Noise from Left side sounds like a bag of bolts

Irishdude

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Hello there
Looks like I have a problem on my r1150gsa,
Engine started to sound not quiet right to sounding like crap,
On the forum I saw someone saying it is the tensioner on the left side so last night I took out tensioner and yeah its fecked,
The bit that was supposed to hold the spring has a hole in it which means it was hitting the chain , also it came out as one piece with the spring stuck in side , so I pointed camera into hole and I can see the chain but not any
plastic rail,
I have already asked the garage for a quote to fix it but ...
My question is , is it doable to do it myself,
How much of the engine do I need to strip to get at the bolts that hold the chain slide rail on?
And if the chain is worn will I have to change all the cogs that the new chain would touch?
I think I know already its a big expensive job which sucks.
Thanks for any advice and tips in advance
 
The pics here may be of some help.

And this too?

But before you do owt else, I suggest you whip the cylinder head cover off and the inspection hole cover on the side of the tunnel and have a look down the cam chain tunnel to confirm the state of the tensioner blade.
 
The pics here may be of some help.

And this too?

But before you do owt else, I suggest you whip the cylinder head cover off and the inspection hole cover on the side of the tunnel and have a look down the cam chain tunnel to confirm the state of the tensioner blade.

Don't take any notice of that repair procedure, he's american and they love a long-winded unnecessary process.

It can be done fairly simply. Do a search i've posted how to previously.
 
Thought I remembered your post Neil but could not find it. I did find this however.

Someone might post a link to your post at some point or maybe the OP can do a bit of searching?

Seem to recall a Youtube clip showing the filing procedure also?
 
Oh that's heart breaking :)
Thanks man I see now from the film its a major job but doable,
and if the garage comes back with a mad price for doing it for me I'll have to do it myself ,
Thanks again I'll let you know what happens.
 
It's not so bad. You only have to remove the head and barrel. Then remove the broken guide rail. Then file the new one and fit it over the pin. Then reassemble. As Steptoe says, you do NOT need to remove the engine from the frame. A bike lift would make the job easier but you can still do the job on the garage floor.
 
Thought I remembered your post Neil but could not find it. I did find this however.

Someone might post a link to your post at some point or maybe the OP can do a bit of searching?

Seem to recall a Youtube clip showing the filing procedure also?

I'd consider this as an option to try as I also saw a youtube film where he took out old one with heated screwdriver first then did the grinding thing to the new one and hammered it in,
but I'd probably be always worried that it would weaken the thing.
My bike has 169000kms so its due an over haul that first film you posted looks like the way to go
Thanks again
 
I would contradict you Irishdude in Holland - ALWAYS follow Neil's guidance ( Steptoe ) in preference to Chris Harris or anyone else. He's the MAN....
 
I would contradict you Irishdude in Holland - ALWAYS follow Neil's guidance ( Steptoe ) in preference to Chris Harris or anyone else. He's the MAN....

:thumb

That mileage is not huge for a well cared for bike. If you,don't want to,do,the job yourself, then get a competent bike,repairer to do it for you the Steptoe way. You will save a fortune. I only posted the Harris video to,give,you,some,idea,of what was involved, not as a recommendation!
 
I have to go and take out the engine to fish out all the bits of plastic rail that are somewhere in the bottom of the engine and to replace the plastic chain guide rails on both sides.
I'm reading in the manual that I have to drain brake fluid to remove ABS unit , wasn't expecting to have to do that.
I was expecting to loosen all the bolts attaching engine to rest of bike and just lifting bike up off the engine and roll it out on a board with wheels
I was wondering about a couple of things
So far I have removed the tank, half the left side and that's how I saw that the top and bottom chain guide were gone on the left side,
I could see the pins where the rails once were.

How much of the bike do I need to dismantle just to get engine out.

When I get all the bolts loose to get engine out will the rest of the bike fold in half or can it support itself, In the manual I see some metal bmw frame thingy,
maybe I can use a plank and a few straps to hold the bits up
I will be putting a few bits of wood to support the gearbox and back of bike while I'm at it.
What do you think are my chances :)
thanks for any advice
 
How much of the bike do I need to dismantle just to get engine out.

You don't remove the engine from these bikes... Basically everything is bolted to the engine so it's a matter of removing everything, including centre stand until you're left with just the engine.

And then the engine splits in half vertically.. ... :D.

Have fun.
 
My son who was 17 at the time stripped and rebuilt the engine on the R1100RS that I had him help me restore, admittedly he is now in the second year of a mechanical engineering degree but all he used at the time was a BMW repair shop manual, you tube videos and the correct tools, so if a 17 year old can do it.... The secret is to take your time and listen to advice on here, Steptoes reputation proceeds him, many a wise word. Oh, and yes once everything was connected up the engine my son rebuilt started first time and is still going strong 10,000 miles later though that has probably now put the curse on it.
 
Thanks Lads, our little garage we have a fridge full of beer so it should be doable :beer:
I'll just take me time and I'm sure it will be grand
 
Take your time and at each stage have a digital camera handy and take lots of photos, they will help when you put it back together. The BMW workshop manual can be down loaded, I think that my son got one off of the RBR racing website
 
Take your time and at each stage have a digital camera handy and take lots of photos, they will help when you put it back together. The BMW workshop manual can be down loaded, I think that my son got one off of the RBR racing website
This does take time and a little effort, but it is simply the best way to dismantle a bike. I’ve done several and really gone to town with pictures of every stage and pointing out the way stuff fitted. It is invaluable after several weeks when you can’t even remember where all the bits are!
It also lets you know just exactly what order you did everything in. Also when you split cases etc I find it a cracking idea to get a bit of card board and roughly mark out the shape of the part you are removing and draw the bolt holes on it and then punch each bolt through the cardboard so you don’t need to experiment with different length bolts for all the holes.
 
I went thru the same problem last year,
took it to harris cost $300 to hear it wasn't worth fixing.
Then took it to Bombar Beemer the price started at around $3K when all wassail and done had to split the cases to remove all the shattered pieces of the old plastic chain railer ( if not good chance of blocking the sump oil pickup and smoking the motor after already fixing it, Needless to say while your at it :rolleyes:there is noway I'm not going to replace everything possible while the motor is taken down that far, and replace with all upgraded parts, When all was said and done just under $8K :blast:blast
I always liked the bike so it seems worth it to me,
there were a few choices, sell the bike for $1k-$3k ,buy a motor for $1k-$3k and still have to put money into that motor, I decided to fix what i had knowing it only had 20thousand miles on it,Its a Great spare bike,IA few days ago Just got back from a Great ride around Lake Superior with it ,No problems at all,
Hope it all works for you,
Good Luck:aidan
Thanks,
Mike M.
 
Getting into it now

Well so far so good,
Thanks for the encouragement,
I have managed to take off both heads and then I found out how much the plastic rails were smashed up, one was ok the other three were gone more or less , Drained the brake fluid and took off the ABS ,
Have to see how to get the battery tray out as it is being stuck with some cables underneath it.
But all in all it seems doable so far :)
 
I'll try to post some photos of progress

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