2004 R1150R Clutch replacement in NY

[migtech]

Has anyone had to have a clutch replaced on the R1150R in the NY tri state area? I need to get this done on my bike and any recommendations would be helpful. I would like to know what people have paid for the clutch replacement and where they had it done.

[DMM]

I'm of no help for your location, but I strongly recommend going with the Siebenrock or new BMW clutch plate (that copies the Siebenrock). They are dry plates, but don't fail or wear poorly if they get wet. That's what I used when I had to replace my clutch plate.

In the DC area, it can run $600-800+ due to labor.
If you're handy at wrenching and have a friend with a heat gun, it might be worth doing yourself.

It's also a great time to have a look at the clutch splines to make sure they look good and are well fitted.

Cheers.

[migtech]

So far I have got 1 quote from BMW NYC and for the clutch replacement they are quoting 2600 because of the labor they told me that price. For 600 to 800 it would be worth it to ride to DC.

[DMM]

That's not from a BMW dealer service shop. The quote was from an independent shop that specializes in BMWs. Of course, that was almost two years ago, but $2,600 is a big jump.

[georgek]

just pm'd you.

[rvb1019]

FYI- Max's in CT. just completed a clutch on my LT. 600- 700 in parts and then 12 hours of labor on an LT made it about $2000. Then while they were in there, they found a few more seals were leaking and throttle bodies that need to be replaced, the throttle cable, etc.

I made it out just under $3700 on my LT

The clutch went in early June. BMW NY couldn't look at it until the beginning of July. GoldCoast couldn''t look at it to late July. Max's said they could look at it until the end of the month. due to vacation plans, I dropped it off a week early. They had it fixed and ready to go a week later.

Brianne and Peter- EXCELLENT COMMUNICATION AND SERVICE!!!!!

That being said, I admit knowing squat about bikes but that sounds high for the R bike.

[migtech]

I dropped the bike with http://www.nationscycle.com in Hempstead Long Island on July 24th and they cant determine the full cost until the bike is opened up and the parts are examined. The clutch plate costs 350 and that can usually be re-used and the other parts get replaced. They are estimating 7 to 10 day depending on when the parts come in. They think the total cost of the job will be from 800 to 1200 depending on the parts. The place I bought the bike from is not willing to compensate me for the job and i bought the bike on June 13th. They claim that the clutch is like brake pads and cant be warrantied. I will be paying them a visit after I get the final bill when the job is completed.

[DMM]

While I agree that a clutch is a part that gets worn, you can visually inspect items like tires and brake pads. I doubt that the shop (the seller) would have opened up the bike (pre-purchase) for you to inspect the clutch, so it seems that, at the least, the honorable thing to do would be to split the cost with you.

[Arbreacames]

When properly used, these clutches last forever. How many miles do you have? What does happen more often, is that clutch plates become contaminated by either gear oil or clutch fluid. I assume that the guys who sold you the bike don't assume that seals are wear items too, right?
Clutch contamination can often be spotted from the outside. You might see some dark oily traces along the mating surfaces between engine and gearbox.

[migtech]

They are not will to even partially pay for any of the clutch replacement. The bike has 18k and there were no visible signs that the clutch was bad. I am going to wait until the bike is fixed and the total cost is in my hand before I go back to the dealer and see how they want to proceed.

[migtech]

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/1151 ... 0259827426

[DMM]

That clutch plate looks like it is worn to the rivets.

[CycleRob]

I hope you marked the 3 big steel parts' orientation before you took it apart. They are factory balanced only when correctly reassembled "aligned".

How does a rider wear out a clutch plate in 18,000 miles?

[Dr. Strangelove]

good question, at 18 k miles. For a 2004 maybe dryrot or brittleness from not being used.

My slave cylinder went out, slightly, AND my clutch started to slip at around 80k and change, The leaking slave did not contaminate the clutch, but it was worn. At Hebert's in Baton Rouge it, slave and clutch, was about 1500 out the door and about 8-9 days iirc.

[grwrockster]

If you have space to do it and some reasonable metric tools (no special tools needed at all), then have you considered DIY? The job seems daunting but it's actually not that hard to do.

I did a friends '01 R1150R a while ago, and being careful and methodical as it was a new thing for both of us) it took us about 5hrs to tear down, and about 6hrs to put it back together with new friction plate, pressure plate (clutch kit basically) and a new slave cyl (which caused the fail in the 1st place due to leaking, and then fluid tracking along the pushrod onto the friction plate).

I'm not completely mechanically inept (my mate even less 'ept' than I am, but 2 pairs of hands are a good thing ), but I'm not a trained mechanic either - its well within the scope of the basic home mechanic.

Saved a small fortune and we got a fair bit of satisfaction out of doing it. !