Exploding shaft drives

[Strat Tuner]

Welcome to bmw ownership.
Watch out for exploding shaft drives!! :-)

20250118_123325.jpg (109.67 KiB) Viewed 1890 times

[Strat Tuner]

Cruising today on twisty roads...
Slight vibration.. that's new,
3 miles later, worse... Do I have a flat?
A few miles more, heavy vibration, burning smell....
Pull over now!

The rubber cover on the shaft drive burned away. All shaft oil gone. Bare shaft parts exposed. No forward motion in first gear.

The dealer has it for repair.
Anyone ever replaced a shaft drive?
About how much does that run?

[Our Gee]

It may not be in the BMW R1200RT service schedule but regular inspection and lube of at least the "rear" Universal Joint and Splines is advisable. There are many horror stories out there which no doubt can be attributed to the Out of Sight, Out of Mind syndrome. It's a relatively straight forward job to lower the Final Drive, check the Joint for stiffness or rough movement and clean and lube the Splines. It can be a bit fiddley re-locating the Shaft onto the Hub Splines whilst positioning the Rubber Boot but this gets easier after a few times.

[Stu]

All shaft oil gone.

There is no shaft oil

The oil is in the bevel gear housing and the shaft is run dry

If there is no damage to anything else then its a simple shaft replacement and rubber boot and you're good to go

[Strat Tuner]

I'll hope for that. I caught it quickly I think and hopefully minimized damage.

I won't know for three days or so.
I'll post diagnosis if anyone's interested.

Took it to a dealer not my usual independent mechanic.

When repair goes past about 5K, it's junk yard time.

[Stu]

Fingers crossed it's just the shaft and as has been posted elsewhere on the forum you can buy cheaper better replacements

[Strat Tuner]

But would the dealer accept that? Hmmmmm...

[Stu]

If you're not happy with their price you can easily take it elsewhere or supply you own parts

When I say easily it would obviously on a recovery truck

[Strat Tuner]

Good advice, Stu. I'm thinking of offering the work to my usual mechanic once I know what needs doing.
Thanks for the encouragement! I could use that about now. :-)

[Stu]

I suppose it will all come down to the labour costs really as the shaft price is the price regardless of who you go to

The labour for your local mechanic + transport Vs BMW is what you need to be looking at

[Strat Tuner]

Yes, my usual guy could beat a dealer rate.

[Strat Tuner]

https://www.beemershop.com/product/r120 ... lines.html

Wow. I just got brave enough to go and look there. I don't know about splines and exactly which one to order, but the price was encouraging. $800 for a new one. (656 British Pounds) Even if the labor were 500, that would put the repair in range.

I'd really like to restore and keep this BMW. It's my first one, a life-long dream bike, and I don't want it to be the last.

[David.]

I don't know about splines and exactly which one to order.

Looking at the BeemerShop website, https://www.beemershop.com/category/clu ... -3986.html they list two driveshafts, (20 or 22 splines).

From what I can see, 20 splines up to 12/2007 and 22 splines from 01/2008. Best check with BeemerShop before ordering.

[David.]

From MAX BMW Parts list for an R1200RT 05-09.

MAX BMW.jpg (46.64 KiB) Viewed 1704 times

[Strat Tuner]

Looking at the BeemerShop website, https://www.beemershop.com/category/clu ... -3986.html they list two driveshafts, (20 or 22 splines).

From what I can see, 20 splines up to 12/2007 and 22 splines from 01/2008. Best check with BeemerShop before ordering.

I sent the following:

Dear BeemerShop, My shaft drive failed this week. I'd like to order a replacement. I don't know if i need 20 splines or 22. The R1200RT is 2008 (I think), and the VIN is ---------------------------.
Please advise. Thank you in advance.

Of course, I sent the actual VIN, but I kept it short and to the point.
Should be fun to watch this story unfold.