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BMW R18 Final drive solution?

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snider1970

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Joined
Mar 26, 2024
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69
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Sun City AZ
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R18 First edition
I have a '21 FE with 2200 miles on it and has the final drive leak. I cleaned my tire and rim, took it out for 50 mile highway ride at 78°F today and it has grease/oil on the tire and rim again.

According to the poll on another thread on this site 44% of owners report this issue. I am not buying BMW's explanation of excessive assembly grease. Did all of them sell these bikes?

Since mine is out of warranty and I will not keep the bike if its going to cost $3100 to replace the final drive, what have others found to be the cure for this?

Please no hypotheticals. Let's keep this thread to those who had this issue and found what has worked.
 
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I originally voted "NO" after approximately 2 yrs of ownership; however, I recently see evidence of an oil film wicking from the final drive now after approximately 4 yrs of ownership (14,000 miles).

I wipe it down from time-to-time, as it isn't consistent enough to contaminate the rear tire or potential cause the rear tire to slip on the road surface.

I plan on measuring the captured drained oil at my next final drive oil change; I'll potentially add slightly less, if the captured amount equals the recommended amount.

I typically drain the rear drive with the bike perpendicular to the shop floor and not leaning on the kickstand.

More to follow..
 
Looks like nobody has a real solution so I'll run it until it stops leaking and check the fluid at that point and see where its at. Either way I will know if it was over filled, leaking spline grease, or if the final drive needs to be replaced. I haven't seen anybody have luck with getting the seals replaced so why pay for it? If it starts leaking while parked then thats a replacement for sure.
 
The lack of response is probably because this topic has been flogged to death. True there have been very isolated incidents where BMW have replaced seals under warranty (to cure a genuine leak from the driveshaft seal if I recall correctly) but the assembly paste creep explanation when warm after an extended high speed ride is right. It happened once to me, I cleaned it down and never happened again.

I used to own Honda St1100’s and it was a discussion point on their forums. There were tiny O rings on the drive shaft axle that owners weren’t aware of. When tyres were swapped out they got damaged and fell out and then as bikes got older, owners changed and miles racked up assembly paste started to creep onto the back wheel. Those 2nd, 3rd owners started taking wheels out to look for the cause but the O rings were long gone so to their eyes there was nothing missing. There was. Honda actually changed the spec of the assembly paste and to my knowledge the issue went away.

Maybe if you post some detailed pictures we can see what it looks like and put your mind at rest? As long as nobody has overfilled it or done something wrong (DIY servicing) It might not be the worst case scenario 🤷‍♂️
 
Rufus said:
The lack of response is probably because this topic has been flogged to death. True there have been very isolated incidents where BMW have replaced seals under warranty (to cure a genuine leak from the driveshaft seal if I recall correctly) but the assembly paste creep explanation when warm after an extended high speed ride is right. It happened once to me, I cleaned it down and never happened again.

I used to own Honda St1100’s and it was a discussion point on their forums. There were tiny O rings on the drive shaft axle that owners weren’t aware of. When tyres were swapped out they got damaged and fell out and then as bikes got older, owners changed and miles racked up assembly paste started to creep onto the back wheel. Those 2nd, 3rd owners started taking wheels out to look for the cause but the O rings were long gone so to their eyes there was nothing missing. There was. Honda actually changed the spec of the assembly paste and to my knowledge the issue went away.

Maybe if you post some detailed pictures we can see what it looks like and put your mind at rest? As long as nobody has overfilled it or done something wrong (DIY servicing) It might not be the worst case scenario 🤷‍♂️
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My pics would be a repeat of what is already posted. The reason why I started this thread was because, now that some time has passed, I wanted to focus on true remedies. The past posts were filled with theories and such. I wanted this one to be factual. Maybe even see if this was still an issue with the newer models because BMW resolved the issue during the span of production.
I kept reading in other posts, "I could be this or that." or "this might work or that might work." I only wanted to get to real outcomes and what truly fixed the issue.
 
Well, it is what it is. Your bike is an early one. The reason the original thread sort of fizzled out is probably a combination of many factors and shared lived experience on the forum (quirks if you like). Depending upon how many warranty claims were made worldwide (regarding the issue), from a handful to significant numbers, BMW may have made small adjustments on the production line over the last 5 years 🤷‍♂️. We won’t know. If your bike looks like the photos already shared then it’s either assembly paste or gear oil, it can’t be anything else really. Not sure what else there is to help you.
 
Rufus said:
Well, it is what it is. Your bike is an early one. The reason the original thread sort of fizzled out is probably a combination of many factors and shared lived experience on the forum (quirks if you like). Depending upon how many warranty claims were made worldwide (regarding the issue), from a handful to significant numbers, BMW may have made small adjustments on the production line over the last 5 years 🤷‍♂️. We won’t know. If your bike looks like the photos already shared then it’s either assembly paste or gear oil, it can’t be anything else really. Not sure what else there is to help you.
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Thats what I was trying to figure out. Due to the thread fizzling out I was wondering if people got them all fixed under warranty, if it just resolved as the grease disapated, or if they just sold the bikes. I guess I'm going to go with what I stated earlier and just see what happens. Not much else I can do . Thanks.
 
snider1970 said:
Thats what I was trying to figure out. Due to the thread fizzling out I was wondering if people got them all fixed under warranty, if it just resolved as the grease disapated, or if they just sold the bikes. I guess I'm going to go with what I stated earlier and just see what happens. Not much else I can do . Thanks.
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I put mine in for service about 15months ago and they replaced complete diff and rev gear module foc warranty
 
I have a 23 anniversary edition that had a bad leak from the final drive. The dealer replaced a seal but come to find out this final drive had TWO leaks.
On the 2nd trip to the dealer they replaced the entire drive unit. Dry as a bone ever since. Not even a slight weep.
Actually, a slight weep is not a sign of trouble. If things aren't shimmed exactly right inside that bearing, a few oil tears will show up.
 
Well after servicing my angle gear/final drive and putting 180mL in it I had leakage again. It is NOT grease. Its fairly clear and smelled of the gear oil. Looking into options of places that rebuild these drives because the dealers and BMW are not going to give a damn about them soon and we will all be on our own.
 
snider1970 said:
Well after servicing my angle gear/final drive and putting 180mL in it I had leakage again. It is NOT grease. Its fairly clear and smelled of the gear oil. Looking into options of places that rebuild these drives because the dealers and BMW are not going to give a damn about them soon and we will all be on our own.
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Whilst I can understand that you are disheartened, I can take my ‘99 Ford Falcon into any dealership and get it serviced and any maintenance issues sorted.
New, near new or not; all vehicles are subject to warranty repairs… if they are still under warranty. If your bike had this issue under warranty and you had BMW attend to it, you have a case to get it repaired if it’s within a reasonable time period and kilometres travelled. This is regardless of what the “But I’m paid to say ‘No’ to claims” warranty person at BMW or the Service Department tells you.
 
Try to pinpoint the location of the leak. Mine leaked where the drive shaft entered the final drive.
The other leak was radially outward through the seam where final drive mated to the hub.
 
HUNTS said:
Whilst I can understand that you are disheartened, I can take my ‘99 Ford Falcon into any dealership and get it serviced and any maintenance issues sorted.
New, near new or not; all vehicles are subject to warranty repairs… if they are still under warranty. If your bike had this issue under warranty and you had BMW attend to it, you have a case to get it repaired if it’s within a reasonable time period and kilometres travelled. This is regardless of what the “But I’m paid to say ‘No’ to claims” warranty person at BMW or the Service Department tells you.
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Mine has very few miles on it (< 2500) but is now past warranty due to time. I bought it used 2 years ago so I seriously doubt BMW will honor anything. Especially considering their attitude toward enthusiasts these days. My point made earlier is Harley and many other bike dealers will not service older bikes that are out of production unlike an auto dealership and since the R18 is now discontinued I doubt BMW cares.
 
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snider1970 said:
Mine has very few miles on it (< 2500) but is now past warranty due to time. I bought it used 2 years ago so I seriously doubt BMW will honor anything. Especially considering their attitude toward enthusiasts these days. My point made earlier is Harley and many other bike dealers will not service older bikes that are out of production unlike an auto dealership and since the R18 is now discontinued I doubt BMW cares.
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BMW will supply parts for 10 years after ceasing production. Warranty is on the bike, not the person.
 
HUNTS said:
As a general rule in the motoring industry, when a vehicle ceases production it is 10 years. Warranty is as long as what your warranty started as, regardless of whether the vehicle stops being produced.
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Exactly! Mine is out of warranty as stated in my OP! The R18 had a 3yr 36000 mile warranty! Mine is a 2021. Production of parts has nothing to do with warranty. Euro law regulates that transportation manufacturers produce parts for 10 years after discontinuation, its not out of kindness. Hopefully BMW will be considerate of this situation being it is a bad reflection on the quality of the product. Crossing my fingers.
 
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