BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

Hi guys. Very new to this forum and very new to BMW motorcycles. I have had pans over the last 9 years. I bought an ex police 1200rt and it has a noisy clutch thrust bearing. When idling the clutch has a chattering sound and when I put very slight pressure on the clutch lever the chatter goes away and the bike sounds sweet. I know to change the clutch is a nightmare but I am a mechanic of many years ago, served my time then chucked it and drove trucks instead. Do these bikes have a clutch thrust bearing the same as cars do? What is the setup of the clutch?


I am now in the process of taking most of the Tupperware off the bike and sorting the wiring looms as the police have been very unsympathetic to most of the ancillaries being removed.


Thank you kindly.

Morning Twinstacks
If the clutch works fine when engaged then I wouldn't bother splitting the bike in half to fit a new clutch. Save your time and money.
These bikes and even the new LC bike has a very noisy thrust bearing noise until the lever is operated.


You will find on the forum people (like myself) that have returned new bikes to the dealership to be told its ' a characteristic' and it turns out it is....

michaelc2710 wrote: Morning Twinstacks
If the clutch works fine when engaged then I wouldn't bother splitting the bike in half to fit a new clutch. Save your time and money.
These bikes and even the new LC bike has a very noisy thrust bearing noise until the lever is operated.


You will find on the forum people (like myself) that have returned new bikes to the dealership to be told its ' a characteristic' and it turns out it is....

+1 - if it ain't broke...……..

I'm no expert here but isn't the throw-out bearing actually in the slave cylinder? If so, that is much  easier to access than the clutch.

The system has the slave cylinder mounted on the back side of the transmission inline with the crankshaft (I believe the bearing is inside that cylinder). There's a rod that goes from the slave, through the center of spinning clutch assembly (which is a dry, single-plate type) and seats to the center of the rotating clutch spring.


Check out Chris Harris' Youtube channel for details as they are are extremely informative and he's hysterical. He's like a pirate's first mate. Chris doesn't, or I should say didn't, work on Hexheads but the most of the mechanical bits, especially the clutch, are very similar if not identical to the oilheads shown in his videos.


Check to see if the slave is leaking because if it is, even just weeping, that oil will eventually work it way down the actuator shaft and fling out and foul the clutch plates. Then you'll have no choice but to replace the clutch.

Thanks you all for your input. I was worried about using the bike with the noisy clutch incase something gaveway and did more damage. Would it be advisable to change the thrust bearing thingy and slave cylinder or just leave it all to develop.
Thanks again. I just need to sort the fuel strip now as fuel gauge shows empty.

Well I took the bike to BMW in Edinburgh and it’s confirmed that it’s the first motion shaft on gearbox that’s gone. The bearings have given up and needs overhauled so looks like I will be taking gearbox out after all and be shafted to get it repaired. Done 120 miles with it today and the gearbox is very clunky. Every time I drop a gear it clunks and when I pull away it clunks up through bike as if shaft is moving in box so been advised not to use it as it could shatter and lock the box up locking the back wheel. One day I might catch a break !!

Sorry to hear it's something expensive. How many miles does the bike have on it?

Hi. The bike has 48k on it but it’s an ex police bike so don’t know if it’s been thrashed to bits before being demobbed. Did think it strange that it had a full police service in December 17 and only did 100miles before being auctioned in May? The guy in BMW said that doing the clutch is not as bad as folks make out but as I have never done one on these bikes I can’t answer that. I have watched the police video of them splitting the bike with everything still on the rear frame section so will take my time and be methodical about splitting it. It also has 2 batteries and not sure which one to put optimiser on it but will test the charge rates to see if they are linked or has a split charger relay. Thanks

UPDATE


I split the bike today and took the gearbox out. The first motion shaft has no play on it and the splines are not worn on the shaft or gearbox. I can turn the shaft and no noise is heard from the box. The clutch has plenty life left on it and is not burnt. What I have noticed tho is the push rod that goes through the centre of the gearbox is very very loose in the box and rattles about and also the felt part that is wrapped around the rod is split and hanging off. Does anybody have any experience with these to see if it’s normal?
Thanks

Is the felt or the shaft wet with oil?

No. Felt is dry. All internals of the gearbox clutch and bellhousing are all dry. Took the gearbox to a specialist repairer and he said there is nothing wrong with the box. No bearing has gone. He thinks it’s either normal chatter or slight play on clutch plate and input shaft. I am replacing the clutch plate as a matter of course anyway but the plate coming out is dated 14 so it’s not been in long. Not sure what else to do apart from live with it. Thanks

So, now that you've taken it apart, how hard was it? Could you do it yourself or did you have to have some help for some parts? Would you say that a mechanically adept, but not professional, person do it without much trouble?

Hi mate. I did the dismantle myself with a little help from my father to hold the front part of the bike while if was actually splitting the rear away from the front. I would say if your good with the tools then give it a go. It’s certainly not as hard as I thought it would be. You will spend more time taking all the plastics off than you will actually taking the clutch apart. I don’t think I have cured my chatter as the only thing I am replacing is the actual clutch plate as everything else I have gotten checked has come back as ok. I will be rebuilding it today as new plate arrived yesterday so will let you know how that goes. Tools you will need are spanner’s, allen keys, torex bits small and large and patience.  Enjoy. If you get stuck on anything drop me a line and I will do my best to help you.

I there.

New to the bike's world... I mean... Have an Yamaha nmax 125cc and just bought an 1200rt.
Kind of skilled with tools so, full service on bike, rear disc and pads, new shock to the front... All done myself.

Still getting used to this gearbox (clunks) and noticed the rattle you mentioned when the bike is cold. After some miles it disappears. Changed the gearbox oil, the oil looked as new, no shining stuff... going to change the clutch oil.. (is it dot4 as the brakes?)
Any news on your "problem"?