Rear drive noice on R1200RT

[janschunck]

My R1200RT started whining from the rear drive after 3000Km. The noise became worse and worse and around 80KM/hr it was the only noise heard. Howling/whistling like an owl. When I engaged the clutch and let it roll the noise was heard as a grinding sound which could be felt through the saddle. BMW denmark had never heard about the problem before - and I have not been able to find anything about this on European pages. Appearantly it must be worn out bearings or crownwheel damage. Has anyone of you Americans experienced anyhing alike.
---and BMW replaced the rear drive on factory warranty - ofcause.

[Rob Nye]

My R1200RT started whining from the rear drive after 3000Km. The noise became worse and worse and around 80KM/hr it was the only noise heard. Howling/whistling like an owl. When I engaged the clutch and let it roll the noise was heard as a grinding sound which could be felt through the saddle. BMW denmark had never heard about the problem before - and I have not been able to find anything about this on European pages. Appearantly it must be worn out bearings or crownwheel damage. Has anyone of you Americans experienced anyhing alike.
---and BMW replaced the rear drive on factory warranty - ofcause.

Dude (pardon the incredulous dude play),

You must be the first person in Denmark to put serious mileage on your RT.

FD failures are unfortunately well known in the U.S.A. Usually it is a seal going bad with leads to a grind up of the internal bits.

I hope they will be taking care of this under warranty. If not a google search will provide you with plenty of examples.

[PGlaves]

When the howling changes between powered load (accelerating) and unpowered load (decelerating) it is almost certainly a problem with the gear mesh. On these final drives that usually means that a pinion bearing is failing. Get it to the dealer, and expect them to remove/replace the final drive. That is the drill in the United States, at least.

[Bfish]

just a thought but have you ruled out the tires as they wear. some brands get noisier than others. the previous 2 posters have more knowledge in their pinky than i have regarding these issues, but noises can be funny.

[tbryant]

At lower speeds I get some noise transmitting up through the rear top case when it's empty, but never through the saddle. I now have 44K miles with no real issues. Definitely have that looked at under warranty...sehr teuer!

[BigAdv]

Do any of you read and comprehend the OP's post? He stated that the FD was replaced and that there was only 3000km on the bike. So not putting the miles on it and not a tyre issue. Stuff breaks, stuff gets fixed, life goes on.

Earl