BMW R1200GS fault may cause oil to leak on tyre

BMW UK is launching a ‘technical campaign’ to fix a problem which may cause oil to leak onto rear tyres of R1200GSes.

Pressure inside the transmission of some 2013 models may cause an output seal to be pushed out of place, allowing oil to escape.

A BMW UK spokesman said: ‘The technical campaign requires the fitment of an additional retaining clip to an output shaft oil seal on 2013 model R1200GS and will take about 15 minutes to fit. BMW Motorrad UK is currently preparing to implement the campaign and customers with affected machines will be contacted directly in approximately four weeks. In the meantime customers can continue to ride their motorcycles.’ 

According to a US recall notice, the fault may increase the risk of a crash and is linked to one non-injury accident.

The notice also says it’s the second recall over oil pressure in R1200GS transmissions. 

The notice, published on the website of the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, says: ‘Pressure inside the transmission may cause the transmission output seal to be pushed out of place.

'If the output seal ring is pushed out of its proper position, oil may leak from the transmission onto the rear tire, increasing the risk of a crash.’

A report filed by BMW North America with the NHTSA says it follows a voluntary worldwide recall over oil pressure in R1200GS transmissions in January last year. On that occasion, an additional oil restrictor was fitted and BMW North America was able to carry out the work before any bikes were released to dealers.  

The firm later learned of leaks despite the remedy and in March this year received a report of a non-injury accident in Italy, prompting a new voluntary recall.