2014 R1200RT: clunky going in to 1st gear

[henzilla]

Been to the dealer?. Oil viscosity an issue?
Ride another model and see if it just your bike?

Our K12S's also with a wet clutch BANG into gear at times...always in the presence of non BMW riders

 

[lkchris]

Article in latest BMW Motorcycle Magazine states will clunk less when oil level is middle of sight glass and more when at top.

 

[JoeDabbs]

It's probably to do with the wet clutch. My '14 is much louder going into first than my '10 or '11. I'm used to it, now.

 

[dm930]

I installed the Booster Plug and it seemed to help the clunky 1st gear engagement. It tricks the computer into thinking it's 20 degrees colder. Smooths out everything.

 

[Wethead]

yea, I installed a really loud horn and I blow it just before I put it in first gear and you I can't hear it clunk anymore

 

[dudley45]

"Clunker"

Hey! I like the horn idea!

Yeah, my '14 RTW 'clunks' too. Worst that I can remember. My old '04 RT shifts so smoothly I never notice (101K miles)

It IS embarassing, especially when the Harley guy looks over at you from the adjacent lane. Mine is also a little 'clunky' shifting to 2nd and 3rd, up and down. Yes, if you down-shift from 3rd to 1st as you are coming to a stop (low engine RPM), it usually is fairly quiet, but if you are 'screwing it on' (getting on the flyway), it can be clunky thru 3rd, sometimes to 4th.

I'm more worried about wear-and-tear than noise. Hope this doesn't surface as a problem in the future.

 

[Wethead]

I am wondering if the 2015 have the same clunk

 

[dmilan]

All the suggestions in this thread do not work for me on the wet RT

* Shift quick as you press the clutch
* roll the bike back or forth first
* Keep the oil on the mid-mark so the clutch don't slip
* Hold the clutch for a while first

other not mentioned:
* go from neutral to second then to neutral, sit at the light, then to first
* Hold the clutch in while on first gear when you come to a stop for a few seconds before you pop it into neutral and release the clutch. This doesn't work either.
* Holding the clutch for several seconds before going from neutral to first at a stop

Some claim this is not an issue with the wethead, on the contrary, it is a louder clunk than earlier models.

The hotter the bike, the louder the clunk.

The suggestion to hold the clutch, always, until you come back home, is not practical for those who sit at long traffic lights

"All bike don't do that" I have had bike that don't, and some for which some of the techniques mentioned above make it so that it does not clunk going into first from neutral at a stop

The 'it doesn't bother bother me" may be a freeing approach, but it probably bother a lot of riders. I for one, wonder what will be the consequences of that constant banging of those gears over the years/miles. I would much rather it shifted quietly and smoothly into first.

With all the attention to detail that created this engineering masterpiece RT, I am surprise these engineers overlooked this point, and did not make it smooth shifting in the lower gears.

If anyone comes up with a solution, I am all ears. Otherwise, I am living with it.

URGI,

I'm aware of the clunking into first from neutral on the WC R12 Series. Don't own one yet, tested 4. 2 GS a GSA and an RT.

Currently I own 2 BMW. A 2003 K1200 GT and an 2008 K1200GT.

The 2003 with dry clutch does not clunk as described above. Nice tranny all 'round., My 2008 GT with wet clutch does clunk as described above.

IF I am stuck at a LONG red light, sometimes, if it seems safe to do so traffic wise, I just shut it off.
I use the kill switch not the ignition.
By using the kill switch instead of the ignition, the brake light and turn signal remain on uninterrupted.
Immediately turn the kill switch back to run, pull in the clutch lever and drop the transmission into first.
Hold the clutch in and at the first sign of the light about to change, meaning cross walk indicators, the illumination of specific lane turns arrows, or yellow lights for cross traffic, I simply press the starter button. You must pay attention though, it's not good to be caught sitting at a green light with the bike not yet restarted.
No clunk.
No problems to date.
Heck ya probably save fuel to boot. Well maybe.
d'milan

 

[strataj]

URGI,

I'm aware of the clunking into first from neutral on the WC R12 Series. Don't own one yet, tested 4. 2 GS a GSA and an RT.

Currently I own 2 BMW. A 2003 K1200 GT and an 2008 K1200GT.

The 2003 with dry clutch does not clunk as described above. Nice tranny all 'round., My 2008 GT with wet clutch does clunk as described above.

IF I am stuck at a LONG red light, sometimes, if it seems safe to do so traffic wise, I just shut it off.
I use the kill switch not the ignition.
By using the kill switch instead of the ignition, the brake light and turn signal remain on uninterrupted.
Immediately turn the kill switch back to run, pull in the clutch lever and drop the transmission into first.
Hold the clutch in and at the first sign of the light about to change, meaning cross walk indicators, the illumination of specific lane turns arrows, or yellow lights for cross traffic, I simply press the starter button. You must pay attention though, it's not good to be caught sitting at a green light with the bike not yet restarted.
No clunk.
No problems to date.
Heck ya probably save fuel to boot. Well maybe.
d'milan

You may save on fuel but you are shorting the life of your battery. As for the Harley guy's Load Clutches Save Lives Forget the clunk and just ride one of the best motorcycles built today.

Jay

 

[dmilan]

You may save on fuel but you are shorting the life of your battery. As for the Harley guy's Load Clutches Save Lives Forget the clunk and just ride one of the best motorcycles built today.

Jay

Was really just kidding regarding the fuel savings... Although many cars have that feature now, that is to stop the engine when the wheels stop moving.

You're right, you can just cram/mash it into gear and go. The resulting lurch with accompanying clunk, probably won't harm any components. Some just find it a bit unsettling / irritating. Some more than others.

Even with my '08GT, with all it's warts, I try to spare it the harsh N to 1st transition.

d'milan

 

[rangerreece]

Amen - my 05 RT was clunky into first and the 14 RT is no worse.

My '05 RT with dry clutch shifts smooth and quite in all 6 gears. The feel and sound is about the same as when I am manually shifting the gears static on the center stand turning the rear wheel.

 

[montauk]

Antidotes

2015 RT here. Following are my observations and antidotes.

Only thing I've noticed is when you put into 1st gear it jumps forward a tad bit. I've gotten used to it with a "thud" sound. I like the sound of authority!

When parked 1st gear is always engaged and starting the bike with clutch lever depressed. No problem there.

Upon coming to a stop, I start to gear down progressively, and land on 1st gear roughly 50-60 feet before stoping at a slow speed, and remain in 1st - safety measure. Although there have been times when I needed to free my left hand while stopped, 1 - 2 - N, and later just click into 1st as usual. No problem found. Reason for 1 - 2 - N, is because, it rairly goes to N from 1st, and generally lands on 2, then I simply tap down slightly.

Changing gears, I slightly pre-load the gear shifter, and it drops in extremely smooth. Same goes with Gear Assist, and I can go from 2 to 6 or vice versa, no problem. It does require to think of pre-loading shifter.

Wait, one more thing, you may not need to pre-load the shifter if your RPMs are midrange+. Up shifting is smooth.

 

[ragtoplvr]

Back when I owned wet clutch bikes, alwayts the transmission was very clunky going into first gear after a cold start. To solve this I would pull in the clutch in neutral, and blip the throttle, just a little, up to 4000 rpm or so. This would break the plates free of the cold oil. Then at idle I would shift into first, there was still a clunk, just no longer a CLUNK!

Rod

 

[Wethead]

did you mean 4000 rpm?, that is not a 'blip' of the throttle. Then again, I don't know what a 'blip' is.

I tried that trick before, but I just gave the throttle a much smaller blip than 4000rpm, and it made it worse. I clunks harder. Am I not getting this or is there something wrong with this picture

 

[henzilla]

Don't shift into first while the engine is at 4K ! I believe he was saying he rev's it for a second and idle back down.


Our '05 K12S's with wet clutches definitely clunk into first and you feel the bike want to travel forward...really noticeable on cold mornings.

Our dry clutch bikes all clunk at some point...depending on temp typically.


When BMWNA announced a viscosity change to 5W-40 for the Wedge K bikes many moons ago, the issue lessened. Still happens at times, especially around sportbike pilots at the "Starbucks" or local hangout. CLUNK. We always get a look from nearby riders

The Camheads & Wetheads use a base recommendation or 15-40 correct? It took folks a long time to break the 20-50 mindset from the Hexheads and I always hear "what I always use" regardless of what the Owners manual reads.
Wonder if folks and dealers are still using older models specs ? I recall reading some posts where folks said their dealer or tech was.

Anyways, we just ride and quit worrying about minor quirks...YRMV

 

[motodan]

Actually, Wethead recommendation is 5W40.

 

[henzilla]

Actually, Wethead recommendation is 5W40.

Same as the K's, makes sense even more reason to not use 20/50!
The Camhead is the 15/40 change

 

[Wethead]

I doubt that changing from 15-40 to 20-50 is going to have any significant effect on the clunk

But if you find out different, please post it.

 

[dmilan]

I doubt that changing from 15-40 to 20-50 is going to have any significant effect on the clunk

But if you find out different, please post it.

Not exactly on subject, but for whatever its worth.

I have not yet purchased an LC R1200.

I do own a 2008 K1200GT with wet clutch.
It clunks into first from a stop. It also clunks 1st to 2nd, 2nd to 3rd, and 3rd to 4th and more.
It is also blessed with clutch judder which only adds to the joy of operation.

I changed the oil from 5W40 to 10W50 in an effort to quiet things down during shifts. Actually, as I recall, I used a mix of 2 qt 10W50 and 2 qt 20W50, or was it 3 qt 10W50, 1 qt 20W50.

Anyway...
My reasoning was that before the change, the bike always shifted most quietly for the first few minutes after cold start. I thought that might be due to the oil being cold/heavier. The shifting was most noisy when the bike was up to temp.

It worked to some degree. Especially when the oil was new. Seems as the miles went on, the relief to the clunky shifting diminished.

The change to heavier oil also affected the clutch operation. The judder became more noticeable, especially when the bike was not yet warmed up.
Since then, I had the dealer install a Barnett clutch pack in the bike. Bad weather arrived soon after, so I don't have many miles on it yet. Seems better than with the OEM clutch pack in terms of reduced judder, no effect of course on the noisy/clunky shifts.

The oil weight change didn't seem to effect the N into 1st at a stop, gear change at all. Still clunked, however on my K12GT, if you hold the clutch in for 10 seconds or so before attempting the N - 1st, it quietly obeys, without any fuss.

d'milan

 

[Wethead]

Exactly as my experience with the oil viscosity.

Once I even had the cats gutted out of one of my RT expecting the oil to stay cooler in the oiltank. It did not work either. The clunk persisted.

I don't know much about trannys but it seems to me there are some synchro missing on this design and thus the clunk