2002 R1150R clutch slipping

[bearsfolks]

My clutch appears to be slipping in the upper gears at around 5,000 rpm. I bought the bike used with 12,000 mikes on it and it has been ridden gently by me ever since. Now , at 25,000 miles I am having this problem where rev's shoot up immediately at higher rpms without the bike accellerating. My 1983 R80RT had a similar problem a few years ago. After teardown on it we found a Technical Bulletin about the diaphram clutch spring not having sufficient clearance to develope pressure on the disc. It was too flat, and the cure was to shim the spring away from the disc.
Has anyone had clutch problems, slipping at higher RPM's in higher gears? What was the cause? It's hard to believe the clutch is worn out.
Frankly, I am disappointed in the quality of bothe BMW's that I have owned. I never had issues like the ones on the BMW's when I rode a Yamaha. The complexity of design makes inspection or changing the clutch a very major operation.

[Guest]

I don't think there is a standard factory clutch, which couldn't be cooked within a couple of miles.

If bearfolks problem is the same as mine (and lots of others I have heard), the problem is not a cooked clutch, but an oily one.

At the back of the transmission, there is an oil seal that keeps the gear oil separate from the clutch slave cylinder. If (when?) the seal leaks, gear oil travels along the clutch pushrod through the input shaft from the back of the transmission to the front. Unfortunately, the front is also where the clutch is.

Bearfolks, if you remove the starter, you will be able to take a good look at the clutch. You will probably find that there is still plenty of friction material but there are some sooty greasy traces that tell you the unfortunate story. The job is doable in a weekend if you do your own routine maintenance. I only spent less than $150 in parts, but there are lots of screws to remove.

Of course, you could be luck and only have air in the brake lines...

[Arbreacames]

Of course, you could be lucky and only have air in the brake lines...

Oops, forgot to log in first....

[bearsfolks]

Thanks for the replies. It looks like a winter trip to Cycle Specialties for a fix. It took my independent mechanic lots of phone calls to finally find the Factory Technical Bulletin on the 1983 where BMW admitted a slight screwup with the diaphram clutch spring. I guess I'm still a little paranoidTeardown will tell.

[Paul Mihalka]

The most common cause of clutch slippage on these bikes at this low mileage is a bad crankshaft oil seal or a bad gearbox input shaft oil seal.