Hard shift, 2nd to 1st

[daveel]

99 with 30,000 on it, tranny repalced under warranty at 6,000 by P.O. I've had it for the last 23,000. It's developed an intermittent hard shift from second to first, I have to apply more pressure than other shifts. Usually will shift hard 2-3 times on a ride, goes into gear with a positive feel. No clutch slippage and other than an occasional false neutral between 5th and 6th (rider error in my mind) it shifts great. I drained gear box an put in BMW synth. didn't help. There was metal shavings on the plug, not extreme for a 24,000 mile tranny. I talked to the dealer expecting to hear spline lube or clutch, he said it may just be the shifter linkage being out of adjustment. That was music to my ears, but I'm doubtful. Any advice?
Thanks

[R111S]

The dreaded "hard downshift" is a precurser to Clutch Spline failure is what I've read...do a search.

[signit98]

I had that as well as unwillingness to shift into first when cold... I adjusted the linkage and now its all good again!

[daveel]

Did you shorten or lengthen the throw?

[signit98]

...I played around with it until it worked.... don't know which direction I ended up going, sorry.

[RoLoo]

2000 R1100S -
2001 Sportster 1200S -
2002 748

1992 Volvo 740 (268000 miles!!!)
1998 Toyota Tacoma (97000 miles)
1999 BMW 323 Ci (77000 miles)

Specialized Hard Rock
Mattel Scooter
Several Skateboards
Old Style Roller Skates

Cabrinha 16m Kite
19 surfboards
8 Fishing Rods

14' Inflatable RIB with 35 HP Mercury
SeaDoo 575 2 Seater JetSki

3 RC Cars/Trucks (1 with a 0.40 CI 4-stroke)


...and how many wives, shoes, creditcards, etc.etc. ...
...sorry...

[signit98]

...one ex-wife, one girl friend.... 8 pairs of shoes, 2 company credit cards (paid off every months) and then some, Ron...

Why are you making fun off me - my feelings are hurt - I am just trying to emulate what everyone else seems to be doing!?



As for the "there are no cliffs in Holland" statement... are you sure, Ron? Have they all been flattened out?

[RoLoo]

...huh... ; have you ever seen a cliff over here...???
...I haven't...

...but here's my list... :

...one ex-wife...
...one ex-girlfriend...
...one new wife...
...together 5 kids...
...2 bikes...
...3 cars...
...7 bicycles...
...1 cat...
...1 creditcard...
...1 company-fuel-creditcard...
...and a handfull old 12" records...(like Donna Summer's Patrick Cowley, I Feel Love remix ; love it !)

...what a life...

[signit98]

HA! I KNEW IT! I forgot the kids... 3 of them, 2 girls 19 & 21 and one boy 12!

[RoLoo]

...user cp...
...edit profile...

...and there you can add your kids...

[Flatbutt1]

daveel, dunno about altering the throw impacting the downshift but the intermittent hard shift from 2 to 1 is classic and well documented as more than likely spline wear. My '99 was doing that and had 28K on it when we looked at it and the splines were worn more than half way thru.

[daveel]

Sorta what I figured..... My other hope was that it was "just" the clutch. Mind me asking what the repair ran you. I love the bike and am not the sort of person that could unload it on another rider knowing this, but just the clutch was ball parked by the dealer at $1000. Something like this is beyond my mechanical skills, so my only choice is to pay the man.

[JonyRR]

can you pull the starter?
if you can do this yoruself, you can look in there as you actuate the clutch. you MIGHT be able to see if you ahve spline wear; this is almost always caused by a lack of lubrication combined with a less-than-ideal heat-treat of the shaft itself.
doth sucketh mightily, though....

[Steve Carlton]

There's also the theory that some bikes don't have perfect alignment between engine and transmission.

[motoyoyo]

Originally posted by signit98
HA! I KNEW IT! I forgot the kids... 3 of them, 2 girls 19 & 21 and one boy 12!

Geez signit, you need to hook up with the Triplecrown guys that are in your neighborhood right now. Show up in my place since I couldn't be there this time.

Oh, and back to the thread, try oiling the two shift linkage joint felts and see if the shifting improves.

[signit98]

...actually, Scott... I could not make the happening today... to much work and then I just finished putting the 5.5" rear with a brand new PP on the bike...
But, I'll gladly appear in your place tomorrow... I'll ride for as long as I can, hope my knee lets me roll all the way... icing it right now

[signit98]

...and, btw.. my "neigborhood" is about 35 miles away... from what I understand, Brad lives in Oceanside and I live in Pacific Beach...

[motoyoyo]

Hey man, show up, you won't regret it. Find out what the Pelican group is all about. If you need credentials to crash the party just say the dumbass motoyoyo sent you as his "authoritay"

[signit98]

LOL... I probably would - never needed credentials to crash a party - but I do not know where they are and/or where Brad lives... I'll meet them tomorrow and - yes - I am looking forward to it!

[daveel]

Originally posted by JonyRR
can you pull the starter?
if you can do this yoruself, you can look in there as you actuate the clutch. you MIGHT be able to see if you ahve spline wear; this is almost always caused by a lack of lubrication combined with a less-than-ideal heat-treat of the shaft itself.
doth sucketh mightily, though....

I had thought about doing this. Also saw the thread where someone made a syringe and shot some lube in. Haven't heard how successful that was in the long term. I'm very comfortable tearing into my klr and zrx, but having looked at the thread on spline lubbing gives me chills! I only have a single car garage that is less than ideal for bigger projects. This being my first BMW, first fuel injection, etc, the learning curve has been a bit steep. I would have thought that lack of lube wouldn't be an issue since the tranny was out at 6000 miles. Leaning more toward shaft wear, but I don't understand why it wouldn't hang up in all gears.