Following up this product here – R1200/1250 LC intermediate shaft repair kits

This post has been edited 21st of July 2025 to add info regarding the bushing modification instead of needle bearings!

IMPORTANT NOTE!! the OEM spindles are the same, left and right hand side, mine are not! Make sure you fit the correct spindle to the correct side, meaning the one with smaller distance between weeping holes (2mm where oil comes trough) to the right hand side(as you sit on the bike) and the spindle with the larger distance between the weeping holes, on the left hand side, thus, the weeping holes are properly covered by the bronze bushings.

The WHY!

With time, everything wears down. Even rocks crumble under rain/river water force and pressure, that is normal. By the way, which one is harder, water or rock? 🙂

The main reason of the needle roller bearings failure is the lack of proper lubrication. The centrifugal force prevents oil from getting in trough the inner side of the bearings and outer side of the intermediate shafts, hence this solution to properly lubricate critical points and also upgrading the bearing type from needle to sliding ones. This, in turn, ensures a smooth operation and exceptional durability, but that only because of the proper lubrication!

By comparison, the operating noise, operating lifetime, precision and smoothness is considerably higher in sliding bearings compared to roller bearings.

As the engine is running, with time, wear starts showing up on the intermediate shaft and the bearings that rotate on it. These rotate half the engine speed, but wear is both visible and audible… My bike’s engine had a loud ticking noise, unnormal, as other engines did not have it, nor the mileage mine had. But the ticking was definitely there, the valves freeplay was properly set… Once taken apart, the bearings were so worn that needles started falling off! Not cool…

Now that you have purchased it, how does it fit inside your engine… ?

Work one side at a time, making sure to rotate the engine by hand and feel any hard spots. There should be none, but better check and make sure before hitting that starter button.

Start by cleaning the engine, wash the bike, then remove any kind of crashbars or cylinder protection, since the valve cover needs to come off. Remove the spark plug cover, the coil and the spark plug itself, then remove the valve cover.

Here I am describing the install on the engine right hand side as you would ride it. The left hand side is the same.

Special tools needed: a kind of bearing puller, I have described below what I am using and a cam locking tool plus the timing chain tensioner assembly, both of which can be purchased HERE.

Relevant tightening torque values:

• chain tensioner to cylinder 32Nm
• camshaft sprocket bolts 65 Nm
• cylinder head cover bolts 10 Nm
• threaded plug for locking at TDC in engine crankcase 30 Nm
• screw for intermediate shaft axle in cylinder head 8 Nm

So, this is what it looks like once the valve cover is off:

Note that you must get the engine to the top dead center (TDC) compression stroke for the side that you are working on. Because there were some batches of poorly heat treated camshafts, this is a good opportunity to also inspect the tip of the cam lobes for wear, if you see a few scratches, that is normal, do not worry, just make sure you cannot feel them with your fingernail(often, visual marks are visible and normal, a worn lobe is clearly visible and audible). Should the camshafts be worn, replace them along with the followers, then check the gap and adjust, need be, by fitting correct sized shims.

Coming back to our job, TDC compression stroke means that the valve lobes are orientated as above(tip of the lobes pointing towards outside) and the valve locking tool can be fitted, and the timing plug on the left hand side has the big hole centered(it’s mandatory to use a locking tool that you do not remove until tightening back the sprockets to the camshafts):

Remove the tensioner on that side:

Remove the two bolts holding the camshaft sprockets, that is why you need the valve locking tool

Bolts removed:

Remove the sprockets by pulling them towards the back

Remove the M6 bolt holding the soon to be replaced spindle

Pull the spindle towards the back of the engine

Pull the intermediate shaft towards the inside of the engine so that you can remove the timing chain and put it to the side so that the intermediate shaft can be then extracted. Caution should be used when operating any timing chain, so that you do not drop it inside of the engine; should that be the case, you can pull it right back up using a magnet, but it is preferred not to.

Shaft extracted:

This is the bearing puller I am using(inertial kind), but any one that fits inside should do

Attempting to remove the bearings, on each of their side

Voila! Bearing removed

Both sides, there is where the replacements fit in

Thoroughly clean the inner recess of the old bearing location, using either brake cleaner or paint thinner, then lube and press the new bushings on both ends, one at a time. Try not to damage them… use either a press or a screw, washer and nuts, just make sure they go in evenly and not at an angle!

For the new drilled shafts, you will also have to drill a small hole on each side, so that the oil that gets to the camshafts also gets under the bronze bushings.

Do one side at a time, remove the camshafts carrier and camshafts and fit the plastic template that was supplied with the kits in the 3 mounting position:

Mark the small hole in the template with a punch and remove the template:

Use a small, 2mm drill bit, and drill a hole where the mark is, making sure that it is perpendicular to the carrier, then chamfer it so that there are no burrs left. Put a rag under the drill so that any residue falls on the rag, and is easier to clean, and also inside of the spindle tip hole, taking care not to drop any debris inside the engine:

Make sure you also clean the other side of the hole, where the spindle tip is mounted.

Put back the camshafts and the carrier over it and tighten it back to specs, 10Nm, all 9 screws.

With this mod, oil that usually gets to the camshafts, also gets trough the hole you just drilled, inside the spindle, under the bushing; the bushing gets properly lubricated and function as it should!

The spindles are dedicated to each side, left and right, make sure you fit the correct one to the correct side.

Now it is time to start putting it all back together. Fit the sprocket and intermediate shaft back in the engine and slide the timing chain back on the sprocket

Slide the CORRECT SIDE 🙂 new spindle in to hold the intermediate shaft into position, put the locking screw back in.

Fit the timing chain tensioner assembly and hand tighten it using your fingers, both the outer brass side and the inner stainless side, that will mean that the chain is now tighten as it would be in normal working conditions, under load:

Fit the sprockets back on the camshafts:

Fit the bolts and tighten them:

Remove the timing chain tensioner assembly and fit the original spring tensioner back, remove the valve locking tool and fit the valve cover.

Now to double check your work, put the bike in 6th gear and rotate the rear wheel(spark plugs removed) in the normal direction as it would run, check for it running smooth, rotate it a couple of times.

Move to the other side, set/rotate the engine to TDC compression stroke and do that side as well!

29.07.2025, customer input on this change: “I just came back from a test drive and I am very pleased to say that the noise is completely gone. I no longer feel bad when i’m driving slowly through a village because my bike sounded like a bag of nails. Everything is smooth and quite. 

Thank you so much for taking the time to engineer a solution for a problem that never should’ve excited in the first place.”