Rear Drive Temp?

Bruce_Almighty · Post by **Bruce_Almighty** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 10:51 pm

Just curious on this. Took my Roadster out for a 15 mile quick ride. Practiced a couple of quick stops on the way home. Expected the rear rotor to be warm. Final Drive seemed warm too. Perhaps this is normal ops? I know, I know, I should know after claiming to have owned as many BMW products as I have, BUT, I never thought to check any of my other scooters. So warm ='s normal?

(Go ahead and shoot if you must... I've donned my kevlar vest)

Post by **ProductUser** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 11:04 pm

LOL

Every three or so months I read a post just like this.

It amazes me how anal some BMW owners are about their bikes. I'm right up there too, but I have never worried about the temp of the FD. The FD drive doesn't even come close to contending with the punishment that the engine deals with, so why worry about it, right? You change the FD oil at the recommended interals, right? There are no signs of leaking of some weird noise, right? Okay, then just ride it!

I have never herd of someone complaining about the temp of their FD. Okay, there was that one guy on a 1200GS in which his FD caught fire. He also took pictures of the boot on fire too!

Enjoy the ride!
ProductUser

Bruce_Almighty · Post by **Bruce_Almighty** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 11:15 pm

Well... Okay, probably not the smartest question I've ever asked... Then again, I don't know what the dealership may have done to this bike after it was traded in. I do know who did the 12K service and I trust them (BMW of Fresno's Service Professionals). At any rate, thanks for the reply, I didn't REALLY think this was an issue, just needed the reassurance. OBTW, I saw those pictures you mentioned... YIKES!

geothepencil · Post by **geothepencil** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 11:46 pm

Actually the final drive of an R1200S gets uncomfortably hot , but you gotta be racing it at 130mph and doing all sorts of mean things to it. Thats why I mentioned in another post that the racers leave the rubber boot at the end of the driveshaft cover at home when they go racing so that the heat of the driveline can vent a little.

Roadsters are normally just warm and happy.

geo

R4R&R · Post by **R4R&R** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 2:31 pm

My final drive has never been too hot to touch with my bare hand, but a brake rotor can heat up pretty quick under normal use.

And I don't think it's that big of a deal to be concerned about the mechanical condition of your bike. Simple checks (like temp checks by hand) can sometimes tell you about a part beginning to fail. Put the bike on the centerstand and grab the rear wheel and try moving it from side-to-side - that's a quick bearing check!

Post by **NoRRmad** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 4:05 pm

I had the final drive begin to fail on the way to the Asheville Rally. I stopped a couple of times to check a strange sound from the hub area, checked the final drive fluid level (just fine,) and tried the "wiggle the rear wheel" check, which seemed just fine, too. But the hub was pretty hot. At one stop, a harley rider came over to help, and I sat on the beak while he rotated the rear wheel. (I had luggage on.) He thought that the wheel was rotating freely, but as I sat on the beak, I could feel a "notchiness" in the bearing through...uh...the part that contacted the beak.

I made it to the Rally OK and the shop that had a booth there looked at it. When they took the wheel off, you could feel the "notchiness" of the rear bearing by just rotating the hub by hand. They replaced the FD and everything's smooth now, and though the hub gets warm, it's not as warm as before.