'96 RT transmission trouble - End of the road?

[dresserd]

My '96 RT with 105k miles on it "jumps" when I accelerate hard in 2nd or 3rd. In other words, somewhere in the drivetrain, it lets go momentarily and then hooks up again. My dealer said I need a new transmission.

I definitely don't need a NEW transmission. It's over 3 grand just for the part.

Rebuilding the transmission is an option, but with over 100k on it, is it worth rebuilding, or should I be looking for a replacement/rebuilt one? If so, where am I likely to find one.

It all comes down to cost/benefit at this point. The engine is good, but I don't want to dump a ton of money in the transmission to turn around and have the final drive fail, etc.

It has treated me well, but at what point should I say enough's enough and move on?

Also, what does someone do with a motorcycle that is at end of life? I'm not even sure the dealer would take it on a trade at this point.

[Brettendress]

Bob's BMW rebuilt my neighbors for $2,000.00 three sounds high. Or sell the bike as is, letting the new person know the problem. I'm sure someone out there with the knowledge to do it themselves would jump on that. His went because he used the bike for a lot of Bicycle races during Tour De Toona for years but the bike with same type of mileage is still valuable.

[dbrick]

I had the same issue at 11K miles, and many others reported this failure mode at varying mileages. There's no agreement on the cause, but the remedy is rebuild or replace. Mine was replaced, and the bike just turned 100K. I still grin when the garage door goes up.

Beemer Boneyard would be a source for a used gearbox, but buying used, as you observe, might subject you to the same problem again. If you can R&R the gearbox, it'd be easy enough to pack and UPS to someone who knows what they're doing. I'd suggest talking to Ted Porter at http://www.beemershop.com in Scotts Valley CA or Tom Cutter at http://rubberchickenracinggarage.com in Pennsylvania.

[guitardad]

Here's the best description of the "classic" R1100 transmission issues I know: Anton Largiader's site (http://www.largiader.com/tech/oiltrans/). I had the same problem with the M93 transmission in my RS. Anton wasn't rebuilding them at the time, so I had Tom Cutter do mine. Cost was about $1100 4 years ago. That was at 40k miles - I'm at 95k now, and the trans shifts like butter. Whether the bike is worth putting $1000-$1500 into is a question only you can decide.

[RTNewbie]

You have to rebuild the tranny. Mine did the same thing at about 80K and it needed a new shift fork and some machine work on the gears and gear dogs. I took it out of the bike and shipped it to Anton L. who fixed er up for $1100. Could cost more for yours or possibly less. Check out his website.

That bike has lots of life left in it and should be repaired IN MY OPINION.

[jingdog]

The PO of my R11GS got a rebuilt replacement unit from BMW installed at 66k miles. Cost him $3000 total installed. The bike has 108k on it now and the trans is still good. (very clunky shifting though if you dont baby it) Went to Prudhoe Bay this summer. The Hall sensors went intermittent and caused some drama but otherwise the bike ran well. The final drive is origional and has never leaked oil! What do you think of that!
The major saving grace of these bikes is: someone will buy it from you for a fairly good price. So a trans rebuild makes sense. If you get sick of it someone else will step up. Maybe the other saving grace is they have accessory sockets, heated grips, bags, stuff like that and can be ridden comfortably for long distances. Otherwise the engines are wimpy and prone to give all kinds of exquisite trouble. The engine/transclutch slave leak oil all over the clutch and its $$$$ to split the bike apart and fix it. Ditto the trans if it grenades which you get to read a lot of posts like yours about. Then theres the FD problem! With that gas tank way up in the air they are top heavy too.
But rebuild it because 1) you might like riding it still and 2) you can always sell it to someone else.