thompn
Member
Hey all,
I have a 2015 bike, I bought it last year with 8,000km on the clock. I've since put almost 12,000km of fun on it. It was dealer serviced at purchase and then again at 10,000km. I live in NL, which is largely flat and boring. I've been riding forest roads here which include compacted gravel, loose stone, mud and a fair bit of sand. I've been off road as much as I can, mostly every weekend for ,50/50 on/off road riding. I've also done some longer off road trips through Germany, Poland, Austria and Czechia. The bike has always been fantastic, I have no complaints. It's a tank and has served me really well so far.
Today I rode 100km on highway and then rode some sand trails which were largely wet and/or compacted - not really proper loose sand. My issue then arose.
I felt some clutch slip on the trails which I initially put down to TCS mode 2 which is what I usually use on the non super loose surfaces, it allows me to slip the back end out enough to enjoy the trails but not lose it hard if I push it too far. Again, I have no complaints when doing this usually.
I then noticed the gear indicator was blank at 4-7k rpm and the revs just seemed high Vs power output. The clutch just kept slipping at higher rpm. I stopped, cooled the bike and just wanted to take it easy and ride home on tarmac only.
After about 10 mins of slow speed riding the clutch was just gone. First gear, no movement. 7k in first... Nothing. Clutch was just non existent. After 30 mins I could stand the bike in 1st and it was like being in neutral. Obviously the clutch is gone, and that's fine because that happens and it's part of owning and riding a bike
The concern and question I have now is... This is an advertised hardcore adventure bike, I have ridden it off road through multiple countries with absolutely no issue and then within the space of an hour the clutch dies. The bike has done 20,000km total. What do you more experienced super ten owners think of this level of longevity? Id have expected more from the bike. I have owned for just 10 months and have done about 1500km total of purely off road riding in relatively easy terrain and suddenly the clutch has completely died. I am not really a clutch slipping rider, and don't think there is a huge difference between my on and off road clutch use.
I must also state I did not smell a typical burnt clutch smell at all on my bike.
Have I missed something here? Is there some clutch issues that are well known with this bike? Was I putting too much through the clutch by riding in fairly basic off road settings and slipping the clutch every now and again? Could the previous owner have just ridden the clutch to the point of no return? Is there a time/age limit on clutches with this bike?
I owned an F800 GS and MT 07 prior to this and never had an issue with the clutch despite the BMW being ridden almost exclusively off road. Maybe there is a massive weight difference which caused me to burn my clutch now?
I'm still a massive enthusiast and I will sing the praises of this bike to no end because it's been absolutely solid so far with everything I've thrown at it, but I can't help but feel a bit disappointed that an adventure bike has been defeated by the world's flattest country where off road trails are super basic.
Maybe I'm missing something here so I guess I'm just looking for people's opinion of the super ten clutch
I have a 2015 bike, I bought it last year with 8,000km on the clock. I've since put almost 12,000km of fun on it. It was dealer serviced at purchase and then again at 10,000km. I live in NL, which is largely flat and boring. I've been riding forest roads here which include compacted gravel, loose stone, mud and a fair bit of sand. I've been off road as much as I can, mostly every weekend for ,50/50 on/off road riding. I've also done some longer off road trips through Germany, Poland, Austria and Czechia. The bike has always been fantastic, I have no complaints. It's a tank and has served me really well so far.
Today I rode 100km on highway and then rode some sand trails which were largely wet and/or compacted - not really proper loose sand. My issue then arose.
I felt some clutch slip on the trails which I initially put down to TCS mode 2 which is what I usually use on the non super loose surfaces, it allows me to slip the back end out enough to enjoy the trails but not lose it hard if I push it too far. Again, I have no complaints when doing this usually.
I then noticed the gear indicator was blank at 4-7k rpm and the revs just seemed high Vs power output. The clutch just kept slipping at higher rpm. I stopped, cooled the bike and just wanted to take it easy and ride home on tarmac only.
After about 10 mins of slow speed riding the clutch was just gone. First gear, no movement. 7k in first... Nothing. Clutch was just non existent. After 30 mins I could stand the bike in 1st and it was like being in neutral. Obviously the clutch is gone, and that's fine because that happens and it's part of owning and riding a bike
The concern and question I have now is... This is an advertised hardcore adventure bike, I have ridden it off road through multiple countries with absolutely no issue and then within the space of an hour the clutch dies. The bike has done 20,000km total. What do you more experienced super ten owners think of this level of longevity? Id have expected more from the bike. I have owned for just 10 months and have done about 1500km total of purely off road riding in relatively easy terrain and suddenly the clutch has completely died. I am not really a clutch slipping rider, and don't think there is a huge difference between my on and off road clutch use.
I must also state I did not smell a typical burnt clutch smell at all on my bike.
Have I missed something here? Is there some clutch issues that are well known with this bike? Was I putting too much through the clutch by riding in fairly basic off road settings and slipping the clutch every now and again? Could the previous owner have just ridden the clutch to the point of no return? Is there a time/age limit on clutches with this bike?
I owned an F800 GS and MT 07 prior to this and never had an issue with the clutch despite the BMW being ridden almost exclusively off road. Maybe there is a massive weight difference which caused me to burn my clutch now?
I'm still a massive enthusiast and I will sing the praises of this bike to no end because it's been absolutely solid so far with everything I've thrown at it, but I can't help but feel a bit disappointed that an adventure bike has been defeated by the world's flattest country where off road trails are super basic.
Maybe I'm missing something here so I guess I'm just looking for people's opinion of the super ten clutch