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| Back in the saddle, again! |
Picked up the GS Adventure today from Lone Star BMW in north Austin. They replace the entire drive shaft and the swing arm along with all the seals and such. Total cost for the mechanical repair was $2,032.85. All covered by my extended warranty. While Lone Star BMW had the GS apart I had them install a new clutch plate. The original plate still had about 10,000 or so miles on it but I figured it was a good opportunity to replace it. Saved half the of labor hour costs according to the Service Manager.
Now the GS Adventure is in the garage and chomping at the bit to go for a ride. Hummmmm....let me check my calendar.
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Saturday, March 23, 2012
After 123,000 reliable miles my 2008 BMW R1200GS Adventure suffered its first major mechanical failure today. I was on my way to a rider course training class in northeast Austin when aound 7:15am the drive shaft failed. I started to smell something like rubber burning and felt a roughness in the drive train. Then the failure happened and I lost all drive power to the rear wheel. When it failed I was traveling about 70 miles per hour. I put on my flashers, downshifted to neutral and coasted as far as I could, which put me at an exit ramp to the northbound frontage road. I had the push the MC about a quarter mile to get it to a safe location off the roadway. I suspect the "U-joint" just aft of the transmission judging by the scorched and bubbled paint on the swing arm.
Yup, looks like a drive shaft problem. Called the owner of Moto Fun and told him I wasn't going to make class. He told me no worries and would get another Rider Coach to take my place. I called home to arrange transport and to let Judy know what had happened. Then I called Progressive Insurance to arrange roadside service. Nothing to do now except wait on the recovery teams. I poured myself a cup of coffee from my portable container and grabbed a seat.
Got to Lone Star BMW around 9:45am. The tow truck pulled up several minutes after. The service writer did a quick inspection and said, "Tim, this is going to be expensive." I said, "No worries, Mate. I have an 84 month unlimited mileage extended warranty, with a zero deductible, that covers everything not normal wear & tear." He said, "Smart man! We'll get right on it."
I had a mechanical problem on my FJR last week. I filled my main and aux tanks with 'regular' gas, rode 200 miles, and went to crank the valve on the aux tank to transfer fuel to the main. The handle to the valve came off in my hand, the nut that holds the handle onto the valve must have worked loose and fallen.
ReplyDeleteFortunately, I was near an expressway ramp, and was able to pull off, get to the Home depot that was in the shopping center near the ramp, spend 35 cents, and install a new nut.
I was then on my way.
Even though this isn't an FJR problem per se, I blame it on the bike, because I can't figure out who else to blame it on.
Good luck with your repair.
Howard
Glad everything went ok. We are still hoping to come visit you some time this summer. Good luck and take.
ReplyDeleteFran