- Joined
- Mar 30, 2023
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- 957
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- Goolwa, Australia
- Bike
- R18 FE and RnineT Scrambler
Why....? seems like a tossa post to me (or a harley bot).... and I'm being kind.... since the year has only just got underway.
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Clutch Concern
- Discussion starter Johnwrightph
- Start date
RS18
New member
I have never noticed any noise or tactile sensation from every other BMW ever made or Moto Guzzi for that matter or every manual car ever made!
Airborne62025
Member
i bought a 2022 R18 TC and it had about 8 miles when I took delivery. I recall an odd pulsating feel when I would squeeze the clutch. I never heard a clicking sound, but I also have bad hearing. The odd feeling either went away or I am used to it. No issues after almost 3,000 miles. Good luck with the new bike.
RS18
New member
Thanks for the welcome Noel, glad to be among the best motorcycling can contribute to humanity.
Slim
New member
the clutch rattle / clunk is somewhat normal until the clutch beds in ... reported by quite few
mine did it and I doubt any damage or long term concerns
mine did it and I doubt any damage or long term concerns
I am sorry you had a bad experience. Some owners have reported this issue but the noise appears to have cleared by itself after a few hundred miles and never to be heard again. Maybe as these bikes have a dry clutch, in some cases or even models, this kind of behaviour is normal. I never experienced such thing on mine, which is a 2022 Bagger.
I understand your concern about the price to replace the part but if a failure happens under warranty and it was documented before, i.e, you flagged this with the dealership, then I don’t see why you would have to pay for it. Another thing to take into consideration is that BMW is a premium brand and one would have to assume before entering the dealership that services and parts aren’t going to be cheap. Go to a HD dealership and the prices will be even more eye watering.
In any case, you did not enjoy the ride and moved on, that is perfectly fine. There are horses for courses and the R18 is not everyone’s cup of tea. I don’t believe anyone here is a R18 diehard or anything like that, we just really like the bike and enjoy taking the first opportunity to go out and ride it. Some of us (myself included) often describe the R18 as a rolling work of art, but that is just our opinion.
Good luck in your quest to find your ideal bike.
David R
Well-known member
WOW Its perfectly normal, so is the not exactly same engagement point. It is a slipper clutch. Just dump it in first gear. The bike just takes off.
David
David
Wow, you tested and assessed every BMW, Guzzi and manual car EVER MADE!!
, you are a busy individual. Not sure why your trolling so hard, but you must have missed the BMW S1000 models during your expert analysis of ALL as the clutch mechanism is very easily felt and is designed that way as well. Lot's of of good folks here with a range of knowledge and experience that covers everything from just researching to we're fortunate to have them share their knowledge and expertise with most somewhere in between. So far you haven't contributed much to humanity (your standard) and certainly nothing to this forum (my standard).
RhoXS
Active member
Mine did this when I first got it and it worried me a bit too. It has since disappeared at some point so I assume there are clutch components that must "break in". I had never owned a bike with a dry clutch before, so I had nothing to compare. Bike now has 1100 miles and clutch and trans are working very smoothly. The R18 drivetrain has unique characteristics; you either like them (I do) or you don't. If you don't, it's great have so many choices. Keep shopping.
RS18
New member
Bob Sorry to have rubbed your fur the wrong way. Maybe I have made a mistake in criticising a machine that many of you have bought. I bought a Suzuki Katana 1100 back in the early 80s that had an inherent weave over 120kph. Not something expected but had I know about the tendency before I might not have laid out my money. I did think this thread was for ‘Clutch Problems’ and perhaps people are upset not because I shared a clutch problem but because I found out before I bought the bike and some of you didn’t. The implications of that I will leave you to ponder. Your reference to the BMW S1000 is odd. Doesn’t that bike have a wet multiplate clutch? Maybe I am missing your point? I have ridden many dry clutch BMWs and Guzzis spanning from the mid sixties to the present and I currently have 3 BMWs and have previously owned a host of dry single plate clutch bikes. I really wanted to like the R18 but clutch aside, I didn’t. It is an extremely well finished machine but as a long term BMW fan I have been becoming increasing disappointed in BMWs production of flawed bikes. Mechanically at a design level. The snow flake rims of late 70s that cracked, the removal of the output shaft circlip in the late 80s airheads, R1150 and K1200 ABS failures, all K100 powertransfer shaft couplings with six rivets instead of the later 12 rivet version on the K1100 that died just over the 100000kilometer mark on an engine that was otherwise capable of 10 times that use, the multiple universal/ shaft failures of all the dry driveshafts for the last 15 or so years not to mention the fact that a great business is being done by aftermarket seat manufacturers making BMWs more comfortable to ride when a large part of their reputation was built on comfort and ergonomics. Like a fool I do keep trying to love them but sadly in the case of the R18 I didn’t. It is sounding like this noise and knocking or clicking is common but not experienced on every bike, why? Why does a machine do this then stop. ? A machine that needs to bed in? What is wearing away to the point that it goes away in such a short space of time? Does the wear then stop? Why don’t all bikes with that engine display this character? If the problem is a minor clutch component why do BMW only sell the whole component group? Why isn’t there a better technical description of the clutch mechanism or at least an exploded technical diagram? Many seem to enjoy riding the R18, I didn’t and I wish I had. Sorry to you all but it is a forum after all and not an appreciation society and potential buyers should be warned after all, BMW don’t tell you, ‘By the way do you want one that clicks, knocks and has a sometime coarse clutch engagement that might go away or do you want one with a clutch engagement that the rest of automotive creation has come to expect as normal?’ Go into a dealership and ask if the R18 might do this. I bet I know what the answer will be. In parting I got to see an R5 in the flesh just recently. The bike that BMW said was their inspiration and I think that, aesthetically, it is better motorcycle than the R18. Shame as a naked roadster with an R18 engine and a non knocking clutch would be more satisfying to me. Best to you all and remember what they say about sport, ‘It’s only a game.’Wow, you tested and assessed every BMW, Guzzi and manual car EVER MADE!!