BMW R1200 Driveshaft Spline Service

[@jeffsadler8461]

Good hack for holding the U joints straight well you lined them up especially in the front. Get a thick, heavy O-ring that will weave through the U joints as you roll it down from the end. Pop the O-ring into place around the curves, and it will naturally bind and hold the U joint straight.

[@jeffsadler8461]

When you are finished clip it and pull it out.

[@scottb3188]

Nice review. I've done this on a R1100RT-P rebuild, but not on any of the R1200's (Hex, Cam, Wethead ...). Many opportunities for frustration. I thought that paralever bolt was sealed with Loctite red (or BMW's equivalent), and required heat to disengage. Mine certainly DID NOT come off like yours did, lol. Thanks for the nice assembly tips. The only thing I'd add is that rubber doesn't much like petroleum based grease. Not sure what you used, but I intend to use a synthetic, silicone based grease on the gator's. (Of course, I'll also be checking the BMW manual for their input, but it seems obvious, no petroleum based greases on rubber. Lithium based greases are also suspended in petroleum based grease (as I discovered to my surprise), so they are out, too.)

[@RodRidesWrenches]

Hi Scott, thanks for the view. BMW no longer recommends using thread locking on the paralever bolt that holds the final drive. I spoke to this when I changed the clutch in my R1100RT kzbin.info/www/bejne/laCzi6GVnaudfdU I don't use anything on the gator itself. Thanks for the feedback and good luck with your bike!

[@scottb3188]

@@RodRidesWrenches Thanks for the feedback, too.

[@kristiann.jensen3652]

Very happy for this video as my front gaiter/boot is cracking. Bought the replacement boot and will do a 66K service including this. Last known dealer 12 k service was with 47K on the clock. Thank you for taking the time to make these videos and including all the details that you have.

[@RodRidesWrenches]

Thanks Kristian - Good Luck with your gaiter! 👍

[@foxyloxy57]

i struggled fort a whole day trying to follow your method , the easest way to do it is to remove the rear diffrential completely off , that gave me room to put the shaft in and it basically took minutes to line up

[@loadmasterc141b4]

Great video. Had trouble aligning the splines and no one else had a good method or description of how to do it. And it worked!

[@RodRidesWrenches]

Excellent to hear! I had a lot of frustration getting the splines in on my R1100RT when I did the clutch in December kzbin.info/www/bejne/laCzi6GVnaudfdU

[@Ken-ru8et]

Definitely an item to check, done mine too along with a complete brake flush

[@RodRidesWrenches]

Thanks for Commenting, Ride Safe!

[@motocomfort_de]

Well done! Thank you! 👍Bernd from motocomfort

[@mrdin5332]

Thanks for sharing and taking the time to film and edit the whole procedure.... like the idea of jacking up the rear end to assist aligning the rear splines... one question...is there a retaining clip on the transmission end of the drive shaft?

[@RodRidesWrenches]

Hey thanks for asking the question, no there is not any sort of clip on the transmission side of the shaft. It is difficult to remove and BMW suggests prying the universal joint at the transmission O/P end but the method I showed in the video works much easier. Good Luck!

[@twowheeling3214]

@@RodRidesWrenches my understanding is that there is a clip but perhaps in later models? It's hidden on the inside and shouldn't come out nor should be removed.

[@RodRidesWrenches]

@@twowheeling3214 The R1200 K2 manual makes no reference to the clip, perhaps on water head R engine but I also believe the shaft is on the opposite side of the last of the oilheads. From BMW R1200 R900 HP2 5th Edition; Step 1, Turn the universal shaft to a position for convenient access from outside and engage a gear to lock the shaft in this position. Step 2. Protect the frame to prevent damage and, using a suitable tool, separate the universal shaft from the gearbox output shaft.

[@twowheeling3214]

@@RodRidesWrenches Thanks, appears to be the case in later models and the shaft on my LC is on the Opposite end. Appreciate the video.

[@Vjekoslav-vf3hr]

Why not use the breaks cleaner while it is all open?

[@RodRidesWrenches]

Thanks New Video is out today! kzbin.info/www/bejne/kJPSiJp9a7dsgJI

[@nigelhanbury8169]

The video missed the important bit putting rear of prop shaft into the splines on drive at back. WHY?????

[@MachineManMusic]

It’s not a differential.

[@VIDEOJMENO]

It is a big mistake to leave old grease residues on the splined shaft from the gearbox. I remove the rear fork and carefully clean and lubricate the shaft. It's not that much more work, but it's done properly. I use Liqui Moly LM47 for lubrication. Otherwise, thanks for the informative video 👍