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Very ugly sounds after resetting transmission on 2015 RT

landev

landev

Member
Greetings,

I went on a 150 mile ride a couple of days ago and was having some Shift Assist up shift issues in gears 4-5, 5-6. It was intermittent, but happened 10 times or so. Other than that annoyance, the bike seemed to run quietly and smoothly. I have also experienced this Shift Assist issue on my 2015 GSWA... only rarely shifting up from 3-4. I did some reading last night and found recommendations to reset transmission to resolve the issue.

I just reset via a GS911 and went to do the "re-learning" step... running through the gears for 10 seconds each, up, then down. Doing so produced a horrible clunking noise (like funky U joint) so I stopped the procedure on second gear calibration and am wondering what to do at this point. It seemed that, in one of the posts I looked at last night, someone referred to a noise like this, but I can't find that post and don't recall and specifics.

Any ideas on this would be appreciated.

Thanks much in advance,

-l-
 
Yes. It sounds very much like the drive shaft is linkage is binding and it labors the engine at each "clunk". It happens using the clutch or not. The odd bit is the bike ran smoothly before the reset, otherwise I'd think the shaft was shot (at 8K miles!?)
 
There is a lot of play in the driveline... running through the gears on center stand on Hex- Cam- Wets seems to do that, especially on deceleration. Scared me the first time as well. Hard to think a low mileage shaft is worn to that extent.

With bike on CS, engine off, put in first gear and rotate wheel both directions and you can feel the play. If it’s in neutral and when rotating in forward direction slowly a bad u- joint will often index every 90 degrees from my dealings.
 
Thanks for that tidbit, sir. A slow turn of the wheel in neutral is perfectly smooth. There is the play in 1rst... perhaps 3-4 degrees.

The clunking I'm hearing seems to be coming from the shaft housing and it's definitely affecting the RPMs of the engine... certainly seems like something is binding. It reminds me of running a 3 point PTO implement on my tractor at an extreme able of lift... clunk, clunk, etc., as the U joints are at an uncomfortable angle (though there is no laboring of the engine!)

So, in your experience, is the clunking to be expected with the shaft while performing this calibration? Should I just put on headphones and crank up some Joe Satriani to mask the noise and get the job done?

I run into this kind of dilemma often. I.e. something considered normal scares me as I have no experience with it and don't want to do damage to a spendy machine.

Thank you!

-l-
 
landev said:
Thanks for that tidbit, sir. A slow turn of the wheel in neutral is perfectly smooth. There is the play in 1rst... perhaps 3-4 degrees.

The clunking I'm hearing seems to be coming from the shaft housing and it's definitely affecting the RPMs of the engine... certainly seems like something is binding. It reminds me of running a 3 point PTO implement on my tractor at an extreme able of lift... clunk, clunk, etc., as the U joints are at an uncomfortable angle (though there is no laboring of the engine!)

So, in your experience, is the clunking to be expected with the shaft while performing this calibration? Should I just put on headphones and crank up some Joe Satriani to mask the noise and get the job done?

I run into this kind of dilemma often. I.e. something considered normal scares me as I have no experience with it and don't want to do damage to a spendy machine.

Thank you!

-l-
Click to expand...

Are you doing the procedure while riding or on the centerstand?
Like Steve mentioned, the bike will make nasty noises and jerks when running in gear on the center stand.
I noticed this on the K1300S and R1200RS.
 
Thanks for the input all! I'm not feeling quite so disheartened now... noise is normal, it sounds. I may take Lee's advice and do the calibration on the road. My driveway is gravel but runs downhill from my shop where it empties onto the highway. I take it that I can do the 1rst gear calibration down to the highway? Or should I just roll the bike, engine off, then proceed to calibration from there?

Thanks again!

-l-
 
A further thought...

If you calibrate while riding, does loading through acceleration affect the outcome?

-l-
 
Depends on whether speed comes from the front wheel or the drivetrain. Easy enough to check - if you're willing to run it in gear on the centerstand.
 
I know nothing about this specific problem. I do know that flailing, unloaded, spinning drivetrain always has a horrific sound. I try to avoid it.
OM
 
LFarling said:
Just grab the laptop, go out into the country, pull over and reset SAP, run it 10 seconds in each gear down the road. After 10 seconds in 6th gear pull over and chop the motor. Let it sit for a bit off, at least till canbus goes out and then some, fire it up and you should be good to go. Now I have had to do it 2 times on one bike for whatever reason but it did improve after the second try. I mean 10 seconds dont sound like much but once your in 4,5, and 6 gears it is a long time but needs to be held for that 10 seconds.

Again the way I was shown and have done it. I just hate running my bike on the center stand and I do not trust it. I have done it for a second or two but it just is not a safe practice with some severe consequences if something goes south.
Click to expand...

Good info :thumb
 
Excellent information All!

I'll wheel the scoot down to the highway after lunch and see if I can get things straightened away.

-l-
 
Success! Rolled down to the highway and toddled along until the calibration was complete. My 4 speed transmission has magically been restored to it's former 6 speed self!

The scoot seems to be shifting fine (so far) and will do a quick 70 miles to make sure all is well with the world.

Thank you all for your help! Hopefully this discussion will help the next panicked soul.
Compared to the noise of calibration on the center stand, fingernails on the blackboard are soothing! No discernible noise at all calibrating on the road!

Best to all and thanks again!

-l-
 
I just did a transmission reset yesterday on my 2018, here are some of my observations. I used the GS911 for the reset. I did the 10 second relearn on the road. One thing I noticed, from the original 1st gear engage all the way through 6th, the gear indicator flashed probably 5 or 6 times after each gear change. This was, I'm assuming, indication of the learning process, I've never read this in any tutorials. Another observation was I could only perform the up shift via clutch, the SAP would not respond until the procedure was completed. I must say, after the reset my SAP is working flawlessly. It's never worked this well and I'm very pleased with the result. I believe if your not witnessing these observations the reset is not complete.
 
2015 GSA shift issues

I had the same issue with my 2015 GSA not shifting properly. To re-calibrate the shift just do it on the road, no computer needed. All you do is shift up through the gears with the clutch and then down the same. Hold in gear for 10 sec or so between each shift. If this does not not solve the issue then you may have a worn shift module. They are not completely waterproof and they can corrode the springs and locating gear. They cannot be rebuilt and must be replaced. After replacement then do the same procedure described above to get the speed shifter to re-calibrate. My dealer had a a bunch of these corroded shift modules. I cannot remember the cost of the module but it was not free.
 
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