Are they/you certain it's not the rear tire?

Easy to test at the dealership as they can yank a rear wheel off any other LT there to test ride it.

I'm relatively sure it is not a rear tire (or front either) as the noise is metalic and decreases with time/temp warm up. I initially suspected brake rotors/calipers but everything seems fine there. Since they ordered a new drive, I'm going to let them install it (no cost to me) and then we'll see. I'll also have them run it around the block with another tire/wheel if the problem persists.

 

Hey, Russ - just curious. Have they, or you, done a rear wheel rotation check in neutral, as well as a push/pull check on the wheel --- listening for any noise at freewheel, or feeling any play? Also, have they done a rear drive fluid drain and inspected the magnet as well as the fluid residue. I would imagine they've done all of these, butt I'd wanna make sure.

And BTW, after they've changed out the drive, see if they'll tell ya the bearing's ball count from the OEM unit.

Bummers, guy - butt luckily, you've got a ride or two left in the stable!! Good luck and keep us in the loop on this thang.

 

Hi Dick,

haven't drained to check for stuff in the oil but did the spin and wobble test, seems ok. I honestly dont think its the rear drive but cant find another culprit. Will advise!

As for other hosses in the stable, I'm down to comuting on the KLR! Bent a rim on the FJR a few weeks back, saving up now for a new one......

 

No telling what it is but I think this is the first claimed failure of as rear drive... I haven't heard of any 04,05 drive failures at my dealer.....Regards Pete

 

I wonder when the Japanese were looking at the virtues of the BMW Sport Touring machines why they decided to NOT copy the paralever single sided shaft drive system? Something tells me that they either decided it was a unique design with potential flaws or their own dual sided swing arm was just "more" rugged. They stole the electronic windscreen, detachable bags, accessory plugs, ABS, etc....

 

So if it is not the rear drive, what else would make a subtle noise but distinct vibration, more prevalent on left hand corners but present on right handers as well?

That symptom sounds more like worn tires than rear drive. VERY common.

 

Might also be the drive shaft or u-joints .....A bad u-joint would make a pretty good vibration that would vary with bike speed NOT engine speed and spinning the rear wheel might not reveal it...

spence

 

G'day Russ,
Having experienced two rear drive failures with '99 Beryl Beemer, the experience you state as being mettalic, comes an goes with temp, left hand side cornering, brings back specific memories of the 2nd failure to me.

I rode around for about 150kms humming and hahhing before getting BMW dealer to take for a ride....

The 1st failure was easier to diagnose cos off the wobbly wheel, oil over brake/drive....even I diagnosed that one...hehhehehehhe

BMW stripped drive an replaced bearings/seal. they do not replace the assembly here in Oz unless damage has occured to the crown an pinion gears....

The bearing they removed "looked" ok in so far as it was complete and didn't look burnt at all, but the mechanic seemed to pass it off as the bearing had suffered case hardening failure.....

Anyway, replacement of bearings cured the problem.

An FJR with a bent rim must go like crap???? sounds like you have similar roads there to what we have here in Sydney Oz. I spend most of my time travelling into and outta the city as though I'm doing some advanced bike riding course between the cones, at 70kph.

"Doh!"

cheers

Phill
'78 XS1100E "The Tardis" (ret)
'99 K1200LT "Beryl Beemer"

 

I wonder when the Japanese were looking at the virtues of the BMW Sport Touring machines why they decided to NOT copy the paralever single sided shaft drive system? Something tells me that they either decided it was a unique design with potential flaws or their own dual sided swing arm was just "more" rugged. They stole the electronic windscreen, detachable bags, accessory plugs, ABS, etc....

i've thought about this too. it stands to reason that a single-sided swingarm will be subjected to more torsional load than a double-sided swingarm, and that this torsional load will add strain to the rear wheel bearing. i'm no engineer, let me hasten to add.

but i'm pretty sure the gold wing also has a single-sided shaft drive swingarm, and both ducati and triumph have used single-sided swingarms for years with no ill effect. of course those bikes are chain-driven and a lot lighter than LTs.

 

Lets hope it is the rear drive, but I had to replace the drive shaft because of a bad u-joint which in return screwed up the shaft. I had a bad vibration which I posted a couple of weeks ago. It is fixed a is smooth like a baby's butt.

 

I've been riding the LT again the last couple days, trying to get my head around the problem. The parts for the rearend 'fix' will be here next week but the problem doesn't feel catastrophic so I'm riding it a little.

And as I concentrate on what I'm hearing and feeling, I think it may be two separtate issues coming together to try to fool me/us. The tires are not visibly bad (9500 miles on Metz 880s) but it could be the fuzzy feeling, not quite a vibration, that comes with square tires (they don't look that square, very happy with them). The noise, on the other hand, is too loud to be the rear drive without total failure iminent. I spun the rear wheel last night slowly, listening and feeling for anything unusual. And I found a resonant vibration, sounded like it was from the rotor, in one spot. I touched the rotor as I turned the wheel and it went away, didn't come back. It was a weird noise, not unlike the resonance one gets from rubbing a damp finger around the rim of a wine glass, just much lower in freq. BUT this was not the metalic noise that I hear when things are cold and going into a left corner.

Still trying to get it figured out. Drive shaft could be a factor, will keep that in mind.

As for bending the FJR rim, that came from a city engineering dept in a suburb of Dallas, TX, who decided they needed a raised median between a left turn lane and the through lanes, no markings or lumination, dark, "WHAMMM!" The police who were right there when it happened agreed that it was a bad thing. Considered suing city but too much trouble for a few dollars.

 

my 880s rumble after 5,000 miles or so when i lean into turns. i ignore it.

 

Wish youda come to *$$ this morning. Edgar and I woulda ridden your LT around the parking lot after thangs had cooled off from your ride out there. Could have also run by the storage unit and swapped rear wheels/tires with Toad and see if any changes.

Hope you git a handle on it soon, Russ. Nothing ruins a ride more'n havin' sumpthin to worry 'bout!!

 

Albuquerque Motorcycle Police accident this morning. Dec 2, 2005
Officer put his BMW down after lockup. It was a BMW

It was on the news at noon on KOB-tv

Final Drive??

 

Albuquerque Motorcycle Police accident this morning. Dec 2, 2005
Officer put his BMW down after lockup. It was a BMW

It was on the news at noon on KOB-tv

Final Drive??

If an official vehicle has a problem, wouldn't that make some other officials take note?

Lewis

 

A shot in the dark, but after reading your description:

I suspect permanent brake pad material (cementite) transfer to the rotor (ALWAYS invisible) causing a slight deviation in the thickness. My thinking is that this may be causing a little vibration at just the right frequency to drive you nutZ!

Sometimes just a few thousandths of an inch can cause this... Most mechanics tell you that the rotor is "warped", which is impossible.

I only say this since our rear brakes are used very lightly, highly engineered, sensitive and a prime candidate for this scenario.

The only sure fix is a new rotor AND pads, followed by proper "bedding in" of the new pads.

Scratching my bald little head....?

 

If an official vehicle has a problem, wouldn't that make some other officials take note?

Lewis

Yep, hopefully. Like NHTSA, which has been aware of our rear drive problems for years but will NEVER take action against the neo con corporations until someone has been killed and it can be proved beyond a doubt that it was a mechanical failure that caused it. Just like the FAA, they are known as a "tombstone agency".

I sure hope this guy is OK.

 

I have an '05 and after the first 3000 miles or so the rear rotor started making a metal to metal rattling noise. It seems the worst when the bike is warming up--therefore shaking a bit more and in big sweeping corners. I didn't put two and two together till I hit the breaks backing out the driveway and the noise went away. The dealer checked mine and we compared it to a couple new (fresh from the crate) LTs and they all had similar tolerances. Don't know if this relates at all to your noise, but it's something to check out. Good luck.

Tim

 

... Most mechanics tell you that the rotor is "warped", which is impossible.

HUH?? I have seen a LOT of warped rotors on cars, no reason a motorcycle rotor cannot warp. Just a little stress in it from a manufacturing process out of control, then get a little wear, heat, and yes Virginia, there is a warp!

 

McRuss: Very easy to eliminate the rear tire as a source of the noise. Get a Stanley Surform tool from your local hardware store. It looks like a cheese grater, but is for wood. A small one will do, about $7.

Put the bike on the center stand. Start the engine, and put in first gear so the rear wheel turns. VERY lightly touch the surform to the spinning rear tire. Be careful not to let the leading edge of the tool touch the tire, or it will be ripped from your hands. Do NOT stand behind the bike when you are doing this, because you most likely will lose the tool out of you hands, and don't want it to go into your body.

Using this method, you can easily remove the high spots from your tires, which will eliminate the noise. Since the center of our tires wear out long before the sides, smoothing the sides is a great way to extend the noise-free life of the tire. I didn't invent this procedure, but have done it many times. Just did it recently on my LT, with 6k on 880s. Feels like new tires again. Don't remove anything from the center of the tire, or you'll be rapidly shortening its life.

 

Or you could just corner more.

 

Hi, Ron:

Just like the FAA, they are known as a "tombstone agency".

Really? Golly and all this time I thought the FAA was in Oklahoma and the NHTSA was in DC. Goodness, doesn't all that bureaucratic rush hour traffic get in the way of the tourists? What about the road up to Boot Hill? Don't you feel just a bit antsy with all that gov'mint just down the road from Tucson?

BTW, the seat is beautiful and if I can just find that little speed nut that dropped inside the bike I can get the tupperware back on and ride test.

Map Plottin' Karl

 

rear drive failure

Reading through the replies I didn't see anyone confirm that BMW ever replied or confirmed a fix to the problem I am still putting together a 03 with 7000 miles I picked up this summer , just need to paint and assemble plastic but would like to know if it was still a problem with 03 model and if anyone knows if factory came up with a fix. Like to know ahead of time what to expect. This is a great website for info I have found. Jim

 

There was a change to the final drive bearing sometime during the '03 model year. We don't know exactly when that occurred though, and BMW won't give any details. I'd say just build your bike, be aware of the potential weakness, and just ride it. If you do have a problem later on, we'll be here to help sort it out.

 

Ditto's on what Ken said, but I woulda said it this way "Ride it like you stole it".