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BMW hub week – Sunday Shed Wrap
Our big Germans
get their rear ends rebuilt – K1200LT &
R1150GS
November 16, 2025 – Guy 'Guido'
Allen
It all started about 1500km (930 miles) from home, on the
1999 BMW K1200LT, almost halfway through a
Melbourne-Brisbane-Melbourne ride. Despite the inevitable
noise generated by a motorcycle at highway speeds, and I
was wearing foam ear plugs, you could just sense some sort
of weird grinding noise starting to develop. Maybe from
the rear end.
So you slow down, open the visor and have a listen –
nope, definitely wasn't imagining it. You stop. Sure
enough there is oil leaking from the rear drive hub and
spreading on to the rear tyre – not good. We're on a
secondary road in southern Queensland and the nearest
town, Inglewood, is 30km away. Really, the only workable
option is to limp in at a reduced pace and hope you don't
completely trash the thing in the process.
Their are no motorcycle shops in the town and pretty
limited services. We park the Bimmer in a shed belonging
to an understanding stock and station agent (thanks to
Pursehouse Rural) and arrange alternative transport.
The relatively remote location meant it took a little
over a month to get the machine shipped back to Melbourne
and put in the hands of workshop BM Motorcycles, in
sunny Ringwood on the east side of Melbourne.
They were already familiar with the machine, having done
some major work on it
a few years back, and given it a more recent
'birthday'.
While stuck in Inglewood for a few hours, I had time to
do a web search on what the problem might be. You of
course need to treat anything you see as unreliable. It
seems the major bearing in the rear hub on first-year
K1200LTs like mine had demonstrated a pattern of early
failures when it comes to mileage, though the exact cause
was unclear. That's what caught me out – it went at
69,000km (43,000 miles).
As for the cause, faulty parts batch, assembly
issues...it's now too late and too hard to unravel.
Above are some of the bearings that were replaced and,
yes, it's the big one that caused the grief. As you can
see, many ball bearings were set free...
My main fear was that I had been forced to ride the
ailing K far enough for whatever metal was floating around
to trash the entire internals of the assembly. Fortunately
that wasn't the case. Some five bearings were replaced,
including the two pivots for the hub (just forward of the
rubber boot above). Oh and the oil-soaked brake pads were
tossed in favour of a new set.
Chris from BM Motorcycles tells me there is a skill to
setting up the hub, with correct shimming being critical.
Also, he wants to see the bike again in another 1000km to
change the oil and check everything is right. Then it
should be good for 80,000km (50,000 miles).
All this work begs the question of whether I have
over-capitalised across a couple of solid workshop jobs.
If you look just at what the machine is now worth on the
market the answer is yes. However it still owes me less
than a contemporary Gold Wing 1800 with the same miles
would have cost. It handles better, is more nimble and has
a couple more features when it comes to comfort.
As a package on the road, it's really good, doing most
things I value that a new equivalent (at least three times
the cost) would. For example it is quick enough for the
job (hitting the old 'ton' to overtake queues of caravans
is rapid), has cruise control plus heated seats and
handgrips, ABS, and a decent range in part because it sips
fuel at around 20km/lt (47mpg US, 56mpg UK).
Is this a case of sticking with the devil you know?
Probably. And I've also had a couple of very good long
trips on it, including the 3800km (2360 mile) Nullabor Run from
Perth to Melbourne back in 2023. Here's to the next
one...
Right – on to the the next victim! The 2001 R1150GS also
has huge potential as a tourer, however I use it as a
runabout and for the odd day trip. It's as close as I go
to having a daily rider.
Given the experience with the K1200LT, I was keen to
ensure the GS didn't suffer the same fate. So muggins went
tracking back through a workshop video we did with Chris
early this year (above), talking through what these
monsters require to stay healthy. Sure enough, a rear hub
bearing was on the list.
And with near-87,000km (54,000 miles) on the odometer, it
was better done ASAP.
As you can see the overall construction of the GS hub is
similar to, but not the same as, that of the K1200. So
it's not surprising the part number for the big bearing
(TRA44210) is the same.
This time around, the job was quick and relatively
straight-forward, as the rest of the components checked
out as being in good shape. Again, the drill from here is
to take it in for an oil change and check in 1000km. Then,
hopefully, we're good for the next 80,000km (50,000
miles).
Like the K1200LT, the R1150GS is very good at what it
does. It handles better and with lighter steering than its
spectacularly awkward looks would suggest, while the
long-travel suspension provides a mix of comfort and
flexibility in how you use it.
Plus it has several things I value: hard luggage
capacious enough to lock away a helmet and riding gear for
those ocassions when I want to walk away from the bike and
look like a 'civilian'; ABS for obvious reasons; Plus the
combo of hand guards and heated grips for those days when
you misjudge just how sodding cold it is outside.
Next up, I need to recover the seats – a story for
another time...
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