BMW R1200GS Rear Drive Service + Brakes + Spline Lube + Final Drive Fluid

[@davidgreve1081]

You can Trust the guy who made this video. When he first bought the bike, he took it apart and installed all kinds of things like video cameras, rear fender inserts, skid plates, and he knows these but e s like the back of his hand!! This ain't no shade tree video. He is probably one of the very BEST. GS mechanics there ever is in the USA. The reason he's doing this is because a BMW shop wants big wheelbarrow full of money to do this same work.

[@AdamChandler86]

Haha. Thanks David but I’m definitely not a mechanic. Just some dude with a torque wrench. Good joke if you’re just making fun though. Thanks foe watching!

[@davidgreve1081]

@@AdamChandler86, I know you dont want the publicity, because youd be in a position of handling 20 ace Mechanics in a shop as huge inside as a Walmart store. My bad. I didnt want to jam your phone with requests for help, I just wanted to authenticate the work ethic to the public. Btw, Have you gendered at the new R/18 lately? We, (You and I)could go into the Aftermarket business big time on that Bike!!

[@davidgreve1081]

Gandered **

[@AdamChandler86]

Thanks for clarifying. Nice to have a fan here. I really just enjoy making these videos! The BMW Demo truck should be coming through in a few weeks. I look forward to finally riding one!

[@davidgreve1081]

Adam Chandler, I'm pretty pumped too! It almost looks exactly like my R/51/3. It's what gave me a crazy load of ideas for Aftermarket ideas.

[@upward_onward]

what a pleasure it is to watch one dream bike being survived even before its bought 😀😀😀😀

[@mikecousinoplumbingwaterfi6952]

Hey Adam, Thanks, I just did mine for the second time. I did the front splines by just pulling the shaft back far enough to lube it. It looked pretty clean. I would like to add something that I have yet to see in all the videos I've watched on this chore. Seems nobody cleans the brake rotor off with brake cleaner before installing the caliper and wheel. We've put our greasy/oily hands all over it. Mike

[@AdamChandler86]

Good tip! Thanks. I'm about to do mine again so I'll have to remember that.

[@stadtbewohner]

Thanks! I have a 2017 R1200RT but some parts like this are the same. I couldn't figure out whether the filler screw is behind the brake disc (need to take wheel off) like in the previous generation (till 2013) or on top of the rear drive.

[@trevorcrossley3054]

Adam I want so much to thank you for this video and information, I purchased a demo R1200GS in 2016, I came from inline 4 Cyl, like the Blackbird, K1200s, had no Idea BMW had shaft drive problems, my 2016 R1200GS I was not familiar with the new bike, had nothing to compare it with, after the first tyre change I noticed a bad vibration in the rear, I thought it was balance, so I purchased a static balancer and that did help but not totally, I also had another 2 bike shops balance the wheels and had to do it myself afterwards as the problem was still there, still non the wiser I would try loading the bike with weight, lighten it etc, was really stuffed about it, then years later I see your video just by chance and so I had a look at the final drive, I could not move to open, so I gave it to a BMW dealer to fix, the final drive had to be damaged to get it off Im told it was that bad, this then required a new final drive, drive shaft, boots etc. Initially BMW was not going to cover any of the expense because I had not had the bike serviced in two years, that's because I had stopped ridding it, " as it was not nice to ride". But then I got a call from the workshop, BMW was covering parts 2 years after the warranty had expired, I had the labour cost only about $1150.Au. The bike now has no vibration from the rear, has noticeable increase in power, and its just the most fun bike I have ever had in 50 years of motorcycling, I have no regrets about owning the bike, I just love it, but I am a bit worried as to how much stress was put on the engine, clutch, but most of all the output bearing from the gearbox. I also had checked the rim with a dial indicator, as I thought that was the problem, 2 loose spokes on the rear, the rim is not as true as one would like, as to compare the K1200s wheel was very true indeed. I had never taken the bike into water, but had ridden it twice in the rain, the bike was always kept clean and in the warmth of the garage in south east Queensland. BMW also replaced rusty swing arm bearings, free of cost. I paid $ for labour. So thank you Adam, by the way my eldest son is also Adam.

[@AdamChandler86]

Thank you for writing, Trevor. You're not alone in this as many of us have been impacted and one thing that you can do is to lubricate the shaft at both ends which will increase longevity. Every 6,000 miles (10K), put the bike on the center stand and check for excessive movement laterally in the final drive by grabbing the rear wheel and moving it around and see if the FD moves a lot side to side. I'm glad it's working now and that price was not too excessive overall.

[@gordonhenderson1708]

Always loosen the filler plug first. If you can't remove it to replace the fluid you are screwed. The drain plug is a torx. The fill plug is a hex.

[@AdamChandler86]

Great tip for new bikes. I have done the FD Fluid on this bike already so it wasn't a concern.

[@VeitSchenk]

great video - also had fun watching the beer on the counter get less and less over the course of the video;-)

[@AdamChandler86]

haha. As it should!

[@alanhassall]

I remember when that design came out with the hollow axle that BMW said the gear oil was good for a lifetime. They didn't even put a drain plug on the housing. Glad they fixed it.

[@AdamChandler86]

Never trust lifetime fluids.

[@Sjef0194517]

Same with mist automatics these days. Says they are lifetime until problems occur

[@kampunganrider4733]

I am not able to lower down the final drive although i have open the arm screw. Why its stuck

[@AdamChandler86]

it takes a slight bit of effort. it won't always break free naturally.

[@spikey2740]

T45 on one, T40 on another part of the same assembly. That sounds exactly like the way our MTD riding lawmower is made. Virtually everything holding the sheet metal body panels takes a different socket. It's a totally insane way of building anything. No wonder shop time is so expensive for even the simplest of repairs - the inmates are running the asylum.

[@disaar3679]

Did you use locktite or anything else for the rear tire bolts?

[@AdamChandler86]

Rear tire bolts, nope just torque to spec. I only apply thread-locker to bolts that came with it from BMW.

[@disaar3679]

@@AdamChandler86 Thanks dude. My push rod came off but where it meets the engine... jesus this is going to be fun.

[@rodneyemmerich8828]

Shouldn't the front spline be done too? I take it the U joint cross bearings are not greasable??

[@AdamChandler86]

The front splines are accessible with a sturdy pull. I just chose not to do it in this video.

[@MrBestvirginia]

Nice vid! Two questions/comments though: 1. Why shouldnt you move/rotate the shaft when the joint is "disassembled"? 2. I am wondering if BMW (don't worry, I'm not trying to make them look bad, I'm a beemer fan myself) is using some cheaper materials when buying these shafts/end drives. My R 1150 GS from Year 2000 (which I have now sold) had a clutch spline failure which I repaired myself. When I took it apart, I had no signs of rust or corrosion whatsoever, despite the splines being almost dry. Now (haven't checked on my 2013 R 1200 GS) there's this almost common issue of splines/end drives/ shafts being rusty, which (obviously) wasnt an issue before. Makes me wonder if they cheaped out on something....

[@AdamChandler86]

Hi. Number 1 is because if you rotate the shaft, the splines on the shaft & drive get mis-matched and it makes marrying them back up when you’re done WAY harder. Same goes for rotating the hub on the final drive. If you don’t touch them, it’s just way faster to marry them together. 2. BMW just needs to grease these things from the factory and they don’t. My K75 didn’t have a shaft lube interval either but every K75/K100 owner knows to do it every 6,000 miles or the splines eat themselves.

[@jasongranneman6843]

Where did you get the final drive gear oil fill bottle and adapter? Thanks.

[@AdamChandler86]

There is a gentleman on ADVRider who is selling them to people. Google, "advrider final drive filler tool" and you'll find his thread.

[@andrekikkert2787]

Hi Adam, At 9:20 you say not to spin the drive shaft, can you explain why not? Kind regards André

[@AdamChandler86]

When you pull the final drive away from the drive shaft, you now have the teeth aligned for when you put it back together. If the hub or drive shaft move any amount, it makes it harder to put them back together when you're done.

[@andrekikkert2787]

Thanks for clearing that up, could understand what difference it would make if it rotated a couple degrees compared to original position. Cheers

[@Timmyd122zx6r]

There is little to no point in greasing over dirt, dirt will increase wear and tear, great video though buddy, i'll be using this for reference when its time to do mine.

[@willemovereem7899]

I think it is easier if you clean your bike first and get rid of the dirt and sand before you dismantle everything. Just a humble tip from an old man 🤣

[@AdamChandler86]

You're right BUT I only wash my bike once a year. Most of the year it's covered in mud we go out off road every weekend so it never stays clean.

[@lino100x100]

@@AdamChandler86 😳

[@michaelamadei2982]

Additionally, what brake pads are you using, and why did you choose that brand?

[@AdamChandler86]

The carbons on this page - www.beemerboneyard.com/r1200gswadv.html

[@EmsillCazm]

Hi Adam, I followed your video on this service Which was a help, but I really think you should mention that when you remove the speed sensor that the gear oil will leak from that hole....... unlike in your video I did not put the bolt back in the hole but put it in my tray with some of the other bolts .... I had a dark towel underneath the hub so it dropped it would not scratch it on my workbench, unbeknown to me all the gear oil leaked out onto this towel. It was only by sheer luck that I seen another video where somebody said they put an ear plug in this hole to stop the oil leaking out, when I checked mine I barely had any oil left in the final drive hub, I know that if I hadn’t of put the towel underneath the hub I would’ve seen the gear oil leaking out onto the motorcycle lift, this would definitely need mentioning in your video if people are going to follow your advice ..... I consider myself very lucky this could have been a very costly mistake ..... Mark

[@AdamChandler86]

Thanks Mark for the detailed comment. It's appreciated. First, I'm not a mechanic and I do the video in order where the fluid is drained and then the sensor removed. You're correct in your case that keeping that hole plugged is required but if someone is doing a fluid change + spline lube, they've drained the fluid and therefore this isn't an issue. While your rebuttal may be "don't make videos if you don't cover everything", there is a great service for people like you and I, first BMW's Service DVDs which you can buy at your dealer for $400 and they cover everything. Or, you can search the web for JVBProduction and give Jim $30 for DVDs that are very professional and cover all of the bases. For a free KZbin Video, I feel like I'm doing a pretty good job. Note I'm not offended by your comment and you're not wrong, but I'll never cover every exception.

[@EmsillCazm]

Hi Adam, please don’t think my comment was in anyway negative, I actually found your video very helpful, I Just thought for someone like myself doing this job for the very first time it might be worth a mention that this can happen, to be honest I was very surprised that the sensor hole went right through into the inside of the hub, this is what caught me out. I did smell the oil ‘which we know has a very distinctive smell’ but I just thought it was where I split the hub from the drive shaft. I also do most of my own mechanics and I find people like yourself and the time that you that you put into their videos very helpful, keep up the good work 😊👍

[@markchristian232]

man, what a great video, i have a 2016gsa and this will be one of my winter projects. THANK YOU you mentioned you would post torque specs on all this, I didn't see it anywhere? TY again!

[@AdamChandler86]

Hi. Everything is here - www.jimvonbaden.com/Wethead%20Torques%204.pdf great PDF to print off and keep around the workshop. I believe it's section 33.

[@maksimiliankiefergregl]

Excellent job Adam ! But, I'd rather extract the entire driveshaft and inspect the other side, as well as the U-Joints both sides. I live in Brazil and this sort of issue is pretty common over here. BMW doesn't care, you have to ask them during periodic maintenance to check this out. Most common reason is riding on rainy, muddy and high humidity conditions. Years ago BMW would recommend, based on their Instruction & Repair Manual to check the driveshaft each 20.000 km. Don't know why they give up recommending this simple and important maintenance. I know dozens of cases of driveshafts cracking due to poor or no driveshaft maintenance. Another thing, sure you can use Moly to grease the splines, but it'd be very important to grease both splines and also U-Joints with Calcium-Based grease, to avoid water to contaminate and rust these components.

[@AdamChandler86]

I agree that both sides of the shaft should be lubricated and I'm also with you that it's offensive that this is not recommended maintenance by BMW. It absolutely should be.

[@michaelamadei2982]

Great video, can you share the brand oof your tool kit? Cost maybe? Looks high end, and self-contained. Also, I have the R-1250 GSA, and was wondering if there is a source for knowing the torque settings for all points on the BMW?

[@AdamChandler86]

amzn.to/3b5P0eb - Congrats on the new R1250. Most of the torques on this page carry over to R1250 - jvbproductions.com/Wethead%20Torques%204.pdf

[@drumsnbass]

What about the front gears?

[@AdamChandler86]

Front of the drive shaft? or you mean the engine clutch?

[@drumsnbass]

Adam Chandler - front of driveshaft

[@dougturner370]

Nice video Adam, I was wondering where you got the fill tool that threads into the final drive?

[@AdamChandler86]

There's a thread on ADVRider called "final drive fill tool" and a guy makes them.

[@dimosk7389]

those brake pads could do A LOT of milage before needing replacement. they were not even at 50%. but i guess you needed an excuse for a better set lol. been there, done that ;)

[@Badrvdm1983]

Exactly what I was thinking too. “Very worn down” 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@michaelamadei2982]

Okay, last, last question, what brand tire are you running?

[@AdamChandler86]

Those would be the Anakee Adventures.

[@kingfai0370]

great video....thx mate

[@drumsnbass]

Love your jammies!

[@alred6568]

Nice video. Dig your ratchet!