Jane's New Bike!

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What a bummer. Even though this is her bike, this is really souring my first experience with BMW and perhaps ending my intentions of one day having an R1200GS in my garage.
And be forewarned, after you foolishly break your own advice, then break your new expensive GS, the largest dogpile in FJR forum history will be upon your ass. :rolleyes:

 
" my first experience with BMW"

Not being an owner ever of the ultimate riding experience motorcycles (silent prayer of thanksgiving), is this experience part of the soul or personality of bay mem vay ownership :rolleyes: ? Sorry, this just ain't right on so many levels and hate it for you and Jane.

JDP

 
I was sorry to hear of the aggravation you folks have had to go through, and I know we are all looking forward to hearing that things have been resolved.

 
From BMW Airhead Master Mechanic, Tom Cutter....and AZ Beemers President Brian Boles; a close friend of SkooterG's!

This story refers to late model Airhead transmissions:

I have a theory, that is best illustrated by a little "story."

Large companies like BMW have loads of mid-level engineers who spend

all day looking for ways to move ahead in their jobs. The company keeps

telling them "save more money for us" which is synonymous with "make

more money for us." So some young hotshot takes a look at the

engineering drawing of the output shaft and says "That bearing has an

adequate press-fit on that shaft, it doesn't need any clip to retain

its position. We could save 2.75 euros per shaft if we eliminated that

machining operation, and another 0.07 Euros if we delete the circlip

from the design. What could it hurt? The bearing is sitting in a bore

in the case, it can't move, right?" All his engineering books tell him

he is right, his boss pats him on the head and says "Good job, Junior.

You saved the company a pile of cash. Here's a plastic flower for your

cubicle." Soon, Junior gets promoted to a different department, where

they design Oilhead rear drives.

Time passes, and down in the Warranty Accounting Department, Hans and

Hilde are poring over the warranty claims history. They note that the

output shaft bearing is suddenly being over-represented in the claims

numbers. Now Hans and Hilde have no clue that that bearing needs to be

retained by a now-deleted circlip. They fire off a memo to Engineering

saying "Trouble with the Output Bearing." Herr Engineering Boss walks

out into the cube farm, and dumps the memo on the desk of the new guy,

Horst, who just got out of engineering school. He says to Horst "Look

into this problem, and devise a fix. Don't spend any money." So Horst

pulls out the engineering drawings, sees that there is a circlip on the

shaft (somebody forgot to update the drawings) and sees immediately

that the large-radius bearing is hitting the circlip way out in space,

where the clip has no support. So he contacts the Output Bearing

Supplier and say s"Hey, fellas, you got a bearing with less radius?"

They reply, "We can make that for you, and since BMW buys 10,000

bearings at at a time, we will only add 0.11 Euros per bearing to the

cost." Horst shows his boss, his boss says "Here's your plastic

flower." Then the various departments get a memo about the new bearing,

which is filtered down into the Parts Distribution Department, along

with a Service Bulletin describing this wonderful cure-all bearing

design. Everybody is happy, the Warranty Claims figures drop, mostly

because BMW has abandoned the Airhead models completely, but nobody

bothers to tell Hans and Hilde that. They just figure that they took

care of the problem.

More time passes, calendar leaves float gently to the floor. The Parts

Distribution Department exhausts that supply of 10,000

special-production bearings. They call a new guy over at the bearing

supplier and say "We need 2000 more bearings to replenish our stock."

The new guys says "That is a special production item and we have to

charge you 150 Euros extra per bearing for that special production run,

because it is only 2000 pieces. Why don't you use the standard bearing,

it will take the same load, and you don't have to change any other

design elements?" So the Parts Distribution guy says to his Boss, "Hey,

I just saved us $150 Euros per bearing by using a standard part." The

Boss says "Here's your plastic flower." So now, the old part number

bearing is back in the Parts Distribution System, and the "special"

small-radius bearing is lost to history.

Meanwhile, halfway around the globe, an old BMW mechanic is looking at

this progression of part numbers, Service Bulletins and bearing

failures, scratching his head. He loses most of his hair, and says "I

should talk to somebody at BMW and see whether they know that this

situation has developed." So he starts calling people and writing

letters. Years pass, and nobody takes any action, because the old

mechanic is no longer part of the BMW "System."

Now the old mechanic makes a living, partly by rebuilding one

transmission after another that failed because nobody took the long

view, and nobody was willing to listen and act decisively.

(NOTE: I Have altered the chronology of this story a little in the

interest of Literary License, so anybody who wants to start posting

that "this change came before that part number or that Service bulletin

was in my folder "can just save the trouble. The story is intended as

humor based on a very real chain of events.)

Junior, Hans, Hilde and the others still have their plastic flowers.

 
From BMW Airhead Master Mechanic, Tom Cutter....and AZ Beemers President Brian Boles; a close friend of SkooterG's!
This story refers to late model Airhead transmissions:

I have a theory, that is best illustrated by a little "story."<some snippage>

Large companies like BMW have loads of mid-level engineers who spend all day looking for ways to move ahead in their jobs. The company keeps telling them "save more money for us" which is synonymous with "make more money for us." So some young hotshot takes a look at the engineering drawing of the output shaft and says "That bearing has an adequate press-fit on that shaft, it doesn't need any clip to retain its position. We could save 2.75 euros per shaft if we eliminated that machining operation, and another 0.07 Euros if we delete the circlip from the design. What could it hurt? ...gets promoted to a different department, where they design Oilhead rear drives.

Time passes, ...Warranty Accounting Department, ...the output shaft bearing is suddenly being over-represented in the claims ...devise a fix. Don't spend any money." ...that the large-radius bearing is hitting the circlip way out in space, where the clip has no support.

More time passes, ...Why don't you use the standard bearing, ... and the "special" small-radius bearing is lost to history.

Meanwhile, halfway around the globe, an old BMW mechanic is looking at this progression of part numbers, Service Bulletins and bearing failures, scratching his head. He loses most of his hair, and says "I should talk to somebody at BMW and see whether they know that this situation has developed." So he starts calling people and writing letters. Years pass, and nobody takes any action, because the old mechanic is no longer part of the BMW "System."

Now the old mechanic makes a living, partly by rebuilding one transmission after another that failed because nobody took the long view, and nobody was willing to listen and act decisively.
This from a friend who's no stranger to BMWs:

"The guy that wrote this doesn't know (but the old mechanic would) that there is a wire ring like a piston pin circlip that goes between the retaining ring and the bearing to fill up the radius and apply the load closer to the groove."
I'm sure glad I ride a Yamaha.... :)

 
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https://www.airheads.org/content/view/324/98/ Here's what you are doing: Fixing the fact that the BMW Factory eliminated the circlip! I know this all too well, as this was a problem on my BMW R80RT.

charismaticmegafauna: Not sure where your friend got his info-he may have owned a pre 1984 Airhead that indeed had the groove/circlip. But the real problem was that the BMW Factory completely eliminated the circlip, as well as the groove itself, between 1984 and sometime in mid-1993. You have to machine a groove into the mainshaft for the circlip on those years!!

Once you cut a new groove, a wire ring may be fitted between bearing and circlip; but with careful machining it's not needed.

 
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FirstRide7.jpg
Very cool bike! However, she needs a good set of boots to protect the ankles! Looking a bit squidly. :)

ZW

 
Very cool bike! However, she needs a good set of boots to protect the ankles! Looking a bit squidly. :)
ZW
The "tennies" are for when the bike quits running and she has to push it.....or is forced to go insane because of the problems and she wants to run down the median or into traffic, just to end the mental anguish. :eek:

 
Very cool bike! However, she needs a good set of boots to protect the ankles! Looking a bit squidly. :)
ZW
The "tennies" are for when the bike quits running and she has to push it.....or is forced to go insane because of the problems and she wants to run down the median or into traffic, just to end the mental anguish. :eek:
Oh, Jane's got fancy new mc boots. Go ahead, just ask Scooter what brand THEY are. :butcher:

 
Um..... you need to do something with this young lady's choice of riding boots.... :blink:

I agree with WC - and what better excuse do you need to go buy that pretty girl some big ass combat touring boots from aerostich.

Trust me - I recently convinved Mrs Bull to climb into a pair of these big old bad boys - and man do they ever look sexy - I mean safe!

Fantastic write up Skoot - congrats Jane!!!!! enjoy your new scoot.

 
Um..... you need to do something with this young lady's choice of riding boots.... :blink:

I agree with WC - and what better excuse do you need to go buy that pretty girl some big ass combat touring boots from aerostich.

Trust me - I recently convinved Mrs Bull to climb into a pair of these big old bad boys - and man do they ever look sexy - I mean safe!

Fantastic write up Skoot - congrats Jane!!!!! enjoy your new scoot.

Oh, Jane's got fancy new mc boots. Go ahead, just ask Scooter what brand THEY are. :butcher:
Bull, you need to read all the posts before you reply. Notice the dates of the posts? (WC's is on Sept. 2nd; Pinhead's is on Oct. 2nd) I know Jane has new riding boots because I saw them on TWN's memorial ride. I'm thinkin' she just "had to ride" her new toy before the ordered riding boots arrived and Greg snapped the picture.

 
Richard, Greg and the GS are both back in Scottsdale safe and sound. I was on standby duty with my Ford pickup and motorcycle ramp during the course of the day. He was calling me from waypoints such as Banning, Blythe and Tonopah.

He put on 435 miles today and no evidence of a stalling issue. Hopefully, this new BMW fuel pump controller is the final fix!!!

 
:clapping: I love a happy ending! :clapping:

Er..uhm...if this IS the ending.... :blink:

 
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Um..... you need to do something with this young lady's choice of riding boots.... :blink:

I agree with WC - and what better excuse do you need to go buy that pretty girl some big ass combat touring boots from aerostich.

Trust me - I recently convinved Mrs Bull to climb into a pair of these big old bad boys - and man do they ever look sexy - I mean safe!

Fantastic write up Skoot - congrats Jane!!!!! enjoy your new scoot.

Oh, Jane's got fancy new mc boots. Go ahead, just ask Scooter what brand THEY are. :butcher:
Bull, you need to read all the posts before you reply. Notice the dates of the posts? (WC's is on Sept. 2nd; Pinhead's is on Oct. 2nd) I know Jane has new riding boots because I saw them on TWN's memorial ride. I'm thinkin' she just "had to ride" her new toy before the ordered riding boots arrived and Greg snapped the picture.

thanks Mike - I was just a bit too fast on the trigger there

 
Richard, Greg and the GS are both back in Scottsdale safe and sound. I was on standby duty with my Ford pickup and motorcycle ramp during the course of the day. He was calling me from waypoints such as Banning, Blythe and Tonopah.He put on 435 miles today and no evidence of a stalling issue. Hopefully, this new BMW fuel pump controller is the final fix!!
Yamaha FJR ownership/riding can be so....ahh, ...'un-interesting'....(comparitively). ;) :) :)

 
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