Jun 15

Written by:
Saturday, June 15, 2013 5:13:42 PM 

The request was to sort out a slipping clutch, so it starts by getting the bike into my workshop

From the look and in discussion with the owner it was established that the bike had been standing for about a year, prior to that it was not used that often, and so I start.

The BMW Boxer engine has to be moved forward to allow space to remove the gearbox, this is not as difficult as removing the rear suspension, as suggested in some manuals, as  most of the parts, silencers, footrests, carbs and air filler box have to come off anyway.

Its then easy to remove the front engine cover, 2 long studs, jack the engine up and move it forward.

The gearbox is then easily removed to the left of the bike.

Take care not to bump the push rod, now I can see oil in the housing which will cause clutch slip, the inside of the clutch housing is cleaned, I use engine cleaner a brush and dry with rag.

The clutch friction plate is oily, the other parts look ok

When I disconnected the speedo cable it was obvious that the cable had completely seized, and part of the drive had snapped off in the gearbox drive, this is not difficult to remove, but it was also apparent that water had gone past the rubber boot of the cable into the speedo drive, on draining the box it was half full of water, but luckily lots of oil also

Now I need to source the spares, whilst I look at that, I strip the carbs, and its obvious the bike has stood a long time, its always surprising what residue old dried up petrol leaves and how much the jets can be blocked. One carb was very gummed up the other one not to bad, but its best to clean both.