Major Failure Poll

[rbt1548]

Other Major Failure comment explained...............ABS unit just gone at 12k

[ColumbiaBMW]

Other Major Failure comment explained...............ABS unit just gone at 12k

This is making me glad I didn't get ABS for this bike....now I only have to worry about the splines and clutch.

[Giraffemom]

Was this a BMW shop mechanic saying this? Or a general mechanic saying that in general motorcycles fail at higher mileages? The conventional wisdom on this board, and this is a topic that appears and reappears with some regularity is that, at least for the clutch splines, failures are about 3% or less of production, that are more common in the 02s -> 04s, especially in the RT line, typically occur by 40-50K miles (though a member reported his going out at 62k?) and that if you get past this rite of passage, you're probably ok on the clutch spline issue.

Dr. Strangelove- The 80K figure concerning clutch splines came from the BMW mechanic at Performance Plus here in Memphis. I thought I had seen the same figure on this forum but I'll bow to greater experience and admit I'm probably mistaken. He did say only a very small percentage of bikes experience this and considering the low mileage on my 2004 RED 1150r I shouldn't worry. Easy for him to say. I was born to worry.

[Lion_Lady]

66,000 miles on my '04 Rockster. No major failures. Lubed clutch splines last fall.

P

[exiledrebel]

At 4000-ish miles, my 04 lost its clutch slave cylinder which ate the gearbox seal and soaked the clutch. That made it unrideable, of course. Since I had to disassembled about half the bike to replace the clutch and access the seals, I'm counting that as a major failure. It sure as hell looked like a major cluster with all of its parts strewn about my garage. I guess you can tell I wasn't happy about it.

[REFFI]

Ah, where to begin? Two summers ago, just after my wife and I bought her a bike so she could return to riding, we decided to take a run up into the mountains on a very nice Saturday in September. The ride up to the mountain town was uneventful. As we left the town and started down the mountain, I found that I was unable to shift out of third gear. I controlled my speed with compression and brakes and got down the mountain, pulled into a gas station and discovered that my aftermarket peg lowering kit shift lever had broken. A seventy mile ride in a tow truck to the dealership got me there before they closed for the weekend. They installed a new lever and I rode my bike home. They offered me my broken parts and I accepted them. The lever is supposed to be stainless steel. On a whim, I applied a magnet, and lo and behold the magnet and the lever were attracted to each other. That ain't stainless. I called the manufacturer and told them what I'd found. They asked me to return the lever and sent me a check for the lever's cost (not including labor, of course).

All the above is prelude. I began to notice difficulty in upshifts when accelerating "briskly," for on-ramps and such. I rode the bike on into last summer and the problem didn't go away. Figuring that my trip down the mountain had probably overstressed the transmission, I had it checked, along with the final drive, etc. The upshot was $2900 in repairs to the transmission. The final drive was OK.

So, I didn't have a major failure. But I probably avoided one by a measurable margin. Oh, by the way, I've now upgraded my road service package to a 250 mile tow.

Ralph
2004 1150R (just had the 25000 mile oil change since all other sevices were performed when the transmission was done)

[Keppelj]

I have a friend with an '02 RR which has 110K miles on it without incident. Well, not counting the failure of the fuel disconnects. He is the original owner. Taking that bike for a turn, at that mileage, convinced me I should buy mine, also an '02.

[REFFI]

The fuel connection failure happened to me, too. I was riding home from work and pulled up behind an old clunker that smelled as though it was running a very rich fuel mix. Further down the road, the clunker was gone and the smell was still with me. I pulled over and saw the fuel hitting the ground. Fortunately, I made it to the dealer for a quick fix (brass fittings instead of the plastic. Yes, I did both of them.)

Ralph

[towerworker]

..

[mikedaz]

3600 miles on my 04 and all is well.Gas lines,zip ties all done. Time to do more riding.Just bought it in the fall and rode 200 miles before
I had to put it up for winter. Bought Kartooo,s bike.

[MIXR]

Chipped some teeth on the flywheel (ring-gear). Reasonably common failure as many of the flywheels have 'soft' teeth and are prone to excessive wear and/or breakage of the teeth that engage the starter cog. Last straw for mine was at 100,000 kms while pumping flood water out of the cylinders. The causeway was a bit deep! It had been playing up a bit prior to that little adventure, so wasn't unexpected. Other than that - She was a good bike.

[suzuki]

37,000 on a 04. my most costly problem so far is TIRES ! Knock on wood and ride.

[ColumbiaBMW]

37,000 on a 04. my most costly problem so far is TIRES ! Knock on wood and ride.

Funny you should say that, just got my bike inspected today and apparently I ran over something on the way there. No nail in the tire or anything, but when I got home the tire was low, and after some soapy water I found a small leak right in the middle of the tire. So I just finished ordering a new one...which sucks because the one that just got punctured was fairly new itself.

[rugrat]

My 02 R1150R with 32,500 mi just provided me with a Bad News/Good News/Bad News situation.

Bad News #1: Clutch went.
Good News: During tear down, found that the splines were badly worn and ready to go. (good that it was caught in the shop and not on the road)
Bad #2: I'm now $3000.00 poorer.

Not sure how to score this 2'fer

[b12bandit]

02 R1150R. 37,000 miles. No major failures. A number of irritating minor failures - zip/cable ties under headstock chewed through wiring. Fuel connectors leaked. Oil sight glass leaked. Shaft drive diff/bevel box leaking.

Apart from that it's been fine BUT, given the age and mileage I'm just waiting for the clutch/transmission to fail and sadly, no longer trust this bike. Every ride now has me wondering - 'was that gear change a little stiff?' Is that a funny noise? Does the bike feel rough today? (It doesn't but I'm getting really paranoid about it!)

[Grey Thumper]

04 Rockster. Just replaced the fuel-disconnects, which is a known issue with a simple and relatively cheap solution. Otherwise, no major problems. But then, I've only got about 24,000 kms on it (previous owner barely rode the thing).

[riceburner]

80K+ on this Rockster - nothing major (apart from things wearing out, eg clutch, rear drive bearing at about 70K).
45K+ on the previous - Spline failure (clutch->gearbox, at about 30K), weird clutch slave piston failure (slave cylinder piston became misaligned from clutch push-rod, about 35K iirc), Rear shock started leaking (~40K iirc). IIRC those are the only 3 failures that stopped me riding it (crashes notwithstanding).

Both bikes have had rear shocks fail or wear out rather quickly I have to say - I'm not too impressed with Showa's quality or longevity.


(1st bike only got 2K on it before being wiped out ).

[riceburner]

37,000 on a 04. my most costly problem so far is TIRES ! Knock on wood and ride.

Funny you should say that, just got my bike inspected today and apparently I ran over something on the way there. No nail in the tire or anything, but when I got home the tire was low, and after some soapy water I found a small leak right in the middle of the tire. So I just finished ordering a new one...which sucks because the one that just got punctured was fairly new itself.

Get it plugged. No problem.

[towerworker]

I put 42,000 trouble free miles on an '03 prior to totaling the bike in 11/07. Bought an 04 in 12/07 with 17K and now has 38K although I haven't ridden in a yr due to illness. Again no major mechanical woes. It will be probably another yr before I can ride again. I wish I had my strength and my hands back. I would pull the transmission and check the splines since I have little else to do!

Wayne

[Zamp]

I have an 04 with 69,000 miles no major problems..