BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

I've now done 13000 miles on the RT LC I bought new last November.  One thing that is griping me a little bit is that it seems to be getting more difficult to get from 1st to 2nd gear without hearing the gear clatter into place.  Not the clunk I've always heard but like it isn't quite lined up somehow.  This gets a little easier if I wind the revs right up in first before changing but I normally feel like it is ready to change around 3800 but is easier around 4500 revs.  Even then it doesn't always work smoothly.  Anyone else having this issue?

This question has been brought up on the GS site, it appears overfilling the crankcase can cause difficult shifting  You might check the sight glass just to ensure its not overfilled

T6pilot wrote: This question has been brought up on the GS site, it appears overfilling the crankcase can cause difficult shifting You might check the sight glass just to ensure its not overfilled

Thanks for responding. In my case, it's not oil level as the oil level is under the top of the circle.  It would be nice if it were an easy answer like that .

Try short shifting, works for me, changes are normally silent.

RTman10 wrote: Try short shifting, works for me, changes are normally silent.

Thanks for responding. When you say short shifting, do you mean changing up at lower than typical revs for the next gear?  I have tried that and sometimes it goes in successfully but mainly there is a worse clatter as something rotary clatters against something else.

Yes as soon as your moving in first with the gear lever pre loaded just click up.  No idea what the revs are, never look. Obviously not using Pro shift.


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RTman10 wrote: Yes as soon as your moving in first with the gear lever pre loaded just click up. No idea what the revs are, never look. Obviously not using Pro shift.
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Thanks. I will try that and report back.

Gadgetsandwheels wrote: Thanks for responding. In my case, it's not oil level as the oil level is under the top of the circle.  It would be nice if it were an easy answer like that .

There has been mention I think from an article in a BMW publication that optimal oil filling for best shifting and clutch behavior in the wet head is in the middle of the fill circle not just under the top, FWIW.

Unless I'm in a hurry and/or under heavy load and accelerating I find the bike shifts just great from 1st>2nd at not more than about 2800rpm, less if you're not in a hurry.  The shift prompt that most everyone either turns off or quickly learns to ignore will prompt you to shift way earlier than you might otherwise and seems to prompt you to shift around 3000-3400 rpm or so.  My sense is that it is calibrated to have you shift to optimize fuel economy and reduce engine wear, and actually as I say if you're not in hurry it's really relaxed and works well.  In general I find optimal general shifting goes up in RPM for each gear going up which arguably makes sense because the gear RANGE is greater as you go up.

Seems illogically to me that BMW would give you a sight glass that shows you the best level for everything to work best at only half ah up the scale.  The book just tells you not to overfill it. 
I think that the half full thing was another GS site gem. Another one was use 20-50 oil.

My 2015 LC states dot in middle of sight glass is correct level.

Nothing in the 2014 book like that.  Tells you it's .95 L between Max an Min and don't overfill.

Screen captured from where I read about the oil fill level at the mid point of the sight glass.


This wet clutch implementation has its own charm, ahem..., but once you get down how to live w/ its shortcomings it gets the job done well.  I don't like the N>1st clunk, so I keep the bike in 1st at traffic signals, and if the vehicle closest to my 6 has come to a stop, I'll turn off the engine if the signal looks to be long, otherwise the bike stays in 1st ready to move as needed.  Whenever I start the bike I leave it in 1st after breaking the connection rolling the bike backwards a few inches, so doing this you can always avoid the big clunk.  It's interesting how different this behavior is when ambient is less than about 60F and the engine is cold--zero clunk from N>1st.  Once it's warmed even a wee bit, you get the prodigious clunk.  Tight tolerances in the clutch plate assembly so that with the slightest expansion from heat you get this behavior, or so that is my guess without fully understanding clutch design.  I don't care what is said about the N-1st clunk my gut tells me it's not good for anything, at least over the long haul.  Shifting everywhere else ranges from good enough to fabulous.


Re: Seems to be getting harder to get from 1st to 2nd gear

So,it's a mag back in Nov 13 that came up with this after a loan of a press bike.  Nothing to do with BMW. 

Nope, the mag was Summer 2015, not that you would let yourself be swayed by that, or any other new information. :not:

Haynes manual was my source. If the top of the sight glass was the correct level and you over fill even slightly you would not know by how much because you would not be able to see the level. Hence the sight glass correct level is in the middle using the dot.so you know exactly what level you are running precisely.