star57 Posted December 7, 2005 Share Posted December 7, 2005 I have an 94 RT, just got at end of season only 600 miles in my hands, have ridden a lot of bikes since age of 12. The problem is I cant shift smmoth from 1st to 2nd and 3rd. whats up with that, love the bike but this bugs me I shift my Harley smoother than a Baby's burp. What Im I doing WRONG FF Link to comment
lithoman Posted December 7, 2005 Share Posted December 7, 2005 I had the same problem with my 02 when I first picked her up. The helical cut 6 gear transmission is a completely different design that what you are used to. It's design is a close ratio short throw shift. In other words I believe your trying to hard to force the shift rather that let it shift for you. It's the same reason that you have to pull the clutch in a bit to drop into 1st gear. With a bit of practice you will be shifting like butter again. hope this helps Link to comment
BigArn Posted December 7, 2005 Share Posted December 7, 2005 You need to preload the shifter lever before pulling in the clutch. This will allow nice smooth shifts. It take a little to get use to it, but it will become habit. Link to comment
BFish Posted December 7, 2005 Share Posted December 7, 2005 do a search on shifting...the preload has been discussed on numerous occassions. Link to comment
Jerry Duke Posted December 7, 2005 Share Posted December 7, 2005 Preloading the shifter is the trick. Also, going to a synthetic gear oil will help. When I had the BMW heavy weight gear oil, 140 wt., I had shifting problems. I changed to Mobile 1 synthetic 75w90 and it would shift as smooth as any bike I've riden. Link to comment
Edgar Posted December 7, 2005 Share Posted December 7, 2005 Make sure that the clutch is adjusted per the manufacturer specs. If has the correct amount of play, then you might want to consider lubricating the splines. It is a time consuming procedure, and as such, is often overlooked or not done. Many people complete the procedure and comment on how nice the bike shifts afterwards. Link to comment
scottie_boy Posted December 7, 2005 Share Posted December 7, 2005 Try revving the motor up to or above the 5k range. The gears mesh better. If you try short shifting a Beemer like your Harley then the tranny does get balky. This bike will never shift like a Honda but the upside is that the transmissions generally last forever. Link to comment
tomk99r11 Posted December 7, 2005 Share Posted December 7, 2005 Preload is usually the key, and synthetic may help too. I personally did not like synthetic oil and went back to regular gear oil. Something else to look at is the shift lever linkage. May be loose which makes shifting difficult. I do agree too that practice will make it better on that bike, but don't expect the characteristic "clunkety clunk clunk" to go away completele. Link to comment
AZBaldur Posted December 7, 2005 Share Posted December 7, 2005 Synthetic tranny oil, shifter preloading, and half-clutching will solve that. Link to comment
eakins Posted December 7, 2005 Share Posted December 7, 2005 wait everyone. so you have a 1994 rt? that's an airhead correct? as the oilhead rt didn't appear till 96. everyone is commenting on the oilhead 5 speed (getrag) whereas you have an airhead 5-speed. you might post your question on a airhead board. Link to comment
star57 Posted December 8, 2005 Author Share Posted December 8, 2005 My apologies to the readers...its an 04, too much beer last night. its only got 3K miles simply a virgin Link to comment
4rugby Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 Hi I have a 2002 r1150rt my first bmw bought about 2 months ago could you explain preloading the shifter to us . Thank you Dane Link to comment
fatbob Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 Dane: When up-shifting, you put a little pressure up on your shifter before you de-clutch and complete a shift. It works well, try it, you'll like it! Bob Link to comment
scottd Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 Another thing that helps is to only back the throttle off just a bit when shifting. You don't want the rpms to drop much. This is why its easier to shift smoothly at 5k or above than below. Link to comment
Dan M Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 Frank, like everybody has said, preload the shifter and fan the clutch. As things wear in the shifting will become smoother as well. My RT's shifting keeps getting better with mileage. Link to comment
eakins Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 in that case put redline shockproof heavy synthetic in the tranny. has done wonders for many bikes around here. Link to comment
4rugby Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 preloading works grrrrrrrrreat thank you Link to comment
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