was exposed to heat and loosing its elasticity, its service was over . Thats my observation, and I'm glad I changed it when I did.

[deilenberger]

The old belt on the R1200R seemed stiffer than the new, like it was exposed to heat and loosing its elasticity, its service was over . Thats my observation, and I'm glad I changed it when I did.

Quite possible.. but - I think a lot of the change intervals for stuff BMW more or less pulls out of thin air. My Porsche uses a double-sided ribbed belt to drive everything on the front of the engine (4.5L V8).. it has a 60,000 mile change interval. It does have an inspection interval of every 15,000 miles with very specific instructions of what to look for (so many cracks per mm, more then ##mm deep sort of instructions.) That belt is no wider then the one on the R12R alternator, and it drives a 200watt alternator, a power steering pump, the water pump and the AC compressor. When I changed that belt at 60,000 miles - it met none of the requirements for changing it.

Sorta like the oil change interval for the rear drives. The oil was first "Lifetime", then after rear drives started grenading - it went to 12,000 miles. Quite the change.. but also added in there was a 600 mile drain/flush/fill and a revised fill quantity.. and I think that's the reason the drives stopped grenading. I can see Hans and Fritz sitting around chatting "I think we must add a change interval to the rear drives.." "What do you think it should be?" "Dunno - but 10,000km has is a nice even number that's easy to remember.." "And it makes the dealers happy - more regular service work.."

I base my opinion (and that's all it is) on the condition of the rear-drive oil when I've changed it (the first time at 36,000 miles and the second time at 52,000 miles) - it looked exactly like what I was putting back in. No discoloration, no dillution, no funny smells. I think they pulled this one out of the air.

I base my service on not only BMWs recommendations - but also observations (or tests I've had done) I've made and reported failures on the Interwebz. I know my engine oil can easily go 10,000 miles because I've had it analyzed several times, and the lab said it could go 10,000 miles or more. I change it at 6,000 mile intervals just to keep whomever the next owner of the bike might be happy, and to keep my aftermarket warranty in effect.

That's all my opinions - and I'm not suggesting anyone do what I do.. I could very easily be a raging baboon who is handy with a keyboard..

BTW - other silly BMW recommended change intervals - for the classic K brick - the front wheel bearings were supposed to be replaced at 36,000 mile intervals. Not a trivial job either.. I know of no dealer who ever pushed owners to actually do this.. someone back in Berlin just pulled it out of the air..

BTW-II - I can't recall ever hearing of an R1200xx engine belt failure. Can you? Of course if you observed a difference in the two belts - then it's a good thing to change it. I didn't detect any difference in the two belts when I changed mine, so I'm not going to be obsessing over changing it at 72,000 miles exactly.

[Oilhead]

A search of this subject found Don's comment that the 24k mile replacement was no longer valid, since it applied to the R1150

I have a 2002 R1150R and the owner's manual states 36,000 miles as well for the replacement.

[mogu83]

Surprising no one picked up (or on ) the Generator.

Changed mine yesterday at a little over 50K. The old one looked perfectly Ok but I had it apart and the new one in my hand so I forged ahead. I found it was easy getting the cover off if, with the bike on the lift, I jacked the bike up till the front wheel was just ready to come off the ground. This gave plenty of clearance to get the cover off. My front engine cover was starting to corrode and their was rust present, so I cleaned up what I could and threw the foam away. I have the BMW wrench for airhead swingarm bearings but it really didn't work too well so I went with the large adjustable.
Pretty much went as described in various places on the net. I did it alone in the garage on a lift, and I really wouldn't want to do it on the side of the road in the rain or 100 degree heat.

[dbrick]

That belt is no wider then the one on the R12R alternator, and it drives a 200 watt alternator, a power steering pump, the water pump and the AC compressor...

Is this a typo? A second alternator for electric PS? Something else? IMWTK.

[deilenberger]

That belt is no wider then the one on the R12R alternator, and it drives a 200 watt alternator, a power steering pump, the water pump and the AC compressor...

Is this a typo? A second alternator for electric PS? Something else? IMWTK.

Partly, and partly a misreading I think.

The first part of the sentence describes the R1200R belt that drives the R1200R alternator. The second part should have said "200 AMP" alternator (water cooled.. and it's huge..) Airheads had 200W alternators.. (which is about 15 Amps) [W=V*A]

[Caroanbill]

Australian generator belt replacement interval is 24K miles / 40K km. I raised an eyebrow, but the service manager (a very straight-up guy) said that 5 years would be about it anyway - so I said "replace". He showed me the belt - it had gone quite hard compared to the fresh one - so I was fine with it.

My R12R use is now so low that it's often better to follow the workshop's lead and keep all that info safely on their computer so I don't have to recall (especially since I fixed my once-photographic memeory by judicious internal application of shiraz) .. with the two Vespas doing inner-city duty, the R12R generally only gets a full-day or 2-3day run, between 400 and 600km a day, once every 3-4 weeks. I prefer a little "over-servicing" to having to remember what needs doing, and I certainly don't want to miss any of that on-road time coz of failures or not-yet-done maintenance ... an ounce of prevention ...

[kirby]

A search of this subject found Don's comment that the 24k mile replacement was no longer valid, since it applied to the R1150. My dealer printed out a 131 BMW maintenance check sheet and it says to replace the belt at 36k miles. I looked on my CD (it says 01/2010 in the footer, so it should be current) that I bought with the bike in 2010 and it says 6 years or 24k miles. The R1200R Service Schedule published by one of our members (rev. 10/09) says "inspect at 24k, replace at 36k".

I am now at 24k miles. Should I replace it, inspect it, forget about it and replace it at 36k or what? Has anyone had a failure before 36k miles? Your input would be appreciated.

Ed

Over the years I have found that the generator belts sometime show signs of distress at about 25K to 35K. So I change mine about every 30K or due to inspection showing need. I put about 20K to 25K a year on my machine so it is not age related. The reason may be that the belt is having to live at 3500 to 4500 rpm (sometimes much more!) while at cruise, which is more "flexing" than a typical auto belt. I think this "flexing" is the reason for caution on high milage belts. Also the drive pulley is a smaller dia. than typical auto ones, and both pulleys have about 180 degrees of belt travel around the pulley.
Just my op.
mike