5th gear problem

JJJ

Registered user
Joined
Aug 9, 2017
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Location
London, England
Hi All,

Has anyone had a problem engaging their 5th gear? I was motoring down the M20 over the weekend and on shifting up into 5th the bike started to rattle as I tried to accelerate. It felt as though the gear was not engaging. When I shifted up into 6th or down into 4th everything was fine.

I tried engaging 5th a couple more times - same result, so drove home avoiding 5th!

Any thoughts on what was happening?

It sounds expensive unfortunately..
 
Check the gear lever is moving properly but it does sound expensive.

Does it rattle in neutral with clutch lever released then make less noise with clutch lever pulled in?
 
Hi JJJ and welcome to the forum.

It could be a broken selector or worn gear dogs amongst other possible causes. It sounds like it needs stripping and inspecting.

Mikeyboy would be the man to speak to, he has rebuilt plenty of these gearboxes and has an excellent reputation here. He runs his own engineering business specialising in 4wd and BMW bikes.

Do a forum search for him. If you pay to subscribe at £12 you can message him directly and access other perks as a subscriber.

His business is called overland and classic.
 
Pukmeister said:
Hi JJJ and welcome to the forum.

It could be a broken selector or worn gear dogs amongst other possible causes. It sounds like it needs stripping and inspecting.

Mikeyboy would be the man to speak to, he has rebuilt plenty of these gearboxes and has an excellent reputation here. He runs his own engineering business specialising in 4wd and BMW bikes.

Do a forum search for him. If you pay to subscribe at £12 you can message him directly and access other perks as a subscriber.

His business is called overland and classic.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the vote of confidence pukmeister,:thumb
Just for info, I don't have any involvement with 4wd vehicles,,
Just the bikes:D
Mike07786 340692
 
Sorry Mike, for some reason I thought you were the man for Landrovers ??

Must be having a senior moment....
 
Hi Bendy, thanks for your reply - on engaging fifth the bike rattles on acceleration and the gear does not engage. On pulling the clutch in the rattle stops.. it does seem like a strip down is required.. have you heard of this type of fault before on a R1200GSA '12? 25,000 miles..
 
JJJ said:
Hi Bendy, thanks for your reply - on engaging fifth the bike rattles on acceleration and the gear does not engage. On pulling the clutch in the rattle stops.. it does seem like a strip down is required.. have you heard of this type of fault before on a R1200GSA '12? 25,000 miles..
Click to expand...

It does sound like a selector or gear issue. Mike will know if it's a common fault. These boxes are not as tough as they should be.

The more "normal" noise is when ticking over in neutral. That rattle sounds like cam chain slap but stops when you pull the clutch lever.
 
Bendy toy said:
It does sound like a selector or gear issue. Mike will know if it's a common fault. These boxes are not as tough as they should be.

.
Click to expand...

I'd argue that point as one thing you never hear of is gearbox failure.

Saying that, I had one go bang big style at about 75,000 miles. Went to change into 6th and it wouldn't engage and made a terrible crunching sound. I thought that it just hadn't engaged properly so back into 5th no problem. The real issue happened when I snicked it back into top and the whole thing let go big style which wasn't fun at 80mph in the 3rd lane on a busy M62.

Jonno at adventure bike warehouse picked through the debris and didn't really find the problem but the selector looked favourite. Anyway, £700 for a second hand replacement later, all was well and it's been trouble free for another 70k. My local dealer reckoned he'd never had one go before and it was a very rare occurrence.
 
Sgt Bilco said:
I'd argue that point as one thing you never hear of is gearbox failure.

Saying that, I had one go bang big style at about 75,000 miles. Went to change into 6th and it wouldn't engage and made a terrible crunching sound. I thought that it just hadn't engaged properly so back into 5th no problem. The real issue happened when I snicked it back into top and the whole thing let go big style which wasn't fun at 80mph in the 3rd lane on a busy M62.

Jonno at adventure bike warehouse picked through the debris and didn't really find the problem but the selector looked favourite. Anyway, £700 for a second hand replacement later, all was well and it's been trouble free for another 70k. My local dealer reckoned he'd never had one go before and it was a very rare occurrence.
Click to expand...

I would argue that a gearbox which rattles in neutral is heading for trouble. Most of them do it from 50K miles.

Mikey said one issue is the bearing internal seals fail. Some bearings are grease lubricated. All fine until the seals leak and oil gets in. That churns up inside the bearing causing rapid failure. The symptom is sludgy gearbox oil caused by the grease contamination.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

gearbox worn out?
Replies
9
Views
824
gazza12adv
gazza12adv
EVskij
My fellow 1290 (2018MY) SAS owners...
Replies
18
Views
307
EVskij
EVskij
Yet another 1150 gearbox "clunk"
Replies
3
Views
361
theoneandonly
theoneandonly
Lawrence_NZ
Audio Diagnostic Please. It doesn't sound right and has no drive...
3 4 5
Replies
86
Views
3,043
Pukmeister
Pukmeister
RedRick Esq.
Gear position sensor
Replies
3
Views
346
fatbob99
fatbob99


Back
Top Bottom