Clutch gone with a bang

theangrybeard

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Had the unfortunate situation of my clutch going yesterday with no warning. Did a long ride with no problems, left the bike on the road and when I went to walk it onto the drive, I put it in gear, clutch in and no throttle and the bike shot forward, taking me with it. Crashed into a rocky bank making a real mess of the crash bars and my ribs as I landed on top.
BMW mechanic came round and said the clutch was completely gone, on the centre stand you put it in gear and the wheel starts rolling. Was recovered to BMW Aberdeen this afternoon.
Just over 12000 miles, bought in November from BMW, put 1200 miles on it so far, 63 plate.
Really surprised, bike had been running lovely, had just been out over the Cairngorms and was really enjoying it.
Anyone got any ideas why the instant fail? Really shaken my confidence, a few broken ribs and possible cracked sternum and fearful what a stealers will say/charge, not to mention the crash bars almost certainly needing replacing- bent and huge gashes... did their job though, no other damage.
Can we guess what the BMW response will be? Breakdown service has been exemplary so far.
 
Fooking hell.
Hope you get sorted, your be sore for a few days for sure..

:(
 
Bugger, hope it gets sorted. Micky will be along shortly to laud his longevity about these bikes going forever! :)
 
Dosent sound like a conventional failure to me. Something wrong in mechanical side of things. Is the cable snapped? JJH
 
The mechanics at John Clark will have a look at it and get back to me as soon as they know. I was in complete bewilderment, getting up to see the bike on the ground with the wheel merrily turning away.
Spoke to a few biker friends and they all couldn't understand, am hoping BMW will sort it all... ribs maybe not so. Will get back when I here more.
 
It could be this little fella that has broken or disengaged it would give the symptoms you experienced, sudden drive to the back wheel.

parafuso-tecnico-da-embreagem-moto-bmw-f650-f700-e-f800-gs-D_NQ_NP_946469-MLB26569311804_122017-F.jpg
 
Blimey .... not heard of that before :blast

Keep us posted please. Hope the cracked bones and soreness soon mend.
 
Hope you recover OK, did my ribs last year & it wasn't fun at all - you have my sympathy!

Good luck with the bike too...

D
 
It could be this little fella that has broken or disengaged it would give the symptoms you experienced, sudden drive to the back wheel/QUOTE]

If it's not the clutch cable, then I guess it must be the release bearing - odd though (13 on this diagram)

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...16-K75-BMW-F_800_GS_Adve_0B25_&diagId=21_0259

Bad luck OP. Luckily ribs usually sort themselves out in a few weeks - painful in the meantime though. Keep us posted.
 
It could be this little fella that has broken or disengaged it would give the symptoms you experienced, sudden drive to the back wheel/QUOTE]

If it's not the clutch cable, then I guess it must be the release bearing - odd though (13 on this diagram)

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...16-K75-BMW-F_800_GS_Adve_0B25_&diagId=21_0259

Bad luck OP. Luckily ribs usually sort themselves out in a few weeks - painful in the meantime though. Keep us posted.

The picture above is part 13 on the diagram see part numbers, its the part the clutch arm pull on to release the clutch as you say its the most likely part to have failed.
 
Thanks for all your kind words
Well the situation is becoming a bit of a nightmare, having been recovered to BMW Aberdeen after the BMW roadside assistance guy said the clutch was gone and the bike was not rideable, i am now being told they can't find anything wrong with it...
They tested it and took it out on a road test they said they couldn't find an issue and quoted an epic price to adjust the clutch/chain and replace panels which to my knowledge weren't damaged.
I described the fault again and sent the video i took of the wheel spinning with clutch in and in gear and continuing when clutch was released(no throttle) and was told this was normal for F800's (maybe a little but not as much as shown and not at all with weight on it or we'd surely all die at every junction).
I have been told all they can do now is take the engine apart to try and find a fault, but if they can't I'll be stuck with the bill...
Really not impressed, i bought approved used to get a good quality product, now I'm left with broken ribs and potentially a huge bill.
I've spoken to customer services and they say the technicians are the one's that work out what the fault is and if nothing is found I'll be responsible for costs.
What really annoys me is that they seem to be ignoring the fact it was one of their technicians that came to my house and said there was a fault and needed recovering. All i was told when i mentioned that was that they weren't trained to the same standards as workshop technicians.
I'm just hoping something is found, but so much stress along with everything else. I'm debating to get in touch with a personal accident solicitor and see what they say, am doubting the insurance company will pay for mechanical investigations, especially as it is already at the garage.
So much frustration and all i want to do is ride... instead i fear I'll be left with a huge bill and no confidence in the bike.
 
Thanks for all your kind words
Well the situation is becoming a bit of a nightmare, having been recovered to BMW Aberdeen after the BMW roadside assistance guy said the clutch was gone and the bike was not rideable, i am now being told they can't find anything wrong with it...
They tested it and took it out on a road test they said they couldn't find an issue and quoted an epic price to adjust the clutch/chain and replace panels which to my knowledge weren't damaged.
I described the fault again and sent the video i took of the wheel spinning with clutch in and in gear and continuing when clutch was released(no throttle) and was told this was normal for F800's (maybe a little but not as much as shown and not at all with weight on it or we'd surely all die at every junction).
I have been told all they can do now is take the engine apart to try and find a fault, but if they can't I'll be stuck with the bill...
Really not impressed, i bought approved used to get a good quality product, now I'm left with broken ribs and potentially a huge bill.
I've spoken to customer services and they say the technicians are the one's that work out what the fault is and if nothing is found I'll be responsible for costs.
What really annoys me is that they seem to be ignoring the fact it was one of their technicians that came to my house and said there was a fault and needed recovering. All i was told when i mentioned that was that they weren't trained to the same standards as workshop technicians.
I'm just hoping something is found, but so much stress along with everything else. I'm debating to get in touch with a personal accident solicitor and see what they say, am doubting the insurance company will pay for mechanical investigations, especially as it is already at the garage.
So much frustration and all i want to do is ride... instead i fear I'll be left with a huge bill and no confidence in the bike.
There are independent garages and also Motor Engineers who are more than happy to examine for a reasonable fee.

Also, as it involves personal injury, they are going to be very reluctant to admit anything.

Nows the time to seek legal advice, I can suggest Motorcycle Law Scotland as a good place to start with.

Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk
 
Sounds like a complete nightmare & some.. :(
 
I'm getting that nasty smell of bullshit here; maybe even avoidance of any negligence claim ivo your injuries.

I'm not sure how much slack/free play there was at the lever but is it possible that the cable became detached at the actuating arm somehow. Was there any 'feel' at the lever after your fall? - presumably their tech guy checked this when he collected the bike. Looking at the bike now, is there evidence that a new cable has been fitted or that the clutch cover has been off?

All very strange. Given your abode I doubt it is practical to refer to another dealer.
 
Just had another in depth read of your post. It’s strange how the bike shot foreword without any throttle. Maybe have a look at throttle? I forget wheather it’s got a cable or not. JJH
 
Thanks for your replies, Motorcycle law Scotland have been contacted and on request video sent to them.
Went into John Clark today and spoke to the technician, service managers. Got shown the bike and talked through the incident again, they told me they will talk to BMW technical tomorrow and try and find similar problems and take advice from there. They say they still haven't got the bike to fault and the reason my wheel spun more than most is because most brakes come into contact with wheels... I think this is what they meant.
As regards the insane quote, apparently an over zealous junior member of the team was asked to note any damage and highlighted every blemish, other than the crash bars there is little other new damage.
I shall see what they say after speaking to technical, they say they made give them the thumbs up to investigate further under warranty. I highlighted the roadside assistance guy having said the clutch was gone and the fact I was layering up. I hate 'claim culture' but the thought of having to pay for damage and have a bike that my confidence is gone with after a random fault is making me feel I have no choice.
 
Brenda is very good, and isn't into the claim culture. She's a good lawyer who also happens to rides a bike.

Her job is to put you back into situation that you have no losses.

Hopefully it all gets sorted out quickly.



Thanks for your replies, Motorcycle law Scotland have been contacted and on request video sent to them.
Went into John Clark today and spoke to the technician, service managers. Got shown the bike and talked through the incident again, they told me they will talk to BMW technical tomorrow and try and find similar problems and take advice from there. They say they still haven't got the bike to fault and the reason my wheel spun more than most is because most brakes come into contact with wheels... I think this is what they meant.
As regards the insane quote, apparently an over zealous junior member of the team was asked to note any damage and highlighted every blemish, other than the crash bars there is little other new damage.
I shall see what they say after speaking to technical, they say they made give them the thumbs up to investigate further under warranty. I highlighted the roadside assistance guy having said the clutch was gone and the fact I was layering up. I hate 'claim culture' but the thought of having to pay for damage and have a bike that my confidence is gone with after a random fault is making me feel I have no choice.

Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk
 


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