BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

Third week of having my 2016 RT. Still getting used to the quick shifter or “shift assistant”. It doesn’t like upshift 2-3 with open throttle and goes clunk. 3,4,5,6 up and 6,5,4,3,2 down is very smooth. The bike is under warranty. Do others have problems? Friend said that the 2016 quick shifters were not as smooth as later years.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi


1-2 is not smooth but the rest are  or atl east once I had got used to not shutting the throttle myself, this was my first bike with a shifter, until then clutch-less changes required a little more skill and getting out of the habit after 40+ years was a bit of a learning curve.

NLC wrote: Third week of having my 2016 RT. Still getting used to the quick shifter or “shift assistant”. It doesn’t like upshift 2-3 with open throttle and goes clunk. 3,4,5,6 up and 6,5,4,3,2 down is very smooth. The bike is under warranty. Do others have problems? Friend said that the 2016 quick shifters were not as smooth as later years.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I did not find 2-3 very smooth even using the clutch. I think the quick-shifter is best used with WOT in the lower three gears. I sometimes use mine between 5 and 6th.

NLC wrote: Third week of having my 2016 RT. Still getting used to the quick shifter or “shift assistant”. It doesn’t like upshift 2-3 with open throttle and goes clunk. 3,4,5,6 up and 6,5,4,3,2 down is very smooth. The bike is under warranty. Do others have problems? Friend said that the 2016 quick shifters were not as smooth as later years.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My late '15 is the same, I'm happy to live with it.

Thanks. When I say "clunk" the bike completely unloads which is slightly ironic since the quick shifter is meant to prevent the pillion helmet from banging against the driver. As luck (or fate) would have it the side stand sensor has failed and I can only start the bike in neutral so it will be visitng a dealer soon and I will have them take a look at it.

When downshifting, the throttle needs to be fully closed, easy enough because it's against a physical stop.

When upshifting, most folks report it works fine with a wide open throttle (WOT). How often is the bike ridden with a WOT, against a physical stop.

Perhaps the problem is that it's not natural to leave the throttle in a fixed position when upshifting.
When using the clutch, one would roll off the throttle when the drive is disengaged. This habit must be difficult to break.

"The load factor (throttle grip position) should remain constant both prior to and during execution of shifts using the Gear Shift Assistant.
Changing the position of the throttle grip while the shift is in progress can lead to cancelation of the function and/or shifting errors."

Hi David I did about 100 miles yesterday of A-B and M roads in and out of London. For example on the M25 I opened up the throttle on the on-ramp a few times from 2-3 and sometimes it goes without a hitch and sometimes the clunk. A friend said that the 2016 gearbox vs the 2017 this was fixed. So I am unsure of whether it is just part of the year or a mechanical problem. My bike has a 2 year warranty so always happy to oblige when Das Mutterland agrees to pick up the tab.

NLC wrote:A friend said that the 2016 gearbox vs the 2017 this was fixed.

2017 model year changes, https://www.mcnews.com.au/bmw-unveil-20 ... r-changes/

"All liquid-cooled boxer models will now be fitted with a judder damper on the transmission output shaft.
New features also include a revised selector drum actuator, transmission shafts and transmission shaft bearing."

Can't say about pre 17 but post 17 not clever 2nd to 3rd sometimes smooth others wont go. Love downshift though

David. wrote: 2017 model year changes, https://www.mcnews.com.au/bmw-unveil-2017-model-year-changes/

"All liquid-cooled boxer models will now be fitted with a judder damper on the transmission output shaft.
New features also include a revised selector drum actuator, transmission shafts and transmission shaft bearing."

Thanks David. A new word "Judder" for me. If I read the articile the judder damper seems to work for both manual and quick shift gear changes. I have no problem using the gear box in manual only between 2-3 up. For what others have said it is a common issue. I'll advise either way as the bike needs to go in for service anyways. Thanks for your insight as always.

NLC wrote:A new word "Judder" for me.

I think the "Judder" refers to vibration rather than the gearbox itself. The quote didn't look right without both sentences.

Yes. Thanks for clarifying.

David. wrote: When downshifting, the throttle needs to be fully closed,

Not true, it will downshift just fine without closing the throttle.  I've been downshifting with partial steady throttle ever since I got my 18 RT without any problems.  There is a limitation on having too high of a rpm that will prevent a downshift.  It will not allow a downshift if it would cause an over rev.

From the Rider's Manual.

"When braking and downshifting (throttle valve closed),  engine speed is adjusted by blipping the throttle."

Hats off to the BMW marketing people. Who knew you could use “judder” and “blipping” in such creative ways.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk