spline failure questions.

[1100s nut]

After hearing jkeating most likley having failed splines and flattbutt having a failure how many others out there. I was at the dealer today and asked the serv. mang. about it and in 7years he said he can`t remember a failure. He said some of the k bikes had problems years ago but does not see much now. He said years ago it used to a yearly thing to lube splines and then went to 40k. He thought that the metallurgy has changed over the years. I just did not know this was a problem until now.

Regards,
Lane

[1100s nut]

I meant to say he does not remember one in 7 years on the 1100s. (sorry)

[Rapid Dog]

...conensus sez, there was a bad batch of shafts during a certain group of earlier year bikes...do a search.
Not to worry on your '05 BCR unless you thrash the thing.

[tadIV]

You must go to my dealer. I received the same answer. From all the posts on this matter I've simply relegated myself to the fact that on any given day, at any moment, my drive enters the Light and I'm hosed - inevitably with no cell reception and few rations. Think: "The Hills Have Eyes."

[Sideshow_S]

Yep. And I've searched for the VIN thread that was helping ID the spread of problematic bikes, and I can't find it. People with spline failures were posting their year last 5 VIN digits to help narrow down the bad spline bikes.

[Rapid Dog]

...and then they were spirited away...

[markjenn]

The idea that the problem has occurred only in a certain range of VIN's doesn't explain the problem still occuring on some brand new bikes, even the new hexheads.

The line, "That's the first I've heard about the problem" is a knee-jerk response by service personnel to any problem, no matter how common.

- Mark

[JonyRR]

ohmygawds
NOW we have discovered just exactly WHAT device the aliens use for an anal probe....R1100S transmission output shafts with their splines stripped....that's the REAL reason the splines go away... it's a conspiracy, I tell ya.

[wswartzwel]

The spline failure has nothing to do with BMW reliability. Some people have bad luck, bad karma, have been cursed, and other such metaphysical phenomena that would have left them stranded regardless of what they ride....

If you are generally a lucky person, quit worrying about such things and ride in peace.

[tadIV]

Originally posted by wswartzwel
The spline failure has nothing to do with BMW reliability. Some people have bad luck, bad karma, have been cursed, and other such metaphysical phenomena that would have left them stranded regardless of what they ride....

If you are generally a lucky person, quit worrying about such things and ride in peace.

I am so hosed.....

[John Lyon]

Originally posted by tadIV
- inevitably with no cell reception and few rations. Think: "The Hills Have Eyes."

Been there, done that...precisely.

[StuartOstroff]

Years ago I rode an LT. They kept saying only 3% suffered from rear drive failure - right, 3% EVERY DAY.

After my S spliines went away during a cross country 50cc attempt, and I spent $3400 on return shipping and repairs with NO help from NA on a well maintained bike with 20,000 miles, I finally had my fill of the BMW factory arrogance and traded that bike for a Triumph Sprint. NO splines to vanish, NO rear drive to get wierd. Sure, they may have problems too, but I'll take my chances.

Stuart (much happier)

[steve abella]

Originally posted by markjenn
The idea that the problem has occurred only in a certain range of VIN's doesn't explain the problem still occuring on some brand new bikes, even the new hexheads.

The line, "That's the first I've heard about the problem" is a knee-jerk response by service personnel to any problem, no matter how common.

- Mark

+1
The line that they have not seen the problem before or they have not heard of it ... is company Karma, in reply to any assumed problem even if they have 3 bikes in with the same problem.
the second versus is "they all do that"

in 95 when the tranny on my GS went out I was told they had never seen this before, and met 2 other rider's who'd had the tranny replaced within 1 week, and one who was picking up his bike when I got mine.


The Ford dealer gave me the same karma chant to be honest when I asked about the CPS failure on the powerstroke diesel and < 5000 miles I was back in getting a CPS replaced and the service manger suggested that I keep a spare on the truck suggesting that a lot of knowledge had just come forth in <5000 miles.

[1100s nut]

I hate to hear this is still happening as markjenn pointed out. There has to be a better way. I see this setup just like a car stick shift, why don`t cars have the same problem. I may be wrong on the car comparison don`t know. This whole thing really surprises me, In a bad way.

Thanks for the responces guys,
Lane

[1100s nut]

One more thing. Does anyone know Vonnie Glaves, the lady that has about 300k on a RS, If I`m correct on the name and numbers. I would like to know how many failures she has incured.

Lane

[Bob Hancock]

Originally posted by 1100s nut
One more thing. Does anyone know Vonnie Glaves, the lady that has about 300k on a RS, If I`m correct on the name and numbers. I would like to know how many failures she has incured.

Lane

Lane, her husband, Paul, used to post on the IBMWR list and would answer questions. Don't know if he's still there but he's still a BMW presence as he writes for BMW Owners News. I'll bet if you sent him an email about our discussion here he would answer you. p_vglaves@mindspring.com. Let us know.

[steve abella]

Originally posted by 1100s nut
One more thing. Does anyone know Vonnie Glaves, the lady that has about 300k on a RS, If I`m correct on the name and numbers. I would like to know how many failures she has incured.

Lane

isn't this a question of how far they maybe able to go rather than frequency of failure, especially if metallurgy is in question.

[1100s nut]

I think both. I think if you lose splines its a total trans. replacement so maybe different built years will net different miles, don`t know. BMW is pretty good at keeping records on problems. My dad has a 740i car and bmw called him years ago to do a compression check because there have been some bad engines. They gave him a new engine no questions.

Lane

[markjenn]

I absolutely love BMWs, both 2-wheel and 4-. BMW just has a great sense of how to design vehicles that are both fun to drive, practical, and slightly exotic.

But.... like other German mfgs, for some reason, they allow problems, like this spline problem, to fester.

I own a Mini (made by BMW) and yesterday the driver side power window failed. I did a net search and while the problem isn't universal, it's VERY common and it's due to a well-known design problem. But what is disturbing is that this design problem has been well known for tens of years on virtually all BMW cars - they all have power windows with MTBF that are around 5-years or 50K miles. It's just accepted by the BMW community.... part of the ownership experience. The new Mini's (just completely redesigned after a four-year run) have the same failure-prone design.

The Japanese would have corrected an endemic problem lilke this a long time ago. They would never view it as acceptable to have something like this to continue on and on. That's not to say they don't have problems, but I see very few Japanese vehicles that exhibit such long-term issues like the BMW spline failure problem.

- Mark

[1100s nut]

Mark, I totally agree with perspectives and points. Maybe someday.

Lane