R12GSA Clutch Repairs in Panama City or South America
 

We had clutch problems literally 50 meters from the Panama Canal and I'd like to get it looked at before heading too much further. (You can read about it here.)

I'm canvasing your opinions based on your experiences with dealers in the region.

Should we get it looked at here, in Panama City, or wait until we get to Colombia next week? Which dealer/repair shop would you use?

We are riding a 2006 BMW R1200GS Adventure.

Thanks in advance!

Panama City
 

I would definitely have it taken care in Panama City before heading off to Columbia. Panama City has a BMW dealer - just google the BMW Motorad website for a list of dealers.

Clutch Problems
 

Just thought i`d mention the dealer in San Jose Costa rica, they may have what you need now. Service manager is CHRISTIAN (maybe one too),spoke english as will gen mgr. The dealers may or not talk to each other.Definely get it Fixed, columbia is more beautiful when your moving!

Eh
 

cweaver61, leaving SJ MONDAY ,JUST in case u need special delivery ,who knows .In trav look for trav (enroute to tdf)

Definitely have it fixed in Panama City at the BMW car/motorcycle dealership there. The motorcycle mechanic there is a good guy and he can speak okay English.

Colombia is not a place where you want to be having mechanical problems. I learned that the hard way.

Okay, a few things so that we know what your up against. First, on the 1200 GS, always check the hand guards are not touching the levers, a very common problem. I got into the habit of pushing the levers in the opposite direction while riding to make sure i had clearance. Also, check the seam between your motor and transmission for oil near your right footpeg. If your leaking oil, this is where it would be and would mean your either leaking engine oil or mineral oil from your clutch slave cylinder, or quite possibly transmission oil. Next, check your fluid level in your clutch resivoir and see if you are leaking oil at the clutch slave under the bike at the back of your transmission. Now, you state that the clutch is grabbing when you pull in the lever? Okay, does the clutch lever pull feel the same as before, or is it more squishy? It is possible that you are either leaking mineral oil or have somehow incorperated air into the system. How do you use the clutch? These are dry clutches only meant to be slipped at low RPM. If the clutch plate is worn out, the level of mineral oil in the resivoir will rise. Remember, you can ONLY use mineral oil, not brake fluid! This can only be purchased from BMW, or a high end mountain bike shop for bikes with hydraulic brakes. You are definately better off in Panama simply because of parts shipping proximity, but there is also Ruta 40 BMW in Medellin, Colombia who are very good. This sounds like a warranty issue, just giving you some info and ammo so your prepared when you find the stealership and let the monkeys wrench on your bike.

Thanks for all the tips
 

We will have the bike looked at here in Panama City before we go any further.

In the past I noticed the right handgard touching the brake handle so checking the clearences on both sides has now been a regular practice.

I was aware that this was a dry clutch, as is on automobiles, and use it accordingly. We are just very heavy (2up with all our gear) and were in stop and go traffic going uphill. If finally overheated.

When I say it was grabbing, I meant the clutch was still engaged with the lever pulled back all the way to the handlebar. This occured after some time of being in the stop and go situation. So when I had to stop it stalled the engine. This happened a couple of times and I am guessing would have not been easy on the clutch. When we stopped I could definately smell the clutch and there was a bit of smoke. I let it cool completely before setting off again.

The clutch felt fine this morning while riding around the city. However I want to get it looked at before we heading into the Andes.

Thanks again for all your help. I always appreciate your advice and input.

Cheers
Robert

and I forgot to mention
 

I also have the same bike, i had a seal for final drive leaking at 24k, was fixed under warranty in costa rica.

Hi Robert,

Getting the bike looked at in Panama city is probably the best thing (cheapest because of import duties in Colombia which are VERY high). Having said that, I received very excellent service in Bogota for a rather large job (rear main seal and transmission seals were changed). In addition, they let me work on the bike with them and the service manager took us out to lunch as well as introduced us to some fascinating people who we now consider friends.

Just in case you do need work done in Bogota go see Edgar (service manager) and he will fix you up. By the way, labor was very cheap but the parts are a killer.

Panama Service
 

I just ran across this old post and saw that I omitted to update it. For the benefit of others that may have a similar problem, here is what we did.

I had it serviced in Panama City. It turns out there was nothing wrong with the clutch itself. It looks like the hydraulic clutch fluid mineral oil heated and expanded to the point of making the clutch lever useless. After changing it with genuine (and expensive - at least in Panama City) BMW mineral oil, and many hard miles riding two up in the Andes (I'm writing this from Vina del Mar, Chile), we have not had any other problems.