Loose spokes.....

Urban Rider

Urban Rider

Well-known member
UKGSer Subscriber
Joined
Nov 26, 2006
Messages
3,621
Reaction score
18
Location
Windsor, England
Hi all,

Took my Urban G/S into the dealers yesterday for MOT and service and just received a call from them advising that both the service and MOT are complete. However during the service the tech noted that a number of spokes on both the front and rear wheels are loose (how many i don't know). The bike is a 2017 UGS with 3600 miles on it, full BMW service history etc and they are putting a case together to BMW UK for a goodwill claim for a new set of wheels.... I was aware this was an issue on some of the early GS LCs but wasn't aware it was an issue with the 9T's...

Anyone else had this issue at all?
 
Mines just had its first mot and a 12k service. No problems with the spokes. Has permanent damage been caused? Spoke retensioning used to be a regular maintenance task. Can they not be nipped up?
 
It was a common problem for the the 1200gs's etc and the R Nine T Turban and Scrambler which effectively use the same wheels as the GS.

If I remember correctly my 66 plate Scrambler pre dates the problem but I still check them once in a while ;)
 
scooter paul said:
Mines just had its first mot and a 12k service. No problems with the spokes. Has permanent damage been caused? Spoke retensioning used to be a regular maintenance task. Can they not be nipped up?
Click to expand...

I would have thought that of that was an option they would have done it rather than putting in a claim for a new pair??
 
Get the gold ones, if they do replace them. They look great on the Urban. :thumb
 
Urban Rider said:
I would have thought that of that was an option they would have done it rather than putting in a claim for a new pair??
Click to expand...

BMW had/have a policy if it was a couple of spokes - tighten them up - if more than a certain number replace the wheel.
 
Came back from a trip to Luxembourg last year .. cleaning the bike and noticed a few loose spokes on the front wheel .. GSA only a year old .. Bahnstormer Alton were excellent. They apologised and replaced BOTH wheels within a few days. No issues.
 
Rusty said:
Came back from a trip to Luxembourg last year .. cleaning the bike and noticed a few loose spokes on the front wheel .. GSA only a year old .. Bahnstormer Alton were excellent. They apologised and replaced BOTH wheels within a few days. No issues.
Click to expand...

That’s the difference Rusty, yours was 12 months old and (I assume) under warranty. Mines 3 years old and out of warranty although it is at Bahnstormers..
 
Yes, rear wheel replaced on 2018 Urban at around 2k miles.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
If it were mine, out of guarantee and they weren't hugely loose, I'd tighten each loose spoke a little at a time ie quarter of a turn until they were at a similar tension to the others.
 
Make sure that you understand the locking mechanism ie the wee grub screw or you’ll either not get the desired results or your work will be in vain after the first ride...
 
So, loosening a few spokes gets you a new set of wheels then :green gri

Both of my bikes are spoked wheels , it’s just a shame neither of them are BMWs :D
 
Just got the call from Bahnstormers advising that BMW have agreed to pay for a new set of wheels... Bloody good job at £1800 a pair!!!
 
Got the call that the Urban was ready for collection so when i arrived i asked why they couldn't have simply tightened up the spokes. I was told that the guidance from BMW is that if up to 3 spokes are loose they can be tightened up but any more than 3 and it's new wheels. This is due to 3 or more loose spokes will have an affect on the alignment of the wheel and the dealerships don't have the specific tools needed to confirm the wheels are true.
Mine had 9 loose on the rear and all of the front ones were below tolerance, hence x2 new wheels...
 
Should be fun ;)

I washed the hack at the WE and did the old tappy tap with a dowl on the spokes


at least 3 on the rear and i lost count on the front of ones with a different tone lol


do i call them now, or leave it until the service is due ;):cool:
 
I tightened mine to the correct torque setting using the 12/6 and 3/9 o’clock method and then advancing round the wheel....seem fine to me.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Spoked wheel rebuilds? any recommendations - wheelbuidling is kind of a lots art.
2
Replies
24
Views
726
AdrianS
AdrianS
Morety
Air Vests
Replies
3
Views
197
Morety
Morety
GS750 ABS problem
Replies
3
Views
523
Douglas850
Replacement battery
Replies
7
Views
802
hawkeye
HarrisBikeNut
Longest Day Challenge 2024. Anyone prepared to donate please?
Replies
0
Views
128
HarrisBikeNut
HarrisBikeNut


Back
Top Bottom