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R1200RT, New Boots, shifting problem!

jstrube

John.
OK, This is an equipment interface problem. With some operator error...

I ride an RT. It had a peg lowering kit on it that moves the pegs down & forward. Well, I purchased a pair of Combat Touring Light boots & first time out, could not upshift more than one gear. The boot is so much thicker than my old Tourmaster boots that I could not pivot my foot down enough to reset for that next gear.

After riding a few times, I figured out how to use the seam to shift, but that is just a crutch. I want to shift normally!

I took the lowering kit off & the problem got worse, I could not shift at all... THat was fun... :nono

So, I am going to put the lowering kit back on. What can I do to be able to shift this bike properly again? I would also like to be able to wear my thin boots, but will ride the CTL's most of the time.

I do not have an extended shift lever, would that be the best place to start? Or, are they a waste & I should just adjust the lever up. How much should I move it?

Thanks!
 
Extended shifter is an option - http://www.suburban-machinery.com/R1200RT.htm Check the bottom of the page.

Have you tried adjusting it? Most are re-adjusted after installing the peg lowering kit along with the brake pedal but watch your cornering clearance on the shifter. This requires a reverse-torx to loosen the clamping screw - easy to adjust though. Just go one spline tooth at a time to see how it changes the shifting.
 
I have/had the same exact problem, I just bought a new to me R1200RT and said heck I should get some nice safe real MC boots to ride with. I ended up using the boot seam as well to upshift. I starting looking at this and after I pulled the peg mounting plate, to try to adjust the linkage up a little for more toe clearance, I believe the shifter was moved considerably lower than normal, as there sems to be a factory mark on the shaft that could align with the split in the shifter clamp hub. I moved it here, pulling the shifter off the spline, and putting on back again,which raised shifter about an inch +1/2 or more. This has given me extra room to put my boot under, although it's a little loose for reg shoes. My plan is to cut the shifter and add 1/2-3/4 inch rewelding it (much like suburban does but a lot cheaper)as it seems to be just plain steel & painted, and adjust the linkage down a little to make a perfect fit for both. There is an adjustable one from touratech at A&S BMW for $61.80. Hope this helps
 
Maybe time is the answer?

I ride a 12GS, and I don't know if there are any differences between its shifter and the12RT. I know that my shifter is stock: no lowering or adjustments.

Anway, I bought Combat Touring Lights last summer and experienced a few days of miss-shifts and apparent clumsiness. But, for me, it was just a matter of getting used to the boot. Its certainly harder to fit the toe of the Combat Touring Lights under the shifter than it was with my previous boot, the Oxtar Matrix, and I have to move my ankle and lower leg a bit to do get my toe in position, but after a week and a few hundred miles it wasn't a problem. Now, after seven months and over 10,000 miles, its second nature. I never think about it.
 
Yeah, Grant, I've run about 600 miles with it & it is just too tight. I think I'll try raising it & definitely check out that Touratech one. I might cut & weld it up to where I want it after my track class (I'm putting everything back to how I was riding before class & wearing the old boots). I don't know if the one from Suburban Machinery is what I'm after, as they move it down more! I don't need dowen, I need up!:clap
 
On the RTs there is an adjustable linkage inside between the frame and transmission. The keepers for the round joints are a bit-- to line up when you put it back together though. It has left and right hand thread and you can raise and lower the toe shifter that way.
 
John,

Looks like two challenges here: stiffer boots and the change in boot/shift tab geometry because the stiffer books are thicker in cross-section.

I had a similar issue on the R12R. I installed the Suburban Machinery peg lowering kit, which dropped the rider's left footpeg and moved it out and back a bit, but didn't change the shift lever. That made shifting hard for me, because the footpeg-to-shift tab distance was larger (tough to shift with the tab on my toes), effectively further towards the bike's centerline (more ankle twist required), and now too high - and I couldn't rotate the shift lever CCW on its spline because it'd foul the folded sidestand.

I wanted the tab further out, further back, and lower. The Touratech adjustable GS shift lever fits on the same splined shaft, and comes in two pieces so it's adjustable for length. I assembled it with a spacer between the two pieces (so the tab end would move outward a bit to match the moved footpeg), and mounted the new lever with the spline end horizontal (so it wouldn't foul the sidestand) and the tab end angled down (so the shift tab would be lower where I wanted it). Voila!
 
Hurt my Foot Shifting

I can see this is pretty old news by now. I just picked up a new to me 2009 RT with only 1800 miles on it. I should have not, but I could so I did and I am happy to say, I am back in Beemer world. I think this is my number 8 and number 3 RT,
but I neve had any problem with the shifter. I can not get my toe under it. It is definitely too short, but rode it anyway almost 1k already. I have been using the side of the boot. Yesterday after 200 miles my foot was so sore I could not walk on it. A little wine and elevation took care of that for awhile. This morning 3 Motrin and ice. But I need to fix this quickly the first time. Since this is very old news to all you 2014 guys. Please help me. I plan to keep this baby for a long time.
Thank you
Peter
 
Peter,

Anything's possible. This thread in another forum describes how I modified the shift lever on my '07 R1200R; the shift tab ended up lower, farther back, and a bit farther from the bike's centerline. Shifting is effortless.
 
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New Boots helped, but the shifter really sucks

Peter,

Anything's possible. This thread in another forum describes how I modified the shift lever on my '07 R1200R; the shift tab ended up lower, farther forward, and a bit farther from the bike's centerline. Shifting is effortless.

This is one remarkable story and photos. I do not have the patience or skill to do what you showed and described. Yesterday I bought a really nice pair of Sedici boots with a much stiffer toe. I rode my Triumph Tiger 800 first and they worked great and I had a great day. I got back on the big RT and still could not shift normally. I ordered the lowering kit and extension from Suburban and sure hope that solves problem. Right now I am just angry at BMW for designing such a stupid setup. I just traded my Concours 1400 and that shifter was like it should be, smooth and effortless. I have have about 8 Beemers and don't understand why this one seems so different. (Still taking 3 Motrin. Maybe I have a broker foot. Might have to go get and Xray.))
Thanks for the help on a really old subject. Congratulations on being such a fine mechanic and wonderful fix.
Peter
 
New Lowered Pegs and longer shifter

Wow,
The new lowered pegs and shifter from Suburban Machinry worked magic. I am very happy now. Amazing what 1 inch lower and 1 inch longer will do, as most women know.
Thanks for all the suggestions. Weird , but my hurt foot turned out to be a gout attack. Compliacated story.
Thank you all
Peter
 
Last winter, during the annual downtime, I decided that I just had to install a set of aftermarket footpegs on my 09 R1200GS. They are wider than the original pegs, high quality from a well known supplier, and convertible to a mx type by removing the rubber pad. I use them on my 09 KLR 650 with great results.

This spring, during my first couple of rides, I felt a problem developing with my transmission shifting from second to third. It became difficult to shift into third; sometimes, not shifting at all. I tried re-indexing the shift lever with negative results.

I decided to go back to when the issue surfaced, and re-installed the OEM pegs, since the year before, the bike ran flawlessly, and the footpegs were the only modification I had made to the drive train.

The issue has disappeared and I am once again loving my GS. Not every modification works for every person. I now have a nice set of footpegs to look at on my workbench.
 
I'm sure the ergonomics of the bike have a bearing on the shiftability, but I know for a fact that switching boots can make a formerly effortless to shift bike a new-found pill to deal with.

So while I can't speak for any other motorcycle specific boot, as the weary owner of a pair of finally -- after three riding seasons, and God only knows how many days of wearing them to work and to cut grass in them pair of Aerostich Combat Touring Boots (not the lites), I can tell you that eventually they will break in and it gets better.

Incrementally...

As I understand it, the lites are different only in the height, not the thickness. So best of luck with the break-in period.
 
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