[izzyz28]

This happened two days ago. Bike has 17k and a Barnett clutch was installed about 6 months ago. Outer and inner baskets were mint, and I have never clutched up or even launched the bike above 5k. The outer basket spontaneously exploded at 10.5k in second gear. It’s a mystery, and I’m lucky to still have a foot, just one dent in the toe of my boot.

And to be clear, this is my 2nd K1300S, it was not "abused", never wheelied or launched, the clutch was absolutely installed properly, and I never once had a vibration or any indication whatsoever that something was awry.

 

[izzyz28]

BMW will say, "See we told you that you should not have service manuals". That will be their easy way out. Thanks for sharing your stories here on this infrequent but seriously dangerous failure.

I'm sure they would, but I'm not going to go round-and-round with them over a 13 year-old bike. I've broken a lot of shit, but this one takes the cake for "how in the fuck did that just happen".

 

[izzyz28]

This is alarming.

Y'all were way too fast to dismiss OP. At this point I'm tempted to wrap my clutch cover in kevlar.

Izzy please post as much information as possible. Could you also take extremely detailed pictures of the outer clutch basket that exploded? I'm talking forensic levels of detail. Don't hold back, take pictures of everything, including where the clutch disks ride (which it doesn't look like the failure point is).

This might be recall-worthy for BMW Motorcycles NA.

I absolutely would, but it’s in pieces all over the road. I coasted about a mile trying to figure out what happened(and make it to the next exit). What’s in the pictures is all that’s left, only a couple tiny fragments were stuck to the inside of the cover, the rest is history.

I parked the bike, still idling, and did a complete walk around before I saw what happened. Until then, I had absolutely no clue why I had a great-running engine and 6 neutrals with a perfect clutch pull.

 

[izzyz28]

It’s a 2009 K1330S, purchased with 9,000 miles. I replaced the clutch and ensured it was assembled and lubed correctly during installation and again after the basket came apart. It had never been touched before I got it, and the same was true of my last 2009 K1300S. None of the oil passages had been modified, bone stock. Never any clacking, chatter, or the host of bullshit issues some other folks chase for months.

The oil was Liqui-Moly 5W-40 and it was full with Mahle filter. Seriously, no wheelies or hard launches by me. I run it to 10-11k multiple times a day(commuting and weekend mountain fun), always use the quick shifter, and don’t hold it at high-RPM for any length of time or load it hard before it’s fully warm.

The coolant and oil were completely warm, 75 degree day, just midway through a 20 mile commute. The hottest it’s ever been is idling in traffic until the fam comes on for a minute.

In summation, I ride it as intended and am careful not to cause shock loads and premature wear. The only time it’s tapped the RPM limiter was when the basket let go. I’m in Colorado too, so it makes 140 or less horsepower at the crank, not stressed at all. I’ll get some pictures in the next couple days. I see the carbon marks on the inner hub, but it’s not grooved and nothing in the pictures has been wiped or cleaned.

 

[izzyz28]

It was a Barnett clutch, same as the one I installed in my first K1300. I checked the inner drive hub and all the clutch parts, everything was the latest/best piece for oiling and centering everything, anti-judder spring installed properly, etc.

I put in the used clutch assembly I ordered(last in the World for now) an hour ago, and everything works great, just as it was before. No vibration, clutch feels really good, it all went back together easy. If anyone wants what’s left of the exploded outer basket(and only the basket), I’ll ship it you, just send me your address.

 

[izzyz28]

I don't know what the 10,500 comment is supposed to mean, the S redline is 11,000 and the limiter is 250-500 RPM above that. These bikes should be able to run at 11K all day long, literally.

 

[izzyz28]

Ah, you must be a retired BMW engineer who designed the K1300 and validated it through months of continuous dyno testing. Thank you for sharing your feelings here.

Edit: To be clear, I am saying that all manufacturers(including BMW) do extensive validation to ensure the vehicles can withstand continuous and extended high load/RPM within the designated operating range. What you "think" does not apply to this discussion. The failure occurred well within the factory operating parameters of a stock motorcycle. it's fixed now, and I simply wanted to share my experience, but I'm certainly not going to field criticism from a bunch of pedantic crabasses who occasionally take a "spirited" ride or "fetter" with stuff.

I'm happy to have a discussion with anyone else who understands the above and is genuinely curious what could have happened.

 

[izzyz28]

My clutch was assembled correctly, simply replaced the frictions and steels with Barnett stuff. The entire clutch stack was 100% intact and functioning after the basket let go. I inspected it again during disassembly, and every part down to the Judder spring was right where it's supposed to be, clutch worked flawlessly before it came apart. I don't know what else to tell you guys, shit just happens sometimes.

 

[izzyz28]

I'm with you, and I knew coming here(or any European bike/car forum) that there would be zealots who overanalyze everything and lick the boot of the manufacturer as if they built the greatest bike/car ever. I guess they forgot that these bikes can't idle half the time, leak gear oil from the drive seal with less than 10K miles, have shit suspension components(ESA), and the worst fuel injection mapping I've ever seen. And............a janky clutch setup that's been updated a million times for a decade and a half to try to fix/obscure all of the issues it has from being half-baked in the first place. That has absolutely nothing to do with the issue I experienced, but after quite a few decades, I've learned that ALL cars and bikes are pieces of shit.