I will try to explain.
It's intended purpose is to take the shock load off of the gear box. For example when the bike lands under power off of a jump the Torque Limiter comes into play. Remember these engines run in reverse rotation from other engines. With the Clutch turning at crankshaft speed. So the Torque Limiter is a direct link to the transmission to reverse that rotation to get the gearbox rotating in a forward driven direction. Crankshaft CCW- Torque Limiter/Primary CW- intermediate CCW- Countershaft CW- from the right side of the engine.
Locking it up or making it solid would likely make it out of balance if done wrong but doing this could likely lead to a catastrophic result.
You can service the TL by taking the Torque Limiter apart and scuffing the steel plates with 60 grit sand paper and reassembling it to tighten things by just changing the shim under the outer bearing. This shim set is sold in a set of 3 thicknesses and is Bike Bandit BMW part # 11117719429 it costs about $30.00. Doing this shim swap can in theory increase or decrease the final preload of the Torque Limiter which would result in a higher or lower breakaway point. Considering of course the amount of wear to the TLs plates and the 3 thicknesses of the available shims themselves. These can be limiting factors. It has been done. However once the Torque Limiter gets to this point of being worn out the bearings should probably be replaced anyway. They have been known to let go and so has the TL itself by coming apart in the engines casing. Its roller bearings are the smallest in the entire engine and are put under a tremendous load during operation. So skimping on this important component, its bearings, or trying to do a field repair in a pinch is more difficult then you may think. As the engine nearly needs to come out of the chassis to do this, depending on what year the 449/511 frame is ? A few of the screws holding the right side cover on are near impossible to get out. Which for the first time, they would need to be backed out in the chassis and the bolts shank cut to get the head off. Once the cover is removed the stub could be removed and the bolt replaced with a short trimmed version that will fit while the engine remains in the frame. A cut off allen wrench can be fabricated to help do this. I made one out of a 4" long piece of 1/2" wide by .090 thick steel strap with a hole drilled into one end to accept a short hexed stub cut off an allen wrench of the proper size. I tig welded that stub into the 4" metal strip to make a wrench. It is a really low profile and slips into the limited space better than cutting off and trying to use the curved portion of a standard allen wrench. So these side cover screws can be removed, if you go about it right. So what I'm saying is getting the side cover off in the G450X chassis is very difficult to do this in as well. Husky engines have these rear screws sunk flush and are different then the G450s. I have both engines but the same tight fit and limited space in the chassis applies
The Torque Limiter is what it is. It has an important intended purpose and it has an intended service life span as well. It should be checked, serviced or simply replaced as per the engines specifications. A gasket set is needed, which has all the seals and water pump gaskets as well. The cases side cover gasket may come off and be re-usable. However the water pump has to be disassembled to do this, as its a part of removing the right side cover to get to the TL. So its not a good idea to skimp on the water pumps gaskets and seals either, or it could be the first thing springing a leak during operation.
Once it begins to slip just change it and make sure you are getting the Breather gasses out of the engine as efficiently as possible. Do the breather mod. It will make the Torque Limiter last longer.
I got something else to say here that is important. Like it or not the following is not a rant.
I know a bunch of the past information in the threads for the TL failures has been removed from this forum. Not only was it removed by a member but a great deal of information from everybody else who had ever took their time and responded to those threads by posting to the subject was removed as well.
I don't understand how "Café Husky" could have let that happen and it being removed by the member who did it was totally disrespectful and a total disservice to the Forum and all the time members spent posting this useful information that took about 2 years to do so.
Deleting your own posts is an option we all have. Deleting others posts for no reason in the process is BS as far as I am concerned.
It causes people like myself to have to repeat information needed on a forum to have to fill members in on a subject as best as we can. When the answers to these questions was all right here at 1 time in the first place. Its a damned shame that this happened.
I Moderate the BMW G450 riders forum myself. I have myself in the past deleted some of my own posts. When they were redundant. I would never do the same to others.
Unless of course they were just spammers and slipped through the cracks and posted BS themselves. "Poof" you are gone.
A great amount of information on the options of the breather mods that can lead to the engines TL living a longer life was removed from the threads as well.
I recommend looking back into the forum and finding what is left and reading as much as you can.
I personally today would recommend the "DMD designs" valve cover breather myself for the 449/511. It doesn't require modifying or drilling a big hole in the valve cover. It only requires cutting of the gasket to install. Breather tanks are up to you and there are a few options.
We just recently had a modified "prototype" plastic version of the DMD breather shipped to a member on the G450 Forum. The reason for this was that we have been working with "David"- CH member "Dangermouse" of DMD designs on a modified version of his breather that specifically fits the BMW G450X chassis with our direct input. Making the hose routing options an easier installation. It will be made out of Billet Aluminum and it goes into production soon.
Hope you can find the useful info back in the CH forum to get up to speed on the TL issues. You could look at some of the old threads on the G450riders Forum as well.
I will never consider myself to be an expert on the engineering aspects of this component. I like to keep my bikes assembled and ride. When it breaks I fix it.
Hope this information is helpful.
Below is a few pictures of the hard to get at screws of a G450 Engine on the bench. As well as the stubby flatbar allen wrench I had to make to allow removal of the side cover to get it off if I wanted to do it while the engine was still in the frame. I have always just pulled the engine though to do this.
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