K12RS's and K12GT's and the frequency of rear seal replacement

[braddog]

I've got a good friend who's looking at purchasing a 2003 K1200GT. He's quite taken with it, it's got 36K miles, and the price is right.

Somebody has told him, "Make sure to budget for a main seal replacement every 3-5 years." The person that said this had owned a K1200RS, and not only was this his experience, it's also what his BMW mechanic told him.

I'm not a K bike guy, and don't follow this forum close enough to be aware of threads related to K12 rear seals, but is this mostly true? An anomaly to a single K12RS?

Thoughts?

[ncstephen]

My bike's experience. 2003 K12RS

Bike made in May 03 sold in July 03.
July 04 traded in with 6800 miles and bought that same month
Rear seal replace Jan 07 at 7650 miles (only 850 miles in 30 months... a lot of sitting)
I bought the bike October 08 with 7700 miles (19 months and only 50 miles since seal done.... had to replace a gummed up fuel pump)
Had alternator fail October 11 at 90,000 miles Since the bike was apart to that point did new clutch, main seal, slave cylinder and refreshed starter. The verdict was clutch still very usable but nearly worn out. O ring at rear seal hard and cracking but seal only moist and not leaking. Soon they said it would have.

So that's it from my perspective.

It is an issue of wear or sitting? Lots of rear seals have been done on the K12 brick series for sure. There is a lot of labor to get to that seal and I think most bikes of a decade or more ago will have had that repair done at least once. How long current materials and techniques last could stretch that out a bit longer. Even with that known repair, it is a great bike to own.

NCS

[DJOHNSON141421]

2000 K1200RS - 43000 and no repair ever done. Probably the most repair free bike I have ever had. Only repair - one set of fork seals. it's a blast to ride. Enjoy.

[Lee]

I bought my 2003 K1200RS in February 2003.
Rear seal replaced 11-05 at 35,200 miles.
I traded the bike in Jan 2011 with approx. 89,000 miles and the seal started to leak shortly after that. I happened to see it at the shop with a big puddle of oil under it.

My wife bought her 2003 K1200RS at the same time as me.
Rear seal replaced 5-04 at 17,750 miles.
She traded her bike Jan 2011 with approx. 87,000 miles without needing the seal replaced again.

[Twopielarry]

Brad,

I own a 2003 K1200GT with 61,000 miles on it. I bought the bike with 1,000 miles on it in 2004. I have never had an issue with any seals or the final drive. The only issue I have had is scraping the center stand while cornering. I raised the bike 1/2" with new shocks and that solved the issue. This bike has been flawless.

L. Garner

[braddog]

Many thanks, everyone, for your input. I've shared all of this with my buddy. Initially, he was concerned, but now says any issue with rear seal would not prohibit him from buying a K12GT. For the record, he currently rides a K100RS.

[04gt4me]

My 04 GT needed clutch, pressure plate and O-ring replacement on the clutch hydrolic cylinder. At only 22,000 miles. All because the O-ring on the clutch actuater. My old '85 K100LT NEVER needed any clutch work especially the clutch cable was ORIGIONAL. Because of a crappy O-ring in the crappy clutch cylinder (supposed to be an improvement!) I had a $1,000.00 repair bill.

[GTRider]

2004 K12GT, 72000 miles and the seal has never been touched. I'll be replacing it this spring as part of a clutch job, as long as I'm in there. The o-ring is more problematic than the seal, the ring gets hard and brittle from heat as time and miles accumulate. Many have replaced the OEM o-ring with a Viton o-ring of the correct size and those do seem to last longer. Finally, do not over-fill the oil sump. BMW riders seem to be overly obsessive about oil levels and on the bikes with sight glasses it's common to have the level vary a bit from one ride to the next. If there is ANY oil visible in the sight glass, then put gas in the bike and ride it. The brick GTs are great machines!


Best,

GTRider