Good Morning everyone.
I’m posting this because I’ve scratched my head over my ” dreaded RC ticking noise” for quite some time. And like most of you I’ve discovered endless advise. Changing oils, Adjusting valves, Adjusting the rocker arms, replacing the cam chain tensioner , Even the advice that the loud ticking is just a BMW thing. FALSE!. So here it is folks. Fixed and very unusual. It had my mechanic stumped but thanks to his persistence it’s fixed .
1st He started by replacing the cam chain tensioner. This is usually the fix. Not that uncommon and inexpensive. Parts and Labor $120.
HOWEVER the ticking was still there.
2nd. After lot’s of inspections He found it. Hidden and hard to see unless you’re looking for it, the Push rod bucked was cracked completely around it leaving a cap and the broken collar to rattle around. The fix was to obviously replace that bucket. He then replaced the other one and the push rods. Total cost was $650. There was a lot of shop time in there just investigating the problem . If you have a loud ticking and the Cam chain Tensioner replacement doesn't fix it. LOOK INTO THE PUSH ROD BUCKET
* Here is the Holly cow. One day after my fix another BMW came in. the guys said he’s never been able to fix a ticking noise it the RC. The Mechanic when to work quick and there it was . Broken push rod Bucket. ***

I HOPE THIS HELPS Many of you

Side note. Speculation as to why? Many bikes will sit on their side stand leaving the RC on the high side. Many of us Start our bike while still in the side stand. Perhaps over time this causes repeated Dry starts for the RC causing the push rod buckets to fail.

Where can we find the push rod buckets on the engine?

 

I assume #5?

I assume #5?

 

Boxers are not the quietest of engines.

The engine is not being started "dry" because the bike is started on the side stand. Same thing happens even on the center stand the oil drains back to the sump. Unless you turned the bike upside down and flooded the heads that would be the only wat to keep them flooded with oil went not in use. The good news is even after the oil drains back into the sump even after months of inactivity a thin film of oil is left behind coating the parts that need oil. This thin film provides enough protection for the second or two upon re-starting the engine until a new supply of oil can be pumped to these areas.

 

I happened to run into another 18' GSA rider a few days before I was going to turn the bike in for servicce after a 2,600 mile trip. I had not noticed any power, performance, fuel economy or other problems. Just the annoying tick. The other rider also noticed the tick, and although his bike, same year and model, had one it was not a pronounced with over 30K miles. He suggested I mention it to the service department when it went in, and I'm glad I did.

This picture represents the source of my ticking problem. This is with 22k miles on the 18 GSA. Strange thing is, the last oil change and dealer service found no issues and they said they checked the cam clearances. Gouge depth was 0.315". I have always had dealer service at least annually and within a couple hundred miles of specified intervals, so there is no telling what may have happened.

This image is from the right side, the left side showed similar ware but only 0.120" depth. Over 5K$US for repairs, mostly covered by the extended warrantee. Seriously considering using this bike as a trade in about 6 months before the extended warrantee expires and getting a new one, also with the full extended warrantee. I don't want to even consider having to pay a repair bill like that.

 

Stray Trons -what was the cause of so much wear on your cam lobe?? Was something internal bent or out of spec so much that it caused so much wear? That's crazy!

 

The dealer staff was not able to identify the cause. The service manager, a guy with decades of professional riding and mechanical experience (including several years on the circuit runs with The Isle of Man TT), said he had only seen that once before on a high mileage police bike. He thinks it may have been a bad production lot, but otherwise was stumped on the failure mode.

We are going to continue to monitor the parts on every service cycle.

 

As much as these bikes cost new, and for a known issue, customers should not have to depend on extended warranty...somewhat embarrassing for the brand.

@Ryno23 has had the same issue:

Rocker arms causing notching on cams?

Ok, I took my 2017 GSA in for its 48k service. Shop called me today to tell me when they opened the right side and rotated to TDC they found notches on top of the cams from my rockers? Tech said he seen this once before. Apparently the rockers are too hard and they notch the cams? Apparently BMW...

www.r1200gs.info

 

I am coming up on my 54K service and have already talked to Sierra BMW and they said they would open the jugs and check my cams and rods for free. Not sure what I will do if there is wear again.