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Trip Plan - take a final 2019, 20 day ride in September to northern Louisiana, southern Arkansas and eastern Texas. Planned for 5000 miles and to finish off seeing some things on my list in those areas.
Trip Ending - day 1, 300 miles in to the day about 225 miles from home.
Trip Ends Due To - drive shaft front universal joint failure.
Trip Ends In - west central Iowa on a small county road. As usual I had not idea where I had lunch as paid in cash, no idea of the town I just passed through and no idea of the road number I was on as was just heading towards Missouri enjoying the agriculture land in western Iowa.
Next Steps - find a means to get the bike to a secure location, find a motel for the night and determine what my next options were for accessing the damage.
Getting help - a call to my dealer, MoonMotorsports on a Saturday afternoon gave me some relief as they would try to help me find a vehicle to relocate bike back to Minnesota. Using the BMW Anonymous Book found me a 25 mile ride with tow to a motel. A call an hour later from my service manager telling me they had an employee who would come the 300 miles and pick me Sunday morning as he had a grandmother half the ways to me he would like to spend a couple of days with. Sunday morning at exact time he told me the driver and pickup would be there they showed up to pick up my broken down RS. First we had to unload the service departments RS they brought down for me to ride home and then we loaded mine on the pickup. I broke down at 1430 on a Saturday afternoon and Sunday at 1400 I was home watching the end of the Vikings game.
Damage - front universal joint broke while riding about 70 mph. The rotating drive shaft damaged the swing arm interior, the universal joint parts attached to the transmission damage the transmission rear housing and broke off the output shaft of the transmission.
Repairs - BMW does not have parts to repair the old style transmission found in bikes assembled before June of 2016. The extended warranty company looked for a used transmission to install in the bike for 2 weeks and when one could not be secured elected to install a new transmission with the judder damper on the output shaft. These transmissions with judder damper shafts are now used on bikes. Being the transmission size changed it also meant a new starter which is slightly shorter. So a new swing arm, new drive shaft, new transmission, new starter and new bearings in the rear of the engine for the updated transmission.
Judder Information - BMW describes it as "Judder damper on the transmission output shaft along with revised selector drum actuators, transmission shaft, and transmission shaft bearings".
Repair Process - installing a new transmission requires removal of the engine from the bike, installation of new bearings in the back of the engine and then the addition of the new starter, swing arm and drive shaft. The bike was down for nearly 6 weeks but it gave me an opportunity to put 4000 miles on the 2002 R1150GSA which now has 126,000 miles on it.
Final Thoughts - I do sense with the new style transmission the clutch has a lighter feel and the bikes gear shift assist is smoother. I could not be happier with the help I received from the couple who took time to get me and the bike to a motel and with MoonMotorsports for sending a vehicle to pick up the bike as well as bringing me an RS to ride home. All the work with the extended warranty company was handled through the service department. The extended warranty company, BMW goodwill help for a customer, some coupon discounts and MoonMotorsports tireless efforts to make this go smooth for me keeps me believing in the brand and the people associated with it.
————————————
Answering some questions
No real reason yoke broke other than time of use
Bike has 93,000 miles on it
Total labor, parts, and a towing costs were a bit over $11,000. Most extended warranty policies pay up to the current value of the vehicle for a single incident and up to the total cost of vehicle before accessories are added for all incidents during the term of the contract. If you buy an extended warranty read it before signing so you know what you are buying. Might take a couple of hours. My bike was valued at $8400 so they paid that amount. BMW goodwill covered a nice part of the remaining. I worked with my dealer on the remaining.
On Wayne’s comment on how parts seem broke off keep in mind how fast this is all turning when it failed at 70 mph which certainly knocked pieces off as it ruined the interior of the swing arm, ruined the back plate of the transmission and caught enough at some point to break off the output shaft of the transmission which is hollow.
Rays note on dealer support is so true. Hand your mechanic a hundred dollar bill sometime after they do something major on your bike and I bet the next time you need assistance like I did on a Saturday afternoon, they will be there for you. They were instrumental in working with BMW to handle the goodwill part of the costs. I can also say if you bitch about BMW on public forums, take shots at them even if you strongly feel a certain way or complain about something you can’t do anything about anyway, keep in mind they also read those public forums or social media sites. They just may remember you when you need them.
I have 2 friends who have lost universal joints this summer. One was the upper at 89,000 miles on R1100S and the other was the lower at 90,000 miles on a 2015 R1200GSA. The GSA also had a damage swing arm and had to replace that. He had the same extended warranty company I did. Rider with S paid for a used drive shaft and then got rid of the bike.
Trip Plan - take a final 2019, 20 day ride in September to northern Louisiana, southern Arkansas and eastern Texas. Planned for 5000 miles and to finish off seeing some things on my list in those areas.
Trip Ending - day 1, 300 miles in to the day about 225 miles from home.
Trip Ends Due To - drive shaft front universal joint failure.
Trip Ends In - west central Iowa on a small county road. As usual I had not idea where I had lunch as paid in cash, no idea of the town I just passed through and no idea of the road number I was on as was just heading towards Missouri enjoying the agriculture land in western Iowa.
Next Steps - find a means to get the bike to a secure location, find a motel for the night and determine what my next options were for accessing the damage.
Getting help - a call to my dealer, MoonMotorsports on a Saturday afternoon gave me some relief as they would try to help me find a vehicle to relocate bike back to Minnesota. Using the BMW Anonymous Book found me a 25 mile ride with tow to a motel. A call an hour later from my service manager telling me they had an employee who would come the 300 miles and pick me Sunday morning as he had a grandmother half the ways to me he would like to spend a couple of days with. Sunday morning at exact time he told me the driver and pickup would be there they showed up to pick up my broken down RS. First we had to unload the service departments RS they brought down for me to ride home and then we loaded mine on the pickup. I broke down at 1430 on a Saturday afternoon and Sunday at 1400 I was home watching the end of the Vikings game.
Damage - front universal joint broke while riding about 70 mph. The rotating drive shaft damaged the swing arm interior, the universal joint parts attached to the transmission damage the transmission rear housing and broke off the output shaft of the transmission.
Repairs - BMW does not have parts to repair the old style transmission found in bikes assembled before June of 2016. The extended warranty company looked for a used transmission to install in the bike for 2 weeks and when one could not be secured elected to install a new transmission with the judder damper on the output shaft. These transmissions with judder damper shafts are now used on bikes. Being the transmission size changed it also meant a new starter which is slightly shorter. So a new swing arm, new drive shaft, new transmission, new starter and new bearings in the rear of the engine for the updated transmission.
Judder Information - BMW describes it as "Judder damper on the transmission output shaft along with revised selector drum actuators, transmission shaft, and transmission shaft bearings".
Repair Process - installing a new transmission requires removal of the engine from the bike, installation of new bearings in the back of the engine and then the addition of the new starter, swing arm and drive shaft. The bike was down for nearly 6 weeks but it gave me an opportunity to put 4000 miles on the 2002 R1150GSA which now has 126,000 miles on it.
Final Thoughts - I do sense with the new style transmission the clutch has a lighter feel and the bikes gear shift assist is smoother. I could not be happier with the help I received from the couple who took time to get me and the bike to a motel and with MoonMotorsports for sending a vehicle to pick up the bike as well as bringing me an RS to ride home. All the work with the extended warranty company was handled through the service department. The extended warranty company, BMW goodwill help for a customer, some coupon discounts and MoonMotorsports tireless efforts to make this go smooth for me keeps me believing in the brand and the people associated with it.
————————————
Answering some questions
No real reason yoke broke other than time of use
Bike has 93,000 miles on it
Total labor, parts, and a towing costs were a bit over $11,000. Most extended warranty policies pay up to the current value of the vehicle for a single incident and up to the total cost of vehicle before accessories are added for all incidents during the term of the contract. If you buy an extended warranty read it before signing so you know what you are buying. Might take a couple of hours. My bike was valued at $8400 so they paid that amount. BMW goodwill covered a nice part of the remaining. I worked with my dealer on the remaining.
On Wayne’s comment on how parts seem broke off keep in mind how fast this is all turning when it failed at 70 mph which certainly knocked pieces off as it ruined the interior of the swing arm, ruined the back plate of the transmission and caught enough at some point to break off the output shaft of the transmission which is hollow.
Rays note on dealer support is so true. Hand your mechanic a hundred dollar bill sometime after they do something major on your bike and I bet the next time you need assistance like I did on a Saturday afternoon, they will be there for you. They were instrumental in working with BMW to handle the goodwill part of the costs. I can also say if you bitch about BMW on public forums, take shots at them even if you strongly feel a certain way or complain about something you can’t do anything about anyway, keep in mind they also read those public forums or social media sites. They just may remember you when you need them.
I have 2 friends who have lost universal joints this summer. One was the upper at 89,000 miles on R1100S and the other was the lower at 90,000 miles on a 2015 R1200GSA. The GSA also had a damage swing arm and had to replace that. He had the same extended warranty company I did. Rider with S paid for a used drive shaft and then got rid of the bike.
Darrell
2016 R1200RS
2022 R1250RT
2016 R1200RS
2022 R1250RT