1150gs dropping out of 6th gear.

[alfazer]

Starting to happen quite often but if I give the lever an extra good tap up with my foot after I change up into 6th, then it stays put okay.
Linkage well greased, so don't think it's that. 40000 miles. (I've never been inside a BMW gearbox before.)

Is this the first sign of bigger trouble? Is it likely to be selector forks, springs or something? Does the type of oil make a difference?

 

[DrFarkoff]

Al try draining the box keep an eye for alloy particles or small chrome flakes showing you have a problem

if its clear maybe try a refill and try it out I use 75W90 fully synth GL5 spec

hard to say till you open them up and have a look and a mm can make a big difference on a shift fork

Starting to happen quite often but if I give the lever an extra good tap up with my foot after I change up into 6th, then it stays put okay.
Linkage well greased, so don't think it's that. 40000 miles. (I've never been inside a BMW gearbox before.)

Is this the first sign of bigger trouble? Is it likely to be selector forks, springs or something? Does the type of oil make a difference?

 

[alfazer]

Cheers, Dr.
I'll start with an oil change and see what develops.

 

[High-Tower]

I might be barking up the wrong tree, but when you say you've greased the linkage......have you also stripped and greased the lever pivot? Seems to be a fairly common problem.

 

[alfazer]

Yeah, it's the lever pivot I meant to say. Didn't really mean the linkage, although it's nice and free too.

I clean and regrease pivot every once in a while. Bike gets used most year round.

 

[Welshman]

Mine did that, it later developed a nasty rumble from the intermediate shaft bearings, when I opened it to change the bearings there was some damage to the shift drum grooves which I dressed out with a stone and needle files, this cured the problem for now anyway, she shifts 100%
I should mention the damage was probably caused by a period where the shift problems 5th to 6th changes were horrible due to the gear change lever being loose on the input spline