Clacks , Crunches, or cant get Neutral

How many of you with early 13 bike get the THRUST WASHER UPGRADE my bike qualified and BMW in Dublin installed it back in March. i forgot to look at the old washer before i left the dealer.
With the bike cold i can push the bike with the clutch in and 1st gear engaged. I do feel slight clutch drag but i think that's normal for a wet clutch bike.
The gearchange is good, like an earlier contributor stated: fine over 3k revs clunky in traffic and chugging along in a high gear at slow speed.
I can live with it and it doesn't bother me much but its nothing like my old bike. The TC GSA was sublime at slow speed.
I must say I like the aggressive take up of the clutch on the WC great for spirited launches.
 
I can also move the bike, but I have to push it a lot harder, it looks like the brakes are applied. Myabe it's normal for a wet clutch. It's definitely worse cold than hot.

The gear change, as I said, I have managed to make all of them smooth across the rev range. Putting into 1st still clonks, but also did my previous bikes, so I'm not really bothered by it. Some bikes clonk, some don't.

The rear wheel spinning as in this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCmRAiECCGI) with the clutch in, I think it's also related to being a wet clutch.
If you do slow gear changes as the guy in the video, it will produce that horrible griding sound. At least mine does if I do it like the guy in the video.
He is also comparing the GSW to a GSA with dry clutch which is, in my opinion, not comparable.

Maybe I should complain less and enjoy more.
I truly love the bike, it's brilliant. I just want to make sure there is nothing wrong with it.
 
z7x8c9 said:
Well that sucks (for me).

If you can move the bike in 1st gear, engine off and clutch pulled in it means I have a problem in my bike.
On mine it's nearly impossible. It seems as the brakes have seized.
You mention this is in the GSA. What about in the GS, do you remember?
Guess my dealer has some explaining to do...
I guess this is the defenitive proof there is something wrong with some bikes because this test is devoid of any rider or shifting technique.

Thanks!
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Hi yes the 2013 GS was the same could push the bike in gear with the clutch pulled in no problem.

Terry
 
Update on my new 2014 bike over my 2013 horrendous one:-

1) 1st Gear from cold - bike clunks into gear. However, it does not lurch forward violently or sound so bad that you think the bike has exploded. The 1st gear clunk is much more familiar with all the other BMW's I ride.

2) All other gear changes are sweet.

3) I don't need to blip the throttle to get slick changes. On the older bike I had to blip to get the bike to even try and get a sweet change.

4) I can now have the clutch lever selector in position 1 or 2 rather than having to use 4 to get neutral. Neutral now works in any state, and with the engine hot or cold.

There are certainly dodgy bikes out there. Good luck and fair play to those of you with the patience and mind to accept all the above as "normal" or something you have to adapt to. In the meantime I'll enjoy the bike I should have had a year ago!
 
z7x8c9 said:
I can also move the bike, but I have to push it a lot harder, it looks like the brakes are applied. Myabe it's normal for a wet clutch. It's definitely worse cold than hot.

The gear change, as I said, I have managed to make all of them smooth across the rev range. Putting into 1st still clonks, but also did my previous bikes, so I'm not really bothered by it. Some bikes clonk, some don't.

The rear wheel spinning as in this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCmRAiECCGI) with the clutch in, I think it's also related to being a wet clutch.
If you do slow gear changes as the guy in the video, it will produce that horrible griding sound. At least mine does if I do it like the guy in the video.
He is also comparing the GSW to a GSA with dry clutch which is, in my opinion, not comparable.

Maybe I should complain less and enjoy more.
I truly love the bike, it's brilliant. I just want to make sure there is nothing wrong with it.
Click to expand...

If I put my bike into 1st like the guy in the video mine will make that noise too - many wet clutch bikes do exactly the same - My Ducati Monster's manual said to select 1st by tapping 'sharply' down on the gear lever, I just do the same on my GS (that doesn't mean boot it as hard as possible! just a quick sharp tap does it)
 
Titto said:
Update on my new 2014 bike over my 2013 horrendous one:-

1) 1st Gear from cold - bike clunks into gear. However, it does not lurch forward violently or sound so bad that you think the bike has exploded. The 1st gear clunk is much more familiar with all the other BMW's I ride.

2) All other gear changes are sweet.

3) I don't need to blip the throttle to get slick changes. On the older bike I had to blip to get the bike to even try and get a sweet change.

4) I can now have the clutch lever selector in position 1 or 2 rather than having to use 4 to get neutral. Neutral now works in any state, and with the engine hot or cold.

There are certainly dodgy bikes out there. Good luck and fair play to those of you with the patience and mind to accept all the above as "normal" or something you have to adapt to. In the meantime I'll enjoy the bike I should have had a year ago!
Click to expand...

That was really terrible. Mine is defintly not like that. It's a 2014 model, built on 11/Feb/2014.
 
Tbh i read all these pages on here than i start to think my new bike has issues by listening for every clunk, click, ping, pong, and yep mine clunks into 1st gear but my gsxr does so as well in fact its worse than my wc.

Maybe some issues will never get resolved ! and you have to adapt your riding style to suit ! However come trade it time you will get exactly the same price as the bod with a problem Free bike.
 
DING-DONG said:
Tbh i read all these pages on here than i start to think my new bike has issues by listening for every clunk, click, ping, pong, and yep mine clunks into 1st gear but my gsxr does so as well in fact its worse than my wc.

Maybe some issues will never get resolved ! and you have to adapt your riding style to suit ! However come trade it time you will get exactly the same price as the bod with a problem Free bike.
Click to expand...

+1 (plus one)
 
As you were.
Keep trying to convince yourselves that the gearbox / clutch on your £13k bike is actually so good that it needs a really special riding God to bring out its brilliance.

'Learn to ride your bike'?

Words fail me
 
Just installes today the Gear Shift Assist thing.

It's awesome! Super smooth shifts (up and down).
Easy to get a speeding ticket with this thing!
 
Engineer said:
How a motorcycle feels is very, very subjective - each bike I have ever had has 'felt' different in many ways including gear shifting but you soon get used to it and it becomes 'normal' - the more you ride the more one adjusts to each bike's quirks. If all you do is get the bike out on a sunny Summer Sunday and do a 100 mile circle and then put it back in the garage until the following weekend then it will take you years to adapt.

If you want smooth shifts on the LC then they must NOT be slow lazy shifts and you MUST blip on all down changes - I have always done this no matter what the bike as it is the most mechanically sympathetic way of changing gear - the LC engine spins up and down far more rapidly than the previous bikes so it is easy to mis-match the revs and this lead to clunky down shifts because of the clutch drag - learn how to do it and all becomes sweetness and light :)
Click to expand...

You sir,talk utter absolute nonsense !

Steve
 
Im now personally aware of 14 people who have had their bikes exchanged by BMW (7 on here and 7 who wont come on this website), I have spoken to the others whilst at work out and about and at dealerships; many of those bikers who choose not to come on this site is because of peoples "expert" opinions and the hostility on here.

Anyway, if I have spoken to those numbers personally, then I wonder how many have actually been exchanged ? I suspect theres more than 7 of us on here who have had exchanged bikes.
It's also interesting with the 2015 changes that BMW are still working away at the box/clutch.

Would be interesting to get a thread going to get a rough tally - but it would be taken over no doubt!
 
Would be nice to know exactly what clutch/ gearbox changes they have made if any to the 2015 bikes.
 
Hang on - I thought the existing clutches / gearboxes were fine?
Odd then that they're redeveloping and changing them... :rolleyes:
 
the 2015 has increased flywheel mass like the gsa. i think that's the only mechabical change they announced
 
Well all I will add is that my 2014 GSA even though it clunks a bit selecting first which all my GS's have done it's no where near as bad as my recently traded in K1200GT :eek:

That used to lurch forward about 6" so the brakes always had to be used :rolleyes:

It used to make people jump :D especially cyclist at the lights next to you :eek:

Jon :beerjug:
 
Nobody needs skill or training to change gear on a motorbike we learned that after our first spin around the block.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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