cant change down

Tinytim

Tinytim

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Took my 2002 1150 out to the Peaks last night (not used her for a few weeks). Got so far then found out as fast approaching junction that I couldnt change down from 3rd :eek: clutch lever not fouling on heated grip cable ( it sometimes does) clutch lever pressure felt fine. Kept trying to no avail and feathered thru junction in 3rd. Out the other side I thought fekk this and headed home, all the while trying to change down. Tried changing up , fine, 4th , 5th, then tried down. Yes! 4th 3rd, 2nd, 1st, fekkin excellent. Went up and down the box a few times whilst up on the tops above Sheffield and all was well with the world.
Turned around and off I set, heading for Matlock . After 2 miles, the same thing again. Cant kick down, only up. Bollox to this, turned round and headed home in 3rd. Got onto the drive and tried gears again....all fine. Parked up, dismounted, got on 18 year old Honda Blackbird and arrived st Matlock 40 minutes later. Haven't given the heap of Bavarian shite a thought since.......until now.

Initial search here may point at linkages? Any help would be gratefully received thanks.:thumb2
 
Tinytim said:
Initial search here may point at linkages? Any help would be gratefully received thanks.:thumb2
Click to expand...

Simple really, remove spring clips and pull ball joints apart then grease.

Remove gear lever, clean and grease pivot bush.
 
Suggest you have a look at the linkages on your 18 yr old Blackbird as they're probably dry as old bones too.
 
Probably not what you want to hear, but I think downshift problems may be an indicator of wear on the gearbox input shaft/clutch splines.
 
the gearlever pivot bush is prone to corrosion build up

Easiest check unclip the lower ball from the linkage and then release the lever if it falls straight down its okay

If you have to manually assist its fall??

The inside of the lever between the bushes is corroding and squashing the bushes onto the pivot pin

The gear lever must return to a middle position before you can downchange
 
I had exactly the same thing on my 1150 GS - found easiest solution was to buy secondhand gear lever and mounting off fleabay - gear change perfect ever since.
 
Baggers1 said:
Probably not what you want to hear, but I think downshift problems may be an indicator of wear on the gearbox input shaft/clutch splines.
Click to expand...


no problem Baggers old boy. I have spare parts from a Belle Cement Mixer that I think may be interchangeable !


Yes Dr Farkoff, the lever needed manual assistance. Thanks Timolgra. Ball joints split, cleaned and regreased as was the gear lever pivot bush and bolt. Fortunately a passing gynaecologist obliged me by refitting those "funny" ball joint tiny fiddly fekkin slippy spring clips for me thus stopping me from setting fire to the fekkin lot.

All now working as sweet as a nut, thanks all. :clap:thumb
 
Tinytim said:
no problem Baggers old boy. I have spare parts from a Belle Cement Mixer that I think may be interchangeable !


Yes Dr Farkoff, the lever needed manual assistance. Thanks Timolgra. Ball joints split, cleaned and regreased as was the gear lever pivot bush and bolt. Fortunately a passing gynaecologist obliged me by refitting those "funny" ball joint tiny fiddly fekkin slippy spring clips for me thus stopping me from setting fire to the fekkin lot.

All now working as sweet as a nut, thanks all. :clap:thumb
Click to expand...

Glad to hear it simply needed the linkage cleaning up Tim :clap I wasn't so lucky, mine needed a replacement clutch and a gearbox rebuild :eek: Perfect now though.
I hope all your building projects are coming along well and leave you enough time for your bikes :D
 
Baggers1 said:
Probably not what you want to hear, but I think downshift problems may be an indicator of wear on the gearbox input shaft/clutch splines.
Click to expand...

Because it is a symptom of impending input shaft failure, why not pull the starter, tie wrap the clutch lever pulled-in and check for motion between the clutch hub and input shaft splines?
 
Roger 04 RT said:
Because it is a symptom of impending input shaft failure, why not pull the starter, tie wrap the clutch lever pulled-in and check for motion between the clutch hub and input shaft splines?
Click to expand...

Oooh, what am I looking for there? Just had the starter off on Saturday to clean the bendix and had a look at the clutch thickness but didn't know you could check for movement on the shaft. Just pull it back and forth to see if it moves?
 
Cyrus said:
Oooh, what am I looking for there? Just had the starter off on Saturday to clean the bendix and had a look at the clutch thickness but didn't know you could check for movement on the shaft. Just pull it back and forth to see if it moves?
Click to expand...

Take a sharp pick to the perimeter on the clutch disk and move it up down. When you move the disk, the input shaft should move. In my case my disk will move less than 1/16" at the perimeter before the transmission input shaft moves which is good. If the play is 1/4" you've got real problems.

You can see the clutch hub and input shaft in the small gap at the front of the transmission as you look into the starter opening.

A guy who posts as happy wanderer posted a video on the bmwmoa site, Oilhead section.
 
Roger 04 RT said:
Take a sharp pick to the perimeter on the clutch disk and move it up down. When you move the disk, the input shaft should move. In my case my disk will move less than 1/16" at the perimeter before the transmission input shaft moves which is good. If the play is 1/4" you've got real problems.

You can see the clutch hub and input shaft in the small gap at the front of the transmission as you look into the starter opening.

A guy who posts as happy wanderer posted a video on the bmwmoa site, Oilhead section.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll check it out.
 
Tinytim said:
no problem Baggers old boy. I have spare parts from a Belle Cement Mixer that I think may be interchangeable !


Yes Dr Farkoff, the lever needed manual assistance. Thanks Timolgra. Ball joints split, cleaned and regreased as was the gear lever pivot bush and bolt. Fortunately a passing gynaecologist obliged me by refitting those "funny" ball joint tiny fiddly fekkin slippy spring clips for me thus stopping me from setting fire to the fekkin lot.

All now working as sweet as a nut, thanks all. :clap:thumb
Click to expand...

If you tread on one of those tiny fiddly fekkin slippy spring clips, its quite sore....:rolleyes:
 
At the risk of resurrecting a zombie thread, it looks as if my '04 1150GSA has been afflicted with this problem....
The symptoms are that after 10-15 minutes riding (ie enough to warm it all up) downshifting becomes a problem, first I tend to lose 2nd to 1st, then 3-2, then 4-5 and finally I cant get lower than 5th.... The lever appears to have 'lost' its return spring but a gentle lift of the level will sometimes - though not always - allow me to downshift.
I've split apart the external linkage ball-joints and regreased them; no change. I managed to shear the lower footrest hanger bolt when trying to take it off............I guess it hasnt been loosened in the past 15 years.....so that's going to have to be drilled out and replaced, but I checked the main pivot for the lever and it seems fine and certainly not sticking in such a static test.

So, it looks as it if I have an issue with gearbox input shaft/clutch splines?
Can anyone advise on the likely cause of this? Is it technique/bad habits, or just bad luck? Secondly, if anyone has guidance on the likely parts/labour cost to rectify, I might as well hear it early as when I go a dealer................. :(
 
Cheap fix to this ;) . When you are in gear and want to change "down" gently tap up (less than half way) and then tap down. This works very well. Mark in Platinum Bikes in Bray told me this and it was an instant solution. As far as I know its not major fix to get it done. I've had 9 1150's and had this fixed before.

Edit, it's not an expensive job to get sorted. Contact Mark in Platinum.
 
luke scott said:
Cheap fix to this ;) . When you are in gear and want to change "down" gently tap up (less than half way) and then tap down. This works very well.
Click to expand...

Luke, yeah, I figured this out as a work-around to get home, but having had an incident or two of approaching a roundabout and not being able to get out of fifth sort of concentrates the mind on getting a permanent solution !

I'll give Mark a call..............cheers,
 
Give the selector shaft a tap with the shaft of a hammer from the opposite side from the gear lever (cover off).

If the gear lever/shaft has taken a knock - the shaft collar could be binding and a bit of lateral movement in the opposite direction can cure (re-centralises it)
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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