BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

I thought I would start a separate thread on the clutch replacement. Fortunately for me, there have been other brave souls who have conquered this task that I can use to assist on my own journey, but documenting it on my own thread is a good idea for me and you never know, it may produce a tidbit of info that helps the next guy down the line.

I have a lot of mechanical aptitude, but I am a little older and my memory is not that great and hoping this thread and forum will offer a touchstone and some support as I get down to business. I greatly appreciate the comments so far and future suggestions are welcome and encouraged.

I am going to replace everything with factory components. I already have a factory friction disc and a number of the seals related to the R/R of the clutch. I am going to wait for tear down to make the call on whether I will replace any of the other clutch components, the bike only has 7300 miles on the odometer, my thoughts are that the rest of the components "should" still be in working order.

I am going to get all my ducks in a row, tools/parts/supplies and shoot for a weekend in a couple of weeks to do the majority of the work. In the meantime, as I already have all the fairings off, I am going to continue to break it down a little here and there to reduce the workload on the actual work days.

This is "well above my pay grade", I wish you luck, sorry I can't help with this one.

You may or may not have seen this thread, viewtopic.php?p=64298&hilit=clutch#p64298 It's the only one I've seen on this forum about the subject matter.

bicyclenut might be the man for the job.

C'mon this is learn as you go.... : ) If nothing else you can occasionally comment "I wouldn't do that" and other helpful platitudes if you are inclined.

I am not even remotely intimidated. I have watched some YouTube and read several threads. Its not all that technically difficult, its just a lot of work. AND, as much of pita and $$ as it may be, the bike is going to be rock solid when I am done. The motor absolutely purrs. She is asking me very nicely not to wait to long to get her back on the tarmac.

I pulled off the slave. Not sure if there is a detente that keeps the rod connected to the slave but it took a second to separate them. The slave has a bit of grease on the end, looks pretty normal.

The rod moves back and forth (cant remove it completely, hits the shock) but seems like it should have some lubrication, maybe not? There is a paper or felt "band" about midway down the rod that is split. Not sure what it does or if that is any kind of an issue. The rod spins while the motor is turning, assume that is normal.

I will say with the pressure off of the rod, the clutch quiets down quite a bit. There is some notable chatter coming from the clutch when it was assembled.

SD1 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 24, 2023 8:30 pmI pulled off the slave.

Did you try the bike in gear to see if the clutch friction was any better.

Have you tried operating the clutch lever with something in the hole where the push rod goes to see if it moves.

David. wrote: ↑Tue Jan 24, 2023 8:51 pm Did you try the bike in gear to see if the clutch friction was any better.

Have you tried operating the clutch lever with something in the hole where the push rod goes to see if it moves.

It will go into and out of all six gears but NO BITE.... so at least the gear box seems intact.

I did not try to actuate the clutch lever, its super stiff with the slave cylinder off?

The felt piece in the center of the pushrod is a sound dampening measure and should be corrected before I reassemble

SD1 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 24, 2023 8:30 pmThe rod moves back and forth (can't remove it completely, hits the shock) but seems like it should have some lubrication, maybe not? There is a paper or felt "band" about midway down the rod that is split. Not sure what it does or if that is any kind of an issue. The rod spins while the motor is turning, assume that is normal.

From the Haynes manual:

"Note the location of the seal on the pushrod and renew it if necessary. Lubricate the pushrod with a smear of clutch assembly grease (BMW recommend Opitmoly MP 3) before installation."

SD1 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 24, 2023 9:05 pmI did not try to actuate the clutch lever, its super stiff with the slave cylinder off?

Perhaps this is because the slave cylinder piston has no where to go. Can the piston be pushed back by hand.

SD1 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 24, 2023 9:05 pmIt will go into and out of all six gears but NO BITE.

By this do you mean that the clutch is slipping.

David. wrote: ↑Tue Jan 24, 2023 9:12 pm By this do you mean that the clutch is slipping.

Yes, with the slave/pushrod removed, the clutch should be transferring power to the driveshaft/wheel. It is either slipping badly or it is hung up and not making contact with the flywheel.

SD1 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 24, 2023 9:35 pmIt is either slipping badly or it is hung up and not making contact with the flywheel.

Does mean that the clutch needs replacing.

David. wrote: ↑Tue Jan 24, 2023 9:43 pm Does mean that the clutch needs replacing.

Its coming apart.... there is an internal issue and as of now, based on the previous use of the bike and the friction plate being the likely fail point, I don't think I have any other option than to crack it open and identify the problem and correct it.

I already have the friction plate, stretch screws, several of the shaft seals and the felt piece for the pushrod. I will need a few more things, but I have in hand the basics to get it going again.

Obviously I will assess when its opened up, but of the several vids I have watched, the flywheel and pressure plate are being reused and I am not going to replace them "just because". Same with the seals. If its clean and no outward signs of failure, I am not going to replace anything that doesn't warrant replacing. One caveat, if the seals are easy to replace, I am willing to do that as I already have them.

Not a huge issue, but watching videos, I have heard the felt piece on the pushrod referred to as a noise dampener AND a dust shield to keep clutch dust from reaching the slave cylinder.

https://www.euromotoelectrics.com/produ ... elt440.htm

7300 miles and it needs a clutch?? Someone had to be really hard on it or some other failure. I did mine at 95,300 miles. I've heard of others over 100,000 miles and not replacing yet.

Not a huge technical job, PIA, time consuming and requires a lot of removal of panels, parts and connections. Be sure to label everything you might forget where or what it is, sort parts/fasteners into bins or bags and label these and take photos and/or videos of components and how things are routed. It will make it easier when you start to put it back together and are trying to remember how the line or wire was routed, or what bolt went where, etc.

Good luck!

bicyclenut wrote: ↑Wed Jan 25, 2023 6:36 am 7300 miles and it needs a clutch?? Someone had to be really hard on it or some other failure. I did mine at 95,300 miles. I've heard of others over 100,000 miles and not replacing yet.

Not a huge technical job, PIA, time consuming and requires a lot of removal of panels, parts and connections. Be sure to label everything you might forget where or what it is, sort parts/fasteners into bins or bags and label these and take photos and/or videos of components and how things are routed. It will make it easier when you start to put it back together and are trying to remember how the line or wire was routed, or what bolt went where, etc.

Good luck!

Yes sir, I read your posts, going out for some baggies and a bin to help keep things sorted. Will be making an effort to take pics and document as I go. I agree, based on what I have read, it does not look terribly technical, although I will be getting a Haynes manual, it does look like lots of busy work. I am not in any hurry, but I would like to be methodical and get through it sooner than later. Thanks for the comments and encouragement!