How to make my '02 RT's RID display "6" instead of "E"??

[Bill Dennes]

This is a vanity question. I recently put a "Campaign Gearbox" in my RT, eliminating the wide gap between 5th and 6th. I'd like to remind myself of how clever I am by looking at the Rider Information Display displaying "6" instead of "E."

 

As I recall, there IS an R-model that displays "6" and I'm wondering what's different between it and my RT. If it's the switch on the back of the tranny I'd be more interested than if it needed a different RID.

 

Info?

[steve.foote]

Bill, it seems to me that the early '02 models had the E instead of 6. I am pretty sure it is the RID that is different.

[John]

A little black marker pen and join the 2 lower horizontals of the "E" on the RID will give you a "6"

 

Sorry Bill, the devil made me do it....

[KMG_365]

John, that's funny!

 

Yeah, Bill, I think that bug--I mean "feature" is in the software of the RID and you'd have to replace it to get the "6". The "E" didn't last the entire 2002 model year IIRC. You might try http://www.beemerboneyard.com for a lead on a used/salvaged one from a wrecked later model bike.

[KER]

my '02 RT-P displays "6" on the RID. not sure why your bike of the same year would show "E".

 

BTW, my '01 GS shows "E", I just figured they changed it for the '02+ models.

[Ken/OC]

The early '02 RTs displayed "E" on the RID, probably for "Economy." Late year runs displayed "6." The change happened at about the same time they reduced the rear brake pedal vigor.

[Paul Mihalka]

The R1100RT and the R1150RT have the same part number for the display, but a different p/n for the gear indicator switch at the gearbox. So I think the correction from "E" to "6" is in the switch and not the display.

Here is my gut feeling. If I remember well, I have seen "E" on R1100RT when the switch was going bad. May have indicated "Error" when the display did not recognize what the switch is saying. When BMW came out with the six speed R1150RT, they had a few R1100 switches left over, so 6th became "E" for Economy. Later they produced the correct switch and we got "6".

Replacing the switch is a pain you know where, as I think the gearbox has to come out.

Bill, you missed your opportunity when you had the box out.

[Bill Dennes]

The change from displaying "E" to displaying "6" seems to have been one of those in-production improvements. The part number for the switch (23 14 2 333 154) is the same for all RT1150s from ZE87343 (my vin) to 12/04. Similarly, the RID part number (62 13 7 667 923 AE) or (62 13 7 679 850) does not change either. BTW, does anybody know what the "AE" letters in the "AT" column of the ETK indicate?

 

Yet they behave differently between ZE87343 and 12/04. Aarrgghh! One of them has been "improved" and I'd bet that mortals such as ourselves will never know which one.

 

Maybe I'll write to the guys at BMW who found me the part number for the rear brake farkle.

 

Paul, the tranny would not have to come out to change the switch. The switch is on the back of the tranny and held in by clips. I'll be looking in there today as I play shock games, so I'll post an update about whether the swingarm might have to come off.

[Ken H.]

The switch on the tranny just grounds various pins to the RID. The change from "E" to "6" is indeed internal to the RID.

[bmwmick]

BTW, does anybody know what the "AE" letters in the "AT" column of the ETK indicate?

 

Bill,

The "AE" just means that the part directly BELOW the "AE" suffix part is the latest part number for that part.

 

HTH,

Mick

[BeniciaRT_GT]

Try a search under RID and clock.

 

I seem to remember, but can't find, someone here wanted to change thier clock to a 12 hour version and also figured out what wires to jump on the back of the RID to make it display a 6.

 

I wish I had saved it as a favorite, but it didn't interest me at the time.

 

I'm sure it is in the e-prom of the RID.

 

Good luck!

[BeniciaRT_GT]

ooops

 

I guess This page is what I remember.

 

No mention of how to make it a 6...

[Ken H.]

Yeah and that procedure to change the clock to 12-hour format only worked on some of the very earliest R1100xx RIDs to boot. The later R1100xx and all the R1150xx RIDs are forever in 24-hr. mode.

[Bill Dennes]

FWIW, the gear position switch can be removed from the back of the tranny with most things left in place. The rear wheel and muffler have to come off.

 

The tupperware and tank have to come off to get to the plug that connects the switch to the bike.

[OlGeezer]

This is a vanity question. I recently put a "Campaign Gearbox" in my RT, eliminating the wide gap between 5th and 6th. I'd like to remind myself of how clever I am by looking at the Rider Information Display displaying "6" instead of "E."

 

As I recall, there IS an R-model that displays "6" and I'm wondering what's different between it and my RT. If it's the switch on the back of the tranny I'd be more interested than if it needed a different RID.

 

Info?

 

Campaign Gearbox? Tell me more. About the only thing I don't like on my R1150 RT is the wide gap between 5th and 6th.

 

Thanks,

 

Bill

[Bill Dennes]

Campaign Gearbox? Tell me more. About the only thing I don't like on my R1150 RT is the wide gap between 5th and 6th.

 

Thanks,

 

Bill

 

Yeah, me too. I think that the overdrive high gear is gutless, especially with a load of wife and camping gear.

 

23 00 7 677 012, with a name like "Gearbox, deep tooth form, sixth gear short." Same price as the stock tranny, which I think is now $2,325. 20% less from Chicago BMW, where I got mine. Luckily for me, I got mine for $1,600 before Chicago BMW applied the latest round of price increases.

 

I found that I had wiped-out input shaft splines. 61k miles. It was rebuild or replace, and the sixteen hundred looked to me like less than twice the proce of a rebuild, including parts. So I indulged myself in the REAL six-speed. Darn it, the price rationale is harder to love now that the price is higher.

 

Wow! It pulls like crazy in sixth gear. I haven't been to the rev limiter in sixth yet, but... Of course the top end suffers (100 GPS mph is now 6,000 rpm). Do the cam chain tensioner upgrade that's being discussed now, and it'll make it a lot more tolerable to ride at higher revs.

 

[Rob L]

Holy Cow! There are 6 different trannys listed! What's the difference between Schwarz & Silber? It looks like some have a different 1st and 6th gear. I would like to know what the differences are in each tranny?

(sorry about the hijack, but this peeked my interest)

[Paul Mihalka]

I'm quite sure that you have a higher actual top speed with the short sixth gear than with the long one. The long sixth is so long that it will never get close to red line RPM. The bike may have a higher top speed in fifth than in the long sixth.

 

PS Schwarz is Black and Silber is Silver...

[Bill Dennes]

Schwarz (black) and Silber (silver) are case colors. I got mine in Schwarz to match the box it replaced on my '02 RT.

 

I was also puzzled by the "short first gear" option, which does not show on Max's fiche now but did in July '05. The name speaks for itself, but why have a lower first gear? Maybe that's the now-discontinued tranny mentioned next.

 

I also see that they have N/A'd a box with yet another part number and called THAT one "six-speed sports transm, 6th gear short." Wow.

 

The true six-speed in Schwartz is 23 00 7 677 012. That's the number on my receipt from Chicago BMW. The same box in Silber is 23 00 7 677 011. I see that Max BMW's "fiche" now calls this gearbox a "6-speed transm/deep tooth form, not 6th." This is a slightly different name ("... 6th gear short") than before. My true six-speed gearbox has a serial number that ends with the letters JBK while the stock box ends with GAG.

 

I used the term "Campaign Gearbox" because that was printed on a return label that was packaged with the gearbox when it came. ??

 

The friendly folks at Max BMW were the ones that guided me through finding the correct part number when I was doing the research.

[peterbulgar]

"I found that I had wiped-out input shaft splines. 61k miles"

 

Although my '04 R1150RA does not have an RID, I've followed this discussion with interest for two reasons:

1) I like the idea of a short first gear. I didn't know that was an option on some transmissions. The tall first gear on my R is an annoyance.

2) No one has expressed sympathy, incredulity, amazement, or shock that your transmission failed with only 61K miles. Can I assume from this lack of reaction that the consensus is that this is now an acceptable lifespan for a transmission? I realize that a very few unlucky people have had their transmissions (and rear drives) fail at far fewer miles, but the conventional wisdom is that these are rare and isolated incidences. So, unless there were mitigating circumstances (do you weigh 300+ pounds and haul a trailer?), let me say that I'm sorry you had such premature failure for a part that should last far longer than it did.

peter ''73 R75/5, '04 R1150RA

[Rob L]

"I found that I had wiped-out input shaft splines. 61k miles"

 

Although my '04 R1150RA does not have an RID, I've followed this discussion with interest for two reasons:

1) I like the idea of a short first gear. I didn't know that was an option on some transmissions. The tall first gear on my R is an annoyance.

2) No one has expressed sympathy, incredulity, amazement, or shock that your transmission failed with only 61K miles. Can I assume from this lack of reaction that the consensus is that this is now an acceptable lifespan for a transmission? I realize that a very few unlucky people have had their transmissions (and rear drives) fail at far fewer miles, but the conventional wisdom is that these are rare and isolated incidences. So, unless there were mitigating circumstances (do you weigh 300+ pounds and haul a trailer?), let me say that I'm sorry you had such premature failure for a part that should last far longer than it did.

peter ''73 R75/5, '04 R1150RA

You should realize that if a part fails and shows up on the internet, it may be a very small percentage of failures, but it gets lots of attention! The machines that soldier on without any problems will likely not get any recognition. You really can't pick a mileage when parts will fail based on a few that you read about on the internet, however, if ti happens to YOUR bike, then it becomes a whole different story

Many members here have had no significant failure over the years, myself included. My 98 RT had 80,000 miles when I traded it in with only an ignition failure which I repaired by troubleshooting with this board as support. My current ride, a 2004 RT, has 37,000 miles and no problems (other than my dropping her in a cold rainstorm 2 months ago) I expect to ride this bike another 2 years. I HAVE recently upgraded the shocks to Ohlins, and if the weather gets above freezing I will try them out

My questions about the different trannys are to satisfy my curiousity, I have no intention of replacing the tranny (although I wish that BMW had installed the non-overdrive trans. at the factory)

[peterbulgar]

Rob,

Thanks for the reassuring words. I'll stop saving for a new Dyna Super Glide. (Just kidding - although I have to admit that I spent a fair amount of time sitting on the Glide at the recent motorcycle show in San Jose.)

 

The number of driveline failures that have been reported on this list is numerically small, but given the fact that not every R owner reads or posts to this forum, and given BMW's miniscule share of the US market, even that small number is disturbing. What adds to the unease is BMW's complete silence on the cause of the failures. Various theories have been presented, but there is no definitive answer, such as, "We received a batch of input shafts that were improperly heat treated. We've modified our inspection procedures and changed suppliers." Instead we are left with the (probably reasonable) recommendaion to trust in the good odds that we won't have a problem. Of course very public failures like the one that happened to Jim Owen in this year's Iron Butt Rally just make it more difficult to maintain confidence.

 

Overall, I'm satisfied with the gear ratios in my 6-speed. If I wanted to be picky I'd ask for a shorter first gear, and a taller fifth to narrow the spread between 6th and 5th and make 5th more of a lower speed cruising gear and less of an intermediate gear. But, overall it's a decent compromise.

 

peter '73 R75/5 (out of warranty), '04 R1150RA (went for the extended warranty)