Stiff shifting R1100R

[Sailingfool]

Greetings!

I'm trying to facilitate the sale of a '94 R1100R between a good friend's widow and my brother. The bike has 32,000 miles, and a good maintanence log. I don't see that there has been a spline lube performed.

The shifting seems stiff...much stiffer than on my '87 K100RS. Neutral is difficult to find. The clutch seems to disengadge free and easy. There's no real trouble with the shifting other than the neutral issue, it's just noticably stiffer than what I'm used to.

Thoughts?

[queretaro]

My guess is that the indicator light, or the switch, or the circuit is the issue. When you think you have selected neutral but the indicator light is dark, what happens when you slowly release the clutch?

I don't have trouble finding neutral, but can have difficulty finding 1st from neutral on my '95 R1100R while at a stop.

regards,
Mark

[Andy VH]

The early oilheads had very stiff shifting trannys. Spline lube is absolutely required to help this, as limited as that really helps it. Proper clutch cable adjustment is also critical. My 94 R1100RS got the 96 spec transmission as a warranty replacement and at about 40,000 miles on that tranny it shifted a good bit better. But the proper shifting skills also help:
1. Preload the shifter to take up slack in the tranny prior to the shift.
2. Use only maybe 1/3 of the clutch lever travel for each shift.
3. Make your shifts VERY positive, firm and QUICK. Older oilheads do NOT tolerate wimpy shifting action.
4. Spin that engine up to the 4,000 rpm + range when shifting. Shifting at lower engine speeds does not agree with the early oilhead trannies.
5. Synthetic tranny lube "seems" to help some.

But if the maintenance records do not indicate that the clutch splines have been cleaned and lubed, it would be one of the 1st things I'd correct if I bought the bike. Those splines will NOT last without lube. My RS has almost 140k on the original splines and they still look great.

[Sailingfool]

Thannks for the replys. I don't think it's an indicator light issue, it is just hard to find neutral.

Andy, just curious, why do you think Your RS needed a new transmission at 40kmi?

Finally, the dealer quoted 8 hrs at $80 per hour for the job. I know it's pretty involved because of every thing that has to come off, but how difficult is it? Something a reasonably competent shade tree guy could handle?

[Andy VH]

On my 94 RS it wasn't a matter of wondering IF I needed tranny work, I knew it.
My tranny problems started at about 40k when the clutch throwout rod welded itself to the thrust washer/bearing and screwed up my clutch actuation. BMW covered 80% of parts and labor on that round. I pulled the tranny myself and had Michsler's BMW in Beaver Dam do the internal tranny work. I installed the tranny myself.

Then, at about 68k, the tranny made a loud whine sound when coasting down from speed with the clutch engaged. So I pulled the tranny, again, and brought it to Michsler's BMW again. They confirmed I had internal bearing failures, and arranged with BMW to get me a brand new 96 spec tranny, 100% covered under EXTENDED warranty, as my warranty ran out two years earlier. I installed that tranny myself.

I should note I always used ONLY 75W90 synthetic tranny fluid of the right API grade, and right fluid level. Same as I do now, and the 96 spec tranny has over 55k on it with no problems.

I consider myself a pretty decent self taught mechanic, my RS has almost 140k all at my own hands for service. So yes, a fairly competent home mechanic can certainly do the work. A tranny pull/install takes me about eight hours.

[Troutluck]

I concur that proper cable/clutch adjustment is essential to optimal shifting on an oilhead. Often overlooked but easy to do.