04 Rockster 2400 miles clutch issues

[ShawnL]

I picked up my rockster last september, when i got it it had 978 miles on it, it was used as a training bike for the state patrol (they had 8 of them for sale on an online auction mileage ranged from 450, to 1400 miles. ( don't ask me I don't get it either)

anyway my starter was SHOT , totally fried inside, I picked up a new starter and cables from euromotors, as well as a new battery and I was on the road, everything worked good and the bike was a nice ride.

I now have almost 250 miles on it, the other night on the way home the clutch seemed to chatter at an idle when in gear, or when pulling up to a stop, at home I put it on the center stand and with the clutch fully engaged the rear tire still spins, I have also noticed a slight slipping in the higher gears.

I checked the fluid level in the clutch reservoir and it was where it should be, the fluid is crystal clear, no haze or discoloration


where should I start? I know this bike was probably ridden hard, and it must have had tons of starts and stops. but I would think that the clutch should last more than 2500 miles?

[riceburner]

At a seriously low mileage like that I can only imagine the bike was ever used for 1st gear pottering about at walking pace. That would have meant some serious clutch slipping so it's feasible that the clutch plate is knackered.
Other possible issues:
The slave cylinder bearing could be dead. (happened to me)
The push rod could possibly be semi-welded (friction welded) to the clutch spring plate (happened to me).
The spring plate and it's 'push-plate' (where the push rod acts in the middle) could have become separated (again - happened to me).

I used to do a LOT of city riding in London and when I split the clutch at about 80,000 miles these were the main issues I found.

[ShawnL]

ill have some more time to work on this in a few weeks, for now I think ill order the slave cyl, and have that on hand when I tear it down,

I'm not thinking they did much 1st gear puttering around, this bike has after market crash bars, and they have some serious grinding on them from leaning in the curves. I would still imagine they did a few rounds around the track then shut off the bike to get some instructions then started it back up and took a few more laps.

I inspected and I don't see any wetness, so im hoping that the slave didn't leak, and maybe I can replace that and get a few more miles out of the clutch .

[riceburner]

ill have some more time to work on this in a few weeks, for now I think ill order the slave cyl, and have that on hand when I tear it down,

I'm not thinking they did much 1st gear puttering around, this bike has after market crash bars, and they have some serious grinding on them from leaning in the curves. I would still imagine they did a few rounds around the track then shut off the bike to get some instructions then started it back up and took a few more laps.

I inspected and I don't see any wetness, so im hoping that the slave didn't leak, and maybe I can replace that and get a few more miles out of the clutch .

It could be that the damage to the crash bars was all low-speed over-balancing spills - that'd soon scratch the bars up if it was regular.

If it's been used as you describe then the mileage would be FAR higher - the bike has to be AT LEAST 8 years old (they stopped manufacture in 2006 IIRC) and if it had ONLY done 978 miles and used daily - then it can't have been doing any kind of speed at all.

Theres only 2 other options:

1) It's been round the clock (1 million miles??) - the tacho has a 6 figure readout - the maximum it can read is 9-hundred and 9-ty 9 thousand, 9-hundred and 9-ty 9. The next mile would be 1 million.

I'm not saying it's impossible - but it's astronomically unlikely.

2) The tacho has been wound back a serious amount (but to 978 miles? that's just non-sensical).

[Dr. Strangelove]

Have you inspected the slave cylinder? It's in front of the rear wheel in the center. You need a good flashlight. Dirt is likely, but greasy dirt could suggest it's leaking and a clutch job could be in your future.

[billbeemer]

i'm betting gunked up slave cylinder. if clutch is already slipping, you will need a clutch job. if not, slave cylinder is pretty simple.

[sykospain]

i'm betting gunked up slave cylinder. if clutch is already slipping, you will need a clutch job. if not, slave cylinder is pretty simple.

The other issue could be the dreaded 'Premature Input Shaft Spline Failure'. See many threads on other Beemer bike forums regarding this major design fault on every single 6-speed Oilhead made, whereby the clutch friction plate only ever partially sits and moves to & fro on the input shaft's splined area. See also several Chris Harris U-Toob items, particularly "Some Thoughts on BMW Bikes - BMW equals 'Bikes Made Weird'"..especially new models - the new R1200RT disaster anyone ? Just simply vastly reduced BMW sourcing quality, vehicle finish and customer 'service' since the Berlin Spandau bike manufacturing facility was taken over by the BMW Munich cost-cutting car-boys; sorry, cowboys.

Thankfully there is now, right at the start of August 2014, some really welcome and good news for those with top-quality older BMW 6-speeds needing to carry out a DIY clutch job.

Esmir [ celeb1000 ] a very knowledgeable Beemer wrencher in Jacksonville, Florida has just this week finally agreed to source some more of his innovative Clutch Hub Spacer kits, hopefully a new batch of 10 items from whomever does his CNC precision machining in the USA Thus moving the friction plate 6mm further back so that it then engages fully on the input shaft splines, as was universal with those everlasting 5-speed R models. This change of position eliminates premature spline wear, known to have occurred on some bikes as young as 6K miles, provided that Staburags NBU30-PTM grease is applied to the shaft splines every 20K miles, but NEVER applied to the clutch hub splines. Unless you wish to nuke your friction material by grease throw-off ! Product still available despite many rumours to the contrary - PM me for details of the supplier of this renamed special grease:- Klüber 017069-0221.

Nice to have a bit of GOOD news when you own a Beemer, agreed ? !

ALAN in s.e. Spain