1200 GSA Gearing

Sure, Will Do

Seems this is hardly an isolated complaint ... I found the following comments from owners while scanning ADVrider ... most of these comments came from 1200 Adventure owners out of the states...

"Overall the whole gearbox seems relatively tall compared to my 1150. ...I personally would be*very* happy if I could get some additional reduction in the final drive. I'd happily give up 20 to 30mph off the top end in exchange for a little less "point-and-shoot" when negotiating tight spots."

"Apart from the tall first gear I think the rest of the ratios are perfect, but I do mostly road. This thing is still pulling like a train at 110 mph where my old 1150 was running out of steam."

"Engine: perfect
Gearing: first gear is way to tall. If you are in a really technical section, you can start to smell the clutch. [Gears] 2-6 are great"

"The gearing is just plain silly. 1st is way too high, ... It's the single biggest design flaw in the bike. Between myself and the other 3 guys that rode it on Hancock pass we left about half my clutch up there. The bike reeked of burnt clutch for at least a day after that. "
 
 
Without wishing to derail the conversation too much:

BMW said:
The new 'Light deactivation' option is only available for authorities' use and allows the possibility to switch off the main light while the engine is running.
Click to expand...

Clearly BMW only trusts the plod to be allowed to turn the headlight off - and what a technological breakthrough! A headlight switch! :D
 
To summarise those documents that Colebatch linked to (thanks for that!) :

<ul><li>All the 1200 bikes have the same ratios available in the gear box. Except of course the police version that we don't know much about.</li>
<li>The S, GS and GSA have a primary drive ratio of 1 : 1.823.</li>
<li>The R, ST, and RT have a primary ratio of 1 : 1.882.</li>
<li>The R and S have a final drive ratio of 2.75 : 1.</li>
<li>The GS and GSA have a final drive ratio of 2.82 : 1.</li>
<li>The ST and RT have a final drive ratio of 2.62 : 1.</li></ul>

Now I'm inclined to suspect the difference in the primary drive ratio is a misprint. Given that the engine internals on all the bikes must be pretty similar, why change the primary ratio by about 3%?

But the main point is - all the gearbox ratios are the same, and the GS already has the lowest available ratio in the final drive.
 
Mouse said:
Without wishing to derail the conversation too much:



Clearly BMW only trusts the plod to be allowed to turn the headlight off - and what a technological breakthrough! A headlight switch! :D
Click to expand...



Maybe thats for sneaking up on amorous couples steaming up the windows of their cars in secluded night places .... then startling them with the torch and "'allo allo allo, whats all this then" ... you cant catch girls with their thongs around their ankles when you try sneaking up with your headlight on
 
Feedback from München

Here's what BMW say ...

"short and simple no ... The RTP gearbox is not yet listed on ETK but it would be the internal parts that you would need, if the internal parts were to be changed this would mess up the gear indicator as it also has a check calculation from the engine speed and road speed."

I havent got back to them yet, but personally I dont give a toss if it fails to identify 1st gear on the display....
 
If the gear indicator has a "check calculation" then it must have a fair degree of tolerance in case the clutch was being slipped. And peoples' experience with getting water in the gear position sensor, which then shows neutral when they are doing 90mph in top, doesn't really support BMW's claim for this feature.
 
Excellent points ... mate i think we need to get a few guys together, get a friendly BMW dealer (I am sure they vary vastly across the country) and try and arange to buy a clump of these first gears.

Who is the friendlist BMW dealer in the country?
 
Southport Superbikes have always been extremely helpful to me, I'll ask their parts people about this next time I speak to them.

Got to bear in mind though, the cost of getting this new gear fitted could be a lot higher than the cost of the part itself. For example changing the clutch (which involves removing gearbox) costs about 700 quid in labour (at BMW rates). However I reckon this would be about 1/3 the price at a decent independant (eg Motorrad Services in Manchester).

Then you've got the labour for stripping the gearbox - to be honest I've no idea how complicated that is, never done a BMW gearbox before. But Jap bike boxes are not too bad, however they live in the crankcase :)

Will report back if I learn anything.
 
Shep said:
Perhaps a HP2 final drive could be bodged onto a standard 1200? i'm assuming the HP2 is lower geared :nenau

Shep
Click to expand...

HP2 uses the same gearbox as the 1200GS... and they race these things, hill climbs and all... and see happy enough...maybe? :eek:
 
BiG DoM said:
HP2 uses the same gearbox as the 1200GS... and they race these things, hill climbs and all... and see happy enough...maybe? :eek:
Click to expand...


I would think HP2 guys are not trying to ride steadily and stably at 10 mph, heavily laden over hellish roads ... they are trying to blitz everything with no weight
 
No joy from BMW UK

Mouse,

I am not getting much joy from BMW. "Unhelpful" would be a kind way of putting it. .... and I am unable to PM you (or anyone) ... maybe cause I am new and it isnt activated or something.

I would definately like to take this forward so would like to get in contact. I am contactable on [email protected], or through the email contact details on www.TokyotoLondon.com in case this blocks out my email address.

Cheers
 
BiG DoM said:
HP2 uses the same gearbox as the 1200GS... and they race these things, hill climbs and all... and see happy enough...maybe? :eek:
Click to expand...
I had this discussion with Si Pavey a couple of weeks ago and he reckons the 1200GS/HP2 gearing is just fine as it is. And he's right when you are in a known environment such as the Welsh off road centre--the instructors know the site like the back of their hands and can blast all over the place.

My problem is when I'm either by myself, or front man in a small group, investigating unknown trails. Not surprisingly I want to take things somewhat easier and first gear is far too high. Towards the end of the day my clutch fingers are aching like hell.

My ideal box would be a super low first, an overdrive top and ratios 2, 3, 4 and 5 spread out to cover the existing 1-6.

Tim
 
I would have thought any BMW dealer who has the contract to service and Repair the R1200RT-p would be able to order the various bits for the gear box?? :nenau
Surely if you get the part numbers they can be ordered through any dealer.

Does Plod in Britain/England use the R1200RT-p??? And who does the servicing/repairs?

Alternatively try and source a crashed one from a BMW breakers in Germany or other European breakers.

Long shot but you never know your luck.

D
 
Tim Cullis said:
I had this discussion with Si Pavey a couple of weeks ago and he reckons the 1200GS/HP2 gearing is just fine as it is. And he's right when you are in a known environment such as the Welsh off road centre--the instructors know the site like the back of their hands and can blast all over the place.

My problem is when I'm either by myself, or front man in a small group, investigating unknown trails. Not surprisingly I want to take things somewhat easier and first gear is far too high. Towards the end of the day my clutch fingers are aching like hell.

My ideal box would be a super low first, an overdrive top and ratios 2, 3, 4 and 5 spread out to cover the existing 1-6.

Tim
Click to expand...

Thanks Tim ... good point about Simon knowing the place like the back of his hand .... and on top of that, he doesnt have to worry about carrying 60+ kgs of panniers and luggage. At the end of the day, Simon Pavey is in to racing, not touring. So again, he has a different purpose to ride the bike than I do.

I dont know if I have to set something up here, but I still cant send any PMs... can someone advise what to do to get permission to do that? In any case Tim, do you mind contacting me on the details above as well ... Your ideal box is exactly what I would like to see as well. but I would settle for a very low 1st.
 
You have to be a sponsor to send PMs - in other words you have to pay for it :)

Click on the "User CP" link at the top of the page, then click "Paid subscriptions" and you can pay by PayPal if you wish.
 
Ah .... I am concerned that if I pay my subscription, I will feel the need to get value out of it and use the site daily, as opposed to when I really need to tap into your collective brains.

Thus, paying the subscription could really annoy the hell out of my mrs.

Any advice or comments on that line of thinking?
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Lightweight cover for 1200 GSA with full luggage (when touring) and lightweight U lock?
Replies
11
Views
254
LBJ GSA
For Sale 1200 GSA Metal Panniers, rack adapted for 1150
Replies
1
Views
139
RichieS
RichieS
Macca2321
Wanted Long Shot But… WANTED: TT Upper Crash Bars 1200 GSA LC.
Replies
0
Views
46
Macca2321
Macca2321
1200 2012 GSA Misfire
Replies
17
Views
465
the bounder
Yosarian
Wanted R 1200 GSA adventure K25 top box fitting plate.
Replies
0
Views
81
Yosarian
Yosarian


Back
Top Bottom