Forums > Motorcycle Discussion > Iron Butt Rally 2007

Geoff said:

Four final drives from BMW's went belly up during this rally. People claim that this rally is more rider than bike, but when you're riding a fairly new Beemer and the final drive goes south, that ain't rider.  

You're not kidding, any word on what year and model the ill fated BMW's were... 

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Thomas - I like to keep it simple... IBA# 28109 '07 R1200GS Adventure

Here is part of an email from my moto club...

It should be easy enough to verify if you have a dealer who will tell you, straight up, whether there are special stands for moving the bikes around without the rear end.

In any case, it jibes with the numerous IBR failures.

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That might be why BMW changed the checklist for my 1200 GS.  When I had my 600 mile service done, no final-drive oil change in sight.  Then when I had my 6000 done, "Oops we are supposed to change the final drive oil."  I didn't think much about it but it seemed odd enough to remember. 

 Congrats to everybody who participated.

Kevin

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SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE SLINKIES .. . . THEY ARE NOT REALLY GOOD FOR ANYTHING, BUT THEY STILL BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE WHEN YOU PUSH THEM DOWN A FLIGHT OF STAIRS.

Trex63 said:

...any word on what year and model the ill fated BMW's were... 

The model years aren't available, but here are the riders and models:

Glenn Pancoast - R1200GS Adv

Chris Sakala - R1150GS Adv

Rob Nye - R1200RT

Gerhard Memmen-Krueger - R1200GS Adv 

Chris Sakala's failure was reported variously as the final drive or the transmission, but the consensus seems to be that it was the final drive.

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Pete Bansen

From the 2007 Iron Butt Rally Epilogue...

The Tarnished Blue and White Roundel

A disproportionate number of the DNFs fall on the shoulders of BMW. BMW failed several riders, demonstrating that they are no longer capable of building motorcycles that can run 11,000 miles in 11 days without a significant fraction experiencing a catastrophic drivetrain failure of some sort. BMW of North America has requested contact information for the riders who experienced failures. The riders BMW should be more concerned about are the thousands of unsuspecting souls who will breakdown in the future because the company has lost its previous ability to either design durable drivetrain components or (more likely) adequately monitor production and assembly quality. It's way, way past time for BMW to fix its drivetrain reliability problems. A good start might be to acknowledge that there is a problem.

Hopeless is as Hopeless Does

All four of the Hopeless Class entries were DNFs. However, they outperformed the late model BMWs as far as mechanical reliability is concerned.

Mark Collins' 1972 Harley-Davidson was sidelined for a day with a broken rim. The failure was the result of a nasty pothole, not a design or quality problem with the bike itself. The time spent waiting for repairs cost Mark finisher status. Mark limped back to the finish nursing a leaking cylinder base gasket and a blown head gasket. On Saturday morning, after the finish, he was doing the repairs himself in the middle of the Doubletree Hotel parking lot. This guy deserves another shot in 2009 if he hasn't had his fill of the Iron Butt Rally.

The 1978 Honda GL1000 ridden by Donald Jones suffered a broken side stand, but it was still rideable until Don called it quits. The 1976 BMW R60/6 ridden by Joel Rappoport also performed well; it was Joel that sputtered a bit and didn't quite bag enough points for finisher status. Rider performance also sidelined the 250cc Kawasaki ridden by Alan Bennett.

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Trex63 said:

...any word on what year and model the ill fated BMW's were... 

[/quote]

The model years aren't available, but here are the riders and models:

Glenn Pancoast - R1200GS Adv

Chris Sakala - R1150GS Adv

Rob Nye - R1200RT

Gerhard Memmen-Krueger - R1200GS Adv 

Chris Sakala's failure was reported variously as the final drive or the transmission, but the consensus seems to be that it was the final drive.

According to posts on other forums, BMW was soliciting contact information for these riders.  With any luck they will be able to shed some light on the situation once BMW has contacted them and, hopefully, resolved the issues.

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Is this some sort of senior citizens tour?

Dlearl476 said:

According to posts on other forums, BMW was soliciting contact information for these riders.  With any luck they will be able to shed some light on the situation once BMW has contacted them and, hopefully, resolved the issues.

I'm optimistic that this is the start of a resolution to the final drive issue.  At least one of the bikes (Rob Nye's R1200RT-P) had the recommended final drive fluid change at the 600 mile service.  I'm encouraged that BMW is acknowledging the problem and is taking steps to address it.

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Pete Bansen

Geoff said:

Marty Leir has won the 2007 Iron Butt Rally (11K miles in 11 days). Marty was lucky enough to be riding one of the BMWs that did not suffer a catastrophic failure, an R1200GS-Adventure.

In 2nd place, 10,651 points behind Leir, was Jim Owen with 333,471 total points. 16,764 points behind Owen, was third place finisher Brett Donahue riding a Harley-Davidson Sportster.  

Four final drives from BMW's went belly up during this rally. People claim that this rally is more rider than bike, but when you're riding a fairly new Beemer and the final drive goes south, that ain't rider.  

Congratulations Marty, Jim, Brett and the rest of the field that made the attempt!....I am envious of the guys that can take the time and make that effort.

I can't wait to start reading the reports!

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Ride your own ride.