Right......

My bikes done just under 10k miles, is a 15 plate so only 5 months old.

On my way home the other day I accelerated out of a round about and there was a bang clang cringing noise and the lots of vibrations, the gear change level wouldn't move and the engine wouldn't Rev. I stopped in the side of the road to discover the belt has bee completely shredded, no teeth left stall and the the clutch has gone heavy and the gear shifted doesn't seem to work.

BMW assist to the rescue!! They were pretty good really

Garage my bike went to are 'looking into the problem'

They say they don't stock belts so need to order one. Trying to tell me I picked up a stone!

I'm sceptical about this, I've been having problems with the gear box like it jling back in to neutral from second after accelerating and the clutch has been rattling like mad when in neutral at traffic lights.

I know they're going to try and get out of warranty repairs. Any advice or similar experiences out there???

Their theory is theoretically possible. Off road bikes never use belts because belts can't deal with rocks. But I suspect there is more going on. I think the drive train seized somehow and that's what stripped the belt. Those belts are extremely robust. I've never heard of one failing like that. You COULD have got a lemon, but I doubt it.

Do the teeth on the sprockets show any unusual wear patterns? Badly mis-aligned sprockets can wear a belt quickly.

 

Whatever the underlying problem it's going to be a warranty issue. Don't let them weasel out of warranty coverage based on a theory. The legal burden is on BMW to prove that their bike wasn't the problem. They can't just say "a rock did it" and hand you a bill.

 

The belt snapping wouldn't make the clutch become heavy, there is another issue here.
Regards

 

Belt hasn't snapped, all teeth stripped.

The bmw dealer has said they don't carry belts in stock so are ordering one!! Also said the sump was dry of oil! And my front disc is blued..... I do hope they're not trying to work a nice story to bring it round to being my fault some how.

I'll update as they tell me more.........

 

This isn't a belt issue and fitting a new one will see it happen again.
Something has locked up the gear train in the engine. Possibly clutch related.
Basically the engine locked up and the front belt pulley stopped dead.
The momentum of the bike caused the front pulley to tear of the teeth on the belt as the larger rear pulley forced the belt round.
The up side is with a chain or shaft drive the rear wheel will have locked up and thrown you off.
You may even find a slight wear patch on the rear tyre.

I have heard of issues before with the gear operation and clutch. Can't remember the cause but it may have been a clutch component shearing.
At the very least that LH engine cover needs to come and the clutch assembly be stripped out.

 

Basically the engine locked up and the front belt pulley stopped dead.
The momentum of the bike caused the front pulley to tear of the teeth on the belt as the larger rear pulley forced the belt round.
The up side is with a chain or shaft drive the rear wheel will have locked up and thrown you off.

Very interesting. Certainly not a designed safety feature but it is one to consider when debating the merits of belt drive.

 

It does sound like the belt failure is secondary. The gear shifter issue could be normal if you are in a higher gear when it happened, you would have to feather the clutch in and out while applying pressure to the shifter or rock the bike back and forth with the engine off and clutch out but you can't do that with a broken belt. I don't have a clue as to the heavy clutch or where the dealer is going with the dry sump or blue rotor comment. Just tell them BMW uses dry sump lubrication on this engine [err]

 

I know a fellow who owns a 2014 GT and had his belt fail like that. It turned out that the counter-shaft bearing had failed and that bearing, as well as the belt, had to be replaced under warranty. It took two weeks for all of the parts to arrive. A rock under the belt might cause the belt to tear, but I can't see it possibly causing the belt to strip off all of its teeth and cause the other problems that you mention. I think this is a potential issue that BMW is well aware of - and just doesn't want to admit.

 

Oh the back wheel locked up alright, I proper shizzed myself!!!

Only locked for a second but I was lent over at the time, thought it was going to high side me but just at the point of coming off I think is when the teeth stripped and I managed to hold on to it and pulled over. The rattle in neutral sounds like a bearing as it stops when the clutch is pulled in but not sure how this could lock up the drive train. It was in 3rd when it happened and afterwards when recovered the dash diaplayed neutral and it rolled freely!!

Updates of bmw service dept to follow........

 

Definitely a transmission issue. The belt blew like a "fuse." Probably a good thing it was a belt and not a chain or the rear wheel would have remained locked.

 

Sounds like this isn't a belt issue but an engine one, if your engine was dry of oil how long ago did you check it was ok?
The dealer will want to know I should imagine, so make sure it doesn't sound like you've neglected your essential checks [deal]
Regards

 

Belts are great. I've owned two bikes with them. Bummer they don't work off road. I put enough miles on my Thunderbird to require a belt change, and it was a breeze. And at no time during the belt's designed lifespan did I ever need to adjust the tension. That's definitely not something you can say of a chain.

I don't really understand the attraction of shaft drive. Heavy, expensive, and a nightmare if something goes wrong. But when they work they work well. I guess if you have a huge bike, with a ton of power, they're the best option. Some of those Harley belts are incredibly wide. That gets visually obtrusive, I think.

 

Bikes like your old LT, and my RS, with the crankshaft running north-south, are great candidates for shaft drive. Guzzi's too. Bikes with an east-west crankshaft seem to be less of an obvious match.

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Guzzis especially. The engine configuration was chosen specifically to suit the shaft drive. Joe Guzzi (or whatever his name was) essentially built motorcycles around drive shafts.

Giulio Cesare Carcano. I looked it up. He also designed the DOHC V8 used in Guzzi racing bikes. Can you imagine a beast like that?

It proved so dangerous to ride that after a few races no riders were willing to ride it, so it was retired. The reliability wasn't great, either. (Imagine that!)

I'm sure tuning a bike with EIGHT CARBS isn't too much of a pain or anything.

 

world is so small, opening that youtube link and realizing they shot the video in san pietro in casale, a town 10kms off where I live ahah

 

Update.....

Well, they put a new belt on it and tried to take it for a ride, the gearbox won't select 1st, 2nd or 3rd properly they said and the clutch is a bit funny.

They've given me a loan bike and said they need to take it all to bits and see what's wrong.

I've kind of lost faith in my bike not cow nearly getting thrown off was a bit crappy really.

I did test ride a s1000xr while I was there which was nice but nut as fast as it could have been as it was still limited due to needing its 600 service son going back when that's done and we'll see what happens

160bhp bring it on me thinks

 

You said the sump was dry of oil? Even if you totally neglected to check the oil level it shouldn't run dry unless you put on a TON of miles. How many miles since your last change?

If there was no oil that would certainly explain things. Something seized. The question becomes, "Where did the oil go?"

 

Oh, I see....5 months old and a bit under 10K miles.

It is theoretically possible that a bike that uses an more oil than normal COULD dry up in 10K. How often do you check it and top it up? I'm not accusing. I'm just trying to think where the oil went. If the missing oil is secondary to the mechanical bits seizing then you'd have an obviously cracked case or something.

I did have to add a half quart late last year, after putting about 4000 miles on the bike. They do use a little oil, but certainly shouldn't go dry in 10K even if you don't pay attention.

 

My bike has never used any oil between services. Not even during the run in. To use a full sump of oil due to burn would be unheard of.

 

Not normally. I'm assuming there is a problem.

 

Mines now done 55,000 miles and doesn't use any oil in between servicing

 

Now that it's an oil use thread[]
With the RT I carried oil with me until approx 6k miles then it stopped useing oil. GT so far has not used any noticable amount.

 

Right......

I know they're going to try and get out of warranty repairs. Any advice or similar experiences out there???

In my experience assuming you got the bike from a BMW authorised dealer the warranty will be good. I've had a few problems over the years and if it's a warranty issue the dealer has always been fair and honest with me.

Ron

 

agreed

 

They mentioned the oil situation when it first went in to the garage but haven't said anything about it since!?!?

I checked the oil about 5 days before it happend and all was well as it has been every time I've ever checked it.

It had its 600 service and its 6000 at the dealership, I did take it in on a saturday lunchtime as I thought the floating front discs were floating a bit too much, the guy said that the discs were ok but they noticed that the oil was low and he asked if I wanted them to do the 6000 service early (it was booked in about 2 weeks later for the service)?!?

I thought this was a bit strange as I'd checked the oil about 2 days before and it was ok but as I was there I said go fori it. They had the bike almost 2.5hours even after the service dept had shut and then returned it to me saying everything was fine.

It's all a bit fishy.....

 

That answers my question. It suffered a major mechanical failure, or damage, that resulted in a loss of lubrication and a seized motor. Either that, or the transmission seized and cracked the case somehow.

Either way, the oil went somewhere. If it burned, there would have been a huge and obvious cloud of smoke, and you would have been trailing a smoke screen for DAYS. If it leaked out, you should have noticed puddles of oil. Those are the only two possibilities. But it went SOMEWHERE, unless a vandal sucked it all out.

 

I'm serious about the vandalism thing, too. It would be so easy to do. Two minutes in a parking lot, with a wrench and a bucket. Dead motorcycle. But THAT would also trigger a low oil pressure warning light. So I'm still a bit mystified.

 

Whenever I go anywhere where the bike will sit for more time that it takes to eat in a restaurant or stop for groceries, for example at motels for overnight, at work, I use a cover just to keep risk a little lower. It's a small hassle but I figure it's worth it. Wouldn't solve the 2-min vandalism but beyond a locking oil cap I don't know what you could do. Terrorism and vandalism always impress me w/ how little effort it takes to destroy big time.

 

The absence of a low oil pressure light is what's mystifying about all of this. At a minimum, that cam chain would have been making a racket.

In the vandalism scenario, I think you'd find a huge puddle beneath the bike. I can't imagine they'd expend the time and effort to collect and dispose of the oil, but I suppose it could happen.

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