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K1200lt Clutch Problem

12K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  meese 
#1 ·
Has Anyone Had Clutch Problems With The Lt.i Have Had The Bike From New,purchased In 2002. It Has Done 10,500 Miles And The Clutch Has Started To Slip. Bmw Have Quoted Me A Price Of Approx £800.00 To Fix It. My Dealer Tells Me This Is Not An Uncommon Fault.i Am Not To Happy With This To Say The Least. Can Anyone Give Me A Bit Of Amunition Please.
 
#2 ·
ACKERS said:
Has Anyone Had Clutch Problems With The Lt.i Have Had The Bike From New,purchased In 2002. It Has Done 10,500 Miles And The Clutch Has Started To Slip. Bmw Have Quoted Me A Price Of Approx £800.00 To Fix It. My Dealer Tells Me This Is Not An Uncommon Fault.i Am Not To Happy With This To Say The Least. Can Anyone Give Me A Bit Of Amunition Please.
The most common problem is failure of the clutch slave cylinder, and when it does fail, BMW in their infinite wisdom SEALED it to the rear of the transmission so that the leaking brake fluid has no where to go but through the tranny mainshaft and right into the clutch assembly.

Many of us have taken it on ourselves to drill a drain hole in the bottom of the boss to which the cylinder is mounted onto the tranny so that in the case where the cylinder does fail, the fluid can drain out rather than be forced to the clutch. Cylinder replacement is approx. 3 hours, less than $100 US part, but clutch replacement is MUCH longer, and a lot more expensive.

Also, if either of the transmission main shaft seals fail, you still get clutch contamination. Once the drain hole is drilled, failure of the rear tranny seal will drain out, but the front one will still contaminate the clutch.
 
#3 ·
Thank You David.that Gives Me A Bit Of Amunition When I Contact Bmw.i Need Them To Give Me A Good Excuse As To Why This Has Happend. So Far My Local Bmw Agent Has Told Me "well Its A Heavy Bike And This Is Not An Uncommon Problem".
Kind Regards
Dave
Ps Hope You Get Back On The Road Soon
 
#4 ·
ACKERS said:
-----------------So Far My Local Bmw Agent Has Told Me "well Its A Heavy Bike And This Is Not An Uncommon Problem".
-----------------
Don't buy that one! If the clutch was worn out (which we almost NEVER see), that excuse could carry a little weight. But, if there is a slave cylinder or seal failure, those absolutely in no way can be attributed to bike weight.

These slave cylinders are failing WAY more than is acceptable.

Strangely, after all the years they have known about it, seems that some of the '05 bikes had slave failures EARLY in life.

On my 2001 LT, I had a tranny seal failure at 400 miles, requiring complete clutch assembly replacement, then at only 4500 miles, the clutch slave failed, requiring yet another clutch assembly replacement, all under warranty. The slave failure could have been accelerated by the leaking transmission oil, so they should have replaced the slave when they did the clutch the first time.

I would argue hard with them if they try to make you pay for the clutch stating the "wear item" crap, if in fact it is slipping because of a fluid leak. The leaks are warranty items, and a slipping clutch because of resulting fluid contamination should also be covered. Have them show you the clutch disk, and if it is not worn down, MAKE them pay for it.
 
#5 ·
Thank You David. I Will Keep You Posted As To The Outcome. The Bike Goes In To My Local Bmw Dealer On The 27th Of June. Your Advice Has Been Very Helpfull. We Are Doing A Tour Of Spain In July And Would Like To Think All Is Going To Be Ok With The Bike. Kind Regards. Dave Acton
 
#7 ·
As usual Dave is dead on. The slave cylinder is a common failure. My bike has had it replaced 3 times in under 15k miles with two clutches to go along with them. BMW has covered each one under warranty. I bought the bike last year after 2 slaves and one clutch. I know that this is above and beyond what others have seen, but it does show that this is not uncommon.

If the slipping started suddenly and rapidly progressed to the unrideable stage (say less than 100 miles), it is definitely a slave failure. My failure happened close to 2000 miles from home, but fortunately in a town with a dealer. The only town within 500 miles with a dealer. How lucky is that?

I too would like to know where this hole gets drilled. I am sending my seat off to Kontour next week. So, I have about two weeks to do all kinds of maintenance.

Eric
 
#8 ·
Just search this site for drill slave cylinder and you'll get lots of useful info, including detailed pics.
 
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