Clutch repair
15/01/12 14:20 Filed in: Motorcycle
Well, BMW NL is friendly enough to determine there is nothing wrong with the clutch on my K1200S without even removing the clutch cover or any other sensible diagnostics. Needless to say I am rather annoyed (understatement) and unimpressed with the way BMW handles this.
For those not knowing: a normal K12/K13 clutch engages in the last quarter of lever travel from full out. As annoying as it is, it is the normal designed behavior of this clutch.
My clutch on the other hand requires the clutch lever to be adjusted outward to the maximum distance from the bars (fortunately I have big hands), and then the clutch will engage within 1cm from the bar. This also means with the lever adjusted to a normal distance from the bars, it will not disengage completely. This is obviously not normal.
This is the same identical behavior which happened exactly 1 year ago, when BMW replaced the clutch for a hefty €1200 because 4 years and 54,000km was too old and too much mileage for a warranty claim. They were happy to diagnose the clutch as faulty and charge me for it, but now that it would come out of their pocket it is all of a sudden diagnosed as functioning within normal parameters.
Anyway.
For this reason, we decided if BMW wasn’t going to stand behind its product, we would ourselves delve into the inner workings of the clutch and see if we can find what is wrong with it.
After removing the clutch cover, it is time to see if we can get the clutch off. This is w bit of a tough job, since it is torqued down with 200Nm. Fortunately, in our workshop we have a pneumatic socket wrench that is able to do the job.
(Un)fortunately, depending on your view, we could not find anything visibly wrong with any of the clutch parts. The basket is undamaged, the laminar package has the same width as specified by BMW and no abnormal wear and tear on the bushes, washers and bearings.
Since the bush and spacer washer behind the clutch basket have received different part number as part of a modification, we will replace those anyway since we don’t know what the modifications are.
Other than that, we are pretty much at a loss. The only suspect left is the slave cylinder. If that is faulty or cannot generate enough pressure anymore for whatever reason, the clutch will not disengage. If that is not it either, and clutch behavior is not back to normal, I guess we will have to assume that whatever made the clutch change to what it is now, is just there and not likely to progress further. If it does, there will be damage which will reveal what is the problem.
For those not knowing: a normal K12/K13 clutch engages in the last quarter of lever travel from full out. As annoying as it is, it is the normal designed behavior of this clutch.
My clutch on the other hand requires the clutch lever to be adjusted outward to the maximum distance from the bars (fortunately I have big hands), and then the clutch will engage within 1cm from the bar. This also means with the lever adjusted to a normal distance from the bars, it will not disengage completely. This is obviously not normal.
This is the same identical behavior which happened exactly 1 year ago, when BMW replaced the clutch for a hefty €1200 because 4 years and 54,000km was too old and too much mileage for a warranty claim. They were happy to diagnose the clutch as faulty and charge me for it, but now that it would come out of their pocket it is all of a sudden diagnosed as functioning within normal parameters.
Anyway.
For this reason, we decided if BMW wasn’t going to stand behind its product, we would ourselves delve into the inner workings of the clutch and see if we can find what is wrong with it.
Clutch cover removed
After removing the clutch cover, it is time to see if we can get the clutch off. This is w bit of a tough job, since it is torqued down with 200Nm. Fortunately, in our workshop we have a pneumatic socket wrench that is able to do the job.
Clutch removed
Clutch basket, bush, washers and clutch laminar package
(Un)fortunately, depending on your view, we could not find anything visibly wrong with any of the clutch parts. The basket is undamaged, the laminar package has the same width as specified by BMW and no abnormal wear and tear on the bushes, washers and bearings.
Since the bush and spacer washer behind the clutch basket have received different part number as part of a modification, we will replace those anyway since we don’t know what the modifications are.
Other than that, we are pretty much at a loss. The only suspect left is the slave cylinder. If that is faulty or cannot generate enough pressure anymore for whatever reason, the clutch will not disengage. If that is not it either, and clutch behavior is not back to normal, I guess we will have to assume that whatever made the clutch change to what it is now, is just there and not likely to progress further. If it does, there will be damage which will reveal what is the problem.
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Per gear mapping
14/11/11 12:32 Filed in: Motorcycle
Alrighty, with help of an Aussie friend I have figured out how to put the PowerCommander V into per gear mapping mode. Very cool stuff. With the auto tune module connected, I can now create and modify injection mapping for each gear. This means I can add fuel in the lower gears at low rpm and low TPS to prevent it from surging while filtering, while at the same time leaning out mixture at cruise for better economy and it won’t have to be a compromise between the two.
I am so impressed with the PC-V device. It really is a shame that Dynojet doesn’t want to officially support older bikes with their latest model, because it works so beautifully on the K1200S. More people should be able to enjoy the benefits of this great little device.
In case you are wondering: the PowerCommander V for the BMW K1300S works perfect on the BMW K1200S. It is NOT officially supported by Dynojet, but it DOES work and even Dynojet will tell you that it probably should work if the two bikes are similar enough (as is the case between the K1300 and K1200 series).
To add per gear mapping to your PowerCommander, you require a Vss or speedo sensor signal. On the CAN-bus BMW’s, this is not easily accessible although per documentation the GPS accessory plug has a wire which should carry the Vss. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have any signal without some modification. On the up side, the modification is rather simple: just wire a 330Ohms resistor from the Vss to V+ wires and you will find you magically have a speedo signal on the Vss wire. Wire this into the appropriate port of the PowerCommander V, and you can now calibrate and use per gear mapping!
I am so impressed with the PC-V device. It really is a shame that Dynojet doesn’t want to officially support older bikes with their latest model, because it works so beautifully on the K1200S. More people should be able to enjoy the benefits of this great little device.
In case you are wondering: the PowerCommander V for the BMW K1300S works perfect on the BMW K1200S. It is NOT officially supported by Dynojet, but it DOES work and even Dynojet will tell you that it probably should work if the two bikes are similar enough (as is the case between the K1300 and K1200 series).
To add per gear mapping to your PowerCommander, you require a Vss or speedo sensor signal. On the CAN-bus BMW’s, this is not easily accessible although per documentation the GPS accessory plug has a wire which should carry the Vss. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have any signal without some modification. On the up side, the modification is rather simple: just wire a 330Ohms resistor from the Vss to V+ wires and you will find you magically have a speedo signal on the Vss wire. Wire this into the appropriate port of the PowerCommander V, and you can now calibrate and use per gear mapping!
Oh yeah! Finally done!
03/10/11 22:20 Filed in: Motorcycle
Scotland Trip Report Coming Soon
27/09/11 09:30 Filed in: Motorcycle
No updates of yet, but the trip was great, the photos came out great and I will be putting up the full trip report up as soon as possible!
Scotland Route
22/08/11 20:23 Filed in: Motorcycle
Not a lot of updates lately, but I have something for you: the planned route for my Scotland trip. Enjoy!
