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2016 BMW R1200RT Rattle in rear suspension or drive-line

3K views 8 replies 8 participants last post by  alegerlotz 
#1 ·
Anyone have issues with clunking sound coming from either rear suspension or drive-line when riding over rough patches of roadway?
 
#3 ·
Are you sure it isn't one of your panniers bouncing around? They can be slightly loose and move around quite a bit (especially if they are empty/light).
 
#5 ·
I also have a 2016 and have noticed a somewhat noisy driveline, so much so that I took it to my shop and had them ride it around to see if it sounded wrong to them. In my case they said it was fine and the noises I was hearing were normal. This is my first BMW and the first time I've owned a shaft drive bike in a looong time so I think some of the noise I'm hearing might be noises I'm not used to. Also the RT is so well faired that you hear a lot of the bike because you don't have as much of the wind in your ears. If you're really concerned take it to a shop but the research I've done shows that it's pretty rare to have final drive issues under 50k+ miles if serviced correctly.
 
#6 ·
Further to alegerlotz point about the panniers bouncing around a lot and making a noise I suggest you check the caps (#8 below) on the rear footrest subframe. The screws work loose - meaning they weren't done up tightly enough in the first place. Loose with the panniers on and you get a rattling, loose without the panniers on and you eventually lose them.



Ian
 
#7 ·
I have been following this thread because I have been concerned about noises when I hit a bump in the road. Dealer said not a problem. Just went out to the garage to check the caps #8 in the above post. Sure enough, they were very loose. Maybe should use some locktite on them. Hopefully this eliminates to noise. 2017 RT 12K miles. Thank you to all the contributors on this site.
 
#9 ·
I forgot to mention to check the screws on those and put on some locktite blue if they are loose. Thanks to whomever suggested that. I found that I lost one of the screws on the left side and the other screw was loose. After adding blue locktite, all 4 screws stay nice and tight.

In my experience this doesn't completely eliminate the noise of the panniers when they are on there, but it can help.

If you want to be sure whether or not the issue with your panniers rattling (which I think it is). Ride on a road where you hear it with and without the panniers installed to compare what you hear.
 
#8 ·
Definitely Loctite (blue) is in order. You are lucky that you didn't lose the end-cap and screws altogether. Some people had done so.
 
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