Well, the techs at Big Sky BMW-Kawasaki in Missoula MT had a look at my bike this morning, and the front u-joint on the drive shaft is definitely dead. No ideas on why that happened. The kicker is that the failing u-joint thrashed around inside the swing arm enough to ruin it as well. The swing arm alone is about $1000. The total estimate is $2600.
At first I asked them just to replace the drive shaft and get it running again; I'd ride home with the swing arm beat up and patch it up myself. Then we rode to the dealership to have a look. The swing arm is structurally sound, but the beat up portion won't allow a rubber boot to seal properly, which could allow water and debris to get in and possibly cause another failure in time. The inside of the swing arm is hardly a clean environment, so I didn't think anything serious could happen in a week of riding even if the boot didn't seal perfectly. I wanted to just ride home with the damaged swing arm and try to complete the seal with JB Weld or some other filler, but Dad thought that could be risky because debris might get in during the week's ride home. The tech who was working on my bike seemed willing to discuss doing my JB Weld idea, but noted it'd take time to clean up the beat up swing arm and get the JB Weld set with the proper clip and rubber boot. Even if he'd try it, we wouldn't be rolling until Monday. The service manager didn't like the JB Weld idea at all, so I'm not sure if it was really an option. I really didn't like the idea of replacing a $1000 swing arm that is still structurally OK, but a failed u-joint can be pretty dangerous, potentially causing a rear wheel lock up. It was a tough decision, and I only had a few minutes to consider it because it was right at the deadline for ordering parts overnight. In the end I decided to go with a new swing arm, at the cost of what Jess and I usually spend on a week's vacation per person. No vacation in 2011, or rather, Jess will have to go by herself.
It may have been the fact that we hadn't eaten yet, but when I got the $2600 estimate around 13:30, I felt sick to my stomach. I've never paid that much to repair any vehicle before. I don't think I've spend that much on repairs in total for my 2001 Honda VF750 Magna with about 55,000 miles on it. I'm not feeling any love for my Beemer right now.
The good news is that parts should arrive by tomorrow, and they'll do whatever is necessary to have it running by the end of the day. They have two other bikes that are broken down right now, so they've got their hands full with emergency jobs. I'm happy with Big Sky's service, but not my motorcycle or the situation.
Ug.
Showing posts with label drive shaft. Show all posts
Showing posts with label drive shaft. Show all posts
August 20, 2010
Stranded - again
I'm still behind by a couple weeks on my full updates, but I've unexpectedly found myself with some "free time" so I'll be working on rectifying that today. I am, you see, stranded once again by my BMW.
Yesterday we were cruising at about 120 km/h (75 mph; the speed limits are reasonable in MT and was 70 mph) south down highway 287 just south of Townsend Montana. Just as the cross wind really started to pick up, my bike started to get a funny vibration. I downshifted, and it seemed to get worse. I shifted back up, and it seems to get better... for a few seconds. It then went from "funny vibration" to "I must pull over NOW", which I did.
The short of it is, I was eventually towed 260 km (160 miles) west (wrong direction!) to the closest BMW Mottorad dealership. It seemed that the problem could be the gear box, so I figured my best bet for a speedy and proper repair would be at a dealer. My AAA membership covered the first 100 miles of the tow, but it cost me about $230 for the remainder. The tow truck driver was awesome and did everything he could to get AAA to cover the entire thing, but none of our schemes worked out in the end.
View Larger Map
Joe, from the service department at Big Sky BMW-Kawasaki in Missoula MT, was kind enough to come back to work an hour after closing to let us bring the bike inside for the night. (He lives across the street, but it's still working on his personal time.) He and a service tech whose name I didn't get had a quick look over the bike and found a disintegrated u-joint at the front end of the drive shaft. Hopefully nothing else died along with it. I smelled burning clutch plate and am concerned there is clutch or, worse yet, gearbox damage due to the resistance of the failed u-joint. We're waiting to hear back from the service department with an estimate right now.
I Hotwired us a hotel while sitting in the ally behind Big Sky BMW after the bike was put away, so we're staying in a cushy Holiday Inn with beds! electricity! internet! shower! and even a pool! I've nothing planned today except internetting, waiting to hear about the bike, and maybe seeing a movie tonight. I think Dad is going for a swim at some point.
The best I can hope for right now is to be back on the road Saturday afternoon, with some money left after the repair work to buy food. ; If that doesn't happen, it'll probably be Monday. Monday would mean really pushing hard to get back in time for a day's recovery before I have to be back at work, skipping all nice highways and just flying down the interstate almost all the way across the continent. Ug.
Yesterday we were cruising at about 120 km/h (75 mph; the speed limits are reasonable in MT and was 70 mph) south down highway 287 just south of Townsend Montana. Just as the cross wind really started to pick up, my bike started to get a funny vibration. I downshifted, and it seemed to get worse. I shifted back up, and it seems to get better... for a few seconds. It then went from "funny vibration" to "I must pull over NOW", which I did.
The short of it is, I was eventually towed 260 km (160 miles) west (wrong direction!) to the closest BMW Mottorad dealership. It seemed that the problem could be the gear box, so I figured my best bet for a speedy and proper repair would be at a dealer. My AAA membership covered the first 100 miles of the tow, but it cost me about $230 for the remainder. The tow truck driver was awesome and did everything he could to get AAA to cover the entire thing, but none of our schemes worked out in the end.
 |
| On the tow again |
View Larger Map
Joe, from the service department at Big Sky BMW-Kawasaki in Missoula MT, was kind enough to come back to work an hour after closing to let us bring the bike inside for the night. (He lives across the street, but it's still working on his personal time.) He and a service tech whose name I didn't get had a quick look over the bike and found a disintegrated u-joint at the front end of the drive shaft. Hopefully nothing else died along with it. I smelled burning clutch plate and am concerned there is clutch or, worse yet, gearbox damage due to the resistance of the failed u-joint. We're waiting to hear back from the service department with an estimate right now.
I Hotwired us a hotel while sitting in the ally behind Big Sky BMW after the bike was put away, so we're staying in a cushy Holiday Inn with beds! electricity! internet! shower! and even a pool! I've nothing planned today except internetting, waiting to hear about the bike, and maybe seeing a movie tonight. I think Dad is going for a swim at some point.
The best I can hope for right now is to be back on the road Saturday afternoon, with some money left after the repair work to buy food. ; If that doesn't happen, it'll probably be Monday. Monday would mean really pushing hard to get back in time for a day's recovery before I have to be back at work, skipping all nice highways and just flying down the interstate almost all the way across the continent. Ug.
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