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Gearbox Issues

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5K views 19 replies 15 participants last post by  gingerb 
#1 ·
Hello,

Thought I might try tapping into the collective wisdom to see if anyone else is experiencing the following gearbox issues with the F800R. Note that this only happens very occasionally - so fully prepared to accept that the following may be caused by "operator error" i.e. me.
- Getting a "false" neutral between 5 and 6 gear
- Falling out of gear when in first (i.e. just drops in neutral by itself)
- Struggling to transition from 3 to 4 gear (noting this is only whilst max out on full throttle).

Any thoughts / pearls of wisdom most welcome.
 
#3 ·
The F800R engine/transmission is about the same as for the F800GT, isn't it? Transmission of my GT is very smooth, never experienced troubles as you described. Sometimes shifting down from 2 to 1 can be a bit problematic, but not something I worry about.
 
#4 ·
With the F800S I usually used to upshift and often also to downshift without pulling the clutch, the gear box was very smooth and I never had problems.
 
#6 ·
Hello,

Thought I might try tapping into the collective wisdom to see if anyone else is experiencing the following gearbox issues with the F800R. Note that this only happens very occasionally - so fully prepared to accept that the following may be caused by "operator error" i.e. me.
- Getting a "false" neutral between 5 and 6 gear
- Falling out of gear when in first (i.e. just drops in neutral by itself)
- Struggling to transition from 3 to 4 gear (noting this is only whilst max out on full throttle).

Any thoughts / pearls of wisdom most welcome.
How many miles on your bike? My ST did some of these things (false neutral 5/6 especially) when it was new, but within about 1000 miles it calmed down and has been fine ever since.

One tip: when upshifting, preload the shifter with your toe before pulling the clutch lever. Just a little pressure seems to help a lot.

The only symptom of yours that would worry me a bit is popping out of first. Don't be shy about shifting into first with a good solid movement of your boot -- not stomping, but also not "easing" it into gear. If this one persists, it's warranty time.

-dan
 
#7 ·
Hello,

Thought I might try tapping into the collective wisdom to see if anyone else is experiencing the following gearbox issues with the F800R. Note that this only happens very occasionally - so fully prepared to accept that the following may be caused by "operator error" i.e. me.
- Getting a "false" neutral between 5 and 6 gear
- Falling out of gear when in first (i.e. just drops in neutral by itself)
- Struggling to transition from 3 to 4 gear (noting this is only whilst max out on full throttle).

Any thoughts / pearls of wisdom most welcome.
I occasionally get a false neutral between fifth and sixth gear but I think it's operator error. The gap between fifth and sixth just seems to me to a bit bigger than the gaps between the other gears so when I go to shift up to sixth if I don't consciously push it all the way up it sometimes drops back to fifth...
 
#8 ·
Thanks all for the pointers and advice. Ill try preloading the shifter to see if that helps. To be fair the gearbox is fine most of the time; its just the occasional hiccup now and again. The bike has about 2000 miles on it, so still quite new, and well within warranty. If it gets any worse Ill ping another post on the forum.

Thanks again.
 
#10 ·
I normally wear the BMW urban boots - they are fairly lightweight so I can feel through them quite well. I have found that if I position the shifter closer towards the centre of my foot (rather than the tip) I tend to get a better response. I'm still relatively new to biking, so with experience things will probably improve.
 
#11 ·
My St was horrible until I got heavy boots and it got run-in took about a year and I came from a K100RT.

It's been said many times BMW use second hand tractor gearboxes, but on the plus side you could go million miles until they fail.

My GT (which is the same as the R) was perfect (in a BMW way -which is nothing like a Japanese way) , but I've had two false neutrals in nearly a year, so infrequent I can count them.

One thing to check is the lever has been setup correctly and is not catching on the casing or is sloppy in anyway. Check everything is tight as any slack will make an already clunky box even worse (I think somebody found the lever was slack on their new bike a few years back - so worth a check).

Then it's "operator error" :)
 
#12 ·
hello, i got a G650gs from dealer as "demo" (2016 with 1100 miles), when i got it i can't engage first gear or neutral, it was very difficult, representative personel said the same thing: "it maybe your boots" (i was gearing a Harley Davidson boots) i got all the f*** day having issues with first/second gear and neutral, after i take back the GS i test another from a friend (2012 with 15000 miles) and had no issues, same boots, same bike, after that dealer said to me it was an issue because it was a "demo" motorcycle, and it is wear as sh*t. I think it had a bad gear box. Now i'm thinking in acquire a F800r, i test 2 of it and rides like a silk, very smooth, i love it. Try 2, one 2014 with 6000 miles and one 2012 with 3300 miles, love both of it, now i want to test new version, i read a lot and find that gears are different, -2014 1st gear is very long (till 60mph) and 2015+ 1st is (very short) up to 20? it's that real? thanks in advance.
 
#13 ·
I have to wonder whether a simple clutch adjustment would have fixed the 650 GS.

-dan
 
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#14 ·
shiftting to N. 2018 f800R

Hello,

Thought I might try tapping into the collective wisdom to see if anyone else is experiencing the following gearbox issues with the F800R. Note that this only happens very occasionally - so fully prepared to accept that the following may be caused by "operator error" i.e. me.
- Getting a "false" neutral between 5 and 6 gear
- Falling out of gear when in first (i.e. just drops in neutral by itself)
- Struggling to transition from 3 to 4 gear (noting this is only whilst max out on full throttle).

Any thoughts / pearls of wisdom most welcome.
any idea why so diffficult to get back to Neutral. I can't do it with my foot !
 
#17 ·
Other than the 5/6 neutral my bike exhibits none of the problems you mention. In fact my ST probably has the best gear box of any bike that I have ever ridden. The 5/6 neutral is really annoying, but it is happening less now. I guess I have unknowingly modified my technique. The 1/2 shift is probably the least annoying of any of my previous bikes. I hope you find a solution.
 
#20 ·
Ive also had a couple of false neutrals between 5 and 6 - not a pleasent feeling!!! I have a 2 year old 800rs with around 4000 on the clock. My biggest problem is getting it in neutral. I have to do a bit of manovering to get it into my shed so am not releasing clutch fully and then can't get inti nuetral from 1st or 2nd.
 
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