mystery gear

[revtodd]

sometimes when I'm down shifting if I don't give a good positive push, the tranny goes to an unknown place and its like I'm in neutral, except the display is blank. Upshifting to the last gear I was in seems to be the only way out. any ideas?

freaked me out really good the first time it happened.

should mention 87 k75

[BeemerMike]

I don't mean to sound flippant, but the solution is to always give the shift lever a good positive push when downshifting (and upshifting for that matter), and keep a little pressure on the lever until you fully release the clutch lever and know that the transmission is in gear.

[roncooper]

Inability to down shift is a sign the clutch splines need to be lubed. Don't delay getting it done.

[bikerfish1100]

ron- what todd was describing was not an inability to downshift , but just finding false neutrals via imprecise (was going to say "wimpy", but decided i'd be more politically correct than that) shifting. be manly with your shifting, all will be good. the "inability to downshift" relating to clutch spline lubrication would be "attempt to downshift from 5 to 4, at road speeds, without using the clutch (just back off the throttle and snick). if shifts okay, then splines are pretty fine. if shifts reluctantly, then things are getting iffy.

[BeemerMike]

Inability to down shift is a sign the clutch splines need to be lubed. Don't delay getting it done.

Agreed, but first you need to make sure you are using the proper shifting technique for the BMW transmission before you take the driveline apart for what could be unnecessary lubing. If it still misses shifts even with the proper technique, then time to take a look at the splines.

1987 K75? He did not give the mileage, but if more than 40k and he has no record of previous spline lubing, then of course it is probably time (or past time). I would still test the shifting using the proper technique just to eliminate this as a potential cause. When you take the driveline apart for lubing, you want to deal with all the potential problems while you are in there.

[karlfitt]

I agree with Beemermike, but will also say...

I have heard BMW transmissions dewcribed as "Chock full of neutrals".
And also heard "BMW put a neutral between each gear".

You must be forcfull with your shifts on a BMW, no doubt about that.


On the dwon side, I just bought my latest BMW, a '96 R 1100RS with just under 40,000 miles ans it is showing some signs of a bent shift fork.:(

I hope it lasts this year so i can just have it rebuilt over next winter.

[mrich12000]

:type Welcome to your new K75 Mystery shift. My bike does that to and it is anoying but I live with it:bottle

[SugarHillCTD]

You mean kinda like when the computer screen goes blank?

Yeah, my K1100RS does that also. I have to keep reminding myself to avoid wimpy shifts.

Here's another gem from the K11OG:

http://www.k11og.org/tech/k11tech_shifting.shtml

Apparently "unidentified neutrals" are pretty common on some BMWs.

[virusk75]

My 1990 K75 does the same thing. Upshifting goes in a lot easier than if you try and get it to shift down. When I get the false neutral I pull in the clutch and quick but gently get it back in the next gear up. After a few time you find the sweet spot that doesn't grind or growl at you