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Gearbox problems on 1989 BMW R80



I am having trouble changing gears on my 1989 BMW R80. 1st, 2nd and 3rd
work OK but when I try to change to 4th, I get a false neutral.

Anyone have any ideas as to what could be wrong?
What kind of trouble? Just with 4th gear? All the time? Sometimes?

First, check the easy stuff:
* Make sure the clutch free travel is set correctly. If you're not
completely disengaging the clutch when you squeeze the level, that could
happen.
* Make sure the shift lever is correctly set up.
* Make sure the transmission oil is in good condition.

If you still have problems, then they probably require opening the
transmission to see what's up. This may be a bent 3/4 fork that's not
pushing the dogs into the 4th gear.
Or rounded off dogs, which can be fixed with a shim, a dremel, or
possibly both.
Thanks for the replies Timberwoof and Polarhound. Basically, I can't
shift to a higher gear than 3rd anymore. I found an article on the net
somewhere where the writer's R65 was stuck in 2nd gear. In that case the
problem was caused by a broken pawl spring, but in my case the first
three gears work as normal. I will check the clutch travel and
transmission oil.
There's also the missing circlip problem to worry about.

In the late '70s or so, the beancounters at BMW figured out they
could cut costs by ommitting a tranny circlip that holds a gear cluster
in place. Eventually, the pressed on cluster rides forward on
the shaft, causing expensive bits in the gearbox to self-destruct.
DAMHIK.

One thing you should do first is inspect the shift lever to make
sure that it's got enough free travel and is not fouling anywhere.
If the easy stuff's OK, I suggest you ought to take the transmission
to somebody competent to rebuild it. In the SF bay area, I'd highly
recommend the Beemer Shop in Scott's Valley.


BTW I am not sure of the bike's milage, I bought it second hand, with no
service history, from a dealer with an indicated milage of 27000km on
the odo. The odo only has 5 digits so it could be 27000, 127000, 227000
(hopefully not) etc.