1975 R90/6 - Need gearbox help in SF Bay area

[steve_herrick]

Ok here goes... Last summer I made may way up to SF during what's been a year-long cross country trip from Vermont (year long because I could only do it in phases due to work/budget challenges). As I started getting into the city, I noticed that shifting gears had become way more clunky than what I had become accustomed to. The bike had been running pretty much fine until then, but as I pulled into my friends driveway I found it next to impossible to shift gears without fear of seriously breaking something. Unfortunately, I had to fly back home to Vermont shortly after arrival to get back to work, and wasn't able to address the problem while I was out there.

Fast forward a few months and now I'm finally able to take some more time off of work to get out west and reunite with my bike toward the end of April. I intended on having the bike brought over to Bavarian Cycle Works in town this week for repair but I recently found out that they're going to be evicted from their space. I'm hoping someone on this forum can either point me in the direction of a reputable shop in the area that could diagnose the problem, or even better, if someone in the area would be willing to take a quick look at the bike and see if they can figure out what needs to get done to get her back on the road. Currently, the bike is in a friends garage in Outer Richmond, but none of my friends in the area know enough about BMW's, let alone motorcycles in general, to be of any assistance.

From what I could tell, I think it might be a busted gear box. It looks like getting a gear box repaired could cost upwards of $2k, but having one replaced would be a bit less expensive. I'm looking for the cheapest fix but honestly I'd do whatever it took to get this bike back on the road. I'd sell a kidney. I love the bike that much.

I've only been riding for 7 years (I'm 32) and have never really done any long trips prior to the cross country trek. But alas, I've absolutely fallen in love with the R90, motorcycle touring and the freedom and adventure it affords. My goal is to someday complete a RTW but in the meantime, I'd like to get the R90 down to Phoenix where my parents currently live so I can garage it down there.

I met a woman named Voni Glaves in Terlingua TX while on my trip West who told me all about how tight-knit the BMW community is and how the BMWMOA is a great place to get help when in a pinch, so I figured I'd take her advice and reach out. I'm not really sure what the best course of action is in a situation like this, since I live in Vermont and have no way of really diagnosing the problem on a bike on the opposite side of the country. This is my first post and I just joined the forum last week, so please take any ignorance with a grain of salt.

Thanks in advance if you've read through this and can provide any help at all.

Here are some pics of the bike with my touring setup:

 

[20774]

Steve -

Welcome to the forum! Hope we can do Voni proud! Are you comfortable with adjusting the clutch cable? It might just be out of adjustment. Here's a post that I put together from something that Tom Cutter had provided for adjust all Airhead clutch cables:

https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?39773-No-adjustment-left-in-Clutch-rod&p=499945#post499945

As for local help, you might look at the anonymous book...hard copy might be easier to use, but this is a link to the online version...works best for iPhones:

http://www.bmwmoa.org/page/abook

Additionally, look through this link to see who's near you in terms of independent shops:

http://micapeak.com/bmw/Airhead-Shops.html

Ted Porter at the Beemershop is in NorCal...you might give him a call and see what he suggests.

HTH...

 

[tanker4me]

+1 on all of Kurts recommendations!

Something as simple and inexpensive as a clutch cable adjustment/replacement to a complete transmission rebuild could be the fix.

3 gearbox rebuilds on Airheads within the last 5 years have averaged less than a thousand bucks each.

Most work was done by 2 ex BMW dealer mechanics that opened their own shops. (on a recent re-build, the output shaft for a '92 GSPD was sent to Ted Porter to get the cir-clip
treatment)

The AirHeads have thAir own anonymous book that according to sources has bailed out (with fixes or info) more than a few riders.

SoCal is crawling with Airhead motorcycles and mechanics that will work on them, I'm lucky and have two excellent ones nearby.

I believe NorCals even better!

 

[AntonLargiader]

It's worth calling Ted but AFAIK he's not doing that many transmissions these days and isn't doing any whole-bike repairs. He refers some customers to me, and I'm on the wrong coast for helping in person. I could possibly assemble one for you and ship it out for exchange, but it would be more expensive than repairing yours.

If you want to just go out there and ride, then your best bet is getting the bike to a BMW shop but it will probably be expensive. Here, the whole-bike repair would start - best-case minimum - at around $1000 but I do the trans work myself. If a shop needs to sub out the transmission repair, it would go up. With normal problems that are encountered with a 40 year old bike, $1500 is a better starting estimate here.

Diagnosing transmission issues always starts with the same thing: drain the oil, and see what's in it. If the oil is clean, then either the problem is elsewhere or you have a single broken part. If it's full of metallic debris, you know there's an immediate repair in your future. I suspect the latter. If you can get someone to confirm this, then the steps are:

1) remove transmission. An hour or three for a typical home mechanic, and you can still move the bike while the transmission is out.
2) have it repaired or source a replacement (any pre-'81 transmission will work). While it's out, make sure the clutch is good enough to warrant leaving it in place.
3) reinstall. Another few hours.

So if you want to be able to ride when you go out in April, you need to either have someone else deal with getting it fixed, or have a replacement transmission ready to go. With another transmission, you could be riding after one day of mechanical work, provided you have resources for that kind of work.

Shops in the bay area come and go, and I'm not current on who does what out there. Maybe there is a nearby place like my shop that can just take care of all of this for you.

 

[khittner]

Has the bike had its transmission input splines lubricated? Dry splines make for pretty notchy shifting.

 

[tanker4me]

OK, your description of the onset of the problem was limited but similar to a situation I had a year ago.

About 5 miles into a early morning ride up the coast I noticed a bit of clunkiness to the shifts. (more than the normal clunks)

Twenty or so miles farther up the coast & about 15-20 increasingly more difficult shifts later, I pulled over to adjust the clutch cable at the lever.

I could see the cable was frayed, and close to breaking.

I was able to nurse it home on 5 clutch assisted shifts.

This is what it looked like upon removal.


All was good after replacing the clutch cable.

 

[henzilla]

Yikes!
Lucky the strands held up, my last one on a new to me /6, had me running and shifting like a 16 year old...well maybe not quite, on a few starts

 

[lmo1131]

+1 on Ted's shop. They've done a lot of work for me over the years, but I've always been able to ship them the ailing component for service and then re-install it myself.

Definitely give him a call. When push comes to shove, if you're not mechanically inclined, or don't have tools, hauling the bike down and having and experienced shop to the work it probably your best bet.

Outer Richmond is about 70 from Ted's shop. Unlike many bike shops they open at 09:00 tomorrow (Monday).

(831) 438-1100

 

[tanker4me]

As far as I know Ted isn’t taking any transmission work on at this time. He is knowledgeable on all things Airhead & more, and might know of a local wrench that can help.

 

[chunk]

Ted is doing a "clip" in my friends transmission currently, but told him (my friend ) due to being short staffed he isn't taking on anymore until he gets more help, but that said, give him a call and tell him your situation. In addition to being a airhead expert, he is just a really nice fellow and probably can give you some help. Good luck. Chunk.

 

[Friedle]

Okay, I am surprised that nobody has brought this up yet, but are you familiar with the Airheads Beemer Club (www.airheads.org). It is an international club dedicated to the classic BMW air cooled motorcycles. There are quite a few very knowledgeable members willing to share their knowledge and help teach you how to maintain your machine. The ABC HQ is in San Diego. There are lots of Tech Days and gatherings all over California. The club has been active since 1991. Dues are only $25/yr. Join today and start getting advice and help tomorrow.

Michael Friedle
Poughkeepsie, NY
ABC Board of Directors

 

[surfdad1060]

Wunderlich in Watsonville has An Airhead only site,Boxer 2 Valve but I think E-bay or Craigs list is your best bet. Also BMW parts haus in Long Beach Ca. may have a tranny. I have everything but a tranny for that bike. I am in So Cal like one of the other members but both of my sisters live in the city and my daughter goes to Santa Cruz so I'm up there a lot. If you have the room and the tools and a little bit of skill its a day to replace. As other posters have said check the easy stuff first cable,throw out bearing.When they go bad the clutch doesn't disengage which would make it very hard to shift The problem with San Francisco is the rents are to high for your independent airhead wrench,you may have to look outside the city, Oakland or even Sacramento. I'm happy to help as any Airhead in California would be, join the Airheads put the problem on the forum and you'll have to beat them off with a stick, someone may even have a tranny but you may not need one. A used tranny is probably less $500. I'm pretty sure /5 will work but you lose 5th gear but gain a kick start. The 74 5 speed with the kicker has a terrible reputation but mine never gave me any trouble.Last thing, you don't say how long you've had the BMW, you know they are clunky shifters even on their best days.

 

[steve_herrick]

Thanks everyone for the good info. I'm going to have a buddy take a look at the clutch cable and go from there!

 

[SCBuckeye]

Has the bike had its transmission input splines lubricated? Dry splines make for pretty notchy shifting.

I have a hunch that this is your problem. Takes time, and is an easy fix, and shouldn't cost an arm and a leg!

 

[nickrides]

I would bet its a clutch cable that's going bad.
I had this exact same experience on my 1978 R80 out on the road, luckily I had a spare cable, easily changed it and kept moving