Inspect Clutch Plates by Removing the Starter
You can inspect the clutch plates roughly as a guide by removing left bodywork, disconnect the battery and then remove the starter, then you can look at the plates, a small steel ruler and two feeler gauges are necessary,When you pull in the clutch lever (disengaged), the housing cover and pressure plate separate, releasing pressure on the clutch disk. Insert two thin feeler gauges on both sides of the clutch disk, then release the clutch lever. The pressure plate and housing cover will come back together, trapping the feeler gauges in the �sandwich stack�.,the measure the clutch plates thickness, additionally check for any crankshaft or balancer shaft oil leaks.
(oil residue) should be bone dry inside and sniff for burnt clutch plates! an endoscope hand held camera works well in here.
see:
http://bmwsporttouring.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=812872 photos and diagrams on this link.
I replaced my clutch earlier this year at 42540 miles, it was not slipping at all, but decided before embarking on trip to Nordkapp better make the bike as near perfect as possible, my bike is ex metropolitan police and possibly had a lot of start / stopping in London.
Upon dismantling i noticed it had had two replacement clutches before as the clutch i was removing had been fitted and date stamped in 2009, but the bike is a 2007 which i have had since 2013.
so as a preventative measure before going on a 6000 mile trip to Nordkapp, i decided to replace the clutch, clutch slave cylinder, crankshaft and balancer shaft oil seals, all gearbox oil seals, a new starter and new driveshaft as that had 1mm of free play in the universal joint, an expensive project but i saved a fortune doing it myself.
Upon removal the plates had only 3.5 to 4mm thickness left so glad i replaced it.
I fitted the expensive MW Oil Resistant clutch plate and it works perfectly.
At your mileage i would ask the previous owners or note the chassis number and ask any BMW dealer if they have details on the BMW computer system as to if and when a clutch was replaced ?
If only riding in the uk then dont worry, ride it till it starts slipping, you should be able to limp home, just dont ruin a holiday and make sure you have breakdown cover or a mate with a trailer.
At that mileage i would check everything carefully, it may have already had a clutch ? i have done over 18000 miles on mine in 4 years, 7000 miles since August 2017 on the new clutch, they are great bikes, but regular maintenance is the key to reliability and cheapest in the long run.
With careful riding i would expect a clutch to last at least 30,000 miles, maybe 100,000 it depends how the bike is used, stop starts and short journeys it wont do as many miles as riding in top gear on the motorways.
Every winter when the bike is laid up, i shall as a matter of preventive maintenance spend two hours, removing the starter to inspect for oil leaks and at the same time check the clutch plate thicknesses, this prepares
the bike for touring later on.
Join the BMW Club then you can hire the special tools for next to nothing if you are going to do the jobs yourself.
Get a factory DVD for your computer for about £10 off ebay, or free via a download, that is fantastic and makes the normal H Manual a waste of time.
Regards: Steve