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Gear lever lengthening
- Thread starter hive1969
- Start date
Not sure what you are asking for here, but these folks address a number of issues with their products. Is it the turnbuckle you're looking for?
https://www.suburban-machinery.com/R1200RTW.html
https://www.suburban-machinery.com/R1200RTW.html
Kevin,
I had a similar issue on an '07 R1200R. No adjustable-for-length shift lever was then available for the R, but the splined connector at the shift lever's base was the same on the Hexhead GS machines. I bought a GS lever, cut off the new lever's front end, and created my own. It's delightful to have the shift lever tab (the part your foot moves up and down) be in exactly the right place.
Perhaps the same strategy would work for you. Wunderlich lists a variable-length shift lever for the GS models here: https://www.wunderlichamerica.com/adjustable-gear-lever.html
If you're interested in pursuing this, let me know and I'll take some pictures of my setup and add them to the thread.
I had a similar issue on an '07 R1200R. No adjustable-for-length shift lever was then available for the R, but the splined connector at the shift lever's base was the same on the Hexhead GS machines. I bought a GS lever, cut off the new lever's front end, and created my own. It's delightful to have the shift lever tab (the part your foot moves up and down) be in exactly the right place.
Perhaps the same strategy would work for you. Wunderlich lists a variable-length shift lever for the GS models here: https://www.wunderlichamerica.com/adjustable-gear-lever.html
If you're interested in pursuing this, let me know and I'll take some pictures of my setup and add them to the thread.
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dBrick, that is exactly what I am looking for until I saw �� the price $200 is just prostitution.
Please send me some photos of your setup!
I'll do so tomorrow.
Kevin,
I apologize for the delay.
The shift lever details on my Hexhead R are different from your Wethead, but perhaps the analysis and solutions on my bike may have some application for you.
The stock shift lever from my 2007 R1200R is cast aluminum. The stock footpeg position was too high for me; the Suburban Machinery foot peg relocation kit moved the footpegs down and back. After installing the relocation kit, the footpegs were great, my legs and knees were happy.
But moving the footpegs changed the left peg's relationship to the shift lever tab, the part of the lever that sicks out, that the rider moves with the toe of their left boot. The stock shift lever made for clumsy and uncomfortable shifts, and I wanted the shift lever tab in a different place:
I considered having a local shop cut and re-make the stock lever. Changes would have been guessed-at — getting any one of the dimensions/movements wrong would require having the lever cut and manipulated again. I doubted that I could get it right on the third or fourth try, much less the first.
Touratech sells an adjustable-length shift lever for the GS of that time, with a spined shaft mount of the same dimension as that on my R:
Or you could find a used brake pedal from a Hexhead (from Beemer Boneyard, or similar) that'd give you the female spline piece with which you could build the tab and position you want. Or you could begin with a new one from the BMW parts fiche.
The one I bought is adjustable for length, so the first issue was easy to address. I discarded the tab end, finding that the tab's folding quality made upshifts inconsistent.
The second and third issues were harder: rotating the shift lever on its spline so the tab was lower caused the tab to interfere with the undeployed sidestand on downshifts. Moving the tab outward, however, would solve this, and allow the tab to be lowered sufficiently. In addition, I wouldn't have to twist my foot inward, increasing my comfort.
I shorted the spline end of the new shift lever, and added some homebrew bits for a new shift tab and movement to the place I wanted. Here's what I ended up with:
The cylindrical spacer between the two shift lever pieces is a piece of aluminum intended for use in swaging the ends of wire cable. The spacer moves the shift lever short link outboard, so on downshifts the shift lever assembly just misses the stored sidestand.
The new shift tab is 2½ of these same pieces (2 was too short, and 3 was too long). I found them in the miscellaneous hardware aisle at the local Ace Hardware. My friend with a metalworking lathe chamfered the end of the end piece, and slightly countersunk the end, so the bolt head would be recessed. The light-colored disks behind the shift lever mounting boss are nylon wshers, also found at Ace. The new shift lever boss was thinner than the stock one; the washers act as spacers and fill the space between the shift lever boss and the frame tab through which the shift shaft protrudes.
The tab is now in exactly the right position for my foot, just touching the right side of my left boot at the middle (height-wise) of my big toe, ready for an easy foot movement up or down. Not to put too fine a point on it: it's perfect. Shifting improved immediately. Ride comfort did too. It's been on the bike now for more than ten years.
I apologize for the delay.
The shift lever details on my Hexhead R are different from your Wethead, but perhaps the analysis and solutions on my bike may have some application for you.
The stock shift lever from my 2007 R1200R is cast aluminum. The stock footpeg position was too high for me; the Suburban Machinery foot peg relocation kit moved the footpegs down and back. After installing the relocation kit, the footpegs were great, my legs and knees were happy.
But moving the footpegs changed the left peg's relationship to the shift lever tab, the part of the lever that sicks out, that the rider moves with the toe of their left boot. The stock shift lever made for clumsy and uncomfortable shifts, and I wanted the shift lever tab in a different place:
- The tab was too far forward, hitting my boot too close to the toe
- The tab was too high, so I had to lift my toes too much to shift
- The tab was too close to the centerline of the bike, both interefering with the stored sidestand on downshifts, and making me twist my foot inward to shift
I considered having a local shop cut and re-make the stock lever. Changes would have been guessed-at — getting any one of the dimensions/movements wrong would require having the lever cut and manipulated again. I doubted that I could get it right on the third or fourth try, much less the first.
Touratech sells an adjustable-length shift lever for the GS of that time, with a spined shaft mount of the same dimension as that on my R:
Or you could find a used brake pedal from a Hexhead (from Beemer Boneyard, or similar) that'd give you the female spline piece with which you could build the tab and position you want. Or you could begin with a new one from the BMW parts fiche.
The one I bought is adjustable for length, so the first issue was easy to address. I discarded the tab end, finding that the tab's folding quality made upshifts inconsistent.
The second and third issues were harder: rotating the shift lever on its spline so the tab was lower caused the tab to interfere with the undeployed sidestand on downshifts. Moving the tab outward, however, would solve this, and allow the tab to be lowered sufficiently. In addition, I wouldn't have to twist my foot inward, increasing my comfort.
I shorted the spline end of the new shift lever, and added some homebrew bits for a new shift tab and movement to the place I wanted. Here's what I ended up with:
The cylindrical spacer between the two shift lever pieces is a piece of aluminum intended for use in swaging the ends of wire cable. The spacer moves the shift lever short link outboard, so on downshifts the shift lever assembly just misses the stored sidestand.
The new shift tab is 2½ of these same pieces (2 was too short, and 3 was too long). I found them in the miscellaneous hardware aisle at the local Ace Hardware. My friend with a metalworking lathe chamfered the end of the end piece, and slightly countersunk the end, so the bolt head would be recessed. The light-colored disks behind the shift lever mounting boss are nylon wshers, also found at Ace. The new shift lever boss was thinner than the stock one; the washers act as spacers and fill the space between the shift lever boss and the frame tab through which the shift shaft protrudes.
The tab is now in exactly the right position for my foot, just touching the right side of my left boot at the middle (height-wise) of my big toe, ready for an easy foot movement up or down. Not to put too fine a point on it: it's perfect. Shifting improved immediately. Ride comfort did too. It's been on the bike now for more than ten years.
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