new member intro and question...
 

hi all, i just found this forum and have spent the last few days lurking through past posts. i've been looking for a forum dedicated to the R11S and i'm very glad to have finally found what i was looking for. after looking through the old posts, it seems like a pretty friendly crew here.

i have been getting better acquainted with my recently acquired '99 R11S (nonABS) while exploring some of the bay area's backroads with a few of my buddies who have been riding a lot longer than me. i'm in the (far) east bay (near brentwood) and enjoy riding the ridges and canyons of the bay's surrounding hills. we were supposed to ride mines rd, behind mt. hamilton, on our way to the IMS in san jose last sunday, but got rained out; so we had to drive down in a cage instead. a good opportunity to see a lot of merchandise at one time, but have to agree with previous posts, no freebies or deals to be had.

i have to say, i'm very happy with my R11S though. after a couple months, i still find myself standing in my garage just staring at her, thinking how nice it looks. i was all set to get a mandarin yellow, had my heart set on it in fact, but after one look at the dignified mystique of my black R11S, i was in love. i'm still trying to get used to the amount of admiring stares, nods of approval, and unsolicited praise this bike gets from total strangers.

so, i have found one little quirk that perhaps someone here can explain to me. about half the time, when i start my bike, i'll tap pull in the clutch, grab the brake and then tap the shifter down to put her in first and the neutral light goes out, but first gear won't engage, no matter how much i downshift. the only solution i've found is to upshift a gear or two, ease the clutch out to where i feel it start to engage, then downshift back to first again. my buddy has an '04 boxer cup replika and says it happens to him sometimes too.

my question is, is this normal? is it some kind of safety feature (not explained in the manual), am i doing something wrong?, or is it something i should have my local bmw shop look into? any advice is appreciated.

thanks,
danO

Welcome danO,

Sounds completely normal. It has to do with the design of the gearbox.

BTW, you shouldn't need go to through the upshift rigamrole. Just keep steady boot pressure down on the shift lever as you slowly let out the clutch and it should drop down into 1st. Just one of the quirks of this quirky, but wonderful, machine.

I didn't get your experience level, but if this is your first big streetbike or your first sportbike, or your first foray into the wonderful roads surrounding the bay area, take it easy and work up to speed. Hamilton, for example, is one of the most technical roads on the planet, and if you're chasing more experience buds, it is extremely easy to get drawn into doing things you're not ready for.

Sorry for the lecture, ride safe,

- Mark

Hi danO. Welcome to the bestest forum on the web.

What markjenn said. It's completely normal. For lack of a better explanation, when the clutch is held in sometime the dogs on the gears don't lineup with the slots they'e supposed to engage.
Just letting the clutch lever out a little gets things in the transmission moving and the dogs will engage their slots.

By the way, I'm on my second R1100S and after six years of ownership and approx. 75,000 miles, I still find myself in the garage just looking at the bike and smiling.

Best of luck with yours, and Merry Christmas.

Welcome, and ditto all markjenn's input.

Good choice too: Black 99 nonABS
:)

I had a BMW dealer (Pete at Pete's Cycle in Marlboro, NH) tell me 20 years ago that you have to pull the clutch in and simultaneously dab it into first, especially when the bike is cold and the 90-wt still very thick. I've always found BMWs to act that way. . . if you pause at all when you pull the clutch in, forget it.

Welcome. Enjoy your bike. Its amaizing how many people stop me to complement me on it. Just this morning I road in and a guy with a dirt bike in the back of his pickup kept asking questions about the bike at every light we stopped at.

The transmission thing is standard operating procedure on most BMWs. Its one of the little quirks that we all learn to love. Trust me there are many more. Overall, I would do it all over again if I had to. Wait.... I did!

Hi DanO, welcome aboard!
SmileWavy

Welcome, DanO!

Tell us more about your bike, what upgrades you might be thinking of, etc..

Book'em...er, welcome DanO...some great oads in your area, I had the pleasure of taking in some of them with my tour guide Steve Carlton (above, spinning frog dude) this fall...you should hook up with him...well, maybe not...

what a whore I am...
 

Anything I can do to help...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1135354662.jpg

...hint hint...

Maybe not for a little while. Planning a ride right now to NH. Just kidding, but we've got a new lady in the house. So, suck in your guts and let's welcome ducatigirl!

Welcome DanO et Ducatigirl,
as has been previously mentioned, the 1st gear biznitch is perfectly normal; they all do that... DanOyou've got some great roads out there and an excellent bike to ride them on! be sure to visit our show your scoot thread and post a few pics!
cheers,
Lance

Lady? Would that be me? Hah! Okay, I'll try to post a pic this evening from this summer's trip up to Cape Breton. . . of me and my *partner*, of course.

Eeek! She's one of *those*. . .

In the meantime, there's a pic of me in the classifieds- Mr. Dog's Xmas barback deal thread- of me with my Ducati M620D a few years back. If ya just can't wait. . .

'Eeek! She's one of *those*. . .'

WE don't care, do we fellow boarders, as long as you're a rider.
There are only two types of people in this world; riders and non-riders. Non-riders are 'them'.....and then there's 'us'. :)

I don't care. In fact, it's kinda hot. One more interest we have in common...

umm... what exactly are *those* anyway? anything like one of "them"?
anyhoo, ducatigirl, you seem like our kind of peeps. that's all that matters on this end.
Cheers,
Lance

...awright dudes...leave it alone ya buncha periwinkles...

What's a periwinkle? I'm not one of *them*, am I?...

'sokay, we're cool.