R1100RT power interruption?

[dresserd]

I have a '96 R1100RT with 104k miles. Recently, when I really get on the throttle, there is a brief power interruption. The engine is still revving, but there is no power to the back wheel. This lasts less than a second and then hooks right up again.

The first time it happened, I thought it felt like I was hitting the rev limiter, just a momentary loss of pull. The difference is that this is happening anywhere from 3.5 - 5k rpm and the revs are pretty steady.

I spoke to a mechanic and his first thought was clutch, but then changed his mind because it immediately hooks up and starts pulling again while I'm still hard on the throttle. His next thought was the transmission output shaft.

If I ride it gently, I have no problems....yet. I'm pretty sure this will end catastophically at some point though. Does the output shaft sound right? How big a deal is replacing that? Should I be looking for a younger partner? ;-)

[bmwmick]

If there is no abnormal noise associated with the slipping, it 'could' be the driveshaft. It has a rubber isolater between the front and rear sections and they have been know to come loose internally. It is usually repeatable under the same load conditions. The output shaft of the transmission is pretty rock solid with very few failures.

[Kev95GS]

What gear is it happening in? Depending on the transmission there was an issue with the dogs for 3rd gear rounding off and causing a similar symptom.

Kevin

[dresserd]

How would I check the rubber isolator? I guess I'll use a process of elimination, starting with the easy things.

I have definitely had it happen in second AND third. Those are typically the gears that I'm hammering on. I'm guessing I could make it happen in every gear if I tried.

[bmwmick]

You would have to remove it to test it. Put it in a vise and attempt to turn the end of the shaft.

[AntonLargiader]

It's probably this:

http://www.largiader.com/tech/oiltrans/

Look at the second FAQ.