Final Drive failing??

[MtnMan7]

I also ran synthetic oil in the rear drive, not so sure it is better for the drive, went back to Lucas or brand name GL5 rated oil and no problems so far. I fly UL airplanes and was considering synthetic two stroke oil until I read an article by mechanic telling that crankshafts in motors that sat didn't rust with petro based oils run in them like the synthetic oil motors did! So the synthetic oil is better as far as breaking down and heat but not so sure about protection against rust in a humid climate if you let a motorcycle sit for extended periods. I'm thinking that a blend may offer more protection than I thought initially.
Mike

[FLATRABBIT]

Main drive bearings and lubricants

I read about a year ago about the replacement final drive bearings and the change that BMW made. It is an eye opener regarding synthetic oil versus mineral oils.

Thanks for the tip(s)

Regards,

Flatrabbit
2000 K1200LT
2007 Husqvarna Lawn Tractor

[bikertaz]

I had my final drive fail at Kinderfest this summer. Unfortunately, the bike had to be trailered back to Louisiana. Since the previous failure was in April 2010, BMW warrantied the replacement. That was failure #5 for me!!

Original failure @ 39,640 miles
Second failure @ 59,806 miles
Third failure @ 163,581 miles (actually was tapered bearing failure, but changed main bearing as precaution
Fourth failure @ 190,782 miles
Fifth failure @ 224,574 miles

All but the third were warrantied by BMW Motorcycles of Baton Rouge (formerly Heberts Cycles). Since I kept the bearing that had over 100,000 miles on it, I told the dealer that one would go back in if I had another failure!!!