Rear Caliper fell off during ride

videoguy · 10-09-2002, 07:02 AM

Just a heads up for all with new bikes. I picked up a new R1100s sport Saturday and went for a ride with my wife on Sunday..about 90 miles or so. Near the end of the ride I noticed the brakes seemed a bit less effective. No big deal I thought, just new stuff breaking in. When I got home I found the rear brake caliper hanging on the outside of the swing arm by the hose and speedo cable. Had it fallen INTO the wheel insted of uot of it, I probably wouldn't be writing this. Anyway the dealer sent a tech out to inspect and replace the bolts. both of which were simply gone! The dealer says BMW assembled that part of the bike, BMW says the dealer did, I just think anyone with a new bike had better check all the critical bolts to make sure they are properly tightened before that first ride!

roger albert · 10-09-2002, 07:26 AM

Ahhh, the $15,000 kit-bike.
Shades of Ducati about 10-20 years ago

Seriously, it can never hurt to have a torque wrench and
service manual and spend some quality time with your bike
near the start of ownership. Goes for new and used.

I've only delayed that significantly once during the last 10 years.
About a month into ownership, I was on the way to a group ride on what would eventually become my cafe/6. Bike suddenly sounded a bit deeper as I went down a large hill on minimal thottle. As I hit the bottom of the hill and the throttle, there was suddenly a nastly metallic crash and a LOT of motor noise. Left muffler had ejected. Fortunately it was early before traffic, and no car was behind me closely. Even more fortunately, it didn't happen during the group ride and take out a bike behind me.

Yeah, you should have to do it, but it sure can't hurt.

Thanks for sharing that with us. The caution is good.

Regards
Roger

p.s. I was much more careful with the current Hawk project I picked up this summer. I skimped with a weak rear shock and regretted it during a track day. After that day, I decided I needed new braided brake lines. Imagine my horror when I found that a mounting bracket had been misaligned and had already cut through the stock lines outer rubber jacket, and had started working on the inner woven fibers. Yikes.

Can't be too careful.

roger

SilverR1100S · 10-09-2002, 08:03 AM

Hi there

Happy to see everything is oke and you're not hurt.

These things sometimes go true my mind as I"m driving

"are all the bolts oke ?"
"how about the brake ?"
"can't the wheel drive by ?"

I've had the problem with my cannisters that suddenly fell off.
Solved that by drilling a hole behind the cannister and put a safetypin in.

To make sure the bolts of the most important parts are in place I've secured them today.
And now I'm reading this suply and want to share it with you.

If anything goes wrong I want to be sure that is wasn't my fault
in a technical way.

see you
Coos

LarryP · 10-09-2002, 08:41 AM

Yup, my Ohlins remote preload adjuster broke off its mount and dangled by the hydraulic hose. Bounced around a LOT but didn't really chew up much (!). Seems Ohlins used a crap cast aluminum "L"-shaped bracket and it cracked along some stress line. Given from the argument Ohlins gave me about replacing it (they wanted $30 AND it was back ordered, I guess this happens from "time to time") I bought the carbon fiber sidestand pad from Rider Wearhouse and cut a bracket out of that.

Safety wiring is great stuff but I still had my bolts firmly affixed. There was just nothing for them to do!

philth · 10-09-2002, 09:07 AM

Thank the 2 wheel gods you're okay. I like the safety wire idea. As for whose fault it is, I'm affraid you're going to have to blame a German with a little too much Spaten on board(at least for the initial problem). The bikes come out of the crate with the rear wheel and brake in place.

However, I think it's totally F___ing inexcuseable that the dealer let this bike go out without that being caught during the PDI. The dealer and BMW should both be embarrassed by their behavior in trying to pass the buck. They are both at fault.

Hey, I'm all for personal responsibility and if someone takes their new bike home and goes at it with a torque wrench, good for them. But gimme a break, it's one of the most expensive motorcycles you can buy and it's from dealers that usually take serious pride in their work and it's from a company with a long reputation for refinement and attention to detail. The notion that we should feel compelled to "check their work" is silly. That said, I guess I'll be checking bolts and safety wiring stuff this week.

Oilhead259 · 10-09-2002, 09:42 AM

I agree with philth, the dealer that sold you the bike should be licking your feet and throwing free mechandise at you for forgiveness. It's not as if there's any redundancy systems on motorcycles, you're up or you're DOWN. It's tough enough out there without negative contributions from the dealer's service department.n When I went to pick up my new bike in '99, I couldn't get it because the front shock blew a seal during the PDI. A new shock was ordered, installed and tne dealer delivered it to my business, with much fanfare and free t-shirts & hats. Glad to hear your O K through all this, a little going over before riding is still a good idea.

whitedog · 10-09-2002, 09:48 AM

I'm sure the lawyers of BMW NA and the dealer would collectively like to know of the way that they handled this.

pdonnell · 10-09-2002, 10:21 AM

Larry,
I had my Ohlins adjuster bracket break off too!! Thought I was the only one. Anywhooo, I gather up the cable and put it under the seat in front of the tire repair kit and it worked fine. I even liked the stealthyness of it.

roger albert · 10-09-2002, 12:18 PM

Damn, what's wrong with my bike. The Alum brackets for the shock and hugger are still in one piece.

Guess I just need to ride more

(or better/faster/harder)

Seriously, I need to really inspect mine this weekend.
Scary stuff.

Roger

LarryP · 10-09-2002, 01:15 PM

Roger-

Checking won't reveal a thing. I go over my bike pretty carefully all the time and it looked fine. That is the disturbing part. Ohlins should have used some cheapo stamped piece of steel or aluminum sheet but noooo, they had to be cute.

Honestly, I apologize for not bringing it up before, it just sort of slipped my mind. Were I you, I would replace the bracket or move it like PDonnell did. (Speaking of which, I wouldn't mind seeing a picture, PD.)

And now I have to worry about my Ilmberger too? For god's sake. I think it is time to go for a ride on the Honda...

roger albert · 10-09-2002, 01:56 PM

I hear you Larry,

True, there's a good chance an inspection won't help.
But, cracks _usually_ don't develop overnight, so I'm
going to check just the same. I'm adding some cable
ties too, at least until I make my own uprated bracket.

Yeah, frustrating indeed.

roger

10-09-2002, 02:02 PM

Hi Videoguy,
Another cause of your rear brake feeling funny is your rear wheel is loose and about to fall off. So it is worth stopping to have a look. This happened to me, I noticed the rear brake needed pumping before I used it and it was due to the rear disc waving around, luckily I eventually stopped because I thought my rear tyre was going flat but all the rear wheel bolts were hanging out and the wheel was about to come off!

A friend of mine also had this happen 80 km's from picking his bike up brand new. He had the shop fit the Staintune before he picked it up and they must have forgotten to tighten the rear wheel nuts!!

Cheers,

Frank

TorranceTM · 10-09-2002, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by roger albert
I'm adding some cable ties too, at least until I make my own uprated bracket.

Roger,

Can you post photos of your modifications.

Thanks,

Tom.

Dave Hopkins · 10-09-2002, 05:12 PM

I bought my bike slightly used and don't think it was worked on prior to my getting it, but that huge O ring under the gas cap, it was not in the groove. So gas was sloshing out under the body panels where I was unaware of it. After about 6,000 miles I took the panels off while fitting a thermostate for my electric suit and see these gas stains. There are even gas staind on the cat!
I think I dodged a bullet on that one.

Dan Alexander · Dan Alexander's Garage

I had some seals replaced on the rear drive and after 600km. my caliper fell off too .... dented the swingarm and scratched up the paint .... too bad we have to check the bike after the mechanics work on her .... 'can't get good help' I suppose or the mechs are hard pressed to do more in the same time.
Dan

videoguy · 10-10-2002, 05:39 AM

Well, I wish the dealer had tried to GIVE me something to appease my anger, but they sent a tech to my house to inspect and replace anything that was damaged. I then checked every bolt I could get a torque wrench on, except I couldn't figure out how to check front and rear swing arm . Anyway lesson learned not to trust your life to the supposed professionalism of your dealer or manufacturer. I just have to say that in 20 years of owning 11 other bikes including a K75S and a Triumph Sprint ST, I NEVER had anything of this nature happen. Thouhgt BMW was a step above that kind of thing.

SilverR1100S · 10-10-2002, 06:45 AM

Hi there

just came back from Duursma.
He had his first cupreplica in.
I took some pictures and also from the capilar.
here it is

see you
Coos

ErricZ · 10-10-2002, 08:09 AM

Not just S's guys ... seems like a string of drunks at the factory.

http://www.safetyalerts.com/recall/a/02/v00222.htm

BMW Has Recalled the 2003 F650CS Motorcycle because of a potential for the loss of braking.

Number of Units Affected: 522

Manufactured: 01/2002 - 04/2002

Defect Summary:
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: MOTORCYCLES. THE SCREWS THAT ATTACH THE REAR BRAKE CALIPER TO THE REAR SWING ARM WERE NOT TIGHTENED CORRECTLY DURING ASSEMBLY. THE SCREWS COULD LOOSEN DURING VEHICLE OPERATION AND EVENTUALLY FALL OUT ALLOWING THE REAR CALIPER TO SEPARATE FROM ITS MOUNT.

Consequence Summary:
IF THE CALIPER BECOMES TRAPPED BETWEEN THE REAR WHEEL AND THE SWING ARM, IT COULD DISCONNECT FROM THE BRAKE LINE, RESULTING IN A LOSS OF REAR BRAKING CAPABILITY, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.

Corrective Summary:
DEALERS WILL CHECK THE TORQUE OF THE REAR BRAKE CALIPER ATTACHMENT SCREWS AND RETIGHTEN THEM TO THE PROPER VALUE IF NECESSARY. OWNER NOTIFICATION IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING JUNE 2002. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT BMW AT 1-800-831-1117.

NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number: 02V140000.

videoguy · 10-10-2002, 04:54 PM

Ha! A bit odd don't you think that they limited it to F650's? Apparently they should look at 1100s' too. I have a very sad feeling mine won't be the only case of this unless someone at BMW really does something as I called and logged a complaint.