Dead clutch on G650 X-country
 

I've had a major issue and now i'm stuck in Bangkok with a broken bike. I have the BMW X-country G650 and the clutch has died. It's died in impressive fashion, it vibrates, can't find neutral and drags. This is apparently a common fault on these bikes. A bit of time on google has shown up what the fault is. I had a full service done by a guy in London and he warned me about this issue, i went to my local dealer as I have always had issues with my clutch and they said they didn't know anything about it. Well it turns out it was a recall item and the bike needs a new clutch housing and actuator assembly as the lighter magnesium one has a design fault. Added to that, when I got the bike it had the 33bhp restriction kit fitted so I'm guessing the previous owner was a learner and they are hard on clutches. So I'm in touch with my local dealer back in Tonbridge in the UK and they're looking into it but I'm not holding out a lot of hope.
Can anyone offer any advice? I'm stuck in Thailand in the middle of a trip and need to get moving asap. My actuator assembly has totally failed and BKK BMW are estimating 3 weeks delivery of new parts and the cost is insane, it's cheaper to have them sent from the UK. Even if I repair it it's likely to fail again so I'm hoping to get the recall done over here. Is there a good BMW dealer I can get help from? Should I contact BMW directly? How would I do that?
Thanks, guys.

The matter is now resolved, hopefully permanently. After googling it I went in this morning with a raging hangover to look for damage. None. Nothing anywhere, the teeth were perfect, everything was fine. Then we found it, the bearing that the actuator arm runs in had moved. Knocked it back into place and the vibrations are gone, the clutch is silky smooth. I have no idea how it could have moved in the shipping crate. My only guess is that the spigot that comes out of the top of the housing was pushed hard in the opposite direction by one of the guys building the crate (or me, I guess). The design of the clutch and this basket is identical to the BMW G650gs/F650gs so i guess this could happen to them too.
BMW have replied to my emails about the recall work and are looking into it for me and I think it's best to pursue it and try to get this unit replaced before it happens again. In any case, the bike is purring and i'm a happy little Jack. Thanks to everyone who would have replied and I hope my experience has been of some use to others.

Glad you're all sorted, what model year is the bike ( my wife has a XCO 2009 and the clutch has never felt 100%).
It's a bit late now but I had a problem with my clutch (XCH) so sent a message to BMW UK (cars) via the customer service form on the website, I was in India at the time, got a reply saying it had been forwarded to Germany.
After a few emails to and from BMW Germany a new clutch cover and rack and pinion was arranged to be shipped to Athens as that was the closest BMW dealer, by this time we were most of the way across Pakistan.
When we got to Greece weeks later (on a Sunday) the parts guy came to the shop on his day off, arranged a hotel and took us there.
Picked the bike up on Monday afternoon all fixed FOC :D

Cheers
Pete

Mine is the 07. Like you, mine has never felt right and always seemed to be slipping. I have to say, now I've been inside it everything looks like brand new. Mine had a 33bhp restrictor so maybe the last owner was a learner and abused the clutch. It did feel 100% better when i tried it so maybe now it will be ok. Might be worth having a look inside yours, it's an easy job to do and you can see the offending bearing right in the middle of the assembly. It should be flush, mine was about 6mm down and twisted.
I should also say, the first time we fitted it back in the bearing got pushed back out by twisting the spigot the wrong way so this seems to be what happened in the crate. It all makes sense now!

Cheers for the info, my wifes 2009 is the lower version (made in China I think? Or assembled?) but I'll check it none the less.

I think I have an exploded diagram here somewhere. If you're in any doubt about the part I'm talking about I can post a pic.

A pix would be good:thumbup1:

http://pic50.picturetrail.com/VOL164.../399750281.jpg

Number 18 is the offending bearing. The shaft, number 18 is pulled forward when you pull in your clutch lever to open the clutch. When you force it in the wrong direction it pulls the entir bearing out of the casing. When you open her up you can see number 15 staring right at you and the bearing you can see through the middle hole and shouldn't have a gap, obviously. I have to say she runs fine now, no slip, no hassle and the clutch feels better than ever. Must have been a problem for a while.

nice one dude, tomorrow i'm on it :thumbup1: