Luma46
Cruisin' Guzzisti
The BMW final drive failure is a topic beaten to death on all BMW sites. In many cases it is just a seal ring seeping oil, which can lead to crown bearing failure. People who pay attention usually spot or identify it in time to prevent any excessive damage. Definitely the seal and bearing replacement are much more frequent than they should, considering the BMW reputation for reliability and considering the cost of their bikes.
Some people argue that considering the huge volume of bikes the BMW makes, and pretty much all the larger ones are single sided swingarm, the FD failures are statistically insignificant. Hard to say, I did around 70k kms combined on GS and RT without a single problem. Sure, it is a worry, but considering the enjoyment I have riding the opposed twin beemers, I decided to live with it.
Some people argue that considering the huge volume of bikes the BMW makes, and pretty much all the larger ones are single sided swingarm, the FD failures are statistically insignificant. Hard to say, I did around 70k kms combined on GS and RT without a single problem. Sure, it is a worry, but considering the enjoyment I have riding the opposed twin beemers, I decided to live with it.