[Gareth]

Yes I agree , surely then if the bike is producing more ponies then the shaft should be fit for purpose which doesn’t seem to be the case - I’m still going to try and put the workshop tiny camera in at the rear gaiter and have a look see if I can

Let us know how you get on Wee hayser.

 

[Wee hayser]

Mmm, so about an hour, or maybe half that. Dunno what the current rip off labour rate is – probably about 150 quid an hour I’d guess (nuts). Though there is always room for adjustment.

Fording rivers? I’m certainly more of a fair weather, sunny summer Sunday rider these days. But hey some of my nice summer weather rides have unfortunately included some pretty fruity downpours, the kinda thing where you can hardly see where you are going, and empty your boots out at the next stop. At least my leathers no longer leave my skin grey or black, nae much dye left in them I guess. So I might generally only go out in nicer weather, and no I generally don’t ford rivers but then the bike will still get the odd serious deluge.

Certainly, I’ve become quite adept at killing Bosch’s sealed for life ebike motors – they might be sealed for life in the rest of the world, but not in Scotland they ain’t.

Well I might phone my dealer and ask how long to check it - they have to remove the rear wheel and silencer ( I assume ) , then hook up the doo dah to the rear and then I assume put a probe or sensor and connect to laptop - do the spinny check - reading good - disconnect doo dah , then remove caliper , drain diff , lower drive , clean splines and rebuild all items / I’d say an hour and a half Gareth - plus your rear oil and a couple of new bolts - so yeah lots of cash

 

[zer0netgain]

The driveshaft is likely weatherproof (downpours) but not waterproof (submersion).

 

[Gareth]

then hook up the doo dah

You sure it aint a thingamajig?😬

I’d say an hour and a half Gareth - plus your rear oil and a couple of new bolts - so yeah lots of cash

Lovely Mind you don’t have to worry about it this year.

The driveshaft is likely weatherproof (downpours) but not waterproof (submersion).

Probably not any real difference zerOnetgain, as riding in a downpour is probably much like firing a pressure washer at it. If it can’t withstand a little fording, I’m not convinced it’ll survive a Scottish summer, never mind winter.

Anybody for a chain conversion. Chains laugh at the rain.

 

[Ontrip]

Just had the driveshaft replaced on my 2017 R1200R as part of the BMW 60K replacement program.

Bike has 61700 kms and heading out on a 5000 km tour, so asked them to replace it.

Work was completed today while i waited, and had been scheduled for 11/2 hours, but the shaft was seized onto the splines so it took an extra hour to remove the old shaft, clean up and lubricate the splines.

 

[Sawbones]

Sorry to resurrect an older thread, but does anyone have any information as to whether this service bulletin is being honored in Canada? My dealer is telling me that there is a bulletin for lubrication, but not replacement. I have 70k on the clock, and it has not been replaced as far as I know.

 

[r0ckrat]

Sorry to resurrect an older thread, but does anyone have any information as to whether this service bulletin is being honored in Canada? My dealer is telling me that there is a bulletin for lubrication, but not replacement. I have 70k on the clock, and it has not been replaced as far as I know.

If you can download a current manual for your bike (searching the motorrad website for manuals and providing your vin) it should contain the service schedule that should be updated...

 

[Panzermann]

Check out the SIB in this thread, @Sawbones - Canada should have a similar one on their books.

 

[gshort1112]

New to the Forum. Did not know anything about the driveshaft issue until I signed up. (Thanks Panzerman and others). Called the local dealer yesterday, the service manager made an appointment for a new driveshaft on my 2016 1200r w/45k miles, then bring it back for another one in 36k miles, He was not sure about a drain plug because of it being a road bike. I'll post in 3 weeks about the condition of my old driveshaft. I was going to grease it at 50k. Hope it's good, going on a 1200 miler Monday. It seems smooth with no rough spots. Has anyone put a lot of mi or km on their original driveshaft?

 

[thfch]

I checked the driveshaft a few weeks ago since I have only had the bike since August 2024 to make sure that the splines were ok and that there was no water trapped or rust.
Everything looked perfect and easy to remove, no rust, no water except that when I checked both cardan, they both had a slight flat spot when the shaft is centered.
At 14'000km, it's pretty sad to already feel wear ... So since I have always been allergic to dealerships (I worked for one for six years many years ago) I ordered a driveshaft where you can replace the cardans independently. What is also nice is that the inner chock absorbing plastic material (don't know what to call it ) can also be changed. Anyways, since I have already received the new shaft, I guess I will replace it when the weather is not riding friendly.

 

[Wee hayser]

I checked the driveshaft a few weeks ago since I have only had the bike since August 2024 to make sure that the splines were ok and that there was no water trapped or rust.
Everything looked perfect and easy to remove, no rust, no water except that when I checked both cardan, they both had a slight flat spot when the shaft is centered.
At 14'000km, it's pretty sad to already feel wear ... So since I have always been allergic to dealerships (I worked for one for six years many years ago) I ordered a driveshaft where you can replace the cardans independently. What is also nice is that the inner chock absorbing plastic material (don't know what to call it ) can also be changed. Anyways, since I have already received the new shaft, I guess I will replace it when the weather is not riding friendly.

I take it the replaceable shaft you ordered is not a oem part then ?

 

[thfch]

I take it the replaceable shaft you ordered is not a oem part then ?

Correct, I ordered it from Driveshaft
It appears to me at least that the original OEM is of poor quality since getting flat spots after 14k kilometres is unacceptable in my humble opinion.
The rebuildable one has the INA brand cardan (u-joints) installed that are supposed to be top quality, so I guess I will see if it proves to be true overtime, and at least I just have to change the cardan instead of the whole driveshaft every time (what a waste), plus they come with nipples for greasing.

 

[Panzermann]

That’s an interesting development, @thfch - I wasn’t aware a rebuildable shaft was available for this model, especially one that incorporates a damper (which the original doesn’t, I believe, although I’ve never taken mine out …).

At that price, though, I’ll just accept the free replacements from BMW. I expect in due course they’ll build one for the 1300, which will be better long term value than paying for a BMW one yourself.

 

[thfch]

That’s an interesting development, @thfch - I wasn’t aware a rebuildable shaft was available for this model, especially one that incorporates a damper (which the original doesn’t, I believe, although I’ve never taken mine out …).

At that price, though, I’ll just accept the free replacements from BMW. I expect in due course they’ll build one for the 1300, which will be better long term value than paying for a BMW one yourself.

I haven't checked the original shaft, but it appears as though there is some kind of cushion between the larger part of the shaft and the skinnier one even on the original shaft.
Althought the following is based on the RnineT, it's interesting to see that it is potentially another thing that can fail.

https://www.ninetowners.com/threads/drive-shaft-failure-500mi-2023.154380/

 

[MGL]

Correct, I ordered it from Driveshaft
It appears to me at least that the original OEM is of poor quality since getting flat spots after 14k kilometres is unacceptable in my humble opinion.
The rebuildable one has the INA brand cardan (u-joints) installed that are supposed to be top quality, so I guess I will see if it proves to be true overtime, and at least I just have to change the cardan instead of the whole driveshaft every time (what a waste), plus they come with nipples for greasing.

I did not see a drive shaft listed for the 2014 Liquid Cooled motors?

 

[thfch]

I did not see a drive shaft listed for the 2014 Liquid Cooled motors?

With the URL that I provided, it should show these part numbers:
SKU
TRA31102A-1
Associated BMW part
33735A670C3

When I choose Compatible motorcycles it shows that the driveshaft is good for a whole bunch of liquid cooled models.
But I see that you might be in the USA, and if that's the case, you might be more interested by the following American site Driveshaft / Rebuildable for R1200/1250 Liquid Cooled models.

 

[Panzermann]

I haven't checked the original shaft, but it appears as though there is some kind of cushion between the larger part of the shaft and the skinnier one even on the original shaft.
Althought the following is based on the RnineT, it's interesting to see that it is potentially another thing that can fail.

https://www.ninetowners.com/threads/drive-shaft-failure-500mi-2023.154380/

I suppose that makes sense - otherwise, why would it have two diameters rather than a single narrow shaft?