My spline shaft failed today

[dgates]

Was on my way home this afternoon accelerating from a stop light and while shifting from 1st to 2nd the engine reved like I hit neutral, only to notice a loud grinding noise. Try shifting to 3rd, back to second... Hazard lights on and coasted to the side of the road. Noise is not as bad in neutral that while in gear with the clutch pulled in. Spline failure, right?
I was about a 1 1/2 miles from home and had 45 minutes before the kids got home on the school bus. Pushed the bike home up and down several hills. Silver lining, got a good workout. My shirt under all of my gear was soaked with sweat.
Just got back from th local Honda dealer checking out the new VFR 1200. Kinda spendy for a Honda.
Doug
Seattle

[sweatmark]

Sorry to hear the news.

I'm starting a new tradition for us R1150** folks, the Spline Sympathy card (or Clutch Condolences, take your pick):



Certain that I will face this myself sooner or later.

How many miles?
Any symptoms evident before the failure?
Any clutch slave cylinder work done, or problems noted?

[dgates]

Thanks for the card.
I had 42k+ miles. There were no signs of problems and no prior work performed on the clutch or slave cyliner.
She has been a good bike, but I think it is time to move on???

[sweatmark]

She has been a good bike, but I think it is time to move on???

That question perhaps carries the most sting for the owner. Repair and hope for best, or call it "lesson learned" and roll the dice with another bike? If the spline problem had a sure-fire cure (in spite of the much-debated cause), then dilemma might be more managable... I'm hoping that if & when my Rockster's clutch splines go, there's at least one viable aftermarket solution, be it longer transmission input shaft, revised clutch hub, or transmission internals/rebuild (per Rubber Chicken Racing).

This whole spline thing reminds me of my dad, once a big Volkswagen fan, whose early 1980's diesel VW Dasher suffered engine meltdown failure halfway across the WA520 floating bridge. Twice. It was a mechnical vehicle failure that should not have happened, and the experience soured our family's relationship with the marque for 25+ years.

Please let us know the details about failed components, repairs, etc.

Again, sorry to hear about the problem.

[AndyRR]

I've put about 6000 miles on mine since I replaced the input shaft / clutch. I tried and tried to get an improved shaft built, but when the prototype came back from the heat treatment warped and it was going to take weeks for the next prototype, I finally gave up and put my bike back together with factory components. I did attempt to fix the alignment between engine and transmission case. I'll have to tear it apart and inspect to see if that helped things or not.

If you were inclined to repair it yourself, figure around $600 in parts and around 14 hours labor if you are just going to swap parts. More time if you try to fix the alignment. Much more.

The VFR does look quite nice. I wonder what kind of trade-in you would get. The Multistrada, VFR, and R1200R are on my short list for next bikes. I want to keep the 1150 and put a sidecar on it (then we'll really see how the alignment fix went)

Sorry for your misfortune. Best of luck to you either way. Keep us updated.

[dgates]

I checked out the new VFR 1200 last night. Very pretty bike and felt good in the saddle etc... MSRP is $16K + tax/license and the hard bags are not included. Yikes, that is more than the K1300S. I had to walk away.
I have been intrigued by the F800ST (especially after reading CycleRobs comments).
I have a weekend ride to Oregon that has been planned for months tomorrow that I still want to make, but don't want to make any rash decisions either.

[riceburner]

Genuinely don't know what I'd get if the Rockster went. Guzzi 1200Sport is the closest to what I'd like, but I like Telelever too much to live with Forks again.

[b12bandit]

1150R, 20002. 30K MILES. No problems so far but I no longer trust the bike. I'm just waiting for the transmission to fail.

Whatever happened to BMW's legendary 'reliability'?

I've been riding for 40 years. In all that time I've owned numerous Japanese bikes. Not so much as a blown fuse. Ever.

I'm sorely tempted to trade mine in before the inevitable transmission failure.

PETE
SHEFFORD
ENGLAND

[dgates]

Well, I bit the bullet today and bought a new 2009 F800ST. Just got back from the dealer and going back in a couple of hours to pick her up. I blame CycleRob

Now the question is what to do with the R. Dealer quote for spline shaft repair was $1700-2000. Fix and then sell or do I part her out as she sits?
I just put on after market shocks (works performance), PIAA 1100x, OEM sport and touring wind screen, OEM low and standard seats, throttlemeister, 265mm paralever torque arm (the shorter one), Kissan signal minder, Hyper lights, Twin Max manometer plus other stuff. I think I could recoup some the cost and still sell the bike essentially whole as a parts bike.
Any thoughts?

[iowabeakster]

Sorry to hear about the splines...that totally sucks.

Congrats on the new bike though!

I don't know what to recommend about what to do with the R... although I will need some shocks in near future...how much weight were yours set up for?

I feel like a vulture.

[chibbert]

Sorry to hear about your failure - glad to hear you've already found a new steed. As for fixing and selling or parting out, I can say that used parts go for a fortune if they go. If you're patient, I think you could get far more money parting it out piece by little piece. I'd be interested in a piece or two

[dgates]

Just got home with my new F800ST. I had to move the R over to the side of the garage to make room. I had a strange, slightly emotional feeling overcome me while moving the old girl. I found myself holding on to her grips and then gave her a slight pat on the seat as to say thanks for the many great miles. We have actually been through a lot together. Anyway... Moving on.

[boxermania]

dgates

I feel for you......suggest you knock off $1200 of the price of the bike and sell it whole, it makes it easier, do remove the cases if you have them and sell outright. You'll be very happy with the F800ST, it's an excellent replacement for the R.

In closing.....the beat goes on......

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=13563&start=0&hilit ... 7951ab7e57

[AndyRR]

Congrats on the 800ST.

Did the dealer offer you a trade-in? Just curious.

I'm sorely tempted to trade mine in before the inevitable transmission failure.

I wouldn't say inevitable. Not sure what your odds are. I split my bike apart off-season at around 35k miles to inspect and found the splines wearing poorly. Complete failure probably would have occurred around the 40k mark based on other's experience. It looks like if you make it to 50k you're in good shape. I would be nervous taking a long trip in an R1150x with 30 to 40k miles without inspecting the splines first. It sucks that it's such a PITA to do so, but it can be done in around 3 hours if you keep the trans/rear drive together as an assy.

[bransan]

I just finished putting My bike back together from a spline shaft lube and inspection. I have just over 41000 mi and this is the second time I have looked at the spline shaft. At 22000 when I first pulled it apart, I thought I noticed some unusual wear and I was very nervous when I reached 40k. I figured for sure I was riding on thin ice and shaft failure was eminent. Much to My suprise I see no additional wear evident on the shaft. I have a Uni-Go that I pull with Me just about every time I ride. I've logged probably 30k mi with it on, and figured the added load may hasten the spline failure.

I'll keep opening it up every 20k and keep My fingers crossed in between. Besides it a great way to bond with the bike and clean all the parts and pieces.

dgates, Let us know how You like the 800.

[rsperko]

I read one post that indicated the splines could be checked by removing the starter, is that the quickest, most efficient way? Is it even possible that way? I have a bike on hold, should I pay to have the splines checked before I buy it? It has 17k miles.

I am buying a BMW so that I can have a reliable nice bike and the RR is the only one that really appeals to me. This thread and others are making me wary. From what I understand the spline failure is not inevitable. There are obviously many 1150s with many miles on them.

Thanks,
-Rick

[dgates]

Congrats on the 800ST.

Did the dealer offer you a trade-in? Just curious.

The dealer never offered and I never asked.
I have some suggest I part it out to make more money. This will take time and space neither of which I have much to spare.
The service manager at the dealer felt it should/could be repaired in that there are many more good miles left on the bike.
I guess the easiest would be to sell her outright at a discounted price. I may have to do that.

[dgates]

dgates, Let us know how You like the 800.

I just got back from Oregon a couple of hours ago. We did 800+ miles on twisty roads. The F800ST handled great. It was tough keeping the RPMs below 5k for the break in. It really smoothed out by the end of the day and the gas mileage improved significantly over the weekend.
I think she is a keeper.
600 mile service is scheduled for Tuesday.
I am having an issue with the tranny catching "neutral " between 4th and 5th gear and between 5th and 6th both on up and down shifts. Will have to see what they say about that on Tuesday.

[AndyRR]

I read one post that indicated the splines could be checked by removing the starter, is that the quickest, most efficient way? Is it even possible that way?

It isn't really possible to inspect the splines this way. You may be able to part of the splines, but not the part you need to see. You need to see where the input shaft and clutch interface and that is necessarily covered by the clutch hub. Removing the tranny is the only way. I have seen some pics of someone using a long bent needle to get some grease into the splines from behind the starter and it's a good place to inspect the clutch material for wear or contamination, but thats about it.

should I pay to have the splines checked before I buy it? It has 17k miles

I'm not sure what you should expect to see on a bike with lower miles like that. The wear pattern is unusual on every R1150. See bransan's post. Unusual wear that doesn't seem to be getting worse is normal and actually what we kinda hope for.

These are great bikes. I still love mine. If you are happy with the price you can buy it knowing that it is best to inspect the splines somewhere in the 35k mile range. No one has really come up with a percentage of bikes that really have a problem. Probably less than 10%.

I just finished putting My bike back together from a spline shaft lube and inspection.

Did you happen to take any pics?

[challey]

Doug --

Condolences on the shaft failure and congradulations on the new purchase.

My experince with my R1150R was somewhat similar, although in my case the failure was my wire harness. I'm still in the process of getting my R back on the road but, in the meantime I bought a DL650 and will enjoy not having to worry about splines, FD bearings, harnesses, etc for a while.

Best of luck with F800ST - it's on my list of potential future rides if I can get past the bitter taste left by BMW with respect to my R bike.

Charlie