BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

Having heard the stories about the "tractor" gearbox on beemers, I wasn't too surprised by the box on my ex-demo RT LC.
I've managed to sort a "smooth" downchange by leaving the throttle open a very tiny amount. Shut it off completely and it "clunks"
Upshift is okay, just need to time the clutch, throttle and shifter. The gear shift pro works a dream when I'm pinning the throttle open.
Now, the reason for this topic.
I've just left the bike at Pidcocks to have an autocom unit fitted and to look at a couple of items under warranty. Their loan bike was a GS.
What a difference the gearbox is !!! Smooth up and down.
Why?
Spoke to Mark at Pidcocks and he says they'll have a look at my bike but the GS has a different flywheel which may explain the difference.
Any other ideas?

The RT is the same as the GSA with a slightly heavier flywheel. If you want to know what a clunky BMW gearbox is really like borrow a K1600. You will probably find it will improve with use.  A trip round the Alps in May will help it. Reading one of your earlier posts I would suggest that reducing  the revs by about 1K in the middle gears will vastly improve gear changes without any loss of performance.  I have just noticed you say on downshift with the throttle closed you get the clunk. Blipping the throttle, like the Pro does might make a big difference as well.

2015 GS now has the heavier flywheel too. As RTman10 says blipping the throttle on down shifts makes the gear change smooth. If you do not like the N to 1 clunk when stationary, then try this. When coming to a halt, say at a red traffic light, in 2 gear just before stopping, 10 mph or less, on a closed throttle,  select N pause then go into 1 and it will not clunk. This works a treat.

Thanks for the replies. I'll have a play later.

My RTLC can get a bit clunky on occasion, when using the clutch through the gears 1- 3. However, the change is always buttery smooth using the quick sifter.
Even from 1st -2nd is smooth, as long as i quick shift.