Sticking Gear Change

[Neil]

Hi Guys

'04 bike with 17,000 miles and so far only problems two blown headlight bulbs.

However after a very wet ride recently I found great difficulty in getting it to change down from 6th, occasionally other higher gears if I was in them long enough. Further investigation has found that if the throttle is closed for a few seconds then I try to change down the lever is stuck. Applying a little throttle just before the change frees it. The change itself is smooth once the lever moves. Seems being on the overrun for a few seconds causes it to jam.

I have stripped the whole linkage, including the ball joints, to clean and regreased it and though a smoother operation the problem still persists in the dry as well. There was some evidence of wear on the ball faces but nothing of significance. Also changed the gearbox oil which was clean with no metal bits in it. Phew! Very much feels it is a linkage problem.

Just wondering if any others have had this. Can work round it but not ideal.

First BM after a string of Jap race reps, love it. Should have got one years before.

Happy riding

Neil

 

[(RIP) Bin Ridin]

The span screw on my clutch handlever used to unscrew itself = more freeplay, until I loctited it in place.

Check yours?

Bin

 

[ampthill]

Hi Guys

'04 bike with 17,000 miles and so far only problems two blown headlight bulbs.

However after a very wet ride recently I found great difficulty in getting it to change down from 6th, occasionally other higher gears if I was in them long enough. Further investigation has found that if the throttle is closed for a few seconds then I try to change down the lever is stuck. Applying a little throttle just before the change frees it. The change itself is smooth once the lever moves. Seems being on the overrun for a few seconds causes it to jam.

I have stripped the whole linkage, including the ball joints, to clean and regreased it and though a smoother operation the problem still persists in the dry as well. There was some evidence of wear on the ball faces but nothing of significance. Also changed the gearbox oil which was clean with no metal bits in it. Phew! Very much feels it is a linkage problem.

Just wondering if any others have had this. Can work round it but not ideal.

First BM after a string of Jap race reps, love it. Should have got one years before.

Happy riding

Neil

Rather like mine then - an 04 with 30000 miles This is not an uncommon issue with R series BMW's - it's to do with the clutch not fully disengaging due to limited lubrication of clutch splines. You can relubricate these but would involve pulling the bike apart. You'll find this only tends to be a problem on down chages - easiest option is to blip the throttle during these changes and should snick into gear with out problem. works for me anyway
Peter

 

[Andy Michael]

I had a similar problem which was diagnosed as a worn bush (ooh err) replaced under warranty with no futher problems

 

[Pukmeister]

Could be the gearshift spindle bush sticking rather than the linkages. I stripped the shift lever off the shaft and pushed the shaft in sideways a bit towards the starter motor, squirted WD40 on it and wiped clean, then lubed with Silkolene red synthetic racing grease and refitted the shaft and shift lever. After a bit of cleaning and lubrication the gears are now shifting smoother than ever.

 

[qquelch]

I too have a 04 model with 19000 miles and the same sticking clutch problem. I mentioned this to my local BMW service garage but they seemed to dismiss anything was wrong, so i put it down to my driving. Next time i go in i'll show them this thread and see what they say.

 

[Bear]

I called BMW assistance early last year for an unrelated problem and the technician who attended mentioned gear linkages sticking due to corrosion as a known problem. Mine hasn't stuck yet but stripping and lubricating seems like a good idea.

 

[Monk]

I've found the gear linkage gets covered in crap and sticks. If I keep it clean and lube it after cleaning I get fewer false neutrals and the bikes less inclined to jump out of gear.

 

[JayGee]

Same problem on mine, an 04 with 30,000 miles. it was corrected when I had new main oil seals fitted as I asked them to make sure the splines were lubed properly but 10,000 miles later the problem has returned. It's a real PITA, it gets worse when the bike is really hot and feels like clutch drag, blip the throttle and it down shifts quite smooth. It could be the splines sticking or it could be a small oil contamination on the clutch plate which can make the clutch sticky (more than a little and the opposite problem happens- clutch slip-obviously). The dealers first response was to free-up the linkage but that's a total red-herring as it down shifts quite nicely unless the bike has been engine braking before the down shift.

I guess I now have to live with this problem, it seems it is not uncommon with the BMW boxer.

 

[Neil]

Thanks all.

New lever shaft bushes on the way. Will see how it goes. Hopefully not the clutch splines. .

Happy riding.

Neil

 

[Neil]

As bike will be going in to dealer with another issue I want to bring this up with them as so far they don't want to acknowledge this. Any more out there with this.
Happy Riding

Neil

 

[Red King]

R12GS Gears Sticking

Hi Neil,
Yeah, just discovered the same issue with my bike . It is registered 2005 (manufactured late 2004) R12GS. I have exactly the same symptoms that you described. I have only 16,500 Km's on mine.
My issue is only noticable when I am more 'spirited' in my riding, especially when downshifting to slow down. However, on a recent ride with a (novice) buddy of mine we took it very slow and handy and the problem occured a couple of times.
I find that fast acceleration and deceleration aggravate the problem. From what I have read, it was a common issue with the previous R series bikes especially the R1100 GS's. Spoke to my dealer and asked him to put in a warranty claim, but my bike is more than 2 years old so will have to wait and see. Nearly got creamed at a 2 lane roundabout the first time it happened, was approaching at speed in 6th and couldn't downshift beyond 5th. Got stranded in 5th on the feckin' roundabout!

The dealer reckons that BMW should cover at least 50% of the estimated €1200 it will cost to repair. He reckons a new clutch is needed as if relubed the splines will go dry again. He couldn't shed any more light on it than that.

Does anyone know why the splines go dry?? It is bad quality lube or bad spline design??

Red.

 

[Red King]

Just checked a different forum thread where the above was dicussed; See quote below from a very knowledgable man!
My bike doesn't display any of the below symptoms but might be worth checking Neil;

Red.


"Sounds to me like there is air in the clutch hydraulic system. After I had my seals and clutch slave cylinder replaced under warranty I noticed this as well. Turned out to be air in the system.

Might be your slave cylinder is going bad. The single plate dry clutch wont stick unless it has oil on them. Do you have any signs of oil contamination, or leaks at the rear of the trans, or between the trans and the motor on the right side?"

 

[Red King]

Update on Sticky Gears

Howdy Folks,

Small but perhaps significant update on sticky gears;


I talked to a tech guy from http://www.motorworks.co.uk/ (a fantastic resource by the way, free advice over the phone). This lad reckons that the problem is due to the clutch fluid losing viscosity. Apparantly the clutch fluid hose is quite thin and may allow air to seep into the hose, (osmosis??). This can create either a small airblock and/or oxidise the clutch fluid so that it is less effective, especially when under pressure (and heat I assume) from fast gear changes etc... which in turn can also affect the slave cylinder. I have no way of substantiating it however!! I am just taking the techie at his word. He suggested draining and changing the clutch fluid and also the gear oil for good measure. Will get the materials over the weekend and see if I can free up a few hours and report back.



In hindsight it sounds like a more likely option as from what I can gather sticky clutch spline problems are very very rare on R12's...



Will let you guys know the score after the weekend, will have to read up on my Haynes R1200GS maintenance manual first!



Red,

 

[Tobers]

Had the same issue with mine twice. Exactly the same symptoms. I found a "blip" of the throttle whilst the clutch lever was pulled would "unstick" the clutch plates. This is OK to get you home but gets rather boring on a regular basis.

First was cured with a new gearbox under warranty. Happened again about 7000 miles later and required a new clutch, also done under warranty thankfully. My thoughts are that it is related to poor clutch alignment at assembly time. Ever get any juddering as you pull away?

That was the main reason I sold the bike - clutch problems are just soooo expensive to sort out of warranty.

Sorry I cant give you good news

Tobers

 

[Red King]

Hi Tobers,
Slightly different symptoms I reckon. If I pull my clutch lever while gears/clutch are stuck it makes no difference. Sometimes if I fiddle a little bit with the gear shifter pedal it may slip down... but rarely.

End result sounds similiar though?

 

[Tobers]

Fingers crossed for you that it's something different to mine. Aside from that the symptoms sound just the same. Mine was an 04 as well.

 

[Red King]

Will be trying the clutch fluid change and gear oil change tomorrow. Will report back!

cheers
Red

 

[Red King]

Update on R12GS Sticky Gears

Hi Tobers et al,

I think I may have found the cause of my problems. When i took off the lid of the clutch resevoir I found it to be lined with a green crud (looked almost like Algae??). A reasonably intelligent gueass would suggest that it was bad/oxidised clutch fluid. I invested in a one-way valved poly tube that fits on the drain nipple at the back of the bike. Anyhow, this is what I ended up doing in the end:

1. Drained resevoir and cleaned crud with cotton tips. Noted during the draining process that more semi-solid crud drained from the nipple suggesting a partial blockage in the hose perhaps?
2. Poured new fluid into resevoir and pumped and pumped and pumped and pumped and pumped etc....
3. After half an hour or so of pumping and topping up I had a tuppaware pot full of new fluid mixed with semi-solid particles of shite!
4. when no bubbles and/or crud were appearing in the drain valve, I pumped more clean fluid in for good measure! The premise was that I was attempting to clean the hydraulic hose by pumping clean fluid through it..
5. I closed the valve and then set about bleeding the system of any trapped air.
6. I employed a system of pumping the clutch lever four times, realeasing the lock nut of the nipple to allow air to escape from that end, tighten the nut, and turn the handle bars left and right while pumping to allow air to escape from the banjo connection at the resevoir..... Man that took ages!
7. Finally, after all that, my system appeared to be cleaned and no more air was present I changed the engine oil, put in a new K&N air filter (that I had been waiting to do for a couple of weeks) and took her her for a spin.......


I can happily say that it worked a treat! The gear changes are smooth, no slipping, catching, grinding or sticking. The clutch is far more responsive and a hell of a lot lighter than before. For good measure I spent a good half hour cruising with frequent gear changes. I also spent about ten minutes performing fast accelerations and decelerations with rapid gear changes... Before this would have aggravated the problem... The bike performed perfectly... Also noted a bit more pep with the new Air Filter.


Next weekend I will change the fluid again just to see if any more crud works its way loose, although I think I got all of it. This time I will use a syringe connected to the (reversed) one way valve and pump from the bleed nipple up to the resevoir. Will be interesting to see if any more crud is present. Will also check out the state of the master cylinder. The crud can't have been good for that either...
This week I do a gear oil change too. If anyone wants step by step pictures I can take them as i beeld the syestem agian next week.

Red,

 

[GSAEleventyTen]

When I start my bike I find the first five to ten gear changes sticky, particularly the very first one which can sometimes be tricky to get the bike into first.
Does it make sense that the oil warms up and it then lubricates easier?

Thanks for any advice or reassurance on this.