**** Neutral SOLVED ****

[Titto]

For those of you with issues finding neutral please try the following, I've been out testing all morning and have gone from having NO neutral to getting it 100% of the time - and it's unbelievably simple to sort.

This was mentioned on the 1000+ posts thread on here re the clanks/crunches/cant find neutral thread too http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?337687-Clacks-Crunches-or-cant-get-Neutral.

I have already had the warranty fix for the clutch with the longer thrust pin, but since then the bike was worse. The dealer moved the clutch lever dial to number 1 and told me to see how I go for a few hundred miles etc.

I have now moved the dial to number 4 and the issue of a missing neutral has vanished.
Also, the 'lurch' forward from a standstill into 1st has been massively reduced - more of a shoulder shrug now rather than a violent forward motion!
Lastly, gearchanging has drastically been improved, going up and down. Mine was really bad for 'meshing' between the gears up or down it didnt matter.

PLEASE PLEASE try the following and report back; maybe in this style:-
------------------
Clutch dial no:-
(1) Horrendous gear changes - impossible neutral.
(2) No improvement on (1)
(3) Better gearchanges, find neutral more often than not.
(4) 100% Neutral, better gear changes.

Hope this helps some of you with, what for me has been the most off putting thing about my bike.

Now go and test!!!

 

[pistole]

Interesting!

Will do

 

[alp]

My GS has gone now and I can't remember if 4 is furthest out or not but if it is then this is fine if your finger span can reach the lever further away. Like I posted yonks back now, it still appears to be maybe related to how far the slave cylinder (down at the back of the engine casing) operating the clutch disengages the clutch pressure plate and can be solved by altering the slave cylinder to a slightly smaller diameter so the the clutch lever movement 'throws' out the pressure plate further.
Can someone confirm if 4 is furthest out?

 

[david a hall]

That's good.................

 

[Titto]

Yes 4 is farthest away. 1 being the closest.

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

I think I would have experimented with the span adjusters, long before now

Basic riding stuff, really

It's all very well, suggesting having it on no.4 ...............what if you have really small hands or are a lady rider with small hands and can't ride the bike with the clutch lever adjusted on no.4 setting

Not really an 'engineering' fix is it

So..............Only riders with 'big hands' can ride the bike, now

 

[JayC]

Reads like a load of tosh to me!

Are we seriously to believe that this bike has been designed to function smoothly and correctly only when the clutch lever is in one of its multi-adjustable positions? If this is the case then it was a pretty dumb idea to provide such adjustability.

It kinda implies that the clutch isn't fully functioning unless on this magic '4' setting , and yet every bike I have ever owned can have the clutch slipped merely by feathering the clutch lever.
My understanding of adjustable levers is for nothing more than reach settings , not clutch bite/release points.

The lever 'piston to valve' contact distance doesn't alter , just the lever reach.

 

[(RIP) Tunneruk]

The lever 'piston to valve' contact distance doesn't alter , just the lever reach.

I take your point but the greater distance the lever can travel in position 4 will effectively actuate the master cylinder piston further into the chamber thus 'opening' the clutch slightly more.

As Johnny said, I am absolutely gobsmacked that this isn't one of the first adjustments tried by everyone that's had neutral problems?
Perhaps it's a sign of the times?

 

[alp]

My understanding of adjustable levers is for nothing more than reach settings , not clutch bite/release points.

The lever 'piston to valve' contact distance doesn't alter , just the lever reach.

Not on this bike Jay, I can confirm what Tunneruk says, that the reach adjustment alters the stroke of the piston in the master cylinder at the lever and therefore movement of the slave cylinder and hence pressure plate in the clutch.

 

[JayC]

Not on this bike Jay, I can confirm what Tunneruk says, that the reach adjustment alters the stroke of the piston in the master cylinder at the lever and therefore movement of the slave cylinder and hence pressure plate in the clutch.

Right, so BMW cocked this right up then by not advising in the handbook that to get the best out the WC it is always best use clutch lever setting No4.

Or perhaps they only tested it on settings 1,2 & 3 before unleashing this 'unstopability' upon the public.

So, to hark back to what Tunner said , it is perhaps " a sign of the times".

 

[Titto]

To all you know it alls, I simply am posting something thats worked for me. Ive never claimed it to be an engineering fix. It obviously isnt ideal for smaller hands either.
Lastly, I tried all 4 settings prior to the push rod fix / mod which made no difference.
These are checks to do post push rod fix...
Its certainly not a sign of the times, more a sign that bmw have made a piss poor job of the clutch system.

 

[Titto]

JayC ... please please ride my bike. Then maybe you will believe me?
I have not imagined the issues with my bike...

 

[JayC]

JayC ... please please ride my bike. Then maybe you will believe me?
I have not imagined the issues with my bike...

It is a generous offer Titto, especially if it's at your expense to travel south! However, I have no wish to test your bike and on an equal level I believe entirely that you have gearbox issues. I test rode a WC whilst my 'old' TC was in for service last and not only reported my findings on here but also voiced my concerns to the supplying dealer when I was asked "what do you think of the bike"?

My doubt is that setting the adjustment to no.4 on the clutch lever is the magical cure to a bike that 'appears' to have problems with gear selection. That doesn't mean it hasn't/isn't working for you, it just means it isn't the cure.

If you say it doesn't/didn't change gear as well as you would hope for then I believe you, and you certainly don't need me to reinforce your verdict. If you really feel your findings will assist others then crack on mate, but it won't stop me and others from providing an opinion, even if you feel those opinions are bollocks!
The one constant that we know that isn't bollocks (or is, rather) is the gearbox/clutch department of the 1200 WC. I found the problem, you did and many others have.

It would appear that you are now much happier with the bike? If I am wrong and you're still miffed then I'd suggest giving it back.

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

What happens if I can't safely use the clutch lever, on span4 position because I have small hands

What then?

Pray tell?

Bollox I tell you, it should be the same on all 4 span positions - otherwise that will preclude riders with small hands from riding the bike safely

 

[(RIP) Tunneruk]

I've not ridden one .......

But .. Judging from all the threads and problems and particularly the comments made on this thread I would hazard a guess that the problem isn't with the gearbox or indeed the clutch but with an incorrect ratio between master and slave cylinder causing slight clutch drag.

I don't believe for one minute though that BMW don't know what the problem is and that I'm some kind of genius.
(well I am a bit of a genius racer riding tuning engineering design sex god but I don't like to talk about it)

The symptoms seem so simple that I must be wrong??

 

[GC6269]

I've not ridden one .......

No offence, but I wonder how many posts on this forum should start with this line.

I'm confused, I don't know who actually owns a WC on this site and who doesn't. By the amount of activity on any thread containing faults, I'm guessing its a lot............

 

[APE]

Appreciate your findings but as someone with small hands this information would piss me off even more if I had a misbehaving WC. Thankfully I haven't and wouldn't consider buying one until this unacceptable issue is fixed once and for all.

 

[Nutty]

I'm confused, I don't know who actually owns a WC on this site and who doesn't. By the amount of activity on any thread containing faults, I'm guessing its a lot............

I'll give you a clue. The people that continually post their conspiracy theories and negativity in the LC section, and can't stay away, DON'T own the bike.

 

[Nutty]

Appreciate your findings but as someone with small hands this information would piss me off even more if I had a misbehaving WC. Thankfully I haven't and wouldn't consider buying one until this unacceptable issue is fixed once and for all.

It is fixed. I don't have this issue on my 2014 bike.

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

I'll give you a clue. The people that continually post their conspiracy theories and negativity in the LC section, and can't stay away, DON'T own the bike.

One is surely allowed to debate and discuss, do you not think?

Freedom of expression