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GS1150 Adventure 6th gear replacement

101767

New member
Hi gang,
Any GS-Adventure owner knows 6th gear is simply
too low for highway cruising.
Has anybody attempted to replace the stock gears
with regular GS1150 parts (higher ratio)?

What would be the cost associated with the parts,
only (intend to do the job myself)

Any info would be inspiring.
 
Yayo said:
Hi gang,
Any GS-Adventure owner knows 6th gear is simply
too low for highway cruising.
Has anybody attempted to replace the stock gears
with regular GS1150 parts (higher ratio)?

What would be the cost associated with the parts,
only (intend to do the job myself)

Any info would be inspiring.

I'm not sure if I'm getting this right, but what you're saying is you want 6th gear to be a little "taller" so you can cruise in 6th gear at a lower RPM. If that's what you are saying, then instead of worring about your trans gears, just change your final drive. There are a lot of people who have the 'regular' 1150GS, myself being one of them, that have changed their final drive to do the opposite of what you want on your bike. I hope this makes sense.:D
 
Yayo said:
Any GS-Adventure owner knows 6th gear is simply
too low for highway cruising.

Really? I can't believe it's lower than 5th gear on my 2000 Roadster (the 1085cc motor had a 5 speed tranny, except the S)
I run at 85-90 mph on the highway without trouble. It's not loafing along at 3,500 rpm but there is still enough head room to blast well past 100 mph without hitting the redline.

Mark F
 
Last edited:
installing a taller final drive will be the most efficient way

changing gears on the gear box,,is VERY very complicated..actually some very good mecanics will not even warranty thei work,,and they do them all day long..

I have two suggestion..
the complicated,,sell the whole gear box, or trade for a stock 1150 GS or 1150R tranny,,yeah you will losee first low gear.

the simpler,install a 33/12 final drive from a R11 S that will give you 6,2% taller gears,,,,,all of them.
(I have one if you need one,,send me a PM)
 
thanks for the feedback

When BMW decided to modify the existing GS1150 and offer the "Adventure" concept to the public, they listened mostly to feedback received from european riders who actually use the bikes for what they are designed to do: travel not only across europe but also africa, egypt, India and many other "roadless" regions.
Under those cicumnstances, a lower 6th gear makes
much sense, since even with the bike fully loaded with gear, and riding over loose soil or sand, the motor continues to have enough torque to pull top gear without having to ride all that fast,this also helps lower fuel consumption.
(not many shell and amoco stations in the third world)

In America however things are quite diferent, and you often find yourself cruising thousands of miles just to get to a vast enough legal riding area with similar riding conditions as described above.
6th gear on the Adventure will have you hitting
5000 RPM at 85Mph,(roughly 600 RPM above the standard GS)not a big deal indeed, but still fuel consumption suffers, the bars vibrate noticeably more, and if you do some math you realize you have to change the engine oil more often, engine wear is slighltly increased etc, etc...

I agree changing the final drive could be an option, but at the cost of loosing the lower first gear, which at least in my case, has saved my butt
more than once....
 
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